Security issues top this agenda

ASEE Prism, May/Jun 2003 by Jagoda, Rachel

It was no surprise that homeland security was the primary focus of this year's EDC Public Policy Colloquium in February, where deans from 37 states met in Washington, D.C. Speakers and deans explored the responsibilities of engineers in a nation threatened by terrorist attacks and the impending war with Iraq.

William Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering, encouraged the deans to make their views known to policy makers regarding engineering and technology decisions in the post-September 11 era. Not only should they provide scientific and technical advice to lawmakers and federal officials; they should give their personal opinions on the use of technical information as well. He spoke of as troubling the designation of information as sensitive but unclassified-a still undefinted term that is being used increasingly to describe homeland-security initiatives. He urged engineers to speak out on the subject, saying that many influential policymakers don't understand the importance of sharing information among colleagues.

In his keynote address, Representative Curt Weldon (R Pa.), newly named to the House Committee on Homeland Security, said it is important to for deans to mo in to in international connections in scientific research. "Science and engineering are the key cornerstone [to our relationship]," he said when discussing a proposal for a national science policy that he presented to the Russian Academy of Sciences. He said the time has come to move away from the Cold War mentality to forge o new relationship with Russia. This new partnership, he said, should be based on collaborations m the areas of science, ranging from agriculture and engineering to medical research. The Russian Academy of Sciences has already adopted his proposal for scientific cooperation.

Weldon also warned that funding cuts for basic science and engineering research could prove disastrous from both a military and on economic point of view. "I believe the future of American success in the world lies in science and technology research and engineering," he said, noting that without further research, terrorists might be able to exploit American technological advances through cyberattacks.

Addressing other political issues, speakers from the public and nonprofit sectors described the federal budget preparation process. Marcus Peacock, associate director for natural resource programs at the Office of Management and Budget, and Kathie Olsen, associate director for science at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, spoke of the challenges of establishing a budget for FY 2004. They cited the large federal deficit, the war, the new Homeland Security Department, and the lack of a final FY 2003 budget at a time when the FY 2004 budget had already been released.

During the afternoon, the deans participated in sessions on homeland security and military defense, the engineering workforce, and bioengineering. Donna Dean, deputy director of the National Institute for Bioimaging and Biomedical Engineering, talked about NIH support for bioengineering research and its role in emerging new technologies. Following the presentation on homeland security and military defense by Patty Bartlett, Georgia Tech's federal relations director, and University of Washington's federal relations staffer Elaine McCusker, the deans expressed their own concerns, particularly the need to maintain opportunities for international students to work on engineering research projects that might involve sensitive information At a Capitol Hill reception, the deans presented Representative David Price (D-N.C.) with the Engineering Deans Council Award for his contributions to science and engineering policy and programs. Price urged the deans to discuss their ideas and concerns with their Congressional delegations the following day.

Rachel Jagoda is a public-policy assistant at ASEE. She can be reached at r.jagoda@asee.org.