Whats New @ IEEE-USA - Eye On Washington

1) CAPITOL HILL WATCH

• House Committee Passes Bill to Create New Energy Agency Despite Republican Concerns

• Two Senate Bills Would Raise Cap on H-1B Visas

• Immigration Reform Dies in the Senate... For Now

• Lawmakers Ponder Path to Wireless Broadband

2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE AGENCY WATCH

• White House Fact Sheet on Immigration Reform

3) REPORTS, SPEECHES & DOCUMENTS OF NOTE

• Innovation in Services

• The State of Entrepreneurship

• America's Innovation Potential

• Graduate Education and Competitiveness

• GAO Reports

4) U.S. COURTS ACTIVITY

5) U.S. STATES WATCH

6) AWARDS & GRANTS

• National Science Foundation

• NASA Centennial Challenges Prizes

7) CONFERENCES, FELLOWSHIPS, PROGRAMS & INTERNSHIPS FOR ENGINEERS, and STUDENTS and SCHOLARS OF ENGINEERING

8) LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

• Conference to Examine Role Technology Can Play in Managing Health Care Costs and Improving Patient Care

• Track IEEE-USA's Progress

• IEEE-USA In The News

9) U.S. COMPETITIVENESS & INNOVATION: WHO'S DOING WHAT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?

• IEEE-USA Resource Web Page - U.S. Competitiveness: The Innovation Challenge

10) OTHER ITEMS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST

• In Memory--ARTHUR H. GUENTHER, PH.D

• The 2006 Winners Of National Medal Of Science

1) CAPITOL HILL WATCH

• House Committee Passes Bill to Create New Energy Agency Despite Republican Concerns

The House Committee on Science and Technology approved H.R. 364, a bill establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), a new energy research and technology development agency within the Department of Energy (DOE).  ARPA-E is modeled after the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) at the Department of Defense.

Republicans offered a number of amendments addressing ARPA-E's $4.9 billion price tag, along with concerns over duplicative programs and inadequate funding at DOE's Office of Science. Ranking Committee Member Ralph Hall (R-Tex.) said, "The facts are that DOE currently has the authority to do ARPA-type projects, but DOE is woefully under funded.  I am concerned that we could be faced with the problem of having both the Office of Science and ARPA-E under funded so that neither of them is operating at its full potential if we go forward with creating this new agency."

"I don't think anyone would dispute that our country needs clean, affordable, reliable energy that is generated through research and development."  Hall continued, "This committee should continue to advance legislation that addresses our most critical energy needs in a fiscally responsible manner."

Hall, along with Phil Gingrey (R-GA) and Judy Biggert (R-IL), offered an unsuccessful amendment requiring the Secretary of Energy to undertake ARPA-type projects at DOE without creating a new agency, contingent upon a positive result from the Section 1821 study in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). The study requires the Secretary to evaluate the applicability of DARPA management practices and the advisability of creating a DARPA-type agency within DOE.  The study was supposed to have been completed by January 2007. The amendment allowed for $750 million to be authorized over five years, as opposed to the $4.9 billion price tag of H.R. 364, and made other changes that would better define the goals of the agency.

The Committee also approved the following bills:

--H.R. 1716, the Green Energy Education Act of 2007, which authorizes DOE to partner with the National Science Foundation to help universities develop the next generation of engineers and architects to develop energy efficient technologies for buildings.  The bill raises awareness and promotes education about energy efficient technologies and design practices that can make buildings more energy efficient.

--H.R. 1467, the 10,000 Trained by 2010 Act, designed to better educate and train health care professionals in using information technology.  The bill authorizes the National Science Foundation to award grants to colleges and universities to research and support the education and training of healthcare informatics personnel through newly-established degree programs or multi-disciplinary Health and Medial Informatics Research Centers.

--H.R. 632, the H-Prize Act of 2007, creating a prize program at the DOE for advances in hydrogen technologies to be administered through a private, non-profit entity.  The H-Prize concept was introduced in legislation in the 109th Congress by Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC).  The legislation passed Congress in the 109th by a vote of 416-6, only to stall in the Senate.

