What's New @ IEEE-USA - Eye On Washington

1) CAPITOL HILL WATCH

• 109th Congress, 2nd Session: What's Ahead in 2006?

• 2006 Intellectual Property Activity

2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE AGENCY WATCH

• NIST Creates Web Site For Health Standards

• State Department Preps For More Internet Governance Debate

• NSF's 2005: Year in Review

• IEEE Fellows Win NAE Prize

3) REPORTS, SPEECHES & DOCUMENTS OF NOTE

• New Paper From Think Tanks on Fixing the US Patent System

• San Francisco Federal Reserve Examines Effective Innovation Policies: Educated Human Capital is as Important as Existence of Companies

4) U.S. COURTS ACTIVITY

• Judge Says Firm Can Compete For RFID Contract

5) U.S. STATES WATCH

• New Tech Laws In A New Year

• New York & California To Be Sites for New Nano Centers

• Governors Pledge to Make Their States Technological Leaders

6) AWARDS & GRANTS

7) CONFERENCES, FELLOWSHIPS, PROGRAMS & INTERNSHIPS FOR ENGINEERS, and STUDENTS and SCHOLARS OF ENGINEERING

• 2007 Government Fellowships

• WISE Program Seeks Senior Science & Technology Public Policy Advisor to Engineering Students (Nine Week Summer Position)

• Department of Commerce Seeking Non-Profits to Administer Scholarship Program

8) LATEST IEEE-USA ACTIVITIES

• Track IEEE-USA's Progress

• Mark Your Calendar for Congressional Visits Day

9) U.S. COMPETITIVENESS & INNOVATION: WHO'S DOING WHAT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?

• IEEE-USA Resource Web Page - U.S. Competitiveness: The Innovation Challenge

10) OTHER ITEMS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST

1) CAPITOL HILL WATCH

• 109th Congress, 2nd Session: What's Ahead in 2006?

January will be a month with little congressional activity.  The Senate has returned to hold Supreme Court confirmation hearings on the nomination of Samuel Alito. The House does not return to session until 31 January, the evening of the State of the Union address.

It shouldn't, but the fact that mid-term elections occur this November may dictate congressional behavior this year.  One of the casualties? Social security reform. Despite being a cornerstone of the President's 2005 agenda, its unlikely to be tackled due to its "third rail" quality. No reform bills made it out of committee during non-election year 2005, so don't expect anyone to touch the issue during '06 and risk their re-election bids. Instead, the activity we're likely to see will involve clean-up of unfinished business such as:

--PATRIOT Act reauthorization (its currently operating on a short 5-week extension);

--overhaul of the federal pension system;

--opening the Alaskan wildlife areas (ANWR) to drilling, (On an energy-related note, Hurricane Katrina hit one-month after the Energy Act of 2005 was passed last summer. Then came introduction of the "Second Energy Act," designed to spur construction of oil refineries. Currently, US refineries are concentrated in Gulf states making us vulnerable to supply disruptions in the wake of disasters. The second act was focused mainly on oil and gas resources but at one point, did contain a White House-backed provision to allow power plants to more easily upgrade their facilities without installing equipment to reduce pollutants. Judging by the neck-and-neck roll call votes, this second act may not be popular enough to rise again this year.);

--and, tax cuts and tax code overhaul.

Later in the year look for a re-write of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which, House Energy & Commerce-Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) says, "will take all of our attention" this year.

Also likely to be on Members' minds, innovation and the U.S.'s ability to compete.  Last year saw the release of one report after the other dealing with the subject of our fading world dominance and lagging competitiveness. The first major piece of legislation to deal with the issue was introduced on 15 December - The National Innovation Act of 2005 - by Senators Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and John Ensign (R-NV). This legislation seeks to implement many of the recommendations of the National Innovation Initiative report, one of many released last year. The bill (S. 2109) includes a number of provisions. Among the highlights are a plan for creating a White House-level President’s Council for Innovation as well as a series of new scholarship and fellowship programs to encourage studies in science, mathematics and engineering. The bill encourages federal agencies to spend up to 3% of their research budgets on high-risk frontier research, and it also calls for a doubling of the National Science Foundation’s budget over the next five years. A summary of S. 2109, the National Innovation Act of 2005, is available at http://lieberman.senate.gov/documents/bills/051215niasummary.doc.

