The 21st Century Meeting and Event Technologies

Seungwon Shawn Lee, PhD, is currently assistant professor at the Center for Sport Management, Tourism and Events Management, at George Mason University in Manassas, Virginia. Professor Lee's professional work and research focuses on meeting/event management and the impact of technology on site selection and meeting management. He has a very unique combination of education and work experience that leads to his current research and teaching specialty with a BS in computer science engineering, an MTA in tourism and hospitality management, and a PhD in tourism and hospitality management. He spent five years as a computer programmer and assistant manager of technology professional development and IT strategy planning team for SAMSUNG in South Korea. He worked as a convention/meeting coordinator for the Association of Science and Technology Centers and director of special events for Korean-American Centennial National Gala in Washington, D.C. He also worked as a meeting technology research specialist for Continuing and Professional Education at Virginia Tech.He has published his research in the areas of meeting/convention/event management and impacts of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the meeting/event industry in the Journal of Convention and Event Tourism (JCET), the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology (JHTT), Event Management (EM), Tourism Review International (TRI), Current Issues in Tourism (CIT), and the International Journal of Event and Festival Management (IJEFM). He also presented his research at the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Education (I-CHRIE), International Special Event Society (ISES) Annual Professional Development Conference, International Hospitality and Convention Expo, and the Educational Technology Leadership Conference.Dr. Lee is the recipient of the 2013 GMU Teaching Excellence Teacher of Distinction for his dedication and highly effective teaching and was also nominated for the 2012 Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Educator of the Year award.Dessislava Boshnakova, PhD, is senior assistant professor of International Activities and Public Relations at New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria, and owner and managing director of ROI Communication, a public relations firm. She has been engaged in public relations theory and practice since 1998 and has consulted and trained in over 100 companies and organizations. She is a speaker at many events in the PR industry in Bulgaria and abroad.Dr. Joe Goldblatt, FRSA, is the executive director of the International Centre for the Study of Planned Events at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. He is the author and editor of 20 books in the field of event management and marketing. Dr. Goldblatt has conducted event management consultancies in Scotland, United Kingdom, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Palestine, the Philippines, and Thailand for organizations such as the US Agency for International Development (US AID). In addition, he has conducted assessment and evaluation programs for a wide range of government and commercial clients throughout the world.