• Two Senate Bills Would Raise Cap on H-1B Visas

The Senate files two separate bills to deal with the annual rush to apply for the limited number of visas - known as H-1B visas - available to highly skilled workers.  Both bills increased the cap on H-1B visas.

The FY 2008 cap of 65,000 H-1B visas was met April 2, closing the annual window for applications in the shortest time on record. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said that is evidence that, "we urgently need to reform our policies for highly skilled workers in the scientific and technology fields." In response, Cornyn introduced S. 1083, a bill with several provisions aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness in the global market, including one to make more visas available. "Foreign students graduating from our universities this spring are virtually shut out of the U.S. job market," he noted.

Cornyn said current immigration policies prohibit the United States from retaining some of the best and brightest students graduating from its colleges and universities, so workers are lost to foreign competitors. Additionally, Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) introduced S. 1092, a bill to temporarily increase the number of H-1B visas. Listen to Senator Cornyn's thoughts on immigration at http://src.senate.gov/public/_files/radio/cornynimmig05_25_07.mp3.

On a more productive note, Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced S.1035, the H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007. This bill helps to counter some of the perceived problems with the current H-1B visa program by:

--Amending the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise employer and government requirements with respect to H-1B (specialty occupation) and L-1 (intracompany transfer) nonimmigrant aliens.

--Revising H-1B provisions to: (1) subject all H-1B employers (currently H-1B dependent employers) to such provisions; (2) lengthen U.S. worker displacement protection; (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor to initiate an H-1B employer investigation; and (4) increase employer penalties.

--Setting forth employer petition requirements for an L-1 alien coming to the United States to open, or be employed in, a new facility.

--Providing H-1B and L-1 alien whistleblower protections.

--Authorizing the Secretary of Labor to hire 200 additional employees to administer H-1B programs.

To read a copy of the letter that IEEE-USA sent to the Senate, click here: http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/policy/2007/042707.pdf

• Immigration Reform Dies in the Senate... For Now

Despite several efforts to bring closure to the debate on a carefully written compromise overhauling U.S. immigration laws, the Senate was unable to agree that it was time to vote on the bill and Senate Majority Leader Reid pulled it from the floor late on June 7th.  However, he did leave open the possibility that the Senate could revisit the measure at some point in the future. "I have every desire to complete this legislation," Reid said after the vote. "When is that? I don't know."

This reform legislation has survived tough debates on the Senate floor – both all of last year and during the beginning of the 110th Congress.  The bill was recently kept alive week by a bipartisan group of senators who carefully negotiated compromises, including a cut in the size of the bill's temporary guest worker program by at least half. But none of the efforts paid off.

The group — led by Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), and including Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Mel Martinez (R-Fl.) — spent the past two months working with administration officials to draft S. 1348 which strengthens border security, creates a new temporary guest worker program and allows 12 million illegal immigrants to obtain legal status and work toward eventual citizenship. In so doing, they warded off amendments by Democrats to rid the legislation of the temporary worker program and a Republican effort to remove the provision to legalize the illegal immigrants.

Before leaving for a week of meetings in Europe in connection with the G-8 summit, the President gave one last push, urging wavering lawmakers in both parties to support the compromise legislation. On June 1st, he insisted, "This is a good piece of legislation," and acknowledged that many lawmakers object to one piece or another but asked, "Are we going to sacrifice the good for the sake of the perfect?"

In a barb aimed squarely at GOP opponents of the bill — who are especially vocal in the House — the President said, "If you want to kill a bill, you just go around America saying 'this is amnesty.' This bill isn't amnesty. Those who call it amnesty are just trying, in my judgment, to frighten people about the bill." The President added that immigrants seeking to legalize their status would have to pay fines, return to their home countries briefly and maintain steady employment, among other conditions.

He said critics who demand the deportation of all illegal immigrants are being "completely unrealistic. It's not going to happen." And he urged members of both parties to demonstrate political courage and act in the broader national interest rather than worrying about their next re-election fight. Depsite the President's please, opposition from many Republicans continued.

