My current activities

I retired from Telcordia Technologies as head of research in October 2002. Since then I've been an independent consultant and continued various professional activites, including board memberships, writing, speaking, advisory committees, etc. I've looked for things that were intellectually stimulating and involved working with good people.

Since retirement in 2002, some of my activities have been the following:

• I chaired a major study of the National Research Council on the health of telecom research and development. This study was supported by the National Science Foundation and hosted by the National Academy of Engineering through their Computer Science and Telecommunications Board. The final report, after much delay in editing, was published in August, 2006.
• I have been on the advisory board of TTI Vanguard, which is a program of technology seminars for corporate sponsors. It has five two-day meetings a year that are extremely interactive and bring the best and most famous speakers in the technology field, such as CEOs of major corporations, start-ups, Nobel laureates, authors, etc. I recommend this program to anyone involved with corporate strategy in technology. Check out the TTI Vanguard web site for more information about our program.
• I chaired the Technological Advisory Council (TAC) of the Federal Communications Commission. We held regular meetings at the FCC in Washington, DC, at which we discussed the impact of technology on the policies and regulations of the Commission. We were particularly active on the spectrum management issue, and aired many discussions on the advances in wireless technology and on the relative merits of a spectrum commons. Our meetings were webcast live, and were archived on the FCC web site.
• I was on the Board of Trustees of ANSER, a not-for-profit corporation in Washington, DC, whose business is primarily focused on national defense. They are a leading institution in homeland security, and house the Institute for Homeland Security as well as publish the Journal of Homeland Security. From 2008 until 2010 I was chairman of the board.
• I was a member of the Defense Science Board, which reports to the Secretary of Defense to advise on science and technology policy for defense.
• I chaired or co-chaired several studies for the Defense Science Board, one on the risks in the acquisition of software that has been outsourced to foreign countries, and two others studies having to do with intelligence.
• The governor of New Jersey appointed me to the Fort Monmouth Redevelopment Authority, which is empowered to decide the future of the property to be vacated by the Army Communications and Electronics Command there. I was subsequently elected chairman of this Authority. This was a very contentious and time-consuming task with responsibility for property worth the better part of a billion dollars.
• I was a member of the Laboratory Operations Board of the Department of Energy. This board oversaw the operations of the National Laboratories, such as Sandia Labs, Lawrence Livermore, Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and so forth.
• I was chairman of the Marconi Society, whose principal function is perpetuating the Marconi Prize. Selecting winners, arranging elaborate ceremonies and symposia, and raising and managing funds were principal areas of concern and sometimes contention.
• I continued to write my bi-monthly Reflections column for IEEE Spectrum Magazine.

In January of 2011 several of these activities ended. I retired from chairing the board of ANSER, my tenure ended on the Defense Science Board, and the Fort Monmouth Redevelopment Planning Authority ceased to exist. This Authority was supplanted by a new Authority charged with the implementation of the redevelopment plan created by its predecessor Authority. Governor Christie appointed me to this new Authority, and with the resignation of the new chairman, I became acting chairman of that authority.

Now most of the time-consuming activities are gone. I still write the Spectrum columns, am acting chairman of the board on the Fort Monmouth redevelopment authority, and remain a member of the Vanguard Advisory Board, setting up and managing the bi-monthly meetings for our member organizations.