Prof. Mark Sundahl chaired the meeting of the International Space Policy Working Group at the biannual meeting of the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) on October 26 in Washington, D.C.  The COMSTAC meeting draws leading space figures from industry, government and academia to provide advice and direction for the FAA’s regulation of commercial spaceflight.  Prof. Sundahl’s working group made recommendations to the FAA regarding a number of current issues facing the space industry, including export controls, radio spectrum allocation, and UN efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of space activity in the face of environmental hazards, such as space debris.  A video of the meeting can be watched here.

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio presented at International Law Weekend, an annual international law conference, jointly sponsored by the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) and the International Law Students’ Association (ILSA).  The conference took place at the Association of the Bar of New York City and at Fordham Law School.  Professor Sterio presented on two different panels on October 29.  Professor Sterio presented on a panel entitled “Current Failures and Future Prospects for Addressing the Crisis in Syria.”  In addition, Professor Sterio organized and moderated a panel on October 29, entitled “ICTY Convicts Karadzic: A Roundtable Discussion About a New Interpretation of Genocide?”  Finally, Professor Sterio was elected to the Board of Directors of ABILA; she will begin serving her term in 2017.

On September 27th, Prof. Mark Sundahl served as co-chair of a panel examining the legal issues surrounding the nascent asteroid mining industry.  The panel was part of the International Astronautical Congress, the primary annual space industry conference which was held this year in Guadalajara, Mexico.  Prof. Sundahl’s panel followed on the heels of Elon Musk unveiling his plan to colonize Mars over the next 50 to 100 years. The speakers on the panel represented a diverse array of perspectives and, after over three hours of presentations and discussions, a general consensus emerged recognizing the legality of private asteroid mining activities under existing international law.

Prof. Mark Sundahl was recently appointed to the Editorial Board for the Journal of Air & Space Law, a peer-reviewed international journal published by Wolters Kluwer.  The Journal strives to publish articles on cutting-edge issue in aviation law and space law that are of value to both practitioners and academics.  Prof. Sundahl is one of three space lawyer on the fifteen member board of editors and was invited to join the board in order to help expand the journal’s offerings in the rapidly expanding field of space law.

Professor Carolyn Broering-Jacobs presented a workshop to a group of grant writing professionals at Grants Plus. The title of the presentation was The Music Within, the Curse of Knowledge, and the Core Compelling Idea. The workshop focused on effective communication by finding a “sticky” idea using principles from Chip & Dan Heath’s book, Made to Stick.

Professor Alan Weinstein was a speaker on a national webinar presented by the American Planning Association on Friday, October 14. Titled “Reed vs. Town of Gilbert – One Year Later,”  the webinar analyzed how lower courts are applying the Court’s “absolute” approach to the issue of content-neutrality for regulations of signs and other forms of expression. His presentation noted that while no court has yet ruled that regulations that distinguish between commercial and non-commercial content are content-based, both a federal district court and a Texas appeals court have ruled that a regulation that distinguishes between on-site and off-site signs based on the content of the message displayed is content-based and subject to strict scrutiny. Weinstein agreed with the federal district court’s rejection of Justice Alito’s characterization of onsite/off-site distinctions as content-neutral in light of Alito’s failure to provide any rationale for why a regulation that determines regulatory treatment based on the message displayed on the sign should not be considered content-based under Justice Thomas’s “on its face” rule in Reed. He also discussed a number of Courts of Appeal cases in which a regulation was found to be content-neutral and upheld under intermediate scrutiny before Reed, was then vacated and remanded by the Supreme Court after Reed, and on remand was found to be content-based and failed to survive struct scrutiny. 

Professor Karin Mika presented at the SALT conference (Sept 30th -Oct.2) as a member of a panel called, “Social Justice in the Legal Writing Classroom.” The panel discussed ways in which we incorporated issues of social justice, tolerance, and inclusion in the problems assigned in our legal writing classes. Professor Mika’s part focused on recent problems she has assigned, including students’ rights to wear Black Lives Matter supportive shirts at public school extracurricular events, as well as her efforts to discuss current controversial events in her Legal Writing classroom in an effort to connect the students to their passions about the law and injustice. These discussions focus on current events, such as the protest kneeling while the national anthem is being played, transgender discrimination, and issues regarding prison reform and disparate sentencing.

Professor Chris Sagers was among the recipients of the 2016 Golden Apple Award, an award issued to several CSU faculty and staff each year by the Young Alumni Council of the CSU Alumni Association. Recipients are nominated by one or more students or graduates, and the awards are issued to recognize outstanding contributions to the lives of students. 

Professor Matthew W. Green Jr. presented at the Eleventh Annual Colloquium on Current Scholarship in Labor and Employment Law in Seattle, Washington on September 24, 2016.  Professor Greens’ presentation explored the ways in which the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision may be used to advance the rights of gays and lesbians in the area of employment discrimination.  Professor Green’s discussion tracked his recent work-in-progress, which explores the ways in which Obergefell’s analysis should transcend the issue of marriage equality.  The colloquium was co-sponsored by the University of Washington School of Law and Seattle University School of Law.