IEEE USA News
 IEEE-USA
1828 L Street, NW, Suite 1202 - Washington, DC 20036-5104
Tel: +1 202 785 0017 - Fax: +1 202 785 0835
Web: https://www.ieeeusa.org
 
Greg Hill, Member & Electronic Communications Coordinator
g.hill@ieee.org, 202-785-0017, ext. 8335 www.ieeeusa.org
 

CONTENTS
*NEW AND NOTABLE @ IEEE-USA*
 
- HELP SET IEEE-USA'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR 2001-2002
- COMMENTS SOUGHT ON SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM POSITION STATEMENT
- HOUSE PASSES ENHANCEMENTS TO PENSIONS/IRAs
- CONSULTANTS DIRECTORY UPDATE
- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR 2001 MASS MEDIA S&E FELLOWS PROGRAM
- AAES SEEKS NOMINEES FOR JOURNALISM AWARD
 
*NEWSBYTES*
 
- IN SCI-TECH, AMERICANS LIKE BEING #1
- WOMENS' FIRST ON WEB
- COLLEGE GRADS LEANING AWAY FROM DOT-COMS
- ENGINEERING SURVEY IDENTIFIES FUTURE CHALLENGES
 
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*NEW AND NOTABLE @ IEEE-USA*
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HELP SET IEEE-USA'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR 2001-2002
 
Every two years at the start of each new federal Congress, IEEE-USA
publishes a Legislative Agenda, which highlights IEEE-USA's legislative
priorities during the coming legislative session and informs IEEE U.S.
members, policy-makers, other organizations and the public about our
profession's public policy concerns. To help IEEE-USA set its agenda for
the 107th Congress in 2001, U.S. IEEE members are invited to participate in
an on-line survey of public policy priorities.
 
Survey participants are asked to evaluate 14 prospective issues in terms of
your personal support for IEEE-USA's proposed position and the relative
priority you place on this issue. You can also recommend alternative
issues and provide general feedback. The survey will run through 2 October,
2000. Based on the survey responses and other input received regarding the
outlook for legislation in the 107th Congress, IEEE-USA's Board of
Directors will narrow down the list to 5-10 high priority issues comprising
the Legislative Agenda at its November 2000 meeting.
 
For more information and to participate in the survey, go to
https://www.ieeeusa.org/forum/survey.
 
 
COMMENTS SOUGHT ON SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM POSITION STATEMENT
 
IEEE-USA's Engineering Employment Benefits Committee invites member
comments and feedback on the draft of a position statement proposing
guidelines for Social Security reforms. Your comments are an important
part of shaping this important legislation. To view the draft and to
submit feedback, go to
https://www.ieeeusa.org/boards/Forum2/HTML/000010.html.
 
 
HOUSE PASSES ENHANCEMENTS TO PENSIONS/IRAs
 
On July 19, the House of Representatives passed the Comprehensive
Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act (H.R. 1102) by a vote of 401 to
25 (with 9 non-voting). The bill will now move to the Senate for
consideration and for negotiation with the White House. In early August,
IEEE-USA arranged for a group of high-level representatives from IEEE-USA,
AAES, AIChE, and ASME to meet with Clinton administration officials from
the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Labor to convey the engineering
community's support for the pension and IRA improvements in H.R. 1102, and
to discuss the Administration's objections to that legislation. To find out
more on this and other important issues, visit the IEEE-USA Public Policy
Forum at https://www.ieeeusa.org/forum/index.html.
 
 
CONSULTANTS DIRECTORY UPDATE
 
The final print edition of the 2000 Directory of Electrotechnology &
Information Technology Consultants is available now through the IEEE-USA
office. To request a free copy, please call +1 202 785 0017. This is the
last year that the print version will be produced. The IEEE-USA
Electrotechnology & Information Technology Consultants searchable online
database at https://www.ieeeusa-consultants.org, is replacing the print
format. All new listings will be included in the searchable online
database of consultants. The online database is currently live and
consultants are urged to sign up online at
https://www.ieeeusa-consultants.org/submissions/update.html.
 
