The NCAC consists of Washington Section (WS) and Northern Virginia Section (NOVA). I was appointed as the NCAC PACE Chair in July, 1998 by Ron Aasen, the new NCAC Chair. Tom Tullia, the NOVA Chair, is currently acting as the PACE Chair for his Section; Satish Aggarwal, the WS Chair, has named Harold Stinger as the PACE Chair for WS. During 1997-98, most of the PACE activity was coordinated by the late Jim Strother, who passed away in August; he will be sorely missed by all his friends, and it will be difficult to fill his shoes.
A brief run-down of the PACE projects follows. Most of these have been ongoing for a number of years, while the last two are still in the planning stage.
1. Pre College Math and Science. This project is now in its tenth year and is led by George Rodgers in NOVA. It involves teaching college level mathematics and science courses in selected Magnet Schools, with the objective of introducing bright students to these topics and encouraging them to consider engineering careers.
2. Job Fairs. The Lendman Group, a firm that holds job fairs for companies in Maryland and Virginia, advertises in the SCANNER (the NCAC Newsletter) and offers a free booth to NCAC at the fairs. Typically, we set up and staff a booth at one such event every month, where we provide information about the IEEE and its services for job search, job training, career planning, etc. Eight such events have been held this year. This activity has been led by David Kriegman, currently the NCAC Vice Chair.
3. Coordination with other Engineering Entities. NCAC belongs to the D.C. Council of Engineering and Architectural Societies (DCCEAS). Jim Gatlin and Ron Aasen have represented us on it in recent years. Tom Tullia and Ted Gordon represent the two Sections on it now; Tom is also its Awards Chair. We help organize several functions during the National Engineers Week, including the Future Cities competition and a banquet.
4. Consultants Network. We have a very active Consultants Network, led by Jim Allen. It offers members many benefits, such as consulting leads, teaming opportunities, ability to attend meetings of the Maryland High Technology Council and the Northern Virginia Technology Council, listing in brochures and web pages, etc.
5. Student PACs. We participated in a Professional Career Days at the Capitol College in Laurel, MD. SPACs have been held in the spring in several local universities. We also encourage students to enter the Regional Student Paper competition. Most of these activities have been coordinated by Jerry Gibbon, a past NCAC Chair.
6. Officers Training Workshop. NCAC held a workshop in August to train new Section and Chapter officers and to discuss the roles and plans of various committees. It was followed by a picnic.
7. Maryland Technology Showcase. The NCAC joins the IEEE-USAB (now IEEE-USA) and the Baltimore Section to set up an IEEE booth at this event, which is held at the Baltimore Convention Center.
8. Membership in State Bodies. We are looking for volunteers to represent the NCAC in the Maryland High Technology Council and a similar body in Virginia. We are also exploring the idea of working with the Baltimore Section to form the IEEE Maryland Coordinating Council, for joint action on State-level issues. This would be along the lines of the IEEE Virginia Coordinating Council, which coordinates the activities of several Sections in Virginia (4 Sections in Region 3, and NOVA in Region 2) on State level issues.
9. Legislative Initiatives. We will try to identify State and Federal legislative issues of interest to members of NCAC and its two Sections. Being in the national capital area, we can play a significant role in lobbying Congress, but we have not found any "burning issues" yet. We will invite suggestion from members through the SCANNER, and are also trying to gather information on successful grass roots efforts from other Sections and Regions.