Seminar on Wireless Technology, Spectrum Allocation, and Telecommunications Regulation

Former FCC official Dr. Michael Marcus will be speaking on the spectrum policy regulatory pitfalls in getting new technologies to market on June 19th at the Centergy Building located in the Technology Square Research Park on the Georgia Tech Campus. The Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP), associated with Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy, and the Georgia Center for Advanced Telecommunications Technologies (GCATT) are co-sponsors for this exciting and informative workshop.

The Center for Advanced Communications Policy and GCATT present:

Spectrum Policy for the Wireless Engineer: Avoiding Regulatory Pitfalls
in Getting New Wireless Technology to Market

Speakers: Dr. Michael Marcus and Anne Linton, Esq., Marcus Spectrum Solutions LLC

Two former FCC staffers, an engineer and a lawyer, will discuss the process of getting a new wireless product or service out of the lab and into the civil marketplace. For such technologies regulatory issues are just as real as Maxwell’s Equations. But unlike the famous four equations, policies can change if the change is realistic and you have allowed enough lead time.

Michael J. Marcus joined the Federal Communications Commission in 1979 where he worked for almost 25 years before retiring in March 2004. At FCC he initiated and directed pioneering efforts that resulted in the creation of the unlicensed bands used by Wi-Fi and other products, the world’s first rules for civil use of spread spectrum/CDMA, and the world’s first rules for civil use of frequencies greater that 55 GHz. He had a key role in the FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force and directed the preparation of the FCC’s recent cognitive radio proposals. He also directed the successful technical investigations into the “Captain Midnight” and “Playboy” satellite jamming incidents that both resulted in criminal convictions. In 2004 he was recognized as a Fellow of the IEEE “for leadership in the development of spectrum management policies.”

Anne Linton, Esq. is associated with Patton Boggs LLC after serving as a managing partner at Washington Federal Strategies, LLC, where she represented clients before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Departments of State, Health and Human Services (HHS), Transportation (DOT), Defense, and Education, as well as before elected members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, foreign telecommunications regulatory bodies, and other governmental organizations

Thursday, June 19, 2008, 3:30 pm - 5:00
Centergy Building, 85 Fifth St. NW, Atlanta GA, Room 5126

*Please register by Monday, June 16th to:
Jennifer.Moen@cacp.gatech.edu, or (404) 385-4614

Engineering and Public Policy

One of the advantages of studying public policy at Georgia Tech is our placement in the midst of some of the top engineering programs in the world. As you think about the connections between engineering problems and policy problems it might be interesting to ponder a report from the National Academy of Engineering on the “Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century.” The report is at

http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/

Here is the study’s list of major engineering challenges, ordered by priority as determined by visitors to the NAE site:
1. Make solar energy economical
2. Provide energy from fusion
3. Provide access to clean water
4. Reverse-engineer the brain
5. Advance personalized learning
6. Develop carbon sequestration methods
7. Restore and improve urban infrastructure
8. Engineer the tools of scientific discovery
9. Advance health informatics
10. Prevent nuclear terror
11. Engineer better medicines
12. Manage the nitrogen cycle
13. Secure cyberspace
14. Enhance virtual reality

Why not comment on this list? What’s missing? How can public policy — and those who know how to shape or analyze it — affect engineering approaches to addressing these challenges?

GT1000 Team Leaders Needed

Dr. Barke will be teaching a section of GT 1000 this fall, meeting Tuesdays 1-2.  This section will include most of the incoming BSPP students as well as freshmen in other IAC majors.  He’s looking for several energetic, helpful, civic-minded policy students to work with him as Team Leaders.  He specifically asks for TLs who have ideas about making this GT1000 not only informative, but also fun.

If you’re interested, please email him at barke@gatech.edu.

On campus this summer? Be a Tour Guide

We have very few tour guides to assist us with summer tours. Tours are given Monday-Friday from 11:00-12:30pm and 2:00-3:30 pm. from the Bill Moore Student Success Center.

Students are only asked to give one tour per week and its a great opportunity to practice your public speaking skills, learn the campus better, and another nice line for your resume.
Interested students should email Mary Beth for more information.

Mary Beth Justice
Assistant Director, Special Recruitment Programs
Georgia Institute of Technology
Undergraduate Admissions
Phone: 404-894-9499
mary.justice@admissions.gatech.edu

Finals Study Sessions

Need some last minute help with finals or class projects? These study sessions are organized by The Library and Housing, but feel free to arrange your study sessions too.

