Senators to address U.S. competitiveness at R&D symposium

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., will discuss U.S. competitiveness and innovation at the Fourth Annual Engineering R&D Symposium, which is scheduled for May 17–18 in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this year, Sens. Alexander and Bingaman, along with Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., introduced the Protecting America's Competitive Edge (PACE) Act to implement the recommendations put forward in the National Academies report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future."

The senators will provide attendees with an update on this legislation, which has wide bipartisan support in the Senate and more than 65 co-sponsors. ASME has been in support of this legislation since its introduction.

More than 18 engineering organizations are co-sponsoring this two-day meeting to gain firsthand knowledge of the administration's R&D priorities and the potential impact of the President's fiscal year 2007 budget request on the science, engineering and technology community. The symposium will also feature representatives from government, industry and academia, who will participate in panel sessions on innovation, U.S. competitiveness, research and development, and the state of the U.S. engineering enterprise.

Additional information on the symposium, including R&D updates at key agencies, is available at www.engineeringpolicy.org/RD_Symposium.cfm. ASME members can register to attend by contacting Darnella Parks at parksd@asme.org.

Early career forum to feature engineer from Congress

ASME's Committee on Early Career Development will hold an Early Career Forum on the subject of "Public Policy and the Future of Engineering." The forum will be held in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 16.

The Early Career Forum is intended to provide early career engineers with insight and experiences that are relevant to their careers.

"Public Policy and the Future of Engineering" will focus on the role that engineers can play in the policy-making process. Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois, an engineer and member of the House Science Committee, and John Voeller, an ASME Fellow, will each talk about engineering, the changing nature of the workforce, and the national and international challenges that engineers can play a role in solving.

Johné Parker, ASME's Congressional Fellow, will also discuss her experience working for Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota.

Early-career members of ASME in the Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland areas are welcome to attend the forum. The cost to attend is $25. You may register online at www.acteva.com/go/ECF. For more information, go to www.asme.org/Communities/EarlyCareer/Forum/
Upcoming_Events.cfm.

ASME organizes its first joint caucus briefing

On April 6, ASME convened the first-ever joint House Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus-House Research and Development (R&D) briefing. It covered the National Science Foundation's "Science and Engineering Indicators 2006" report and its STEM education-related companion piece, "America's Pressing Challenge — Building a Stronger Foundation."

ASME was approached to sponsor the briefing through its role on both the House R&D Caucus Advisory Committee and the House STEM Education Caucus Steering Committee.

Marc Goldsmith, vice president of the ASME Center for Public Awareness, served as moderator of the event, with Steven Beering and Jo Anne Vasquez, both members of the National Science Board (NSB), as the primary speakers.

Beering is chair of the NSB Subcommittee on Science and Engineering Indicators, while Vasquez has the distinction of being the first K-12 teacher appointed to serve on the NSB. Reps. Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich., and Rush Holt, D-N.J., attended the briefing, and spoke briefly.

Beering began his remarks by citing a "changed world" in the global picture for science, engineering and technology. He said that "the U.S. must maintain the vigor and quality of U.S. science and engineering." He continued, "Federal support for early stage research is becoming more important as industry increasingly avoids high risk. It is also critical to sustaining the vitality of U.S. academic science and engineering research and education."

Vasquez followed Beering and said, "A high-quality science and mathematics teaching workforce is key" to strengthening STEM education in America's schools and that "knowledgeable and skilled teachers are (better) able to close student achievement gaps."

Other NSB recommendations pertaining to STEM education include improving support for STEM education, providing students' opportunities to learn, and using assessment to reinforce learning.

This briefing was made possible through a grant from the United Engineering Foundation, and was co-sponsored by the following multidisciplinary organizations: the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the American Chemical Society; the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA; Johns Hopkins University's Center for Educational Outreach; the Museum of Science, Boston; the National Science Teachers Association; the Society of Women Engineers; and the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education.

The speaker presentations from this briefing will available at http://researchcaucus.org in the near future. For further information about this briefing, please contact Melissa Murray, Government Relations representative, at murraym@asme.org.

The Caucus Web sites are www.researchcaucus.org and www.stemedcaucus.org, respectively.

ASME attends NSTC aeronautics R&D policy outreach session

On April 17, Prabhat Hajela, a former ASME Congressional fellow, represented ASME at the National Science and Technology's Council (NSTC)'s Aeronautics S&T Subcommittee Outreach Session on the formation of a national aeronautics research and development policy.

NSTC, which is an arm of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), held the roundtable discussion in response to a congressional directive to create a new government aeronautics policy.

Robbie Roy, head of the NSTC Aeronautics Subcommittee, and Lisa Porter, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) associate administrator for aeronautics research, presided over the meeting, which included academic stakeholders from across the country.

Participants in the discussion addressed a number of issues, including the goals of a national aeronautics R&D policy, the items that such a policy needs to address, the mechanisms for consulting industry and academia for priority research, the appropriate federal role, workforce development issues, and availability of test facilities to the community.

Hajela stated that "a national R&D policy would ensure that our nation's aeronautics enterprise would be globally competitive, would give us the ability to safeguard national security, and would provide support for technological innovation that will result in continued improvements in the quality of life."

ASME's Aerospace Division has issued numerous position statements you can review at www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations/
PositionStatements. Additional information on NASA's fiscal year 2007 budget request is available at www.engineeringpolicy.org.

Anthony Quinn handles public policy-related aerospace R&D issues for ASME. He can be reached at quinna@asme.org.

— Josh Craft
ASME Government Relations

 

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