• 2006 Intellectual Property Activity in a Nutshell

The technology industry will continue to battle the entertainment sector in Congress over legislation designed to impose copy-protection technology. The Motion Picture Association of America and Recording Industry Association of America likely will lobby Congress to pass legislation that would authorize the FCC to mandate anti-piracy technologies in electronics equipment.

The MPAA began its lobbying activities at the January '06 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by demonstrating the "analog hole" to Congressional staff. An analog hole is the practice of converting analog content into digital format without embedded copy-protection instructions. Hollywood studios are concerned about the potential for mass online redistribution of entertainment programming on the Internet via the hole. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Committee ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.) introduced H.R. 4569 during the 1st session of the 109th Congress, which requires analog conversion devices to feature specific digital security.

Other legislation will address the "broadcast flag." On 31 January, the Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the "broadcast flag," technology which is designed to prevent Internet distribution of broadcast content.

2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE AGENCY WATCH

• NIST Creates Web Site For Health Standards

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has created a Web site for information on health standards. The Healthcare Standards Landscape will publish information on healthcare standards, organizations and related references, as well as enable searches of the content. The site will aide in standards development, coordination, implementation and use. "We must know what standards are available," said Tom Rhodes, part of the Standards and Conformance Testing Group at NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory. "We have to have some awareness and capability of knowing what those standards are and what they are for, who is using them."

• State Department Preps For More Internet Governance Debate

David Gross, the coordinator for international communications and information policy at the U.S. State Department expects the debate over Internet governance to resurface this year when the U.N. International Telecommunication Union meets to determine its role in adopting global standards. Currently, the Internet is “governed” in one way or another by ICANN, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Internet Society (ISOC), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). For more information, please read, Who Controls the Internet?, Vol. 2005, No. 22 (18 November 2005)

Gross said the looming discussion will be complicated and important. In November, Gross fought successfully to maintain the U.S. government's oversight of the Internet when he led the American delegation at the U.N.-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society. Gross said even people in countries that filter Internet content are developing a thirst for information. "I do not believe that it's an accident that we have more democracies now in the world than ever before, at the same time that information is able to flow more freely," Gross said.

• NSF's 2005: Year in Review

Discoveries in biology, astrophysics and climate change rank highly and NSF claims 2005 was another banner year for science research. Here are some highlights of NSF-supported discoveries and breakthroughs during the past year. Starting in January... http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=105693

• IEEE Fellows Win NAE Prize

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize, the engineering community's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, to the inventors of a microchip central to the development of digital cameras and powerful telescopes. IEEE Life Fellow Willard Boyle and IEEE Fellow George Smith, both former researchers for Bell Laboratories, won the $500,000 prize for inventing an imaging microchip in 1969. Specifically, the award is "for the invention of the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD), a light-sensitive component at the heart of digital cameras and other widely used imaging technologies." The chip converts light particles into electrical packets that are instantaneously put in position on the chip to be scanned.

3) REPORTS, SPEECHES & DOCUMENTS OF NOTE

• New Paper From Think Tanks on Fixing the US Patent System

A new paper from the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies takes a hard look at US patent policies and procedures. Under current rules, patents are awarded according to a "first to invent" method, i.e. a final patent is ultimately awarded to the inventor who proves that he or she was the first to develop a new product, service, or technology. Most other developed nations use a "first to file" system where a patent is awarded to the first inventor who files for a patent. It has generally been believed that the "first to invent" system is more entrepreneur-friendly. Because large incumbent firms can afford to retain expensive legal support, they may be better able to file patent applications in a timely and regular manner.

