North Iowa Area Community College, the NIACC Pappajohn Business and Entrepreneurial Center and the North Iowa Career Center will celebrate people, careers, businesses, ideas and all things that are Wired Differently during the 3^rd Annual Information Technology Day on Friday, March 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Dr. Moira Gunn, labeled the "Grand Dame of Tech Talk" by Wired Magazine, will present the keynote address. Dr. Gunn hosts Public Radio’s Tech Nation, the sole nationally-syndicated technology program on public radio and NPR’s new Satellite Radio service. She also hosted the Now That’s Technology!, the public television program. A former NASA scientist and engineer, Dr. Gunn is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tech Museum of Innovation and the Tech Awards’ Global Leadership Council. She was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and has been named both an "Old Master" and an "Outstanding Mechanical Engineer" by the university. Dr. Gunn also holds advanced degrees in Computer Science and a software technical patent.

Dr. Gunn will also speak at a Wired Differently Business Breakfast on Friday, March 4, at 7:30 a.m. This event is open to the public and will include a buffet breakfast as well as Dr. Gunn’s application of her technology experience to a business setting. Tickets to the Wired Differently Business Breakfast cost $10 per person.

The Wired Differently day will offer contests such as a Knowledge Bowl, Solving a Problem and CD Golf. Mini-sessions including Web Page Development, Building a Network and Building a Personal Computer will also be offered. There will also be a Technology in the World Fair featuring events such as a Robotics Demonstration and a number of business participants highlighting technology in their businesses.

Participants in the event will include area IT employers, NIACC IT students, area high school counselors, high school technology instructors and area high school students interested in IT careers.

Opportunities will be available to visit with college admissions personnel from NIACC, as well as, four-year institutions that provide transfer opportunities to NIACC Information Technology students. Participants will receive a free t-shirt and lunch.

For more information on the 3^rd Annual Wired Differently Information Technology Day or the Wired Differently Business Breakfast, call Mary Mosiman at 641-422-4149 or 1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4149, or email mosimmar@niacc.edu.

Sponsors for the events include Cisco Systems, Kingland Systems Corporation and Vita Support Systems.

#####

For more information, contact the Marketing and Community Relations Department
North Iowa Area Community College, 500 College Drive, Mason City, Iowa  50401
422-4295 or 1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4295
www.niacc.edu