Apr 12, 2006 - Site Downtime - Some of you may have noticed problems with the I-CON site over the past few days. We have been having hardware issues with our server, which have now been resolved. All site functionality should now be fully restored... if you notice any issues, please email webmaster@iconsf.org. Thank you.

Mar 22, 2006 - Important Travel Update! - The Suffolk County Half Marathon will be taking place this Sunday, resulting in closures on Nichols Road between the Long Island Expressway and Rt. 347. Please use these directions to get to the convention on Sunday.

Mar 22, 2006 - New I-CON Community - ICON Science Fiction, Inc. is proud to announce its new project, community.iconsf.org. Designed to encourage community involvement and the open sharing of ideas and information, community.iconsf.org is our new hub for everyone who is interested in Science Fiction, Fact, and Fantasy (and Gaming, Anime, and everything else you might see at I-CON - and likely a whole lot more!). We encourage you all to stop in, take a look, and speak your mind - this site was created to allow you to immerse yourself further in the things that matter to you (and us).

Mar 22, 2006 - Indie Film Schedule - In addition to the main schedule and gaming schedule linked from our home page, the Indie Film schedule is now online. Also, an HTML (webpage) version of the schedule is coming soon, we thank everyone for their patience.

Mar 21, 2006 - Schedule Coming Soon Posted! - We know that many of you were anxiously awaiting the schedule for I-CON. Well, it's here! Go to the site index and check it out to see everything what I-CON 25 has in store for you!

News Archive

Website: http://www.liftport.com/

As President and founder of LiftPort Inc., the company devoted to the commercial development of the Space Elevator, Michael Laine is turning a lifetime interest into a professional venture.

Laine brings more than 15 years of business management and technology development experience, specifically useful for the technologies, financial services, and military markets the Space Elevator project will comprise. Not only has Laine worked for the past four years on space technology and development, he has dedicated the past three years of his professional career to the Space Elevator.

In addition to heading LiftPort, Laine currently gives lectures and presentations on the Space Elevator. He has previously done so at several schools: the Air Force Academy, Harvard, Notre Dame University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, and the University of Washington. Laine has also lectured at many science fiction conventions, including Norwescon and DragonCon. Using speaking as a tool for space advocacy outreach, Laine has presented for the National Space Society, the Mars Society, the Science Fiction Foundation, and the Spaceshow. Laine has also addressed the Federal Aviation Association, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Prior to LiftPort, Laine was co-founder and president of HighLift Systems, working with Dr. Brad Edwards. HighLift received funds from NASA's Institution for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) for research on how to build an elevator to space.

Preceding the creation of HighLift Systems, Laine was Chief Executive Officer of TEKnology - Laine, a Washington-based Internet conglomerate, which he owned and operated from 1996 to 2001. TEKnology Laine consisted of three distinct companies: TekChek one of the first checking account-based financial transaction services for the internet, TekNet a national network of website designers, and YelloWWWeb an internationally recognized Internet merchant directory, listing more than 750,000 companies doing business over the Internet.

Foregoing TEKnology Laine, Laine occupied a variety of positions in the financial services industry. In these roles, he provided not only investment advice, but advice also for insurance, real estate, and business operations consulting.

Previous to these, Laine served in the United States Marine Corps. There, he coordinated, tested, and trained with other instructors to implement a pilot program of hand-to-hand combat for Marines in a variety of schools and class situations.

Laine has been recognized for his leadership numerous times in civic and community development. In addition, he has served on several non-profit boards locally.

Laine studied Business Administration at Boston University.