IEEE-USA Eye on Washington No. 12, 2009

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Vol. 2009, No. 12 ( June 2009)
125 Years of Innovation and Ingenuity

CAPITOL HILL

House Committee Approves Bills to Support Small Business Innovation, Advance Natural Gas Vehicles

House Approved Bills to Coordinate International Science and Technology Partnerships, STEM Education Programs in Federal Agencies

IMMIGRATION REFORM: Schumer Speech, White House Meeting Signal Movement on Immigration Reform

THE WHITE HOUSE

FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITY

First Meeting of Augustine Space Flight Committee

REPORTS, DOCUMENTS OF NOTE & INFO RESOURCES

The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy

ITIF Report Release: Structuring U.S. Innovation Policy: Creating a White House Office of Innovation Policy

National Academies: Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty

U.S. STATES

AWARDS & GRANTS

AAAS Accepting Nominations for the Scientific Freedom & Responsibility Award

LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

IEEE-USA and Small Business Administration Partner to Assist High-Tech Entrepreneurs

IEEE Members Head to Capitol Hill to Promote Energy Legislation

IEEE-USA Joins Others in Urging Federal Government to Improve Visa Processing for Visiting Students, Scientists, Scholars

IEEE Kicked Off Smart Grid Effort, Intel Hosted Meeting of Power, Computer, Comms EEs

IEEE-USA Engineering Mass Media Fellowships

IEEE-USA Establishes New Award for Leadership in Entrepreneurial Spirit

IEEE-USA Stimulus Webpage

Got an Idea For an IEEE-USA E-Book?

CAPITOL HILL

House Committee Approves Bills to Support Small Business Innovation, Advance Natural Gas Vehicles

The House Science and Technology Committee unanimously approved three bills with bipartisan support:

1) H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009 - extends and makes important changes to the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR), which fund nearly $2.3 billion in support of innovation and technology development at America's small businesses. The Science and Technology Committee and the full House passed a similar version of this bill last year.

2) H.R. 1622, to provide for a program of research, development, and demonstration on natural gas vehicles - Brian Bilbray (R-CA), who has previously driven a natural gas-powered vehicle, praised the goals of H.R. 1622. As the technology for expanded use of natural gas moves forward, Bilbray further encouraged the simultaneous advancement of technologies that would allow vehicle owners to dispense natural gas at home, in order to curb the need for infrastructure to support natural gas fueling stations.

3) H.R. 2729, to authorize the designation of National Environmental Research Parks by the Secretary of Energy - authorizes and makes permanent the existing seven National Environmental Research Parks (NERPs) across the country. The NERPs are outdoor laboratories that provide opportunities for environmental studies on protected lands that act as buffers around Department of Energy facilities.

House Approved Bills to Coordinate International Science and Technology Partnerships, STEM Education Programs in Federal Agencies

The full House of Representatives approved two bills that originated in the Committee on Science and Technology: H.R. 1736, the International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2009, and H.R. 1709, the STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009.

The International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2009 recreates a committee under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to coordinate the international science and technology activities across federal agencies. In a committee hearing, witnesses said that when international partnerships are managed on a case-by-case basis, without a coordinated approach, significant opportunities are missed, especially at the intersection of science and diplomacy.

"Science diplomacy presents a unique and essential opportunity to develop and sustain friendships and collaborations into the future," said bill author Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA). "The scientists, their students, and of course the science itself all benefit from this scholarly exchange. But so do our national security and economic prosperity. The intellectual input of the foreign scientists helps build that foundation of discovery that leads to new technologies and new intellectual property in the United States. And the exchange of scientists and their students help to build mutual trust and understanding between people who may otherwise be inclined to avoid or even fear each other."

The STEM Education Coordination Act coordinates the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education activities across federal agencies, including NASA, NSF, the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NIST, DOD, and the Department of Education. The bill strengthens and elevates an existing committee under NSTC to manage the coordination. For more information, including about international science cooperation or STEM education, please see the Committee's website.

Schumer Speech, White House Meeting Signal Movement on Immigration Reform

Two significant events in Washington this week signaled a renewed possibility of Congressional action on comprehensive immigration legislation, including high skills admissions reforms, later this year or early in 2010. One was a speech by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY). The other was an invitational meeting hosted by President Obama at the White House.

