February 17, 2011 On April 5-6, 2011, information technology experts, insurers, policy makers, and healthcare representatives will convene to survey current approaches to preserving electronic health records and to chart steps toward ensuring digital information is managed over long term. Breakout sessions will focus on infrastructure for acquiring, storing, exchanging, and retrieving health information; methods for preserving and reusing EHRs for research; and institutional policies for sharing archived EHRs.

February 17, 2011 Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) 24th annual conference will take place March 15-17, 2011 in Gaithersburg, MD. Meeting affords information systems security professionals with opportunity to promote understanding of current cybersecurity projects. These include National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE); emerging trends and initiatives; awareness and training ideas; resources and contacts; and techniques for developing/conducting training.

February 17, 2011 Brent Erickson, executive VP of BIO's Industrial and Environmental Section, has been named to Scientific Advisory Board of Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC). "I am pleased to be joining this organization, Erickson said, "because of its major focus on technology transfer through its Industry Affiliates Program." Brent believes this program will help guide SynBERC research as well as accelerate commercial use of SynBERC's private sector developments.

February 17, 2011 Halon 1211, which is used in hand-held fire extinguishers on civilian aircraft, will be tested by ASTM standard to ensure that product will provide required level of fire protection and is free of harmful impurities that could affect its safety in use. ASTM D7673, Specification for Halon 1211, Bromochlorodifluoromethane, includes detailed gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectra test methodology that ensures detection and identification of impurities.

February 17, 2011 Scheduled for March 23-25, 2011 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, IFPE 2011 will include NFPA's Innovations Center, which will provide 14 free education sessions. Experts in the field will present real-world solutions for current and future design applications. Main topics will include Fluids and Lubricants, Hydraulic Hybrids, Tier IV, and Sensors, Monitoring, and Diagnostics.

February 17, 2011 Nominations for 3 U.S. participants are being sought by U.S. National Committee to IEC, for Young Professionals 2011 Workshop, to be held in conjunction with 75th IEC General Meeting in Melbourne, Australia, on October 24-28, 2011. In its 2nd year, workshop will enable professionals to learn more about IEC, attend technical meetings, and observe meeting of IEC Standardization Management Board. Nominations must be submitted electronically by April 29 and winners will be notified in July.

February 17, 2011 Scheduled for publication in third quarter of 2011, ISO 50001 will help organizations to improve energy performance, increase energy efficiency, and reduce climate change impacts. Standard will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities, or entire organizations to manage energy. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that standard could influence up to 60% of world's energy use.

February 17, 2011 AEM President Dennis Slater called President Obama's transportation budget proposal "a good start," citing recognition of infrastructure rebuilding and modernization efforts as necessary jobs creation make the U.S. internationally competitive. However, Slater also said that "the proposal falls short by not addressing the crucial issue of how this essential infrastructure investment will be funded." Slater concluded by saying AEM is ready and willing to help.

February 17, 2011 ASTM hosted delegation of 8 standards experts from South Korea as part of training program focused on standardization for civil nuclear power. In addition to learning about U.S. standardization system and ASTM standards development process, group participated in virtual meetings with ASTM members to gain insight into technical work. Delegation completed training by attending standards development meetings of ASTM Committees C26 on Nuclear Fuel Cycle and E10 on Nuclear Technology and Applications.

February 17, 2011 FAA Aerospace Forecast Fiscal Years 2011-2031 predicts air travel will more than double within next 20 years, underscoring need to keep Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) on track. Annual forecast predicts U.S. airlines will reach one billion passengers-per-year mark by 2021. Air travel in terms of both miles and passenger numbers is forecast to increase, while total landings/takeoffs at FAA-towered airports will decrease slightly and then grow.

February 16, 2011 ASTM International standard ASTM D7673, Specification for Halon 1211, Bromochlorodifluoromethane (CF2BrCl), will be used to test Halon 1211 to ensure products provide required level of fire protection and are free of harmful impurities that could affect safety during use. Specifically, standard includes detailed gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectra test methodology that ensures detection and identification of impurities in Halon 1211 supplies.

February 16, 2011 Movement, shipment, and transfer are all words that are commonly used by entities that deal with tangible property. To ensure that these words are being used and understood by all parties involved, ASTM International Committee E53 on Property Management Systems has approved a new standard, ASTM E2671, Practice for Defining Movements, Shipments and Transfers of Tangible Property. Standard was written to be useful and easy to understand by laymen.

February 16, 2011 First Quarter 2011 issue of The MHEDA Journal includes annual Meet the Board feature, which introduces members of association board to membership. To introduce this year's Board, imaginary LinkedIn pages were developed based on 21 members' responses to questions. Business pages for board members contained select personal employment and educational background, association role, go-to websites, one-sentence personal summary, and additional information.

February 16, 2011 To get the most out of its employees, TWSCO of Houston, TX underscores importance of sustaining a company culture that promotes employee retention and pride, and advances a positive reputation within the community, according to Wes Morris, VP, human resources at TWSCO and member of the human resources committee for GAWDA. Morris' article, "The Art And Science Of Motivation" appears in the Winter 2011 issue of Welding and Gases Today.

February 16, 2011 A joint initiative of ANSI and NIST, Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Collaborative identifies standards needed for design, operation, development, licensing, and deployment of nuclear power plants and nuclear technologies. Meeting on March 1 will focus on standards to support structural repair of existing nuclear reactors and will include discussions on nuclear plant cable aging management, cable performance challenges, and IEEE Nuclear Standards Qualification Process for cables.

February 16, 2011 ANSI has launched 2011 paper competition for U.S. celebration of World Accreditation Day, which takes place June 9, 2011. Interested stakeholders are invited to submit one paper of no more than 2,000 words highlighting value of accreditation. Deadline is April 29, 2011, and authors are encouraged to cite concrete examples that demonstrate how globally accepted conformity assessment solutions support national and international priorities, enable trade, and open new markets.

February 16, 2011 AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey, commenting on 2012 fiscal year Defense Department budget request for procurement and research and development, noted the "slight increase" from last year's request. "At 34% of the total budget," she said, "it comes close to reaching the 35% marker that we think is needed to ensure a healthy industrial base for the aerospace and defense industry." Blakey went on to express concerns, however, over long-term robustness of procurement and research.

February 16, 2011 AASHTO expressed appreciation to President Obama for recognizing investment levels required for surface transportation in his FY 2012 budget proposal. Specifically, Administration's blueprint for government spending includes 6-year, $556 billion program principally funding surface transportation programs for highways, transit, high-speed rail, and aviation. Framework is designed to modernize transportation systems, create jobs, support economy, and improve mobility.

February 16, 2011 Study released by BIO Industry Analysis and Ipreo shows that investors are optimistic on biotech's future and investment in biotechnology will continue to perform well. Findings will be presented at Closing Plenary session of 13th annual BIO CEO and Investor Conference, which will be held February 14-15 in NYC. Study is expected to inform and improve communications between biotech executives, shareholders, and policymakers.

February 16, 2011 According to BIO Industry Analysis and BioMedTracker study, overall success rate for drugs moving through clinical trials to FDA approval from late 2003 to end of 2010 is near 1 in 10. Previous reports, taken from earlier years, showed rate of drug approvals to be 1 in 5 to 1 in 6. Using clinical trial data from the past 7 years, analysis examines the most recent probability of success by treatment type, phase of development, and therapeutic area.