During the early debates, some amendments were easily adopted:

• A proposal that would establish new mandatory minimum sentences for individuals caught trying to re-enter the United States after being deported. Those who were apprehended re-entering the country would face a jail term of between 60 days and one year. A second offense would bring a minimum two-year sentence.

• An amendment that would establish procedures and standards to protect thousands of undocumented children who are in the country unaccompanied.

• A proposal that would require applicants for Z visas, which grant probationary status to undocumented workers, to pay state and federal taxes, including penalties and interest, owed for any year of employment in the United States for which the period for assessing a deficiency had not expired.

• An amendment that would exempt children of certain Filipino World War II veterans from the numerical limitations on immigrant visas.

Contentious amendments from members of both parties included:

• Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offered an amendment that would require voters to present a photo ID to be eligible to cast their ballots in federal elections.

 

• Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Chuck Hagel (R.Neb.) have offered an amendment that would move a cutoff date for those currently awaiting green cards from May 2005 to January 2007. This change allows a larger group of legal immigrants to receive permanent status in the next eight years. Menendez said all of those who would be affected by the cutoff date are family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. It's been called a deal-breaker by supporters of the compromise bill, but that hasn't deterred Menendez.

 

• Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) offered a modified version of an amendment that would move up the "touchback"requirement for illegal immigrants who wished to stay in the United States. The bill requires applicants to return home before becoming eligible for green cards and give them eight years to do so if they wanted to be eligible for citizenship as quickly as possible; Hutchison wants that reduced to within 18 months of the bill's enactment.

• Lawmakers Ponder Path to Wireless Broadband

The megahertz, the part of the wireless spectrum that could provide an alternative to telephone- and cable-delivered high-speed Internet access to millions of homes, is the focus of debate over how the frequencies should be auctioned and who should control them. At recent hearings, lawmakers emphasized that if Congress and the FCC do not get the upcoming auction of the spectrum right, the opportunity to foster competition will be lost.

"The nation's airwaves are a scarce natural resource, and we are entrusted to manage them on the public's behalf," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) said during a hearing of the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee. He urged the FCC to impose build-out obligations to ensure that new data networks reach rural citizens, and to seek ways to include small bidders and not just dominant firms. Charles Pickering (R-Miss.) agreed with Dingell on both issues, saying, "This is of critical importance that we get this right."

The FCC's auction of the 700-megahertz band of spectrum, to be relinquished by television broadcasters as part of their transition to digital, must occur no later than 28 January 2008. Congress has allocated 24 megahertz to first responders to bolster communications across jurisdictions. An additional 60 megahertz will be available for commercial purposes.

Warning that innovation would be stifled without a diverse array of auction winners, subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said he would closely monitor the FCC's handling of the auction.

Fred Upton (R-Mich.) expressed concern about the efficacy of various public-private proposals that would reserve more spectrum for emergency communications but also give private firms unprecedented autonomy over critical airwaves. "While I remain open-minded," he said, "I am highly skeptical of proposals to rig the auction for particular parties." He warned that altering Congress' plan for the 700-megahertz frequencies could delay the digital TV transition, which under law must occur by 17 February 2009.

But Janice Obuchowski, chairwoman of one of those partnerships, Frontline Wireless, countered that the public-safety community is leading the charge for solutions that would guarantee more megahertz for first responders. Frontline, backed by former Democratic FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, would build a nationwide, wireless public-safety network that also would have commercial applications. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), a member of the Homeland Security Committee, said the only way to ensure that emergency personnel get the spectrum they need is through such alliances.

Meanwhile, Upton repeatedly cited the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University as highlighting the need for wireless emergency alerts, such as text messages to students on college campuses. "There are lessons to be learned from the tragedy," he said.

2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE AGENCY WATCH

• White House Fact Sheet on Immigration Reform

The White House web site contains an immigration reform fact sheet at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070518-4.html. The site lists what it calls " Ten Key Myths About the Border Security and Immigration Reform Agreement"

3) REPORTS, SPEECHES & DOCUMENTS OF NOTE

• Innovation in Services

Innovation is not just about inventing new technology or perfecting new widgets. Innovation in the service sector is an equally important trend in promoting the growth of both companies and regions. An interesting new paper profiles 12 examples of service innovations pioneered by American corporations.