Schumer Speech - In an important speech at the Migration Policy Institute's Law and Policy Conference at Georgetown University on June 24th, Senator Charles Schumer, chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, called for legislative action and outlined seven key principles that will be included in a major immigration reform bill he is preparing to introduce in the fall. These principles include: operational control of America's borders, through significant improvements in infrastructure, technology and personnel, within a year of enactment; a biometric employment eligibility verification system to diminish the job magnet that attracts undocumented aliens and to ensure certainty and simplicity for employers; prompt registration and timely movement toward earned citizenship by undocumented immigrants who are present in the United States on the date of enactment; dramatic reductions in illegal immigration, in order to make room for more legal family-sponsored and employment-based admissions; a system that encourages the best and brightest from around the world to come to stay and create new technologies, businesses and jobs while discouraging employers from replacing qualified Americans with lower paid foreign workers; and better management and control of legal immigration tied to America's economic needs.

Congressional Hearings – As evidence of his determination to move comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate, Schumer has already held two hearings and plans on holding two more in July. Hearing #1 (on April 30) examined whether comprehensive immigration reform could be enacted in 2009. Hearing #2 (on May 20) addressed border security issues. Hearings #3 and #4 will focus on simple and workable approaches to biometric employment eligibility verification and on how best to restructure employment-based admissions.

White House Meeting – On June 25th, a broad cross-section of Democratic and Republican legislators met with President Obama to discuss how best to bring a comprehensive bipartisan immigration reform bill up for consideration in Congress later this year. Among the participants were strong proponents of earned legalization, including Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and key members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as well as leading opponents including Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Lamar Smith (R-TX-21), the ranking members of the Senate and House Judiciary committees. In informal remarks at the end of the meeting, President Obama said that his administration is fully behind a comprehensive effort to fix the nation’s immigration system and that he has tasked Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to begin working through contentious issues with Congressional leaders in the House and the Senate.

The President reported that his Administration is already taking steps to speed up the admissions process and strengthen enforcement of current laws and regulations. The FBI, for example, has reduced the backlog of security checks that delays the processing of immigrant visa and citizenship petitions. DHS and the Department of Labor are cracking down on employers for hiring undocumented workers. And the White House is leveraging new technologies to further reduce administrative delays and increase transparency in visa processing at the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.

In addition, the President reiterated his belief that the broken immigration system can only be fixed by offering a comprehensive solution that secures our borders, enforces our laws and reaffirms our heritage as a nation of immigrants. He also acknowledged that comprehensive reforms will require heavy lifting and a victory of practicality, common sense and good policy making over short-term politics.

THE WHITE HOUSE

none at this time

FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITY

First Meeting of Augustine Space Flight Committee

Norman Augustine and his colleagues on the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee held their first public meeting this month. While there were few indications what direction the committee may take in its recommendations, they acknowledged that the review comes at a critical time for NASA and the future of manned space flight. Augustine is joined by nine committee members drawn from private industry, academia, the Air Force and the astronaut corps. Augustine was most recently the chairman of the committee for the National Academies' report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm.

The HSF committee is to issue its report by August to both Congress and the Administration. The FY 2010 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill which funds NASA, deliberately flat funded the human space flight budget pending the committee's recommendations. According to OSTP Director John Holdren, the administration views the committee's recommendations as very important "as we figure out how to move forward." The scope and objectives of the committee's charter are:

to conduct an independent review of ongoing U.S. human space flight plans and programs, as well as alternatives, to
ensure the Nation is pursuing the best trajectory for the future of human space flight - one that is safe, innovative, affordable, and sustainable;

to identify and characterize a range of options that spans the reasonable possibilities for continuation of U.S. human space flight activities beyond retirement of the Space Shuttle. The options should address the following objectives: a) expediting
a new U.S. capability to support utilization of the International Space Station (ISS); b) supporting missions to the Moon and other destinations beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO); c) stimulating commercial space flight capability; and d) fitting within the current budget profile for NASA exploration activities;

examine the appropriate amount of research and development and complementary robotic activities needed to make human space flight activities most productive and affordable over the long term, as well as appropriate opportunities for international collaboration; and

evaluate what capabilities would be enabled by each of the potential architectures considered, and evaluate
options for extending ISS operations beyond 2016.

