News Release

Past, Current White House Science & Technology Advisers to Speak at STEM Enterprise Workshop

WASHINGTON (16 July 2009) -- Dr. John Marburger, who served as science adviser to former President George W. Bush, will be the keynote speaker during a STEM enterprise event here in October. He will be followed by Kei Koizumi, assistant director for federal research and development at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

"STEM Enterprise: Measures for Innovation and Competitiveness" is designed to measure the impact and effectiveness of all federal, state, private and academic money spent on research and development in the STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math -- enterprise. Work in this area serves as the driving force for economic and social advancement in the United States and worldwide.

Marburger, former director of the Office of Science and Technology, is now a university professor of physics and electrical engineering at Stony Brook (N.Y.) University, where he served as president from 1980-84. Before coming to the Executive Office of the President, he was director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. While working as a professor of physics and electrical engineering at the University of Southern California, he developed theory for various laser phenomena and co-founded USC's Center for Laser Studies.

Koizumi, who assisted President Barack Obama during the transition as a member of the Technology, Innovation and Government Reform Policy Working Group, works on federal R&D budget issues and tracks funding. He previously served as director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Research and Development Budget and Policy Program. He was AAAS' principal budget analyst and author of its annual federal R&D spending reports.

Workshop Chair and former IEEE-USA Congressional Fellow Marty Sokoloski and the organizing committee have designed the event as a forum for STEM thought leaders to better measure the outcome and impact of R&D investment on society and quality of life.

"The economic health of the STEM enterprise is important to everyone, and policies put in place should be grounded and derived from basic incorruptible data and measures," Sokoloski said. "This will help us to better plan for a healthy and productive enterprise, future economic growth and steady innovation."

The event will be at George Washington University on 21 October from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Registration is $100 and includes continental breakfast, lunch and coffee breaks.

For more information, see http://www.ieeeusa.org/calendar/conferences/stem/default.asp.

IEEE-USA advances the public good and promotes the careers and public policy interests of more than 210,000 engineers, scientists and allied professionals who are U.S. members of IEEE. IEEE-USA is part of IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional society with 375,000 members in 160 countries. See http://www.ieeeusa.org.

Contact: Chris McManes
IEEE-USA Public Relations Manager
Phone: 1 202 530 8356
E-mail: c.mcmanes@ieee.org