The study outlines a mix of large and small firms, ranging from household names like The Hartford and Bank of America to firms that don't have much of a public profile (e.g. Ingram Micro, MyBizHomepage, and Nine Sigma). All of these firms have introduced service innovations that have helped them grow rapidly and become important players in their respective markets. The report, by Tekes, Finland's public R&D financing agency, contains numerous insights for corporate managers, but four key findings are highlighted:

--Firms must explicitly seek to create an innovation culture in the workplace.

--The key formula to success combines entrepreneurial passion and deep customer focus.

--Information technology is the real key to service innovation. Service firms should focus on the "information value chain"as intently as manufacturers focus on the physical supply chain.

--Management must engage front-line employees in the process.

Access the report, Seizing the White Space: Innovative Service Concepts in the United States, at http://www.tekes.fi/eng/publications/Innovative_service.pdf

• The State of Entrepreneurship

The latest assessment of entrepreneurial activity by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation provides startling numbers for yet another year. The new report shows that an average of 465,000 people creating new businesses each month in 2006. Besides year-to-year changes in entrepreneurship activity, the Kauffman Index -- defined as the percent of the adult U.S. population of non-business owners who start a business as their main job each month -- captures long-term trends. The 2006 figure is up slightly from the previous year, it is equal to the average rate for the past ten years.

Other highlights from the past year include: Asians, Latinos and immigrants far outpaced native-born Americans in entrepreneurial activity; African Americans experienced a decline; entrepreneurial activity for men did not change between 2005-2006, ending a downward trend that began in 2003; and, the rate of entrepreneurial activity for women declined slightly. The report also contains data on activity at the state level. The five states with the highest rates of entrepreneurial activity were Montana, Mississippi, Georgia, Oklahoma and Maine. The five states with the lowest rates of entrepreneurial activity were Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Illinois and Delaware.

Conducted by Robert Fairlie of the University of California at Santa Cruz, the Index is a key component and one of the 26 top indicators in the compilation of the Kauffman Foundation's highly recognized State New Economy Index. That report, released earlier this year, is a state-by-state analysis of how state economies are transforming from an old industrial economic model based on "smokestack chasing" to an increasingly global-, knowledge- and innovation-based New Economy. Download the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity at http://www.kauffman.org/items.cfm?itemID=861.

• America's Innovation Potential

"Tapping America's Potential," a new business-led campaign with the goal of doubling the number of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates with bachelor's degrees by 2015, is gaining momentum. The campaign's American Innovation Proclamation has now been signed by more than 270 business and higher education leaders. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, efforts like Tapping America's Potential, seem to be paying off. Both the House and Senate have passed bills that support expanding funding for Federal R&D programs and create a host of new scholarship programs for STEM educators and for those pursuing degrees in related fields. While there are some minor differences to iron out between the two bills, most observers expect some unified version of these proposals to be enacted in the near future. Learn more about Tapping America's Potential http://www.tap2015.org/

• Graduate Education and Competitiveness

A new study from the Council of Graduate Education examines trends and warning signs for America's graduate schools. The Council contends that graduate education is critical to American competitiveness. The report also notes that our current system is facing numerous strains. The US needs more citizens trained and educated about science and technology. Achieving this goal will require extensive collaboration between educators, researchers, the business community and policymakers. The report endorses numerous proposals to expand science, technology, engineering and math education, such as the Congressional legislation cited above. It also supports more open immigration policies that can help attract and retain the world's best and brightest who seek to pursue graduate education in the US. Download the April 2007 Council of Graduate Education report, Graduate Education: The Backbone of American Competitiveness and Innovation.

• GAO Reports

Rebuilding Iraq:  Integrated Strategic Plan Needed to Help Restore Iraq's Oil and Electricity Sectors.  GAO-07-677, May 15. Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07677high.pdf

4) U.S. COURTS ACTIVITY

No items at this time.