REPORTS, DOCUMENTS OF NOTE & INFO RESOURCES

Carnegie Institute Report: The Opportunity Equation, Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy

The United States must mobilize for excellence in mathematics and science education so that all students - not just a select few, or those fortunate enough to attend certain schools - achieve much higher levels of math and science learning. Over the coming decades, today's young people will depend on the skills and knowledge developed from learning math and science to analyze problems, imagine solutions, and bring productive new ideas into being. The nation's capacity to innovate for economic growth and the ability of American workers to thrive in the global economy depend on a broad foundation of math and science learning, as do our hopes for preserving a vibrant democracy and the promise of social mobility for young people that lie at the heart of the American dream.

ITIF Report Release: Structuring U.S. Innovation Policy: Creating a White House Office of Innovation Policy

In a new report, Structuring U.S. Innovation Policy: Creating a White House Office of Innovation Policy, released by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Duke Law School professors Stuart Benjamin and Arti Rai propose that the Obama administration or Congress create an Office of Innovation Policy in the White House that would draw upon and feed into existing regulatory review processes, with the specific mission of being the "innovation champion" within these processes. Currently, innovation is nearly absent from interagency federal processes such as the centralized cost-benefit review performed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget. Creating an Office of Innovation Policy would help ensure that federal agencies work more in a manner that either affirmatively promotes innovation or achieves a particular regulatory objective in a manner least damaging to innovation.

Government Accountability Office Reports

Scientific Integrity: EPA's Efforts to Enhance the Credibility and Transparency of Its Scientific Processes, by John B. Stephenson, director, natural resources and environment, before a joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and its Subcommittee on Oversight GAO-09-773T (June 9)

Export Controls: Fundamental Reexamination of System Is Needed to Help Protect Critical Technologies, by Anne-Marie Lasowski, director, acquisition and sourcing management, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Energy and Commerce GAO-09-767T (June 4)

Military and Dual-Use Technology: Covert Testing Shows Continuing Vulnerabilities of Domestic Sales for Illegal Export, by Gregory D. Kutz, managing director, forensic audits and special investigations, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Energy and Commerce GAO-09-725T (June 4)

Technology Transfer: Clearer Priorities and Greater Use of Innovative Approaches Could Increase the Effectiveness of Technology Transfer at Department of Energy Laboratories GAO-09-548, (June 16)

NASA: Commercial Partners Are Making Progress, but Face Aggressive Schedules to Demonstrate Critical Space Station Cargo Transport Capabilities GAO-09-618 (June 16)

National Science Foundation

A list of all recent NSF engineering discoveries

The National Academies Podcasts The National Academies provides podcasts on subjects in all areas of science, engineering, medicine, and technology.

Sounds of Science: Findings from National Academies reports - This informative and entertaining weekly series of audio podcasts puts a spotlight on the high-impact work of the National Academies. Focusing on a wide range of critical issues in science, engineering, and medicine, these short 10-minute episodes are a quick and easy way to tune in to all the key findings and important recommendations made by the Academies.

Engineering Innovation - The weekly Engineering Innovation podcast from the National Academy of Engineering highlights exciting developments in engineering and provides technical context to stories in the news. The 40-second episodes demonstrate how engineers are making an impact -- in energy, health, the environment, sports, and more.

The National Academies Press

Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty - presents new and surprising findings about career differences between female and male full-time, tenure-track, and tenured faculty in science, engineering, and mathematics at the nation's top research universities. Much of this congressionally mandated book is based on two unique surveys of faculty and departments at major U.S. research universities in six fields: biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, and physics. A departmental survey collected information on departmental policies, recent tenure and promotion cases, and recent hires in almost 500 departments. A faculty survey gathered information from a stratified, random sample of about 1,800 faculty on demographic characteristics, employment experiences, the allocation of institutional resources such as laboratory space, professional activities, and scholarly productivity. This book paints a timely picture of the status of female faculty at top universities, clarifies whether male and female faculty have similar opportunities to advance and succeed in academia, challenges some commonly held views, and poses several questions still in need of answers. This book will be of special interest to university administrators and faculty, graduate students, policy makers, professional and academic societies, federal funding agencies, and others concerned with the vitality of the U.S. research base and economy.