 
APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR 2001 MASS MEDIA S&E FELLOWS PROGRAM
 
For a 10-week period during the summer, the AAAS Mass Media Science and
Engineering Fellows Program places advanced college and university students
in the natural and social sciences and engineering at radio stations,
television stations, newspapers, and magazines throughout the country. The
goal of the program is to strengthen the connections between science and
the media. This past summer marks the first time that IEEE-USA has placed
a Science and Engineering Fellow. Elan Ruskin, a junior at the University
of Pennsylvania majoring in computer science engineering, spent 10 weeks
this summer at the St. Louis (MO) Post Dispatch covering environment,
nature and technology news. IEEE-USA is looking forward to continuing its
participation in the Mass Media Sceince and Engineering Fellows Program in
2001. IEEE-USA will sponsor a U.S. IEEE who is a Junior, Senior, or
Graduate/Post-Graduate level student in the 2001 program. For more
information, visit https://www.ieeeusa.org/notable/mediafellow2001.htm. The
deadline for receipt of applications is 15 January, 2001.
 
AAES SEEKS NOMINEES FOR JOURNALISM AWARD
 
The American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) is seeking
nominations for the 2000 AAES Engineering Journalism Award. The 2000 prize
consists of a plaque and a $5,000 hororarium. The award, which recognizes
outstanding reporting of an event or issue that furthers public
understanding of engineering, will be given in one of these three
categories: daily newspapers, general circulation print media, and
broadcast radio or television. Nominations should be sent to AAES at 1111
Nineteenth St., NW, Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20036-3690. Submissions
must be postmarked no later than 31 January, 2001. For more information,
contact Rebecca Jones, AAES, at +1 202 296 2237, ext. 17.
 
 
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*NEWSBYTES*
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IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, AMERICANS LIKE BEING #1
 
According to a recent Gallup Survey sponsored by the Bayer Corporation and
NSF on public attitudes toward Science and Technology (S&T) and education,
Americans take pride in our nation's leadership in science and technology,
support continued investments in research and development, and are
concerned that our educational system is not preparing students for the
challenges that lie ahead as the pace of scientific discovery increases. A
significant majority of survey respondents indicated that they are more
likely to vote for candidates in this year's election who put a high
priority on supporting science and technology, strengthening science
education and technical literacy, and expanding access to the Internet.
Highlights of "Bayer Facts of Science Education VI: Americans' Views on
Science, Technology, Education, and the Future" are available on-line at
https://www.bayerus.com/msms/news/indexfact.html.
 
 
WOMENS' FIRST ON WEB
 
For the first time ever, the number of women online in the United States
surpassed that of men. A report released in August reveals that during the
first quarter of this year, 50.4 percent of Internet users were women, as
opposed to men at 49.6 percent. The report, entitled "It's a Woman's World
Wide Web," from Media Metrix, Inc. and Jupiter Communications, examined
websites with the highest percent composition of females in every stage of
life, confirming the notion that women on the Web are no longer a niche
market. Among the report's findings, analysis concluded that the
population of women online is growing more rapidly than the online
population overall and that teen girls, ages 12 - 17, comprised the most
notable increase by age group from 1999 to 2000. You can view the report
in its entirety in (.pdf) format at
https://www.mediametrix.com/data/MMXI-JUP-WWWW.pdf.
 
 
COLLEGE GRADS LEANING AWAY FROM DOT-COMS
 
Despite the hype about job opportunities with new dot-com organizations,
most new college graduates would rather work elsewhere, given their choice.
In a new survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and
Employers (NACE), only 13 percent of new graduates said they would like to
work for a dot-com while 42 percent picked a Fortune 500 firm as their
employer of choice. For more, visit
https://www.naceweb.org/press/display.cfm/2000/pr061500.htm.
 
 
ENGINEERING SURVEY IDENTIFIES FUTURE CHALLENGES
 
The results of a recent ITT Industries/DISCOVER Magazine Engineering Survey
reveal that engineering experts see finding new energy sources and
supplying the world with clean water as the top challenges the engineering
community will face in the 21st century. Four hundred engineers from
various disciplines -- including electrical, civil, chemical and mechanical
engineering -- participated in the telephone survey conducted by Ketchum,
the ITT Industries public-relations agency. Check out the results of the
ITT Industries/DISCOVER Engineering Survey at
https://www.ieeeusa.org/features/ITTSurvey.html.
 
 

 

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Updated 08/26/2000