5) US STATES WATCH

No items at this time.

6) AWARDS & GRANTS

• National Science Foundation

Cyberinfrastructure Training, Education, Advancement, and Mentoring for Our 21st Century Workforce (CI-TEAM) - Synopsis of Program: New information, communication, and computational technologies have had profound impacts on the practice of science and engineering. Linked to create a comprehensive cyberinfrastructure, the systems, tools, and services emerging from these new technologies are enabling individuals, groups, and organizations to advance research and education in ways that revolutionize who can participate, what they can do, and how they do it. Sustaining this revolution across all areas of science and engineering requires the formation of a workforce with the knowledge and skills needed to design and deploy as well as adopt and apply these cyber-based systems, tools and services over the long-term. The opportunity for such preparation should be available at all stages of formal and informal education, training and professional development, and must be extended to all interested individuals and communities. The CI-TEAM program supports projects that position the national science and engineering community to engage in integrated research and education activities promoting, leveraging and utilizing cyberinfrastructure systems, tools and services. Following merit review of the proposals received, NSF expects to select for support 12 to 15 Demonstration Projects at up to $250,000 total each, and seven to 12 Implementation Projects at up to $1,000,000 total each, that together constitute a rich portfolio of cyberinfrastructure-related workforce development activities. For more information: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07564/nsf07564.htm

• NASA Centennial Challenges Prizes

Centennial Challenges is NASA's program of prize contests to stimulate innovation and competition in solar system exploration and ongoing NASA mission areas. By making awards based on actual achievements, instead of proposals, Centennial Challenges seeks novel solutions to NASA's mission challenges from non-traditional sources of innovation in academia, industry and the public. Current and past Centennial Challenges competition events are listed below. The following are Centennial Challenge competitions planned for the remainder of 2007:

Aug 4-12: Personal Air Vehicle Challenge, run by the CAFE Foundation, a foundation that "creates and shares understanding of personal aircraft technologies by careful measurement and analysis of aircraft performance."  The Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) Challenge is intended to promote the popular use of self-operated, personal aircraft for safe, efficient, affordable, environmentally friendly, and comfortable on-demand transportation as a future solution to America's mobility needs. NASA's Centennial Challenges Program has provided the annual prize purse of $250,000 for the CAFE-hosted PAV Challenge. Go to www.cafefoundation.org for more details.

 

Sept-Oct: Beam Power and Tether Challenges, run by the Spaceward Foundation, "a public-funds non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the cause of space access in educational curriculums and in the public mindshare." Exact date and place are TBD. Go to www.spaceward.org or www.elevator2010.org for more details. The 2007 Beam Power prize purse, provided by NASA, is $500,000.  The 2007 Tether Challenge prizes total $500,000 this year, also provided by NASA. Elevator:2010 is a 5-year $4,000,000 prize competition designed to foster the core technologies necessary to design and build the Space Elevator, while serving as an educational tool to bring the concept to school children and the general public.

Oct 26-28: Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, run by the X PRIZE Foundation, at the Wirefly X PRIZE Cup at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, NM. Go to www.xprize.org/xprizecup  for more details.

• AAAS Grant Site

The American Association for the Advancement of Science has a service called GrantsNet Express.  Each week GrantsNet will provide a 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. The weekly emails will include: — New science funding programs, divided into opportunities for postdocs/graduate students and undergraduates — Submission deadlines for funding opportunities scheduled in the upcoming week — New listings of funding for science-related research.

7) CONFERENCES, FELLOWSHIPS, PROGRAMS & INTERNSHIPS FOR ENGINEERS, and STUDENTS & SCHOLARS OF ENGINEERING

No items at this time.

8) LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

• Conference to Examine Role Technology Can Play in Managing Health Care Costs and Improving Patient Care

A conference at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md. on September 25th will examine the role technology can play in helping the United States manage health care costs by advancing the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Major technological advances have greatly improved patient care since the 1970s, but have come at a steep price. U.S. health care spending is expected to rise from nearly $2 trillion in 2002 to more than $4 trillion by 2015.

