Government Fellowships
Linking Engineers with Government

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.

Program News & Notices

  Application Kit for 2010 Congressional Fellowship Program

  Application Kit for 2010 Engineering & Diplomacy (State Deparment) Fellowship Program

The application period for 2010 Fellowships is now closed.
Please check back in Fall 2009 for updated 2011 materials.

IEEE-USA's 2009 Government Fellows


(L to R) Congressional Fellows Tom Lee & Ken Lutz;
State Department Fellow Tom Tierney,
at the U.S. Naval Memorial Plaza, Washington, D.C.

The Congressional Fellows

Kenneth Lutz, Ocean, NJ - Dr. Lutz, an IEEE member since 1964 and a life senior member since 1986, received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University and his BEE from the University of Delaware. He also has a post-graduate certificate in the strategic management of technology from the Wharton School of Business. Dr. Lutz currently works as a principle consultant to Telcordia Technologies (formerly Bell Communications Research, Piscataway, NJ). Prior to working for Bell, he worked as a research engineer for the Harry Diamond Laboratories (now the Army Research Laboratory). In his spare time, Dr. Lutz is very active in his community. He was the first man to join his local chapter of the League of Women Voters when they extended the membership to men in 1975. He is also the chair of the local Environmental Commission and works in several capacities to ensure the environmental health of his community.

Thomas Lee, Palo Alto, CA - Mr. Lee, an IEEE member since 2001, is currently finishing his PhD at Stanford University where he also received an MSEE and BSEE. He received the Stanford University Department of Electrical Engineering Outstanding Service Award for a Graduate Student (2007). His dissertation work focused on the development of a single chip sensor that uses near infrared light to observe hemodynamic changes in mammalian cerebral cortex that are correlated to brain activity. His other research includes evaluating business opportunities in healthcare and security technology for a Japanese electronics firm; and redesigning the curriculum of an upper-division undergraduate analog communication lab course.

The State Department Fellow

Thomas Tierney, Los Alamos, NM - Dr. Tierney, an IEEE member since 1997 and a senior member since 2007, obtained a BS and an MS from University of California – Irvine, and a PhD from LANL and UC Irvine. He currently works as a project leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he has also held positions as a researcher and a technical staff member. He specializes in a wide range of science and engineering disciplines including high energy density physics, nuclear proliferation and explosive designs. Dr. Tierney has an interest in ensuring that the U.S. remains internationally strong in ST&E competitiveness.

2008 IEEE Congressional Fellow Sherry Gillespie has finished her fellowship. We commend her for her accomplishments and thank her for her service. The State Department has asked 2008 Fellow Bill Behn to extend his service to the agency until until August 2009. Good luck to both of them!

2008 Congressional Fellow Sherry Gillespie of Austin, Texas with Senator Joe Lieberman


Engineering & Diplomacy Fellow William Behn
of Los Altos Hills, CA

For reference...6 DEC 2007: US News & World Report article: Wanted on the Hill: A Few Good Scientists

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Last Update: 30 April 2009