The report claims there is little evidence to support this claim. Instead, the researchers find that large incumbent firms tend often delay filing patent claims in an effort to delay the introduction of new and often disruptive technologies. These practices tend to delay the introduction and diffusion of new technologies. When competition from challengers does exist, incumbent firms will accelerate their patent filings, and thus expedite the commercialization process. Cohen and Ishii do not recommend scrapping the current system but they do note that researchers need to understand the relative costs and benefits of "first to file" vs. "first to invent." The November 2005 AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies Working Paper (05-22), “Competition, Innovation, and Racing for Priority at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Linda Cohen and Jun Ishii, is available at: http://www.aei-brookings.org/admin/authorpdfs/page.php?id=1215

• San Francisco Federal Reserve Examines Effective Innovation Policies: Educated Human Capital is as Important as Existence of Companies

Effective innovation policies don't just focus on inventing new stuff. They also concern themselves with the diffusion of innovation, specifically, how well are new products, services and technologies deployed in the economy? A recently published research note from the San Francisco Federal Reserve examines this topic by looking at the diffusion of information technology. The note summarizes research by Mark Doms and Ethan Lewis who have studied the use of personal computers by businesses between 1990 and 2002. They have found that, not surprisingly, metro areas with highly educated populations are more likely to become computer intensive and to enjoy higher relative wage growth. They also found that a region's role as an information technology center did contribute to faster adoption of computers. However, the education level of the population had a stronger impact than did the local presence of information technology firms.

The 2005 Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Research Note, "The Diffusion of Personal Computers Across the US" (#2005-37), by Mark Doms, is available at

http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2005/el2005-37.html#sum

4) U.S. COURTS ACTIVITY

• Judge Says Firm Can Compete For RFID Contract

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims will let On Track Innovations compete to be a provider of identification chips for the federal government's electronic passport project. Judge Charles Lettow overruled a Government Printing Office decision preventing the company from competing to provide the radio-frequency identification devices. "We are pleased with the judge's decision. We are looking forward to continuing work with the government on this project," said Oded Bashan, the chairman, president and CEO of OTI. GPO had planned to issue a contract for the chips more than a year ago.

• U.S. Supreme Court

In recess until 21 February.

5) US STATES WATCH

• New Tech Laws In A New Year

Several technology-related measures that took effect in the states on 1 January 2006:

--MN & LA - Laws designed to combat identity theft. The statutes require companies to notify state residents when their personal information is accessed by unauthorized parties. Louisiana's act mandates that companies report breaches if there is proof that harm has been done to the compromised data. Minnesota's law requires customers to be alerted regardless of the consequences of the data breach.

--CT, IL, ME, NY & NV – Laws similar to the MN and LA laws. A new Nevada statute also enables victims of ID theft to apply for special passports after filing police reports. The passports are effectively "get out of jail" free cards that waive the victims of all legal liability related to criminal activity stemming from the stolen data.  Another NV law directs auto manufacturers to disclose the existence of black boxes in vehicle owner's manuals, and to tell customers that they can monitor the performance and location of their automobiles. Under the law, only owners can access the data downloaded by the black boxes.

• New York & California To Be Sites for New Nano Centers

In December, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced that it was establishing two major nanoelectronics research institutes – one at the State University of New York-Albany, and the other at UCLA. The new centers are:

1) The Western Institute of Nanoelectronics (WIN) - Headquartered at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, WIN participants will come from three University of California campuses (Los Angeles, Berkeley, and Santa Barbara) and Stanford University. WIN will focus on novel spintronics and plasmonic devices. In addition to its support from the SIA funding, the center also will receive additional direct support from Intel and the UC Discovery program.

2) The Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery and Exploration (INDEX) - Headquartered at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering of the State University of New York-Albany (SUNY-Albany), it also will include the Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Yale University. INDEX will focus on the development of nanomaterial systems; atomic-scale fabrication technologies; predictive modeling protocols for devices, subsystems and systems; power dissipation management designs; and realistic architectural integration schemes for realizing novel magnetic and molecular quantum devices. In addition to state support, INDEX also will receive direct funding from IBM.

