IEEE supports global school-based environmental science and education program.

PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 1995--The world's largest technical professional society has declared its support for The GLOBE Program, an innovative worldwide environmental science and education program directed, in part, at enhancing both environmental awareness and scientific understanding of the Earth.

At its meeting earlier this month in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the board of directors of The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program for its potential benefits to science and education. In related IEEE meetings also held in Calgary, the Institute's technical, regional and educational organizations expressed strong interest in providing program development and implementation support to GLOBE worldwide.

"With 320,000 members in some 150 countries around the world, the Institute is well aware of the need for responsible citizens everywhere to develop and share information that enhances both environmental awareness and scientific understanding," said Dr. James T. (Tom) Cain, 1995 IEEE president. "GLOBE is of particular interest to the IEEE because many of our members are engaged in the same technologies and educational areas that are integral to the Program. In addition, pre-college education in science and math has long been an interest of the Institute."

Launched on Earth Day, 1994 (April 22) by Vice President Al Gore, GLOBE is a hands-on, school-based program. Using state of the art technology, thousands of students are forming a global network to take environmental measurements and share their observations with other students and scientists around the world. By Earth Day, 1995 (also April 22) several hundred schools in the U.S. and overseas are expected to be enrolled.

"This imaginative educational Program provides an exciting new way for students everywhere to increase their achievement in science and math while learning more about their planet," Dr. Cain noted. "At the same time, GLOBE provides educators with a powerful new strategy to build youngsters' excitement through hands-on participation in some of the most important scientific concerns of our time."

More than 100 countries have expressed interest in having students participate in GLOBE, and the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution supporting the Program. Last December, Russia became the first formal GLOBE international partner.

In the United States, The GLOBE Program is funded and administered jointly by six federal agencies. Last month, more than 1,500 U.S. elementary and secondary schools were selected to initiate the Program. GLOBE students are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the planet by making regular environmental observation at thousands of locations around the world and sharing their information via the Internet. The list of GLOBE schools is available on the World Wide Web at www.globe.gov.

Since the IEEE's originating society was founded in 1884, the IEEE has helped its members share information in ways that promote innovation. As innovation occurs, IEEE members incorporate this new knowledge into safe, practical products and procedures that contribute to the quality of peoples lives. The professional interests of the IEEE's worldwide membership range from telecommunications, electrical power and computer electronics to software development, biomedicine and robotics.

CONTACT: IEEE

Helen Horwitz, 908/562-6821

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GLOBE

Ann Hardison, 202/395-7600