2005 IEEE-USA President Gerry Alphonse is an IEEE Fellow, an accomplished engineer and a highly respected leader in technical and professional communities. He recently sat down with Today's Engineer to share some of the more personal defining moments in his remarkable life.

Long-term comparisons of the household savings rates of Europe, Japan and the United States reveal that, although all three have been trending downward, the Japanese are saving twice the amount — Europeans four times — as the United States. Given the questions swirling around the future of Social Security, and facing a declining number of traditional employer-maintained defined benefit pension plans, are we saving enough for retirement?

A new strategic plan for the National Nanotechnology Initiative sizes up the first five years of the government's R&D effort as a success, and lays out an ambitious agenda for continuing development of nanotechnology over the next five to 10 years. The new strategic plan includes facilitating transfer of new technologies into products for economic growth, jobs and other public benefit.

Technical professionals are very good with tasks. But when it comes to successful teaming, tasks are only half the equation — the other half is about fostering relationships. Find out how to select team members and assess your team's development to maximize productivity.

Whatever you call it — downsized, laid off or fired — the emotional journey that accompanies losing a job can be a rocky one. But it can also be a period for personal and professional growth. Read about how one IT consultant dealt with his unceremonious layoff, and how he bounced back to find an even better employment situation.

IEEE Senior Member Massoud Amin, who coined the term "self-healing grid" during his tenure at the Electric Power Research Insitute (EPRI), responds to a piece on electric power industry reliability that appeared in last month's Today's Engineer.