Day	Subject	Time	Location
Sunday, April 27	Physics I (tutor)	4pm	Library (Homer Rice)
	CS 1371	6pm	Library (Rehearsal Studio)
	CS 1315 (tutor)	6pm	Cloudman Learning Center
	Calculus II (tutor)	8pm	Brittain Rec - East Campus
Monday, April 28	Biology	6pm	Library (2 West)
	Diff Equations (tutor)	6pm	North Ave Apts, East Room 121
	CS 1371	6pm	Library (Rehearsal Studio)
	CS 1301 (tutor)	8pm	Brittain Rec - East Campus
	Physics I	8pm	Brittain Rec - East Campus
	Calculus II (tutor)	8pm	Brittain Rec - East Campus
Tuesday, April 29	Biology	6pm	Library (2 West)
	Inorganic Chem	8pm	Library (2 West)
Wednesday, April 30	CS 1371	6pm	Library (Rehearsal Studio)
	Biology	6pm	Library (2 West)
	Inorganic Chem	8pm	Library (2 West)

Seniors-Honors Cords for Commencement

The Ivan Allen College has purchased honors cords for commencement for all students graduating with honors.  You can get these from Beverly Paul or Shannon Dobranski the morning of commencement as they will be lining up all IAC students this year.

Save $200 on Kaplan this Summer

Sign up before class lets out and save $200!  Start your prep at school, and take it home with you.  There is never a penalty for taking your Kaplan class to a different city.  Study at one of our over 160 Centers
across the country or in the comfort of your home.  Sign up through theAtlanta Kaplan Center, and receive $200 off your course!  Call 678-234-7376 to take advantage of this promotion.  See upcoming classes in atlanta-

As you’re finishing your semester papers… be careful!

Sometimes it isn’t clear exactly what constitutes an appropriate citation.  In this era of cut-and-paste, it can be easy to cross the subtle line between inspiration, citation, and violation.  So as you’re finishing your papers in Public Policy and other courses, it’s wise to be informed and cautious.

There is an excellent source for the puzzled –  http://www.plagiarism.org/  -that offers guidance:

• Plagiarism defined , in easy-to-understand terms
• Tips on how to avoid both internet-based and conventional plagiarism
• Guidelines for proper citation, and links to help with specific citation styles
• Suggestions for developing good research and writing skills
• Answers to frequently asked questions, including explanations for often misunderstood concepts like fair use, public domain, and copyright laws
• Definitions for important research-related terms
• Suggestions for integrating plagiarism education into lesson plans
• Tips for creating assignments that discourage plagiarism and encourage original thinking
• Information on the causes of plagiarism today
• Help with identifying different types of plagiarism, in particular plagiarism from the internet
• Printable handouts for students on plagiarism, proper citation, and paper writing

Remember:  as this site says, “Changing the words of an original source is not sufficient to prevent plagiarism. If you have retained the essential idea of an original source, and have not cited it, then no matter how drastically you may have altered its context or presentation, you have still plagiarized.”

Need your accomplishments for the academic year

PLEASE READ

Dear PUBP students,

As many of you know, each year I like to compile a list of all the cool things you’ve done over the course of the semester. And so it’s that time again–if you have won any awards, scholarships, or other cool prizes this semester, please let me know asap. Also, if you’ve could let me know about any materials you’ve published, organizations were you hold a leadership position, etc–basically anything we can use potentially in promo materials/ or post under student kudos to talk about how wonderful you are–please send it on over asap.

Feel free to post under comments right here or email me at emiller@gatech.edu. 

Many Thanks! Elizabeth

Student-run Environmental Policy Journal

The growing crises in energy and the environment will not be resolved by timid steps. The exigencies of severe climate change and energy shortfall threaten dire consequences. It will fall to us to bring a fresh approach to the policy questions faced at all levels of government.

Enter Catalyst. Catalyst drives on the merger between science and policy. We cannot afford to have an informational barrier that isolates policy-making from pertinent, cutting-edge research. With a natural disposition for action, a critical stake in shaping the future, and the ability to study and understand complex problems, students are ideal candidates to help bring science and policy closer together.

That’s the gist of it, then and we need your help. We are putting together a team to lead this endeavour. We want your feedback, submissions, and creativity. Want to get involved? Email us at info@catalystjournal.org , check out our in progress site at catalystjournal.org or…

JOIN THE TEAM: www.catalystjournal.org/executivecommitteeapp.pdf