WASHINGTON – Responding to the growing shortage of engineers, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) in September introduced the Strategic Technology/Engineering Program (STEP) Act of 2007 – “GI Bill style” legislation that provides incentives for young people entering the engineering profession.

The bill, H.R. 3634, creates new scholarships and loan forgiveness for engineering students working toward their P.E. license.

“Our nation needs to make much more efficient use of the available resources by recruiting students from our best and brightest high school graduates and encourage them to go on to college to become our next generation of engineers,” Cleaver said in a statement. “This legislation will help support engineering students as they complete an education for an industry that will always be in demand.”

The number of U.S. engineering graduates has steadily declined in the last two decades, according to the National Science Foundation. In addition, over 25% of the science and engineering workforce is older than 50 and expected to retire over the next 15 years.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. held onto its lead in the global television market in the second quarter, thanks to its strength in LCD-TV shipments, according to iSuppli Corp.
 
The South Korean electronics giant managed a 12.4% market share in the overall television unit shipments, with fellow Korean firm LG Electronics coming in second with 11.4%, Philips in third with 7.1%, Sanyo in fourth with 6.3% and TCL taking the fifth rank with a 5.6% share, iSuppli says. China’s TCL, the one-time leader, continued to lose ground in the market as shipments slowed, following the end of the New Year’s shopping season.
 
The overall television market will expand at a CAGR of 4% between 2007 and 2011 for unit shipments, and 5% for revenue. iSuppli forecasts overall global television shipments will grow to 245.5 million units by 2011, up 15% from 2007 and up 22% from 2006.
 
It isn’t news that CRT-TV units, revenues and average selling prices will decline during the next five years because of a lack of consumer interest, waning OEM production and rising consumer demand for LCD-TVs and other flat-panel sets, iSuppli states.