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 & GRANTS

AAAS Accepting Nominations for the Scientific Freedom & Responsibility Award

The award is given to scientists or engineers or their associations whose exemplary actions have served to foster scientific freedom and responsibility. Such achievements can include: acting to protect the public's health, safety or welfare; focusing public attention on important potential impacts of science and technology on society by their responsible participation in public policy debates; or establishing important new precedents in carrying out the social responsibilities or in defending the professional freedom of scientists and engineers. This prestigious award has been given by the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1980. The successful candidate receives a plaque and $5000 and is honored at a lovely ceremony at the AAAS Annual Meeting (next February in San Diego). Some past winners are:

Dr. Drummond Rennie for his career-long devotion to and promotion of the highest standards of integrity in scientific publication and research

James Hanson who defended the integrity of science by defending the rights and responsibilities of scientists, especially those employed by the government, to report honestly and accurately the findings of their scientific studies;

high school teachers who refused to qualify their teaching of evolution despite pressure from school officials to teach "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolutionary science

Dr. David Michaels who, during his tenure as Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health at the U.S. Department of Energy, led an effort to have the U.S. government admit, for the first time, that workers who manufactured and tested nuclear weapons were developing chronic and often fatal illnesses

Dr. L. Dennis Smith who, as president of the University of Nebraska, staunchly defended academic freedom and advocated for the responsible conduct of scientific research, including the defense of scientists who were conducting important research that used tissue from aborted fetuses

Anatoly Koryagin, a psychiatrist in the Soviet Union, who made public the fact that political opponents of the Soviet government were being falsely diagnosed as having psychiatric disorders, hospitalized in special institutions, and treated with strong and potentially dangerous medications

Colegio Medico do Chile (Medical Association of Chile) an association that took a public stand protesting the practice of torture by the government of Chile

Mathilde Krim & June Osborn who, long before it was fashionable, were outspoken in their promotion of research efforts to find treatments for AIDS

Vil Sultanovich Mirzayanov , a chemist in the Soviet Union, who exposed that country's continuing manufacture of dangerous chemical weapons

Salim Kheirbek who, as an active member of the Syrian Engineers Association, spoke out on behalf of the civil rights of all Syrians and protested the government's disbanding of all independent professional associations

The NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC), which established guidelines for the safe conduct of recombinant DNA research

Daniel Callahan the co-founder and for many years president of the Hastings Center, an institution that has greatly furthered interdisciplinary dialogue on the responsible conduct of science.

To submit a nomination, send:

1) the names, addresses, phone number, and e-mail of both the nominator and the nominee;
2) a summary of the action(s) that form the basis for the nomination (about 250 words);
3) a longer statement (no more than three pages) providing additional details of the action(s) for which the candidate is nominated;
4) the candidate's vita or short biography (no more than three pages); and
5) any documentation (books, articles, or other materials) that elucidates the significance of the nominee's achievement may also be submitted. (All materials become property of AAAS.).

Any help you can provide in spreading the word about the AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award would be appreciated. DEADLINE SEPTEMBER 1, 2009. For more info, call Deborah Runkle at 202.326.6794

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.

National Science Foundation

NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) - This program makes grants to institutions of higher education to support scholarships for academically talented, financially needy students, enabling them to enter the workforce following completion of an associate; baccalaureate; or graduate-level degree in science and engineering disciplines. Grantee institutions are responsible for selecting scholarship recipients, reporting demographic information about student scholars, and managing the S-STEM project at the institution. The program does not make scholarship awards directly to students; students should contact their institution’s Office of Financial Aid for this and other scholarship opportunities. Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (optional) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

August 11, 2009 (for the September 14, 2009 competition)
July 14, 2010 (for the August 12, 2010, competition)
July 13, 2011 (for the August 11, 2011, competition)

LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

Public Policy Priority Issues (111th Congress, 1st Session, 2009)
Position Statements - The statements identify important technical or engineering career-related aspects of public policy issues deemed to be of concern to or affecting IEEE's U.S. members; and 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 and Small Business Administration Partner to Assist High-Tech Entrepreneurs

To assist high-tech entrepreneurs starting new businesses, IEEE-USA and the U.S. Small Business Administration have signed an agreement pledging mutual cooperation in promoting, strengthening and expanding small business development throughout the country. According to IEEE-USA President Gordon Day, the agreement will benefit IEEE members who are starting their own technology-based businesses.