The goal of "Economic Strategy for Health Care through Bio and Information Standards and Technologies" is to emphasize the need to develop a long-term economic strategy for implementing bio and health care information technologies into our health care system. We can reign in rising health care costs and improved patient care quality by developing breakthrough biomeasurement, bioinformatics, biologically based and health-information technologies.

"The outcome of this conference will benefit patients and society by improving the quality and convenience of care, managing health care costs and increasing access to affordable and effective health care throughout the world," said Dick Doyle, IEEE Senior Member and chair of the Biotechnology Council. The Biotechnology Council is an umbrella consortium including IEEE, the American Medical Association and eight other major nonprofit medical and engineering societies.

The all-day conference will bring together key government, industry, academic and research leaders and patient advocates. This will help policy makers and corporate leaders understand where technology investments should be made to enhance health care quality, wellness and disease prevention, while minimizing cost. Dr. Jerry Grossman, senior Fellow and director of the Harvard/Kennedy School Health Care Delivery Policy Program and chairman emeritus of New England Medical Center, is the honorary chair.

"Because of the complexity and scope of the issue, the conference requires decision makers, researchers, engineers and providers from many traditional disciplines to collaborate and tackle the challenges together," Doyle said. For more information and to register, see http://www.itl.nist.gov/Healthcare/conf/index.htm.

The Biotechnology Council, NIST and IEEE-USA are cosponsoring a half-day workshop preceding the conference on September 24th. Robert Cresanti, Commerce Department under secretary for technology, will address selected invitees and share major findings with conference attendees.

• Track IEEE-USAs Progress

Review IEEE-USA's year-to-date progress in working for the IEEE U.S. members at the new IEEE-USA Year-in-Review Web page. Check out what IEEE-USA activities and programs helped the IEEE U.S. members in 2004 at the new IEEE-USA Annual Report online. And find out what's on IEEE-USA's agenda through 2009, with the new, online IEEE-USA Strategic & Operational Plan.

For the IEEE-USA Year-in-Review, go to: http://www.ieeeusa.org/about/yearinreview.asp

For the IEEE-USA Annual Report, go to: http://www.ieeeusa.org/about/Annual_Report/2004.pdf

For the IEEE-USA Strategic & Operational Plan, go to:

http://www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/strategicplan/index.html

Read a full listing of IEEE-USA lobbying activities on our web site at: http://ieeeusa.com/policy/policy/index.html

• IEEE-USA In The News

For more IEEE-USA in the News items, see: http://ieeeusa.org/communications/inthenews/default.asp.

9) U.S. COMPETITIVENESS & INNOVATION: WHO'S DOING WHAT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?

• IEEE-USA Resource  Web Page

U.S. Competitiveness: The Innovation Challenge  - A comprehensive list of reports and activities can be found at http://ieeeusa.org/policy/issues/innovation/index.asp

10) OTHER ITEMS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST

• The 2006 Winners Of National Medal Of Science

The White House announced the recipients of the the highest honor for science -- the 2006 National Medal of Science. The winners were nominated by their peers through the National Science Foundation which administers the award.

Congress established the National Medal of Science in 1959 which honors individuals for pioneering scientific research in the physical, biological, mathematical, social, behavioral and engineering sciences. The medals recognize work that enhances understanding and leads to innovations and technologies that give the United States a global economic edge. The 2006 winners include IEEE member Jan Achenbach, of Northwestern Unversity in Evanston, Ill. Achenbach is a member of the national committee for theoretical and applied mechanics. In 2005, the President also nominated him for a National Medal of Technology.

