IEEE-USA Eye on Washington No. 2

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Vol. 2009, No. 1 (21 January 2010)

CAPITOL HILL

House Science Committee 2010 Priorities: Reauthorization of America COMPETES Act Tops Committee's Agenda

Report Finds Common Ground in Efforts to Balance Public Access, Scholarly Publishing

Chinese Cyber-Attacks on Google Further Highlights Need to Improve American Cybersecurity Infrastructure

THE WHITE HOUSE

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010: A Report Card for U.S. Science, Engineering, and Technology

On Martin Luther King Day, Chief Technologist Calls You to Serve

FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITY

More on the New Department of Commerce Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

IEEE-USA Unveils Immigration Reform Legislation

2010 IEEE-USA Career Fly-In

WISE 2010 - Seeking FMR Applications

2009 Government Fellow Tom Lee's Copenhagen Diary: Blogging the UN Climate Conference

Fourth E-Book in IEEE-USA Innovation Series Released -- 'What it Takes To Be an Innovator'

U.S. STATES

AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS & GRANTS

Dirksen Congressional Research Awards

National Science Foundation

California Science & Technology Policy Fellowships

IEEE-USA Government Fellowships

REPORTS, DOCUMENTS OF NOTE & INFO RESOURCES

Center for American Progress: New Report Shows Health Reform Will Create Up to 4 Million American Jobs

CAPITOL HILL

House Science Committee 2010 Priorities: Reauthorization of America COMPETES Act Tops Committee's Agenda

18 JAN: Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) announced his agenda for the second session of the 111th Congress and stated that his intention is to move the America COMPETES Act through the House before the Memorial Day recess. COMPETES, signed into law in 2007 and based on recommendations from the National Academies, aims to strengthen our national economic competitiveness through investments in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The law also sets our science research agencies on a doubling path (NIST, NSF, and DOE Office of Science); and addresses the need for innovation in the energy sector by creating an Advanced Research projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) to pursue high-risk, high-reward energy technology development.

"The America COMPETES Act is critical to our nation's long-term economic competitiveness," said Gordon. "Our first hearing of the year [Jan 21] will be to get the perspective of the business community on the reauthorization, and I look forward to hearing their opinion of COMPETES' effect on U.S. innovation and the workforce."

Chairman Gordon also discussed his intention to move a NASA reauthorization this spring. "Congress believes that a strong and balanced civil space and aeronautics program of science, aeronautics, and human space flight and exploration is important and worthy of the nation's support, and an important part of the nation's innovation agenda," he said.

Report Finds Common Ground in Efforts to Balance Public Access, Scholarly Publishing

13 JAN: A group of representatives - called the Scholarly Publishing Roundtable - from university administration, libraries, information science departments, and the publishing industry released a report with recommendations on open access, specifically the public availability of peer-reviewed journal articles containing data and findings from federal research grants. The report's recommendations, endorsed by a majority of the group, seek to "balance the need for increased access to scholarly articles with the need to preserve the essential functions of the scholarly publishing enterprise."

A key recommendation is the establishment of specific embargo periods between publication and public access, allowing for some variation across fields of science. The report states: "an embargo period of between zero (for open access journals) and twelve months currently reflects such a balance for many science disciplines," but notes for "other fields a longer embargo period may be necessary."

The group also emphasized the need for the adoption of common standards to ensure searchability and collaboration across fields and databases and suggested that international cooperation on standards would also be critical. While there was not unanimity on the need for or type of legislation or other government action, members of the roundtable agreed that federal agencies should work together with the publishing community to ensure common core properties and a coherent framework for access and preservation across the government. (Supporting documents available on the House Science committee's website.)

Chinese Cyber-Attacks on Google Further Highlights Need to Improve American Cybersecurity Infrastructure

Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued a statement following Google's announcement expressing concerns about cyber-attacks originating from China to its corporate infrastructure. Google revealed that it has evidence to suggest that the attackers' primary goal was access to Gmail accounts, specifically the accounts of Chinese human rights activists, and that the company will be reviewing business operations with the country.

"Cyber-attacks are increasing exponentially and we need to get serious about America's cybersecurity — our nation's public and private infrastructure is too critical to remain vulnerable and unprotected," said Chairman Rockefeller. "I intend to markup my cybersecurity bill early this year to address these ever-evolving attacks and secure our networks. It's an understatement to say that cybersecurity is one of the most important issues we face; the increasingly connected nature of our lives only amplifies our vulnerability to cyber attacks and we must act now." Read IEEE-USA's position statement on cybersecurity. The statement has been updated by the Research & Development Policy Committee and is in the process of being confirmed by the IEEE-USA Government Relations Council.

