Gordon Day

One of the roles of the President of IEEE-USA is to speak out on issues of interest to the U.S. engineering community.  Below, you will find some of my views on issues of importance today.

Competitiveness
There is now a rare bipartisan consensus within the Federal government that the United States must do more to preserve and enhance its competitiveness in a global economy.  In 2006, the President proposed the American Competitiveness Initiative and Congressional Leadership responded with the Democratic Innovation Agenda.  Both of these proposals drew heavily on recommendations made in a report by the National Academies of Science and Engineering in 2005 called “Rising Above the Gathering Storm.”  Central among the initiatives are greater investments in basic research — doubling funding for NSF, NIST, and the DoE Office of Science over 7 to 10 years — and substantial investments in math and science education.  Investments in bridging the gap between basic research and product development — such as those made by the NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) — should also be a priority.  FY2007 Federal appropriations made an important start in addressing these issues, but the efforts must be sustained over a long period of time.  IEEE-USA has taken a strong position favoring investments to improve American competitiveness and must continue to speak clearly about their importance.

Workforce Development
A more competitive America will require more highly skilled engineers, and result in more engineering jobs.  And just as this demand develops, more and more engineers in the baby-boom generation will be retiring.  Today, we are importing many engineers.  That’s not necessarily bad, especially if they build their careers here, but it would be much better to grow more of our own.   That means doing a better job of science and math education in our schools.  It means attracting more young men and women into the field, including especially from under-represented groups.  And it means working to assure that they have access to affordable university training.   In the meantime, we must do more to help today’s practicing engineers thrive in their careers, by providing career-enhancing resources, by working to assure that tax policies do not encourage companies to move engineering jobs abroad, and by making sure that immigration laws work to encourage true immigration and not just temporary work.  IEEE-USA’s position on immigration has often been caricatured as narrowly anti-immigration, but an excellent new immigration position statement presents a broad and thoughtful view that should be supported by both engineers and their employers.

Education
Studies of the achievements of students in science and mathematics (e.g. the OECD PISA studies) consistently show that American students rank poorly compared to those of other industrialized countries.  Other data show decreasing interest in science and engineering careers among American students; according to the NSF, in 2003, 56% of graduate level electrical engineering students in American universities were foreign nationals on temporary visas.  The Federal government needs to make greater investments in both the teaching of math and science and in research that will lead to improvements.  Professional societies must work to attract students to careers in science and technology.  IEEE-USA has long supported such investments, but could and should be more aggressive.

Broadband Access
Affordable access to broadband data networks will be as important in the 21^st century as affordable access to electricity and telephone systems became in the 20^th century.  It’s an issue in enhancing competitiveness, building and maintaining a strong workforce, and enabling better education.  International studies show that the U.S. lags other countries in both the fraction of households with available broadband service and the data rates available.  It is too early to know what data rates will eventually be required, but emerging applications already make it clear that rates much higher than the fastest available today will be needed.  An IEEE-USA position paper on broadband networks states that “high-speed broadband network deployment is a national necessity, and that it is attainable through legislation, regulation, example and research that encourages proactive market forces in the industry.”  But, in the last Congress, telecommunications legislation stalled over issues largely unrelated to accelerating deployment.  IEEE-USA is one of the organizations most able to advocate government action to accelerate broadband deployment, and should do so aggressively.

Energy
Concerns about cost, reliable supply, and environmental issues will make energy one of the most important national issues for the next several decades and probably beyond.  Much of the work to be done falls in the domain of electrical engineers — the development of non-fossil-based electric generation, more efficient and reliable electric transmission and distribution, better electric and hybrid transportation technologies, and more efficient lighting, are just a few important areas.   While IEEE-USA has many policy positions related to energy, this is an appropriate time to strengthen them and become stronger advocates in the energy area.

Gordon W. Day
S’66-M’67-SM’78-F’94

Director of Government Relations   Optoelectronics Industry Development Association

g.day@ieee.org