More information regarding SIA's Nanoelectronic Research Initiative is available at: http://www.src.org/nri/default.asp?bhjs=0

On a related note...

• Governors Pledge to Make Their States Technological Leaders

In his State of the State speech last week, NY Governor George Pataki pledged to build on a series of tech-related initiatives to attract investment, mentioning the plans to build the $435 million INDEX in Albany. He said NY will provide $80 million in a partnership that will include private and federal funding. Construction of the facility is part of a collaborative initiative between the federal government and the semiconductor industry. "Now it is time to take the next steps to propel New York and New Yorkers to the forefront of the worldwide race toward high-tech supremacy," Pataki said.

Pataki, who is eyeing the White House in 2008, also said he intends to propose legislation to create "tech zones" based on the state's existing "empire zones," which provide tax breaks for businesses that expand or relocate to certain areas. The tech zones would be affiliated with New York's centers for excellence and would be located in Albany, Buffalo, Long Island, Rochester and Syracuse.

"By combining our centers of excellence and new tech zones with our new math and science high schools, we'll create five hubs of high-tech education, innovation and manufacturing across the state," he said. Pataki further said he plans to propose a biotechnology research grant initiative that would leverage $600 million in funds.

Texas has a similar "hub" program in its Industry Cluster Initiative.

In his State of the State address, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a plan to leverage $70 billion in bonds over 10 years to invest more than $200 billion in the state's transportation, education, water, safety and service infrastructure -- without raising taxes. "A new California is coming, whether you like it or not," he said.

Schwarzenegger said CA would risk losing its edge as a "gold standard" for innovation if it is not willing to invest its resources. He said California should take cues from China -- a country that he said is preparing for a global future despite its "enormous problems."

The plan calls for $107 billion in transportation investments over 10 years to, among other things, build more than 1,200 miles of new highway. But Schwarzenegger said it is just as critical to connect with the rest of the globe. "We must not only expand the concrete highways that connect Los Angeles to San Francisco but the digital ones that connect Stockton to Shanghai," he said.

6) AWARDS & GRANTS

• AAAS Grant Site

The American Association for the Advancement of Science has a service called GrantsNet Express.  Each week GrantsNet will provide a 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. The weekly emails will include: — New science funding programs, divided into opportunities for postdocs/graduate students and undergraduates — Submission deadlines for funding opportunities scheduled in the upcoming week — New listings of funding for science-related grant programs from U.S. government agencies To register, visit http://www2.sciencecareers.org/promos/grantsubmit.asp

• 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. For more information: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06527

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (optional): 15 March 2006

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time): 12 April 2006

Robert Noyce Scholarship Program - The Robert Noyce Scholarship program seeks to encourage talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers. The program provides funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends, and programs for students who commit to teaching in high need K-12 schools. For more information: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06528

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (optional): 28 February 2006

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time): 3 April 2006

• Department of Defense

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Advanced Technology Office (ATO) is soliciting proposals for the performance of research, development, design, and testing that directly supports Advanced Technology Office (ATO). This includes Robust Networking and Communications, Intelligence Preparation of the Battlesphere (IPB), Information Operations (IO), Information Assurance (IA), Computer Network Operations, Maritime, Special Operations and technologies that provide unconventional advantages over adversaries or potential adversaries.

http://www.fedgrants.gov/search/announce.do

Application Deadline:  December 31, 2006

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Sciences Office is looking for research ideas and areas that might lead to innovations in science and engineering. To this end, DSO is soliciting proposals for advanced research and development in a variety of enabling technical areas as described below. Proposals may be either basic or applied research. However, in all cases, proposers should demonstrate that their proposed effort is aimed at high-risk/high-payoff technologies that have the potential for making, in the 5-10 year timeframe, revolutionary rather than incremental improvements to national security, including emerging threats and operational challenges.

