IEEE-USA Government Fellowships
Linking Science, Technology & Engineering Professionals with Government

Each year, IEEE-USA sponsors three government fellowships for qualified IEEE members.  The fellows - chosen by the IEEE-USA Government Fellows Committee and confirmed by the Board - 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 science, technology and engineering professionals with government, and provides a mechanism for IEEE's U.S. members to learn firsthand about the public policy process while imparting their knowledge and experience to policymakers.

Program News & Notices

2012 Application materials are now available:

  Application Kit for 2012 Congressional Fellowship
  Application Kit for 2012 Engineering & Diplomacy (State Department) Fellowship

PLEASE NOTE: Interested IEEE members may apply for both fellowships, however applicants must submit separate applications for each fellowship. IEEE-USA will not accept a single application stating that you are interested in both the State and the Congressional fellowships. Be mindful of the fact that the two fellowships are very different. If you are applying for both, you must submit two separate cover letters, application packets and separate reference letters. Your cover letters, references and application materials should reflect an understanding of the distinctions between the executive and legislative branch fellowships, and illustrate the experiences and qualifications that might benefit you in each fellowship.

The 2011 Congressional Fellow

Dr. Patrick E. Meyer of Newark, DE is an energy and environmental policy analyst, specializing in alternative energy, electricity, and fuel technology policy analysis; global sustainable energy systems; and environmental systems modeling and analysis. He has experience with advanced applications of mobile and stationary alternative energy, with a research focus on the social equity implications of energy policy implementation and technology diffusion. Dr. Meyer has volunteered on the IEEE-USA Communications Committee since 2005, and serves as the IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Energy, Environment, and Sustainability Editor. He has authored articles and editorials for Today's Engineer, in addition to peer-reviewed journal articles for IEEE Technology and Society Magazine and other publications.

Since 2008, he has run his own part-time consulting company, and conducted smart grid, solar energy, and policy research for IEEE and IEEE.tv.

Dr. Meyer holds a Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Policy from the University of Delaware, a M.S. in Science, Technology and Public Policy, and a B.S. in Public Policy from the Rochester Institute of Technology. At the University of Delaware's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, Dr. Meyer was sponsored as a Doctoral Affiliate in the National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. In his spare time, Dr. Meyer travels the nation, mountain biking, hiking, and camping, and has so far visited 84 sites in the US National Park System.

The 2011 State Department Fellows

Dr. Umesh Thakkar of Washington, DC is currently a AAAS policy fellow at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He is a senior research scientist at the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he focused on improvements to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in K-12 and higher education. Dr. Thakkar has served as a program director at the U.S. National Science Foundation in graduate education and in elementary, secondary, and informal education. Dr. Thakkar has been appointed by both Republican and Democratic Mayors of Urbana to the Community Development Commission, where he successfully worked with other commissioners to provide children and families

Dr. Thakkar has been an IEEE member for the last 15 years and has presented his work at IEEE conferences. He is a corresponding member of the IEEE-USA Career and Workforce Policy Committee. In addition to IEEE, he is a member of the AAAS, ALA, and the Association for Computing Machinery. He received his BS in computer and information science and his PhD in instructional design and technology, both from the Ohio State University. He has traveled to all 50 U.S. states.

Rebecca Taylor of Austin, TX is President of Taylor-Deininger Partners, Inc, a consultancy focused on advising senior executives and board members on strategic issues relating to technology manufacturing and design operations, new market opportunities, and Intellectual Property portfolio development.  She has started and/or advised technology companies since 1991, when she formed her first company. She held a variety of software design and technical consulting roles at Fisher Controls and Digital Equipment Corporation. Ms. Taylor holds patents in the field of mobile device communications, and has formed or advised numerous software and hardware technology startups over the past 20 years. A Senior Member of the IEEE, Ms. Taylor has spoken to IEEE members at recent ITC conferences on the process of starting companies.  She also has participated in IEEE Congressional Visits Day and informed the Texas congressional delegation on the value of investing in STEM undergraduate and graduate education.

The 2010 Congressional Fellows

Dr. L. Jean Camp of Bloomington, IN is serving her fellowship in the office of Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina. She received a PhD in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University, and an MSEE and BSEE/ BA Math from University of NC – Chapel Hill. Jean is an associate professor of informatics at Indiana University. She has also taught at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, worked as a visiting scientist at the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, and held research positions at CMU's Software Engineering and Information Networking Institutes. Jean holds several computer patents and has published books on identity theft and information security. She is a former member of the IEEE-USA Intellectual Property Policy Committee, a current member of the Committee on Communications and Information Policy, and she has participated in the annual IEEE-USA Congressional Visits Day. She has also been a member of ACM's Task Force on Job Migration.

The 2010 State Department Fellow

Prior to forming TRANSCOMM, Dr. Lerner developed techno-economic policy in the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Office of Telecommunications Policy. Dr. Lerner is a licensed professional engineer in VA, HI and NY, and a member of the IEEE Communications Society.  He is also a credentialed journalist and has written for Frequencia Magazine and Telepress LatinoAmerica.

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

| Top of Page | Policy Forum | IEEE-USA |
Last Update: 16 August 2010