As part of its policy emphasis on promoting innovation, during January, IEEE-USA has endorsed the National Innovation Act and the Protecting America's Competitive Edge legislation, and announced its support for the Administration's American Competitiveness Initiative.

In January, IEEE-USA released an E-Book on The State of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Implementation and Its Policy Implications.

During January, IEEE-USA supported a Student Professional Awareness Conference at Brigham Young University (Jan. 28)
 

IEEE-USA Career & Workforce Policy Committee Chair Paul Kostek addressed "Offshoring and U.S. Competitiveness" as a speaker at the IEEE Int'l Solid States Circuits Conference on 7 Feb. in San Francisco.

Three IEEE U.S. members were recognized as "New Faces of Engineering" during Engineers Week (EWeek).  The New Faces program highlights the vitality, diversity and rich contributions of engineers under 30.

The IEEE-USA Board of Directors meets on 17 Feb. in Scottsdale, Arizona.

IEEE-USA sponsored five $1,000 recognition awards for students who participate in volunteer capacity building projects for Engineers Without Borders (EWB)-USA. The awards, given in such areas as appropriate technology and sustainable legacy, were presented at the EWB-USA international conference at Rice University in Houston (16-18 Feb. 2006).

IEEE-USA awarded its sixth annual Best Communications System Award to the St. Philip Neri School of Midwest City, Oklahoma at Engineers Week Future City Competition Finals on 22 February.

As a featured guest on National Public Radio's Science Friday on 24 Feb., IEEE-USA President Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr. emphasized the need to support more qualified math and science teachers as one way to ensure U.S. competitiveness in high technology. To hear the complete NPR interview with the IEEE-USA President and two other guests, click here.

In February, IEEE-USA released an E-Book on Interoperability for the National Health Information Network.

During February, IEEE-USA supported Student Professional Awareness Conferences at the University of Florida (Feb. 20), Michigan State (Feb. 20), Rice University (Feb. 21) and Rowan University (Feb. 23).

 

IEEE-USA held its 2006 Leadership Workshop on 3-5 March at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at Union Station in St. Louis, Mo.  Among the highlights was a keynote speech by former NSF Deputy Director Joseph Bordogna on the implications of globalization for the engineering profession.

On March 8, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the IEEE-USA-backed Protect America's Competitive Edge (PACE) Energy Act (S. 2197).  Committee Chair Pete Domenici (R-NM) applauded the vote, noting "with the PACE bills, America is making a renewed investment in math, science and technology. I consider this the first major American effort in this arena since our response to the launch of Sputnik almost 50 years ago."

On March 12, the House of Representatives passed IEEE-USA-supported legislation to amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991, updating program requirements and directing OSTP to establish goals and priorities for federal high-performance computing research, development, networking, and other activities.

As a participant in the congressional Research Caucus, IEEE-USA sponsored a congressional briefings on the FY07 R&D Budget Request, highlighting a report by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (March 9).

In a trio of March statements, IEEE-USA provided advice to Congress on promoting innovation and competitiveness, the need for permanent immigration reforms in lieu of proposals for more H-1B guestworker visas, and the use of electronic health records in the federal health insurance program.

Congressional Visits Day was held on 28-29 March.  Over 40 IEEE members joined nearly 250 scientists, engineers, researchers, educators and technology executives in Washington in an annual event designed to raise visibility and support for science, engineering and technology.

IEEE-USA Vice President Ron Hira appeared on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams on March 30th and said that hiring guest workers at a lower cost “undercuts and undermines U.S. workers.”

On March 18, IEEE-USA sponsored a Workshop on Engineering Ethics in St. Louis, organized by the IEEE St. Louis Section as a member professional awareness activity.

On March 25 IEEE-USA sponsored a Career Make-Over Workshop in Portland, organized by the IEEE Oregon Section as a member professional awareness activity.

In March, IEEE-USA released an E-Book Career Planning Guide.

During March, IEEE-USA supported Professional Development Seminars organized by the St. Louis Section and the Oregon Section (March 25).

During March, IEEE-USA supported Student Professional Awareness Conferences at Louisiana Tech (March 15), Penn State University - Harrisburg (March 17), University of Michigan - Dearborn (March 17, Virginia Tech (March 24), University of Southern California (March 25), University of Washington (March 30) and University of Hawaii (March 30).
 