http://www.fedgrants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=2676

Application Deadline:  February 7, 2006

• Department of Homeland Security

FY2006 Homeland Security Grant Program

Application Deadline:  March 3, 2006

http://www.fedgrants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=7542

• Department of Agriculture

Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grant Program

Application Deadline:  February 16, 2006

http://www.fedgrants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=2253

• Department of Health and Human Services

Diagnostic Technologies for Chemical Threat Exposure, Small Business Innovation Research (SIBR/U44) Awards

Application Deadline:  April 11, 2006

http://www.fedgrants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=7512

7) CONFERENCES, FELLOWSHIPS, PROGRAMS & INTERNSHIPS FOR ENGINEERS, and STUDENTS & SCHOLARS OF ENGINEERING

• 2007 Congressional & State Department Fellowships

An engineer once changed careers to serve as Calvin Coolidge's Vice President. As vice president, Charles Dawes influenced the public policy process and won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Dawes might be an extreme example, but that doesn't mean engineers can't influence the public policy process in other ways.  If you don't want to run for office but would like to take a year off from your regular job, IEEE-USA is now accepting applications for the 2007 government fellowship program that links engineers with government.  Our 2006 fellows have arrived in DC and are working on issues such as space & aviation, and telecommunications reform. For more information on what past fellows have learned and experienced, see http://ieeeusa.com/policy/govfel/cfalumni.html.  The deadline is 20 February 2006 and application materials are available at:http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/govfel/default.asp

• WISE Program Seeks Senior Science & Technology Public Policy Advisor to Engineering Students (Nine Week Summer Position)

An outstanding individual capable of teaching and mentoring engineering students on the interaction between engineering, technology, and public policy is sought to serve as Advisor-In-Residence (AIR) for the 2006 WISE Program (Washington Internships for Students of Engineering).For more information, please visit: http://www.wise-intern.org/advisor.htmlView a PDF of the announcement, here:  http://www.wise-intern.org/FMR/WISEAdvisor.pdf

8) LATEST IEEE-USA ACTIVITIES

• Track IEEE-USA's Progress

Review IEEE-USA's year-to-date progress in working for the IEEE's U.S. members at the new IEEE-USA Year-in-Review Web page. Check out what IEEE-USA activities and programs helped the IEEE's U.S. members in 2004 at the new IEEE-USA Annual Report online. And find out what's on IEEE-USA's agenda through 2009, with the new, online IEEE-USA Strategic & Operational Plan.For the IEEE-USA Year-in-Review, go to: http://www.ieeeusa.org/about/yearinreview.aspFor the IEEE-USA Annual Report, go to: http://www.ieeeusa.org/about/Annual_Report/2004.pdf For the IEEE-USA Strategic & Operational Plan, go to:

http://www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/strategicplan/index.html

Also, full listing of IEEE-USA lobbying activities can be found on our web site at: http://ieeeusa.com/policy/policy/index.html

• Mark Your Calendar for Congressional Visits Day

The annual CVD has been set for 28-29 March, and is expected to bring over 250 scientists, engineers, researchers, educators, and technology executives to Washington to raise visibility and support for science, engineering, and technology. Registration form. Flyer for distribution.

More information, visit http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/cvd/index.html.

9) U.S. COMPETITIVENESS & INNOVATION: WHO'S DOING WHAT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?

• IEEE-USA Resource  Web Page

U.S. Competitiveness: The Innovation Challenge http://ieeeusa.org/policy/issues/innovation/index.html

10) OTHER ITEMS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST

None.

Top of Page | What's New@IEEE | EyeOnWash Archive | IEEE-USA

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.

EDITOR: Erica Wissolik, IEEE-USA, 2001 L Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036-5104

You can change your IEEE-USA Eye on Washington subscription status by using the forms at http://whatsnew.ieee.org/ or at http://www.ieeeusa.org/emailupdates/.

Copyright © 2005, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.  Permission granted to copy for personal use or for non-commercial republication with appropriate attribution.

Updated: 17 January 2006
Contact: e . wissolik @ ieee . org