Smithsonian Announces Partnership to Study Animal Migration

WHAT:Press conference announcing the Partners in the Sky partnership between the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and leaders in the aviation and aerospace industries, led by Airbus Americas Inc. Together, SCBI and its partners have charted a course to unlock the mysteries of animal migration by leveraging state-of-the-art technology to create a comprehensive global animal tracking system.

WHEN:Friday, Dec. 6
10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Opening remarks begin at 10 a.m.; media can arrive beginning at 9:15 a.m.)

WHERE:Smithsonian's National Zoo
Elephant Community Center
3001 Connecticut Ave. N.W.

Park in Bus Parking Lot, alongside bushes on the left side of the lot. When coming in from Connecticut Avenue, the bus parking lot is the first lot on the right, past Lot A .

WHO: Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian
Dennis Kelly, director, National Zoo
Allan McArtor, chairman, Airbus Americas Inc.
Steve Monfort, director, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Industry representatives and Zoo research biologists, along with engineers and engineering students from Penn State's Applied Research Lab will be on hand to talk about the components of the Partners in the Sky program. The Partners in the Sky partnership includes Airbus Americas Inc., Intel, Iridium, Joubeh, Lockheed Martin, Michael Goldfarb Associates, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins and United Airlines in addition to Penn State's ARL. The Zoo's elephant Shanthi will be in the ECC wearing a collar that will track her via satellite.