Registration: Not required
The July meeting of the NDIA Space and Missile Defense Working Group will be held on Thursday, July 25. AEgis Technologies will host our meeting at their facility located at 410 Jan Davis Drive. Doors will open at 0800 for networking and our meeting will begin promptly at 0830.
The title of this month's presentation is: From Rock to Rockets
Our guest speaker will be :
Chris Vrenna
Director of Music Technology
Calhoun Community College
Former Drummer for NIN; Marilyn Manson; Gnarls Barkley; Guns and Roses
How does a real, no-kidding, big-time Rock Star change his life, develop a passion for technology and become a “Technology/Space Geek”?
Come to the NDIA SMDWG 25 July Meeting and find out.
“Rock Star” has become a synonymous for success in the popular culture. It’s like a yardstick, that measures impact. e.g. Buzz Aldrin is a rock star, etc. They are among the most admired people in our culture partly became we identify with the music of our generation. They tilted our culture and helped us define ourselves, often, generationally. They are to us what the Greek and Roman deities were to the ancients. For our SMDWG meeting on 25 July we bring you a bona fide Rock Star, Mr. Chris Vrenna.
Chris Vrenna is a native of Erie, PA, and recently became the Director of Music Technology Program at Calhoun’s Alabama Center for the Arts in downtown Decatur.
Chris is modernizing Calhoun’s Music Technology program for future technicians who are seeking careers in the music industry and folks who want to learn the system and software for their own personal satisfaction. Chris came to Calhoun Community College from Wisconsin where he taught in their Music Technology program for five years.
But, before becoming an academic, Chris had another Gig. He, Trent Reznor and others founded the Grammy winning seminal electronic rock band Nine Inch Nails. The group was the van guard of the Industrial Rock Genre that continues to influence groups to this day. Chris later performed with shock rocker Marilyn Manson and the R&B band Gnarls Barkley.
The academic colleagues and students at Calhoun and across the Tennessee Valley have been most impressed with Chris’ passion for teaching and making a difference in student’s lives. Although, he would have every reason to feel a bit different and special, there’s nothing pretentious about Cris Vrenna. He truly loves teaching school. He has a wonderful personality and is a great storyteller.
So the question is, how did Chris become a Space Geek; How did he get into academics; and How did he get to the Rocket City. He will tell you that Story and more at the National Defense Industrial Association’s Space and Missile Defense Working Group Meeting on 25 July. Don’t Miss It!