"The American high-tech industry was created by individuals who had the vision and courage to create new products, companies and even whole industries based on little more than ideas and hard work," Day said. "Big companies like HP and Apple started in garages. By partnering with SBA, we can help find and nurture America's next generation of advanced technology companies and business leaders."

Under the agreement, SBA will provide IEEE-USA with information about its programs and services, make available information about SBA's resource partners, provide speakers to participate in IEEE-USA events to discuss SBA financing, government contracting and other business topics, and invite IEEE members to attend local SBA-sponsored events and offer training at IEEE-USA-designated locations.

IEEE-USA will cooperate with SBA's resource partners -- Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers and SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" -- to provide information to its members about business development services for small businesses, inform IEEE members of SBA's programs and services, provide speakers for SBA-sponsored events and share volunteer opportunities, such as SCORE counseling positions, with IEEE members.

"The SBA and IEEE-USA have joined together to help some of the nation's most innovative entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses," SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills said. "This cooperative agreement means that more technical businesses will be able to benefit from SBA programs, services and financial assistance as they create the jobs of the 21st century." A signing ceremony at SBA headquarters in Washington was held on 18 June. Ana M. Ma., SBA's chief of staff, represented SBA, and Day represented IEEE-USA.

Working through its Entrepreneurial Activities Committee, IEEE-USA has established an online Entrepreneurs Village, which provides resources promoting innovation and company growth, and links high-tech entrepreneurs with mentors and peers. See http://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/entrepreneurs/.

IEEE Members Head to Capitol Hill to Promote Energy Legislation

About 40 IEEE energy experts met with their congressional representatives on 16 June to urge enactment of energy policies to address our nation's security, prosperity and environmental quality. This was the first IEEE-USA sponsored fly-in to specifically focus on energy legislation. Prior to visiting Congress, participants were briefed on the latest legislative proposals.

IEEE-USA President Gordon Day said, "Decisions made on energy policy are central to our nation's prosperity and security, and will have an enormous impact on our environment. IEEE counts thousands of energy experts among its members."

IEEE members were armed with the "National Energy Policy Recommendations" which IEEE-USA released earlier this year. The recommendations assert that the United States can break its addiction to oil and mitigate climate change by increasing energy efficiency, electrifying transportation, greening the energy supply and building a modern electric grid. Members also shared recommendations developed by the IEEE Power and Energy Society addressing concerns about the U.S. power and energy engineering workforce. For more information on the IEEE-USA Energy Fly-In, see http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/energy-flyin/default.asp.

IEEE-USA Joins Others in Urging Federal Government to Improve Visa Processing for Visiting Students, Scientists, Scholars

IEEE-USA President Gordon Day signed a statement urging the federal government to improve the visa processing system to expedite the admittance of visiting international students, scholars and scientists. IEEE-USA was one of 31 academic, scientific and engineering organizations to endorse the statement sent to U.S. policymakers. Signing organizations included the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Physics, the Association of American Universities, the American Chemical Society and the National Academy of Engineering.

The group expressed concern about significant increases in visa processing delays this year experienced by many foreign students, scientists and scholars interested in studying, conducting research or attending conferences in the United States. The organizations believe these problems are hurting our country's world scientific and economic leadership.

IEEE Kicked Off Smart Grid Effort, Intel Hosted Meeting of Power, Computer, Comms EEs

IEEE kicked off an effort to define standards for a smart electric grid in a meeting hosted at Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, CA on June 3-5. The IEEE 2030 group aims to gather computer, communications and power engineers to draft a design guide to smart grid interoperability issues that could spawn a family of standards. The group leveraged the existing work of IEEE's Power and Energy Society (PES).

Industry executives say smart grid standards are needed to drive deployments. The IEEE initiative, approved in March, could deliver a high-level guide to systems-level interoperability issues for smart grids in two years or less, according to Dick DeBlasio, a program manager at the National Renewable Energy Lab who helped organize the effort.

