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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
- The application forms for 2013 are available online. (State; Congressional) The deadline for 2013 is
Friday, 16 March 2012.
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, two 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.
- JANUARY 2011 Today's Engineer: Federal Government 101: The IEEE-USA Congressional and State Department Fellowships, By Norman C. Lerner, Ph.D., P.E. (At the request of the US Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States
— the location of Dr. Lerner's fellowship — he is his 2010 fellowship through 2011. Dr. Lerner contributed significantly to a new program sponsored by the OAS Office of Science and Technology, and it was determined that he was instrumental to the program's continued success.)
Current Fellow Activities
2011 State Department Fellow Becky Taylor (front row, third from left) attended
— on behalf of the U.S. Department of State — the DoD's Innovation and Leadership conference. Becky stands botton row, third from the left, next to Gen. James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The other attendees included 1-, 2-, 3-star generals, admirals and senior leaders.
The 2011 State Department Fellows
Both Ms. Taylor and Dr. Thakkar will continue their fellowships into 2012.
 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 living
in low-income housing with educational opportunities and
access to technological resources. He also has been
appointed to the Urbana Free Library Board, where he
contributes to the library's long range planning. As a
Spectrum Scholar of the American Library Association, he is
developing an expertise in digital data curation and
preservation.
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.An Austin resident for 25 years, Ms. Taylor has served numerous community organizations as a board member, including the Austin Community College Foundation, Austin Lyric Opera Executive Resource Council, and Austin Technology Council (ATC). She was a founding member of the ATC, serving as chair during formative stages in the 1990s, helping the organization to grow from 200 to nearly 1,000 members. She is a speaker or judge for University of Texas business plan competitions, as well as for the ACTiVATE entrepreneurship program at Texas State University. Ms. Taylor has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Iowa State University and holds a Masters degree in public policy from the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Policy.
The 2012 Congressional Fellow
 Leslie Martinich, Principal Consultant at Competitive Focus, provides education and consulting services in leadership, professional ethics and innovation management. With more than 25 years of experience as a software professional, she has led teams at IBM, Compaq, Novell, Vignette and several startup companies, rising to VP of Consulting at Sterling Information Group, where she was responsible for a team of 80 consultants. Leslie serves as the lead faculty member at the Engineering Leadership Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the past VP Publications for the IEEE Technology Management Council.
IEEE Activities (M 1997 SM 2003) COMMITTEES/BOARDS: IEEE-USA Annual Meeting 2011 Planning Committee, Engineering Management Society (now the Technology Management Council) Board of Governors, 2005-2009, VP Publications 2006-2009, Chapter Chair 2004-2009. Women in Engineering, Chapter Chair, 2011. Education Society, Chapter Webmaster, 2009. AWARDS: Engineering Management Society, Dallas Chapter, Volunteer of the Year Award, 2008. CONFERENCES: International Engineering Management Conference, 2007, Vice Chair.
Other Volunteer and Community Activities. Board of Directors, Spredfast, 2008-2011. Engineering Leadership Institute, Founder, 2005. Ethics in Business Award Selection Committee, 2005, 2006. Austin Software Executives’ Group, Co-Founder, 2001. Southwest Texas State University, Computer Science Industrial Advisory Board, 1989-2001, Hospice Austin, Volunteer, 2008-2011.
The 2012 State Department Fellows
 |
Dr. Patrick Meyer of Newark, DE, who served as a 2011 IEEE-USA Congressional Fellow in Congressman Inslee’s office, will continue in 2012 as one of our Engineering and Diplomacy Fellows. In 2012, Patrick will be working with the Energy Transformation Team in the new State Department Bureau of Energy Resources.
Dr. Meyer 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. |
 Dr.
Richard Bernardi
of Wayne, PA is President of Spectrasonics, Inc, a medical
electronics research and development enterprise. The Company founded
in 1993 by Drs. Bernardi, Lizzi and Coleman specializes in
ultrasonic imaging and therapy technologies. Prior to founding
Spectrasonics Dr. Bernardi held executive positions at Analogic,
Interspec, Smith Kline, and Picker Corporations. During his 39 year
career in biomedical engineering he has consulted for General
Electric, Shimadzu, Alcan as well as several start-up enterprises.
He holds 15 patents in the field of medical imaging and therapy.
A Wayne resident
for 30 years, Dr. Bernardi has been a member of IEEE since
1979. He is also a member of the Acoustical Society of
America and Senior Member of the American Institute of
Ultrasound in Medicine. He has served on various National
Institutes of Health SBIR technical review committees and
was a member of the ultrasound technical standards committee
for NEMA. Most recently he has taught as an Adjunct
Professor at Delaware County Community College. Dr.
Bernardi has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics from
Manhattan College and received both Master’s and Ph.D.
Degrees in solid state physics from Syracuse University.
For additional reference...
AAAS publication: "From
the Lab to the Hill: Essays Celebrating 20 Years of Congressional Science
and Engineering Fellows," which includes essays by IEEE-USA
Congressional Fellow alumni Charles Bostian, LeEarl Bryant, Tom Fagan,
George Swetnam and Don Willyard.
6 DEC 2007: US News & World Report article: Wanted on the Hill: A Few Good Scientists
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Last
Update:
04 January 2012 |
