IEEE-USA President's Column

 

MAY 2007

I believe my fellow IEEE members would agree that today there is an unprecedented urgency for cutting-edge engineering solutions to some of the nation's, if not the globe's, most pressing problems in energy, the environment, health care, national security and information management, among others.

Let me name a few examples of exciting technologies that are now being imagined or have already arrived (and not a moment too soon): Pebble-bed water-cooled reactors that promise to revolutionize the operation and safety of nuclear power plants; automated virtual factories with robots programmed by product designers, allowing the manufacture of diverse products at lower costs to aid our competitiveness; and energy storage systems to store wind energy and overcome wind's limitations as an intermittent source of power. For a fascinating look at more forthcoming developments, I suggest you visit www.engineeringchallenges.org, the National Academy of Engineering's inspiring Web site, where engineers are invited to participate in a "worldwide brainstorming session."

How fortuitous that these challenges loom at a time of explosive growth in our professional knowledge. How vexing, too, that the politics of funding is an inseparable component of the research and development required to put these engineering solutions to work.

We must, therefore, step into the fray by educating and influencing our lawmakers. We cannot afford to remain passive or live out our professional lives as "mere" dedicated innovators; we must embrace political activism, even on a modest level, if we are to see our hard work and good intentions through. If you really want to make things happen in our profession, you have to go where they set the policies. This could mean coming to Washington to participate in Congressional Visits Day (www.setcvd.org) and meeting with congressional representatives to raise visibility and support for our issues. You could also visit your national representatives in their district offices.

Most of our lawmakers are not technologists; they need our specialized input to understand the substance and potential impact of proposed technologies. As one writer said on the Grand Challenges Web site, "…[H]ow many of these political leaders have engineering experience and are able to make intelligent decisions…?"

Policymaking and legislative action are among IEEE-USA's greatest strengths. We track the writing and passage of legislation; help our members voice their opinions on policy issues; speak at town hall meetings; write letters to Congress; use position statements to influence public policy; engage the media; and use myriad other approaches to get technical facts on the table — in plain English — to facilitate educated decision making.

If you've never taken part in legislative endeavors, you can start by perusing www.ieeeusa.org/policy, see which IEEE-USA committee you could best serve, or read about our Capitol Hill watches at www.ieeeusa.org/policy/EYEONWASHINGTON.

An easy but effective way to get acquainted with the public policy process is through the Congressional Advocacy Recruitment Effort (CARE). Each year Congress and state legislatures debate hundreds of bills that could, if passed, directly impact the research and development of new technologies as well as the careers of engineers. CARE (www.ieeeusa.org/policy/care) gives you an opportunity to influence your legislator's decisions before bills become law by allowing IEEE-USA to contact you when legislation affecting you is being considered. Your views can be made known quickly through an e-mail system that automatically links you to your state and federal legislators.

I believe you will be eager to participate when you realize you possess the experience and insight that could turn an issue around.

Updated:  15 May 2007
Contact: Pender M. McCarter, p.mccarter@ieee.org