Dr. Russell Lefevre, a vice president of Technology Services Corporation in Los Angeles is working as a staff member for Sen. John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-W.Va.). Lefevre will lend his expertise to Sen. Rockefeller in a number of scientific areas, including alternate fuels, electric vehicles, frequency spectrum allocation, aviation safety and high-technology impacts on the West Virginia economy.

"I believe that this list is only the beginning of what promises to be an exciting and productive year," Lefevre said. "I have had a long-standing interest in learning the details of how laws are made and how the concerns of those affected are taken into consideration. So when I was offered the opportunity to become an IEEE-USA Congressional Fellow, I quickly accepted.

"My assignment to Sen. Rockefeller’s staff seems to be a perfect match with my interests and expertise."

Noting that Sen. Rockefeller serves on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; is the ranking member of the Aviation Subcommittee; and serves on the Communications, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, and the Science, Technology and Space subcommittees, Lefevre added that "my assignments reflect his interest in a variety of science and technology issues."

Jason Remer, a design engineering supervisor for Entergy’s Arkansas Nuclear One plant outside his hometown of Russellville, Arkansas, is serving his fellowship on the staff of Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas).

Remer will assist Rep. Barton on national energy strategy, nuclear energy and electric power restructuring issues. Rep. Barton, whose district is in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, is Chair of the newly organized Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee. He is expected to work closely with President George W. Bush in advancing national electric restructuring legislation.

"I can’t imagine a more exciting time to be involved in the political process than this upcoming year," Remer said. "Technology policymaking is sure to play a major role in Congress this year, especially in light of the increase in e-commerce, Internet security issues and electric power deregulation."

"What better time to have electrical engineers involved in government than when so much of our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness involves the use of electricity and its many applications," added Remer, who already has experienced one of the many bonuses of life in Washington — he attended one of the inaugural balls with his wife and saw President Bush in person.

"I am thankful to have the opportunity to serve IEEE members through this Congressional Fellowship and look forward to an exciting and challenging year," he said.

Dr. Peter Winokur, manager for radiation technology and assurance at Sandia National Laboratory in his hometown of Albuquerque, has joined the staff of Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.). He will advise Sen. Reid on renewable energy and technology issues, including legislation to promote the development of clean, renewable energy sources such as wind, biomass (plant materials and animal waste) solar, and geothermal heat.

Sen. Reid is ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, and serves on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He believes that diversifying America’s energy portfolio to include a greater percentage of renewable energy would yield national security and trade balance dividends and result in major air and water quality improvements.

"This is an opportunity of a lifetime," Winokur said. "I hope to learn about the legislative and political processes and the roles science and technology play in setting policy and shaping laws. If I could help write a piece of legislation, that would be great, but the legislative process is slow and one year isn’t a long time on the congressional time scale. My job is to improve the process by which policymakers make decisions."

The highly competitive IEEE-USA Fellowships are awarded to IEEE U.S. members who accept one-year assignments as staff members for members of Congress or a congressional committee. While on Capitol Hill, they share their scientific and technical knowledge, providing an engineer’s perspective on public policy issues.

For information about the IEEE-USA Congressional Fellowships program, go to www.ieeeusa.org/forum/GOVFEL/congfel.html.