KEY ELEMENTS OF ROCKEFELLER-SNOWE COMPREHENSIVE CYBERSECURITY LEGISLATION:

• Significantly raising the profile of cybersecurity within the Federal government and streamlining cyber-related government functions and authorities.
• Promoting public awareness and protecting civil liberties.
• Creating teamwork and a partnership between government and the private sector on cybersecurity.
• Fostering innovation and creativity in cybersecurity to develop long-term solutions. An important component of this legislation is to establish the Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor within the Executive Office of the President. The National Cybersecurity Advisor will lead this office and report directly to the President. The Advisor will serve as the lead official on all cyber matters, coordinating with the intelligence community, as well as the civilian agencies.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010: A Report Card for U.S. Science, Engineering, and Technology

15 JAN: The National Science Board released its Science and Engineering Indicators 2010 report. Produced every two years by the Board—the governing body for the National Science Foundation (NSF)—and NSF's Division of Science Resources Statistic, this report is the major authoritative source of U.S. and international data on science, engineering, and technology and is packed with a wealth of indicators on research and development (R&D) spending, trends in higher education and workforce development in science and engineering (S&E) fields, public attitudes toward science and technology, and new patterns of international collaboration in research.

On Martin Luther King Day, Chief Technologist Calls You to Serve

During 2010, the White House used Martin Luther King Day to tap into the spirit of generosity by collaborating with the Corporation for National and Community Service to launch the MLK Technology Challenge. Their goal is to connect technologically thirsty schools and non-profits with IT and web professionals, developers, graphic designers, and new-media professionals who are willing to volunteer their skills for the common good. Aneesh Chopra, the U.S. Chief Technology Officer encourages all technology professionals to invest their talents in service to a local school or non-profit facing a technology hurdle. A partial list of ideas includes:

Refurbishing computers for schools
Teaching students how to use popular software or online services
Building a database for a non-profit
Helping out in your school's computer lab
Becoming an online mentor for students across the country

FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITY

More on the New Department of Commerce Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

In September, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced plans to create the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship within the Department of Commerce, and launch a National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The initiatives are intended to help leverage the entire federal government to promote entrepreneurship in the United States. The new Office will answer directly to the secretary and do - what many other countries' governments have already been doing for a long time - help entrepreneurs during the first step in the business cycle: move an idea from the imagination or a research lab, to a business plan.

"We're not lacking for groundbreaking ideas in this country; nor are we short on smart entrepreneurs willing to take risks," Locke said the Inc. 500/5000 Conference in the autumn. "What we need to do is get better at connecting the great ideas to the great company builders."

The National Advisory Council will advise Commerce on policy relating to building small businesses and help to keep the department engaged in a regular dialogue with the entrepreneurship and small business communities. The council is expected to be comprised of successful entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, non-profit leaders and other experts. The Obama Administration is committed to helping America's entrepreneurs succeed, evidenced by its efforts to free up credit markets, unprecedented investments in physical and intellectual infrastructure, and variety of tax credits and other incentives to help foster promising industries like renewable energy and smart grid technologies.

IEEE-USA staffer Vin O'Neill regularly works with staff of the Commerce Department and in a recent meeting he learned that Esther Lee will be the Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship policy. But as of yet, it appears there is no other real activity from this new office. We could find no bio info for Ms. Lee online, however her LinkedIn profile states that she is a graduate of the MIT- Sloan School of Management and Harvard University. She lists no work experience.

LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

Public Policy Priority Issues (111th Congress, 2nd Session, 2010 UPDATED )
Public Policy Position Statements on issues deemed to be of concern to or affecting IEEE's U.S. members. The statements make specific public policy recommendations for the consideration of Congress, the Executive Branch, the Judiciary, representatives of State and Local Government, and other interested groups and individuals, including IEEE members.

IEEE-USA Unveils Immigration Reform Legislation - IEEE-USA has released draft legislation that proposes reforms to America's high-skill immigration system. The legislation provides Congress with a blueprint for shifting the system's current focus away from temporary work permits and towards citizenship. The model bill does this by making it easier for skilled foreign professionals, especially those who earn advanced degrees in the United States, to become permanent legal residents of the U.S. through the EB visa program, while imposing new restrictions on the H-1B and L-1 temporary work visas.