"I see this as a tree from which will spring a variety of standards," said DeBlasio. "We want to look at everything from power generation to home appliances and the useful two-way communications between them," he added.

The meeting came two weeks after the National Institute of Standards and Technology convened a major summit on smart grids in Washington D.C. The NIST meeting is the first step toward drafting a road map and recommending standards for smart grids. The U.S. federal government has mandated NIST to spearhead an effort to set smart grid standards. The agency received $10 million under President Obama's stimulus package to carry out that work. DeBlasio and Adams met with NIST's smart grid coordinator in Washington D.C.; the IEEE will collaborate with the NIST effort, they said.

IEEE-USA Engineering Mass Media Fellowships

IEEE-USA Engineering Mass Media Fellows David Lukofsky and Nicholas Diakopoulos have begun their 10-week media internships preparing news stories on science, engineering and technology: Lukofsky at WOSU-FM, a public radio station in Columbus, Ohio; and Diakopoulos at the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee.

Lukofsky received his Ph.D. in engineering physics from Dartmouth College this month, and Diakopoulos will earn his Ph.D. in computer science from Georgia Tech this year. In his application to become a 2009 IEEE-USA Mass Media Fellow, Lukofsky wrote that the internship will "be the perfect springboard to the media and policy experience I need for my dream job -- to act as the messenger who informs members of government on sci-tech issues." Diakopoulos expects to "garner valuable knowledge of journalism that will help me innovate better technologies for the journalists of the future."

In 2008, Scott Lebar, the Bee's assistant managing editor, praised IEEE-USA Mass Media Fellow Maddalena Jackson: "She is the epitome of what the program set out to achieve. We teach, she learns; she writes, our readers learn." To read more about Jackson's internship, see http://www.todaysengineer.org/2008/Nov/mass-media.asp.

Since 2000, 13 U.S. IEEE undergraduate and graduate students have served as IEEE-USA Mass Media Fellows, helping journalists in print and broadcast fields communicate authoritatively to the public about science, engineering and technology. IEEE-USA is the only engineering organization in the Mass Media Fellows program, which is administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). IEEE-USA is also one of a smaller group of sponsoring societies that supports more than one Fellow.

From 2006-08, AAAS Science & Engineering Mass Media Fellows produced more than 600 first-run news stories on science and technology. Entering its 35th year in 2009, more than 550 Fellows have participated.

As a result of IEEE-USA's participation in the program, volunteers and staff have established contact with key journalists to promote IEEE-USA activities. IEEE-USA Communications Committee Chair Abby Vogel and member Allan Schell helped to select the organization’s 2009 Fellows.

IEEE-USA Establishes New Award for Leadership in Entrepreneurial Spirit

IEEE-USA has established the IEEE-USA Entrepreneur Achievement Award for Leadership in Entrepreneurial Spirit to honor individual IEEE members for furthering entrepreneurial growth and spirit in the United States. The award recognizes members whose perseverance and visionary efforts have created "a successful business that has commercialized technology products or services," and "advanced society through commerce and community improvement."

"U.S. high-tech entrepreneurs are at the forefront of creating quality jobs in the United States and advancing U.S. competitiveness," said IEEE-USA Entrepreneurial Activities Committee co-Chair Mauro Togneri. "We established this award because we think these entrepreneurs should be recognized for the key role they play in strengthening the U.S. economy."

Nominations are open to all IEEE members who demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit, support IEEE's goals and improve the image of engineers or the engineering profession. The nomination deadline for 2009 awards is 31 July 2009.

IEEE-USA Stimulus Webpage -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.

Got 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.

IEEE-USA Workshop, "STEM Measures for Innovation and Competitiveness" 22-23 October 2009 IEEE-USA is organizing a STEM workshop at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. We encourage experts in these areas to participate and submit papers for presentation. The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) enterprise includes the research & development activities of the federal, academic and private sectors, both nationally and globally. STEM is accepted as the driving force for worldwide economic and social advancement. National policies and planning influencing the health and productivity of this enterprise should be derived from basic incorruptible, unbiased data and measures. The IEEE-USA STEM workshop will address these important questions and work toward viable solutions. We believe STEM policy should be based on arguments fully supported by concrete data and rigorous analysis.

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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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