Summer opportunities in Washington for faculty, students

An outstanding individual capable of teaching and mentoring engineering students on the interaction among engineering, technology, and public policy is sought to serve as the Faculty Member-in-Residence (FMR) for the 2007 Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE) Program.

And where would the FMR be without students? The WISE program offers a unique opportunity to third- and fourth-year engineering students to spend the summer of 2007 in Washington, D.C. Recent graduates, beginning study in an engineering policy-related master's degree program, will also be considered. During their internship, students will learn how government officials make decisions on complex technological issues and how engineers can contribute to legislative and regulatory public policy decisions.

This year, Dec. 31, 2006, is the deadline for both the FMR and WISE intern applications. The FMR will receive a stipend, and the WISE intern will receive a stipend and housing for the summer. For more information on either of these opportunities, visit www.wise-intern.org, or you may contact Melissa Carl at carlm@asme.org.

 

Ambassador Constance Morella honored at World Standards Day 2006

ASME, along with standards development organizations the American National Standards Institute and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, took part last month in the U.S. celebration of World Standards Day 2006 in Washington. The 2006 theme, "Standards Build Partnerships," drew attention to the strengthening relationship between government and industry in the areas of standards and regulation.

As part of this year's ceremony, the 2006 Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership Award was presented to Constance A. Morella, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. After receiving the award, Morella stated, "The international language of commerce is standards."

Speaking to a group of distinguished standards experts in government, academia, and the private sector, Morella received resounding applause for her continued support of standards and her instrumental role in securing the approval of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act, a landmark law that represents a key partnership between the public and private sectors. Morella said someone once told her that "standards are like a toothbrush. Everybody agrees they are a good thing, but nobody wants to use someone else's."

 

Coalition thanks Appropriations for support of ACI thus far

ASME joined more than 130 professional societies, academic institutions, and industry groups in praising the leaders of the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on their support of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) in the current fiscal year 2007 appropriations bills thus far.

The ACI would significantly increase research and development funding at the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy Office of Science, which are funded by the Energy and Water and Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittees.

In its letter to Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, and Science Committee Chair Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the Innovation and Competitiveness Coalition's letter stated, "As leaders in the American business, academic, and scientific communities, we write to express our appreciation for your work on the Fiscal Year 2007 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill. Your leadership resulted in the Senate bill funding the American Competitiveness Initiative … As the appropriations process draws to a close and difficult choices must be made, we urge you to protect this science funding so that it is enacted this year. We offer our strong support and look forward to working with you to secure this important funding and ensure sustained scientific advancement and innovation."

Currently, the House has passed both the Energy and Water and Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bills, while the Senate has passed these bills only out of Committee. With the number of days in the legislative calendar diminishing, it is becoming more likely the remaining appropriations bills could be considered together in an omnibus bill.

To view all four letters and their list of endorsers, go to www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations/
PositionStatement.

 

Water forum addresses current and future water challenges and opportunities

From drought to climate change, water is fast emerging as a major national issue both in the engineering and the policy world. In order to bring some of these issues to light, ASME hosted its First Annual Conference on Water Quality, Drought, Human Health and Engineering Conference from Oct. 18-20 at the Desert Research Institute and the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas.
The conference provided a solutions-based forum that discussed technical, legislative, and regulatory challenges related to regional and national water issues.

The program began with two special taped video statements — one from Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and one from Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., regarding the importance of this issue.

Nevada's other senator, Harry Reid, sent a welcome letter that was read aloud to attendees. John Voeller, former ASME fellow at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, gave a keynote address that discussed global water issues as they related to quality. Several other noted experts spoke throughout the conference, including Pat Mulroy, of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, who addressed regional water issues in the state of Nevada.

Other sponsors of this conference included the ASME Nanotechnology Institute, ASME Environmental Engineering Division, The WaterCampws, UNLV Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering, National Supercomputing Center for Energy and the Environment, the Desert Research Institute and the Atomic Testing Museum.

In addition, ASME hosted a special Early Career Forum (ECF) event on Saturday, Oct. 21 called "Delivering Water, Today and Tomorrow." The event offered early career engineers and students the opportunity to learn more about international water issues and engineering solutions for water issues facing the American West and Southwest. For more about the forum, click here.

Information about this conference can be found at www.asmenews.org/meetcourse/906water.html. Proceedings from the conference are now available through the ASME Digital Store, http://catalog.asme.org/ConferencePublications/
CDROM/2006_Proceedings_1st_Water.cfm.

For more on the Early Career Forum Event, go to www.asmeconferences.org/Water06/ECF.cfm.

 

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