On Jan. 4, President Obama signed the American COMPETES Reauthorization Act into law, marking successful passage of one of IEEE-USA's legislative priorities for the 111th Congress.

IEEE-USA was a technical co-sponsor of the second annual IEEE PES Conference on Innovative Smart Grid Technologies, held 17-19 Jan. in Anaheim, California.

The IEEE-USA Board of Directors held a Strategic Planning Retreat on 28-30 Jan. in Washington, DC.

During January, IEEE-USA sponsored student professional awareness conferences (SPACs) at the University of Southern California (1/24), University of California - San Diego (1/29), and the University Missouri - Kansas City (1/31).
 

IEEE-USA joined with the American Association of University Professors and others in submitting an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Stanford vs. Roche case, involving issues of inventor rights in the case of federally-funded research conducted at a university.

On 16 Feb., IEEE-USA announced that Zachary Phillips of LaTourneau University in Longview, Texas was the winner of IEEE-USA's 2010 "How Engineers Make a World of Difference" On-Line Video Competition.

The IEEE-USA Board of Directors met on 18 Feb. as part of the IEEE Board series in Miami, Florida.

During February,  IEEE-USA sponsored student professional awareness conferences (SPACs) at the University of Texas at Dallas (2/4), University of Akron (2/18), Central Michigan University (2/19), Michigan State University (2/21), Ohio University (2/23) and Rowan University (2/24).
 

With the theme "Engineering in Motion", the IEEE-USA Annual Meeting (3-6 March) in Austin, Texas featured a full day workshop on "Electric Vehicles and Personal Transportation" including keynote talks from former NASA Kennedy Space Center Director James Kennedy and Karl Rabago, Vice President of Austin Energy.

IEEE-USA released the Jan-March edition of IEEE-USA In Action on 30 March.

On 31 March, IEEE-USA urged Congress to undertake skilled immigration reform in its testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, at a hearing focused on the H-1B Visa Program. [Testimony] [Release]
 

In March, IEEE-USA released 9 e-books, including the first in a series on "Writing for Success: An Engineer's Guide" plus eight government documents on global Internet Freedom, the Role of Trade Secrets in Innovation, A Strategy for American Innovation, Offshoring (or Offshore Outsourcing) and Job Loss Among U.S. Workers, the FY2012 R&D Budget Request, Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement Debate Over Government Policy, Whistleblower Protections for Federal Employees, and Foreign Science and Engineering Presence in U.S. Institutions and the Labor Force.

During March,  IEEE-USA sponsored student professional awareness conferences (SPACs) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (3/1), The University of Texas at Austin (3/2), the University of Missouri-Columbia (3/16), Youngstown State University (3/31) and the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth (3/31).
 

IEEE U.S. members will join over 250 other scientists, engineeers, and technology professionals in participating in the Science, Engineering and Technology Congressional Visits Day, set for 6-7 April in Washington, DC.

IEEE-USA is a co-sponsor of the third annual IEEE Green Technologies Conference set for 14-15 April in Baton Rouge, LA.

In partnership with Region 2 and the Philadelphia Section, IEEE-USA is offering a Career Survival Workshop on 30 April in Philadelphia.

During April,  IEEE-USA sponsored student professional awareness conferences (SPACs) at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (4/5), Dartmouth College (4/5), City College of New York (4/8), Syracuse University (4/9), George Mason University (4/11), Hofstra University (4/11) and Merrimack College (4/14).
 

IEEE-USA's annual Energy Fly-in wash held on 9-10 May and brought IEEE U.S. members to Washington to interact with their representatives in Congress on energy issues.

IEEE-USA co-sponsored the Engineering Societies Public Policy Symposium, held on 17 May in Washington, DC.

IEEE-USA co-sponsored a STEM Coalition Congressional Briefing on "Engineering Concepts in the K-12 Classroom" held on 18 May.

On May 26, IEEE-USA organized a Congressional Briefing on "Foreign STEM Graduate Students and High Skilled Immigration."
 

In its June 3 opinion on the Stanford vs. Roche case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the inventors rights of federally-funded academic researchers in a decision consistent with an amicus curiae brief filed by IEEE-USA with the Court.

IEEE-USA's 2011 Salary Survey closed on June 3, with 16,313 fully completed survey responses this year -- an 11% increase in response rate, setting a new record. The 2011 Salary Report will be released later this year and a target date of August 31 has been set for launch of the updated IEEE-USA Salary Calculator.

On June 6, IEEE-USA's 2011 WISE Interns Whitney Davis (University of Arkansas), David Freese (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and Jolene Wang (Yale University) began their 9 week summery program in Washington, DC to explore the intersections of technology and public policy.

IEEE-USA's annual Careers Fly-In is set for 20-21 June and will bring IEEE U.S. members to Washington to interact with their representatives in Congress on K-12 STEM education.

The IEEE-USA Board of Directors will meet on 24 June in Bellevue, Washington as part of the IEEE Board series.   IEEE-USA Board members will be meeting with leaders and members of the Seattle Section at a special reception on 23 June.
 

IEEE-USA will be organizing four panel sessions on doing professional activities on a global basis, how to run a webinar, managing your career and networking skills for professional success as part of the IEEE 2011 Sections Congress, which is being held on 19-22 August in San Francisco.
 

IEEE-USA is a technical co-sponsor of the 2011 Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy, organized by Georgia Tech on 15-17 Sept. in Atlanta.  The 2011 conference will focus on building capacity for scientific innovation and outcomes.
 

IEEE-USA is a technical co-sponsor of the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, which is set for 30 Oct. - 1 Nov. in Seattle, WA.