Our guest speaker was Kurt Erbacher, vice president of the G650 Program at Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. He gave an informative and entertaining overview of the Gulfstream operation, product line, and in particular the flagship G650.
The main Gulfstream plant in Savannah now employs more people than Lockheed in Marietta. A full order book suggests that this will continue to be the case. The G650 production facility was purpose-built for this aircraft, assembling parts from many domestic and overseas suppliers. Much of the assembly work is automated.

On March 19, 2013, AIAA held a joint dinner meeting with ASM at the Georgia Tech Institute of Paper Science and Technology, 500 10th St NW, Atlanta, GA 30332 (10th and Hemphill); Seminar Room #114. The guest speaker was Gail Tverberg, a writer and speaker on issues related to "energy and our future," including the connection between oil shortages and the economy. She has accepted an appointment as Director of Energy Economics at the Space Solar Power Institute. Her presentation was about "Space Solar Power – Rebuilding our Energy, Economy and Environment".