USF Sarasota-Manatee to Host Part 2 of Ukraine War Lecture Series

March 6, 2023 – Sarasota

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus on March 9 is co-hosting Part 2 of a four-part virtual speaker series, “Ukraine: One Year Later.”

The program, which will be entirely virtual, will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit sarasotamanatee.usf.edu/ukraine for more information, including complimentary registration

Part 2, entitled “The Tools of War and the Effects of War on Health,” will feature military and other experts who will speak about the use of drones, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in warfare. There also will be discussions of the effects of the war on health, and the role of the U.S. military in delivering humanitarian assistance.

The series, which started Feb. 16-17, is a follow-up to last year’s series, “Ukraine: What’s Next?” which was organized shortly after Russia attacked Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The first part of this year’s series focused on the economic, financial and budgetary impacts of the war.

The conference series is co-chaired by retired Air Force Maj. Gen. David Scott Gray and David R. Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors.

During Part 2, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, a former deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, will speak about drones and emerging technologies.

That will be followed up a panel discussion, moderated by Gen. Gray, on the use of artificial intelligence in warfare.

Panelists will include:

• Gen. Deptula
• Brian Barnier, head of analytics, ValueBridge Advisors
• Army Col. Brendan Dunne, global analytics platform director, U.S. Special Operations Command
• Mark Grzegorzewski, senior academic instructor, Joint Special Operations University

The panelists for a discussion about health and war will be Jody L. McBrien, a professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies on the Sarasota-Manatee campus; and Bob Delaney, author of “Heroes are Human: Lessons in Resilience, Courage and Wisdom from the COVID Front Lines.”

Part 2 will conclude with a keynote speech on the U.S. military and humanitarian relief, by Gen. Gray., chair, president and CEO of the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge.

Future sessions, which will be both in person and virtual, will focus on reactions to the war in the stock, bond, food, oil and gas and other markets (March 23-24); and cryptocurrencies and the effects of the war in Asia (April 20-21).

“Ukraine: One Year Later” is hosted by the University of South Florida Sarasota Manatee campus, the Global Interdependence Center and the Florida West Coast Chapter of the Air and Space Forces Association.