Congress is expected to begin debating comprehensive immigration reform sometime in February. IEEE-USA will be working with legislators to craft reasonable skill-based immigration policies that safeguard the jobs, wages and conditions of employment for American and foreign workers while also allowing more of the world's most innovative and talented workers to become Americans.

IEEE-USA Featured in The Institute: Two articles, one discussing our partnership with the Small Business Administration; and on on EWeek activities and encouraging volunteerism.

WISE 2010 - Call for WISE 2010 Faculty-Member-In-Residence - If you are an outstanding faculty member or policy professional, WISE needs you to mentor and teach engineering students about the interaction between S&T and policymaking during the 2010 WISE Program in Washington, DC. (PDF Flyer) The deadline for applications is 31 January 2010.

Have an Idea For an IEEE-USA E-Book? - If you've got an idea for an e-book that will educate your fellow IEEE members on a particular topic of expertise, e-mail your e-book queries and ideas to IEEE-USA Publishing Manager Georgia Stelluto.

U.S. STATES

Stateline.org If you like to keep up with what's going on in state politics, StateLine.org provides a good overview of the activities in all 50 state legislatures. Stateline.org's annual report on state trends and policy, "State of the States 2009" is now available. The report is full of helpful graphics and maps, in addition to reports on the most significant developments in the 50 states.

AWARDS, FELLOWHIPS & GRANTS

Dirksen Congressional Research Awards

The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress. A total of up to $35,000 will be available in 2010. Awards range from a few hundred dollars to $3,500. The competition is open to individuals with a serious interest in studying Congress. Political scientists, historians, biographers, scholars of public administration or American studies, and journalists are among those eligible. The Center encourages graduate students who have successfully defended their dissertation prospectus to apply and awards a significant portion of the funds for dissertation research. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who reside in the United States.

The awards program does not fund undergraduate or pre-Ph.D. study. Organizations are not eligible. Research teams of two or more individuals are eligible. No institutional overhead or indirect costs may be claimed against a Congressional Research Award. There is no standard application form. Applicants are responsible for showing the relationship between their work and the awards program guidelines. Applications are accepted at any time. Applications which exceed the page limit and incomplete applications will NOT be forwarded to the screening committee for consideration.

Complete information about eligibility and application procedures may be found at The Center's Web site. Frank Mackaman is the program officer. The Center, named for the late Senate Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen, is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to the study of Congress and its leaders. Since 1978, the Congressional Research Awards (formerly the Congressional Research Grants) program has paid out $776,188 to support 378 projects. DEADLINE: All proposals must be received no later than February 1, 2010. Awards will be announced in March 2010.

National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov/funding/)

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) - The CPS program is seeking proposals that address research challenges in three CPS themes: Foundations; Methods and Tools; and Components, Run-time Substrates, and Systems. Foundations research will develop new scientific and engineering principles, algorithms, models, and theories for the analysis and design of cyber-physical systems. Research on Methods and Tools will bridge the gaps between approaches to the cyber and physical elements of systems through innovations such as novel support for multiple views, new programming languages, and algorithms for reasoning about and formally verifying properties of complex integrations of cyber and physical resources. The third CPS theme concerns new hardware and software Components, Run-time Substrates (infrastructure and platforms), and (engineered) Systems motivated by grand challenge applications. DUE DATES: Full Proposal Deadline Date: March 11, 2010; Second Thursday in March, Annually Thereafter

NSF GRADUATE STEM FELLOWS IN K-12 EDUCATION (GK-12) - This program provides funding for graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to bring their leading research practice and findings into K-12 learning settings. Through collaborations with other graduate fellows and faculty from STEM disciplines, teachers and students in K-12 environments, and community partners, graduate students can gain a deeper understanding of their own research and place it within a societal and global context. DUE DATES: Letter of Intent Deadline Date: April 20, 2010; Full Proposal Deadline Date: June 3, 2010

Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) in Engineering - This solicitation aims at introducing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology through a variety of interdisciplinary approaches into undergraduate engineering education. The focus of this year's competition is on nanoscale engineering education with relevance to devices and systems and/or on the societal, ethical, economic and/or environmental issues relevant to nanotechnology. Related funding opportunities are posted on www.nsf.gov/nano. Research and education projects in nanoscale science and engineering will continue to be supported in the relevant NSF programs and divisions.

ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE) - The next ADVANCE program solicitation is expected to be available in the first half of 2010. PAID proposals will likely be due late in 2010 and IT and IT-Catalyst proposals will likely be due late in 2011. Additional information about this NSF-wide program including information about ADVANCE awards, ADVANCE Implementation Committee members, and products, tools, and resources can be found here.

California Science & Technology Policy Fellowships - The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2010-2011 California Science and Technology Policy Fellowships based in Sacramento. The S&T Policy Fellowship, a unique one-year professional development opportunity, provides the selected fellows with hands-on experience working with the California Legislature to incorporate science and technology into public policy. Eligible applicants will be PhD-level (or equivalent) scientists and engineers who have a sincere interest in California current events, the state legislative process, and a strong desire to learn how policy decisions are made. Please forward this announcement to any individuals or group listservs that may be interested in this exciting opportunity. Deadline for submission of applications is February 12, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. PST.

2011 IEEE-USA Government Fellowships- Each year, IEEE-USA sponsors three government fellowships for qualified IEEE members. The fellows spend a year in Washington serving as advisers to the U.S. Congress and to key U.S. Department of State decision-makers. Known as either a Congressional Fellowship or an Engineering & Diplomacy Fellowship, this program links engineers with government, providing a mechanism for IEEE's U.S. members to learn firsthand about the public policy process. Application materials now available. Deadline: 15 March 2010

IEEE-USA's 2010 fellows have arrived and are on the job.

2009 Congressional Fellow Tom Lee with Vice President Al Gore in Copenhagen, December 2009

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Opportunities - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (Public Law 111-8) appropriates significant federal funding for technology-related programs in areas identified by IEEE-USA as being of high priority for strengthening the nation's innovation infrastructure and ensuring its long-term economic competitiveness. To stimulate the economy, funds are being distributed as quickly as possible, using existing federal programs as funding outlets where possible. This webpage provides information and links on these funding opportunities as a resource for IEEE members and their companies. Additional information is available on-line at Recovery.Gov. Members should also look to funds distributed through their respective state governments.

AAAS GrantsNet Express - A weekly American Association for the Advancement of Science listing of science funding opportunities from private foundations and organizations, and new U.S. government grant announcements in the sciences. AAAS will send GrantsNet by e-mail to AAAS member subscribers.

Grants.gov - The President's 2002 Fiscal Year Management Agenda established grants.gov as a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs. The site provides access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards. Most agencies, such as the DOE's Office of Science, use only grants.gov to list all funding opportunities. Other funding opportunities of interest include the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and NASA.

AAAS: Communicating Science, Tools for Scientists & Engineers - Scientists and engineers who foster information-sharing and respect between science and the public are essential for the public communication of and engagement with science. Although traditional scientific training typically does not prepare scientists and engineers to be effective communicators outside of academia, funding agencies are increasingly encouraging researchers to extend beyond peer-reviewed publishing and communicate their results directly to the greater public. In response to this need in science communications, the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology has partnered with the National Science Foundation to provide resources for scientists and engineers, both online and through in-person workshops to help researchers communicate more broadly with the public.

Communicating Science online resources include webinars, how-to tips for media interviews, strategies for identifying public outreach opportunities, and more. Additionally, AAAS is providing workshops for scientists and engineers interested in learning more about science communication tools and techniques are now available. The schedule of NSF-sponsored workshops for the 2009-10 academic year has been updated and pre-registration is open. Please contact AAAS if you are interested in hosting a workshop at your institution.

REPORTS, DOCUMENTS OF NOTE & INFO RESOURCES

Government Accountability Office

Briefing on Commercial and Department of Defense Space System Requirements and Acquisition Practices GAO-10-315R, January 14, 2010 Summary (HTML) Full Report (PDF, 57 pages) Accessible Text

Center for American Progress: New Report Shows Health Reform Will Create Up to 4 Million American Jobs

U.S. Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and George Miller (D-CA), the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, issued the following statement today on a new report released by the Center for American Progress showing that the health reform legislation pending in Congress will significantly lower health care costs for businesses, add as many as 4 million jobs over the next decade, and increase workers' wages.

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What's New @ IEEE-USA's Eye on Washington highlights important federal legislative and regulatory developments that affect U.S. engineers and their careers. In addition to this biweekly newsletter, subscribers receive legislative bulletins and action alerts on IEEE-USA priority issues, including: retirement security, employment benefits, research & development funding, computers and information policy, immigration reform, intellectual property protection and privacy of health/medical information.

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