IEEE-USA co-sponsored an April 6 congressional briefing on Changes in Global Science, Engineering and Technology Competition, which highlighted findings from the National Science Board's report, "Science and Engineering Indicators 2006."

IEEE-USA is co-sponsoring the IEEE Workshop on Wind Power: Technology, Economics and Politics, set for 20-21 April in Washington, DC.

In April, IEEE-USA released an E-Book on Communicating With Congress.

On 27 April, Engineering & Diplomacy Fellow Steve Czuchlewski joined several dozen European Union diplomats at the Cosmos Club in Washington as part of an event organized by the science attaché of the French Embassy to recognize the 60th anniversary of the computer and the IEEE Computer Society.

On April 28, IEEE-USA President Wyndrum participated in a consultative meeting organized by the U.S.-China Cooperation Program in Science Policy, Research, and Education  to discuss issues and prospective speakers for the China-U.S. S&T Policy Forum, to be held October 16-17, 2006 in Beijing.

In April, over 14,700 IEEE members responded to the 2006 Salary Survey; our second-highest response ever.

During April, IEEE-USA supported a Professional Development Seminar organized by the Siouxland Section (April 14).

During April, IEEE-USA supported Student Professional Awareness Conferences at Texas Tech (April 6), Univ. of Texas at San Antonio (April 8), Columbia University (April 11), Univ. of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (April 13), Case Western Reserve (April 15), Valparaiso (April 17), Cal State-Long Beach (April 19), Youngstown State (April 21), University of Texas-Arlington (April 21) and Manhattan College (April 21).  During April, IEEE-USA also supported a Student Professional Awareness Venture at Utah State University.
 

The 4th annual Engineering R&D Symposium was held on 17-18 May in Washington, DC.

IEEE-USA President Ralph Wyndrum delivered a keynote address to the the Federal IPv6 Summit in Washington, DC on May 19.

IEEE-USA President Ralph Wyndum was the featured speaker at a May 25th forum on the future of the engineering industry in the United States organized by Kettering University and its student chapter of Eta Kappa Nu.

IEEE member and entrepreneur Oscar McKee and former IEEE-USA President Paul Kostek appeared on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight on May 22 to discuss how the H-1B program hurts small U.S. high-tech businesses.

During May, IEEE-USA supported Student Professional Awareness Conferences at UCLA (May 11 & 18) and University of California-Irvine (May 12).
 

On June 5, IEEE student members Anthony Azevedo (Univ. of California-Berkeley), Emily Van Vliet (Cedarville College) and Sasha Kemmet (Iowa State University) — shown here with IEEE-USA President-Elect John Meredith — began their summer program with the Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE).

On June 7, the House Science Committee unanimously approved IEEE-USA-backed legislation (H.R. 5356 as amended & H.R. 5358)that would strengthen key education and research programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Energy Department’s Office of Science.  According to Science Committee Chair Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY): "These measures represent an intelligent middle-ground between those who want to create scores of new, untested, expensive programs and those who argue that all that’s necessary is to increase overall funding for basic research and leave everything else to chance."

IEEE-USA hosted a professional awareness conference on "Career Survival for Engineers and Scientists in the 21st Century" on June 10 at the University of Michigan-Dearborn (Fairlane Center) in conjunction with the SE Michigan Section.

In June, IEEE-USA’s two 2006 Mass Media Fellows, PhD candidates Miriah Meyer of Salt Lake City and Charles Emrich of Berkley, Calif.,  began their 10-week reporting assignments at  the Chicago Tribune and Sacramento Bee newspapers, respectively.

In June, IEEE-USA released an E-Book entitled "The Best of IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer on Career Survival."

On June 15, IEEE-USA sponsored a Workshop on Automation and Robotics in Galveston Bay, TX, organized by the Galveston Bay Section with a professional activities component.

On June 23, IEEE-USA unveiled a new six-panel engineering careers brochure entitled "My Science, My Math, My Engineering! How Am I Ever Going to Use This Stuff in the Real World?," which is designed for 11-13-year-old, sixth-to eighth-grade U.S. students.

The IEEE-USA Board of Directors met on 23 June in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they approved new IEEE-USA position statements on Fusion Energy R&D, Cyber Security R&D, and the Use of Neutral Experts in Intellectual Property Litigation.

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