Considering how many contributions engineers have made to society it’s remarkable how few of their names are recognized by most members of the public, and how little the public understands what engineers do. Most people know more about Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton than they know about the people or technology behind cellular phones, MRI machines, laser-based surgical tools, digital cameras, and the Internet, to name just a few.

To boost the understanding of the role played by engineers, IEEE-USA has more than doubled its public-awareness budget this year, adding US $75 000 to the $63 000 previously authorized. The extra funds will be used to enhance existing programs and add new ones. The purpose is not simply to boost engineers’ public image, but also to make ordinary citizens more knowledgeable about technology so they can make better decisions when they vote or decide to make certain purchases.

AT THE MOVIES One new program being contemplated is an engineering film festival and discussion series that IEEE-USA hopes to develop in cooperation with the American Film Institute. As currently conceived, the plan is to sponsor free weekly showings of engineering-oriented movies for six weeks in the Washington, D.C.-area. After each film, an expert or panel of experts in the film’s subject area will discuss the technology covered in the film and answer questions from the audience. Films that may be shown include Apollo 13, Edison, The Man, and Fantastic Voyage. Following its Washington debut, the program could be carried on by IEEE sections nationwide.

In another initiative, IEEE-USA plans to provide grassroots volunteer support for a new TV series called Design Squad, an engineering game and construction show aimed at children ages 9 to 13. [See “Engineering Education Gets Its Own Reality TV Show,”January 2007.] After some training by the program’s developers, the volunteers will take Design Squad materials into schools around the country where, they will work with local children on projects similar to those shown on television. Members who want to be involved should contact Kristi Brooks, IEEE-USA’s Design Squad coordinator, at kristi.brooks@ieee.org.

PUBLIC EDUCATION Educating the public about anything is hard enough. But keeping it informed about technology developments is especially difficult because the reporters on whom the public relies usually don’t understand the material themselves. To counter that problem, the Engineering Mass Media Fellows program, which puts engineering graduates to work at mass media organizations, has been run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for more than 30 years. IEEE-USA joined in the AAAS effort in 2000; it remains the only engineering group that participates. From 2000 through 2005, IEEE-USA sponsored one Fellow each year; last year that number was upped to two.

The two Fellows this year are prepared to work for 10 weeks during the summer at such places as Popular Science, Scientific American, WNBC-TV in New York, and WOSU-AM in Columbus, Ohio. There they can bring their technical knowledge to bear as they research and write about technical matters for their media organizations.

Four other components complete this year’s public-awareness program. One is the sponsorship of five $1000 recognition awards for engineering students who distinguish themselves in engineering reconstruction efforts for Engineers Without Borders–USA, a non-profit organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide to improve their quality of life. The second is IEEE-USA’s participation in National Engineers’ Week Discover Engineering Family Day, an event to be held Saturday, 17 February, at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. [See “EWeek Programs Grow,” February 2007.]

The third component supports the American Institute of Physics’s Discoveries & Breakthroughs series of 90-second TV news spots on science, technology, and engineering. IEEE-USA’s efforts are not limited to financial support; it will also help shape some of the stories, and thereby increase the number of stories in the IEEE’s fields of interest.

Finally, to inform students in the 9-to-13 age group about careers in engineering, IEEE-USA will continue distributing a pre-college education brochure through children’s museums and educational institutions with sci-tech enrichment programs for K-12 students.