U.S. Status As World Leader In Science and Technology At Risk, NAE President Says William Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering The U.S. is losing its grip as the global leader in science and technology, William Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering, told attendees last week at a special ACEC online seminar. Wulf said there are several "worrisome indicators" that point to a decline in U.S. global technological superiority—the U.S. is now a net importer of high tech products; 56 percent of current U.S. engineering PhD students, and 25 percent of their professors were born abroad; and federal funding for physical science and engineering research in 2001, as a fraction of the Gross Domestic Product, was about half of what it was in 1976. He also noted that the share of semiconductor manufacturing capacity owned by U.S. industry is half today of what it was in 2001. "Whether we have enough engineers for now or not, we need to fix some things for the future," Wulf said.

Duke University Professor Vivek Wadhwa Vivek Wadhwa, adjunct professor at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering who also participated in the seminar, pointed out that 30-40 percent of Duke's Master of Engineering Management students take jobs outside of the engineering profession. Wadhwa and Wulf agreed that the U.S. first needs to significantly increase its investment in education and to improve the country's science and math curriculum in K-12. "Just as importantly, determine what skills U.S. businesses need from graduates of engineering schools to give them a competitive global advantage," Wadhwa said. Wulf cautioned that engineering education also needs to be reviewed. "We can't compete on cost, so we must compete on value," he said. "The curriculum has changed little in 40 years, while the practice has changed dramatically."

Major Spending Bills Moving in the House Spending bills that fund important federal construction programs are beginning to move through Congress, although proposed cuts in key areas will pose challenges for ACEC and its industry allies in the coming months. The House cleared a $30.5 billion appropriations bill last week to fund the Department of Energy, Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Reclamation in 2007. The measure provides $5 billion for the Corps of Engineers, a 5 percent increase over the President's request but 6 percent less than the 2006 funding level. The House bill funds DOE environmental clean-up programs at $5.55 billion, an increase of $161.5 million over the President's request, but less than the $6.1 billion funding level for 2006. Hardest hit was funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program the principal federal funding mechanism for wastewater projects throughout the country. The House bill proposes $688 million for the program, a 22 percent cut from the 2006 funding level of $887 million. The House-passed bill to fund various military construction programs, such as family housing, base realignment and closure activities, represents a significant increase over the current year's spending. Other funding bills, including legislation to fund highways, transit, and airport projects, are still under consideration at the committee level. "This is clearly shaping up to be a tough budget year," said ACEC President Dave Raymond. "But this is still in the early stages, and we will work on the Senate to boost these numbers—particularly among the environmental programs—to ensure that the nation's infrastructure doesn't get short-changed."

June Market Forecast Series Event—Information Technology Association of America Jennifer Kerber and Trey Hodkins, Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) June 15                           ACEC HQ, Washington, DC or Online 12:30-1:30 pm EDT Jennifer Kerber and Trey Hodkins will examine the Homeland Security Presidential Directive, and how its implementation will affect engineering firms that work on federal contracts or on federal facilities. Members $109/non-members $129 Click here for online registration information. Click here for on-site registration information.

Early Bird Deadline Extended For "Value Redesigned" Seminar Value Redesigned: Transforming Engineering Firm Business Models June 26-27                      ACEC HQ, Washington, DC Early Bird Deadline Extended to June 9! Consulting A/E firms must change as the industry changes. New models will offer clients bold value propositions, combining new ways of creating value with new strategies for earning a fair return for a firm's efforts. What will the successful firm of the future look like? How can your firm increase the value it creates for clients and society? What new pricing strategies will allow you to be compensated fairly? How can you build the human capital and leadership skills needed to reinvent your practice? Kyle V. Davy will present a day-and-a-half learning experience that explores these models and offers practice leaders a path for beginning their own transformational efforts. Registration (until June 9): Members $575/non-members $775 Late Registration (on or after June 10): Members $675/non-members $875 Click here for more information and to register.

Upcoming Online Seminars June 6: Hiring Top Performers, Pat Dolen, Dolen Tydeman This useful online seminar will demonstrate how performance impacts a firm's productivity, how to increase the effectiveness of interviews, how to reduce turnover significantly through job matching, and how job matching reveals top performers. Click here for more information and to register. June 7: Negotiating Better Engineering Contracts: A Win-Win Situation, Gary Bates, Roenker Bates Group Achieve an understanding of the importance of conflict resolution in business and personal life. Discover how to recognize and apply different techniques for effective negotiation. Also, learn the skills required to be an effective negotiator, and realize the proper sequence for negogtiating a win-win engineering contract. Click here for more information and to register.

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