NASA is gearing up for a conference in San Francisco that aims to improve the quality of Information Technology (IT) at the agency, while drawing on the expertise and innovative spirit of California’s Silicon Valley.

The second NASA IT Summit will take place Aug. 15-17 at San Francisco’s Marriott Marquis Hotel. The theme of this year’s event is, “Making IT Stellar at NASA.” NASA’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Linda Cureton will host the event.

The summit will feature some of the biggest companies in the computer world, speeches from leading IT thinkers, and a strong education component aimed at getting American teens excited about science, technology, engineering and math. The next generation of explorers at the summit will learn about NASA internships and scholarships; participate in hands-on science activities; meet with tech experts; and view demonstrations by major IT vendors.

During the conference, NASA’s Office of the CIO will host a luncheon titled, “Pearls of Wisdom: Our Braided Lives,” in support of a White House initiative to meet the challenges faced by U.S. women and girls. At the event, women from NASA, business, industry, federal agencies and academia will meet with female high school students to foster mentoring relationships.

Students also can attend the panel discussion titled, “Education Blast-Off,” with former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, who now is the agency’s associate administrator for Education, and Vernice Armour, the first African-American female combat pilot.

Social media will be integral to the event. Many sessions will be live streamed on the Web.

On Twitter, follow NASA’s CIO at: http://twitter.com/nasacio, and the #nasait hashtag for summit updates. For further information, contact Karen Harper at 202-358-1807 or karen.l.harper@nasa.gov.

To register, visit: http://www.regonline.com/itsummit2011

For more information about NASA’s Office of the Chief Information Officer, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ocio

Following the summit on Aug. 17, TEDxNASA@SiliconValley 2011 will take place at the same venue. It is free and open to the public, but requires separate registration. To learn more, register and view the TEDxNASA webstream, visit: http://tedxnasa.com