Get involved with ASME Government Relations

ASME Government Relations has a number of opportunities for members of all ages and experience levels to get involved in the public policy process. Two such opportunities are listed below.

First, ASME is accepting applications for the 2007–08 Federal Government Fellowship program. It enables selected ASME members to devote a year working in government providing engineering and technical advice to policy makers in Congress, federal agencies, and the White House.

Established engineers or scientists can apply for a congressional fellowship, a fellowship in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, or at the Department of Homeland Security. The application deadline for congressional fellowships is April 15, 2007, while applications for agency fellowships are considered on a rolling basis.

All fellowship applicants must be U.S. citizens and ASME members at the time of application. The following credentials are encouraged: at least five years of professional experience, an advanced engineering degree, professional engineer registration, and some public policy experience.

For additional information about the Federal Fellows program, visit www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations/
Programs/Federal_Government.cfm or contact Kathryn Holmes, director, ASME Government Relations, at holmesk@asme.org or (202) 785-7390.

For the second opportunity, the ASME Board on Government Relations is offering a unique opportunity for ASME early career engineers to join with the leadership of all the major engineering professional organizations to attend the 2007 American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) Award Banquet on Monday, May 7. The Board on Government Relations will support the cost of a selected number of early career engineers to attend.

To apply, e-mail your application to EarlyCareerEngineers@asme.org with the subject line: "Application for EC Delegate to 2007 AAES Awards Banquet." Applications should be in Word format, and should include your name, ASME membership number, daytime phone number, address, number of years since graduation, and any ASME positions held. Your application should also include an essay of up to 500 words on any one of the following topics:

— Innovation is a hot topic in Washington, D.C. How can the federal government better promote technology-based entrepreneurship and innovation?

— In the past year, there has been a real push for more U.S. engineers and scientists. How can the government more effectively promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at the K–12 education level and continuing technology-based education at the community level?

— Why should engineers be concerned about public policy issues and what can they do to contribute to the process?

The application deadline is April 2. If selected, you will be notified by April 13.

For more information about this opportunity, please contact Melissa Carl, ASME Government Relations representative, at carlm@asme.org.

Information about the 2006 AAES Awards Banquet is at http://www.aaes.org/news_center/5_5_03.asp. The ASME Government Relations Web site is at www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations.

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