The other recipients include:

-- Ralph Alpher, is a cosmologist at The Dudley University in Austin, Texas. He was offered a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 16 but ended up taking a different path. He became a doctoral student at George Washington University, where he met Russian physicist George Gamow and became his doctoral student.
-- Gordon Bower, a psychology professor at Stanford University, is considered one of the nation's leading experimental psychologists and learning theorists. Bower's early work included investigating the effect of mood states on memory and later the impact of emotion on memory.
-- Bradley Efron, a Stanford University statistician, is best known for innovating a technique known as bootstrap re-sampling, which has impacted virtually every area of statistics.
-- Tobin Marks, a chemistry and materials science and engineering professor at Northwestern University, received a 2005 Medal of Science and is known for his work in organometallics chemistry.
-- Lonnie Thompson, a glaciologist at Ohio State University, is globally recognized for drilling ice cores from mountain glaciers and ice caps in tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world. He leads the paleoclimatology research group at the Byrd Polar Research Center with his wife, Ellen Mosley-Thompson.
-- Torsten Wiesel of The Rockefeller University in New York was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his work with David Hubel on visual information processing.

• IN MEMORY--ARTHUR H. GUENTHER, PH.D

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) inserted a statement into the Congressional Record following the death of IEEE member Art Guenther.  Excerpts included:

"Art Guenther was born April 18, 1931, in Hoboken, NJ. As a kid he loved the outdoors and became New Jersey's youngest Eagle Scout.

As a grad student at Penn State, he wanted to pursue optics. His thesis advisor asked, "Why optics? The cream is gone,'' meaning all the good research had been done. Guenther persisted, receiving his Ph.D. in chemistry and physics in 1957.

"He joined the Air Force and was sent to Kirtland Air Force Base. ... After serving 2 years, he left the Air Force and became a civilian employee and a New Mexican for the remainder of his life. His optics work would pay off in 1960, after the laser was first demonstrated. As the only person at Kirtland with a background in optics, Guenther was asked by the commander of the research directorate to evaluate lasers for potential Air Force use. He toured the country and reported back on the promise of the new technology. At the request of the Air Force, he established a laser program and later became chief scientist of the Air Force Weapons Lab, a position he held for 15 of his 31 years with the Air Force.

"By 1965 Guenther had become one of the world's leading experts in simulating effects of atomic explosions. He also gained experience in advanced optical systems, high-power lasers, high-power microwaves, pulsed power, materials science, and weapons effects. Guenther is considered a pioneer in the development of pulsed-power technology and its defense applications....

" At a time when other States had their Silicon Valley or Research Triangle, it was Guenther who coined the term "Rio Grande Research Corridor.'' He chaired the State Science and Technology Committee,

which proposed and got the five Centers of Technical Excellence in 1983. One of those was the Center for High-Tech Materials at UNM.

In 1988, Guenther became chief scientist for advanced defense technology at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In that post, he was science adviser to Gov. Garrey Carruthers and again for Gov. Bruce

King. In 1991 he became scientific adviser for laboratory development and manager of alliances at Sandia.

"... in 1998, ...He became a research professor at UNM's Center for High-Tech Materials ... . ... Also in 1998, after identifying a wealth of optics activity in the State, he became co-founder of the New Mexico Optics Industry Association. And throughNMOIA, he was instrumental in founding the Photonics Academy at West Mesa High School. He also helped organize the Directed Energy Professionals Society.

"Art received numerous honors and awards. Some of these awards include the Distinguished Executive Rank Award from President Reagan, the Harry Diamond Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Director's Award of the International Society of Optical Engineering, the David Richardson Medal of the Optical Society of America, and the Arthur L. Schawlow Medal from the Laser Institute of America in 1983. He has twice received the New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award. In 1992 he was one of the first Americans to be named to the Russian Academy of Sciences. He had worked with Russian scientists since the 1960s and was credited with improving communication between the two countries.

"Guenther brought so many technical meetings to Albuquerque that he earned a special award from the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau. On April 25, the New Mexico Optics Industry Association honored him with the organization's first Lifetime Service Award.

"Mr. President, my State was blessed by Art Guenther's energy and dedication and we will miss him."

Top of Page | Whats New@IEEE | EyeOnWash Archive | IEEE-USA

Whats New @ IEEE-USAs 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.

You can change your IEEE-USA Eye on Washington subscription status by using the forms at http://whatsnew.ieee.org/ or at http://www.ieeeusa.org/emailupdates/.

Copyright © 2007, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.  Permission granted to copy for personal use or for non-commercial republication with appropriate attribution.

Updated: 21 June 2007