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The FCC's Homeland Security Chief
by Heather Greenfield
A North Carolina police chief will be trading in his badge as a university safety officer to manage disaster preparedness at the FCC.
Agency Chairman Kevin Martin has appointed Derek Poarch as chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Poarch, a native of Lenoir, N.C., is currently the director of public safety and chief of police at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In his new role, he will oversee the bureau responsible for FCC activities pertaining to public safety, homeland security, emergency management and disaster preparedness.
"Public safety is one of the commission's and my top priorities, and I am very pleased that Chief Poarch, who is a highly accomplished and nationally respected law enforcement officer, has agreed to head our bureau," Martin said. The bureau was created in 2006.
Poarch has been director of public safety at the university since 1998 and commanded 300 security employees.
Administration Expert Trades To EIA
The Electronic Industries Alliance still has no new CEO yet but is gathering more high-profile staff. EIA has hired Monisha Primlani, a veteran of the Bush administration's trade team, as director of government relations for trade and international policy.
Since 1996, the North Carolina native has worked on trade and development issues in various federal roles, most recently in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where she was part of the World Trade Organization talks.
Primlani previously served as an economist for two U.S. Commerce Department agencies -- the International Trade Administration and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. During her federal career, Primlani helped enact trade agreement with Bahrain and Morocco.
"Monisha is a tremendous addition to our government relations team at a critical time in the trade debate," said Charlie Robinson, EIA's interim president and CEO. "This is one round of negotiations that has a happy ending.
"This year offers new opportunities and challenges to our industry's trade agenda. With Monisha's expertise, we hope to lower global trade barriers for U.S. companies, ensure a reasonable balance of security and commercial trade, and focus on improved intellectual property rights protection worldwide."
Interactive Ad Group Snags Top Lobbyist
The leading trade association for the interactive media industry has snagged Mike Zaneis from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to lead its new Washington lobbying office.
Zaneis had been the executive director of technology and e-commerce at the chamber before leaving to work for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which represents 300 companies trying to promote the climate for online and other new media advertising.
"When you look at our members, it's a who's who of Internet companies," Zaneis said. He said the opportunity to work so closely with the 300 engaged companies versus the 3 million at the chamber is part of the reason he took the job. He said another reason is both the pressure and challenge of protecting an industry that is fueling Internet content.
"Mike is a first-rate executive with the ideal skills and finesse to represent the best interests of IAB's diverse membership," said Jim Spanfeller, Chairman of the IAB board and the CEO and president of Forbes.com. "Having a full-time presence in D.C. enables the association to best address all policy and regulatory issues affecting the interactive industry both domestically and abroad."
At The Helm Of Defense Transformation
The Defense Department's Business Transformation Agency has made it official by naming acting director David Fisher as the agency's first director.
Fisher has been in the post since November. Before that, the two-year-old agency was led by two political appointees: Paul Brinkley, the deputy undersecretary of Defense for business transformation; and Tom Modly, the deputy undersecretary of Defense for financial management.
Fisher noted that two of his main goals as director include institutionalizing an enterprise perspective on business transformation and continuing the maturity of the agency. "The most important thing we need to do is execute on our commitments," Fisher said.
The agency outlines its mission as transforming business operations to achieve improved war-fighter support while enabling financial accountability across the department. It is responsible for 26 Defense programs.
The agency plans assessments of three Defense agencies over the next year-and-a-half. A review of the Defense Security Service will examine problems with processing security clearances.
Middle-School Inventors Win Award
An Iowa middle school won an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers award for producing the most efficient and accurate communications systems.
Students at the Turkey Valley Community School of Jackson Junction designed a system featuring a wireless, voice-activated device that can be worn on jewelry, clothing or accessories. Dubbed a "personal information port," it can store a person's information, such as medical records, and allows him or her to be located in case of emergency. Because the device recognizes DNA, identity theft is said to be impossible.
The team included students Christine Boyer, 14; Jordan Bruess, 13; and Julia Cuvelier, 14. Turkey Valley language arts teacher Mary Jo Hangartner was the sponsor, and professional land surveyor Paul Herold was the engineer mentor.
"They made a good presentation," said Tesa Leon, an IEEE member and one of the judges. "I like that they dealt with data, privacy and the use of DNA. Protecting one's privacy is a big issue today, and they thought about solving it."
Innovator Of Remote Control Dies
The man whose invention helped keep couch potatoes on the couch has died at 93. Robert Adler was the co-inventor of the remote control, along with Eugene Polley, and received more than 180 U.S. patents during his lifetime.
Adler died of heart problems in a Boise, Idaho, nursing home. He helped develop the first commercially successful wireless television remote.
Before the wireless remote, Zenith offered "Lazy Bones," which could turn a television on and off and change channels with a cord attached to the set. Then came the Flashmatic, which was wireless but ran on photoelectric cells embedded in the TV cabinet. The problem was the Flashmatic reacted to sunlight, not just user commands.
Adler helped develop tiny hammers that struck lightweight aluminum rods to produce high-frequency sounds. The sounds triggered vacuum-tube receivers inside the TV set that moved the power, channel-change and volume controls up or down -- all without batteries. The system raised the cost of TV sets by about a third at the time.
Quote Of The Week
"You need a president with no strings. No strings, no strings, no strings."
-- Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, a Democratic presidential candidate, speaking at a presidential forum in Nevada last week. He spun around to indicate he was not controlled by special interests. The video is now posted on YouTube and numerous Web logs, including Tech Daily Dose.
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