Abhinav Aggarwal, an IEEE Senior Member and vice chair of the Eastern North Carolina Section in the United States, wrote September 11: A Wake Up Call (1st Books Library, Bloomington, Ind., USA, 2003) to provide an engineering perspective on the terrorist attacks against the United States by studying what happened through the prism of system dynamics. For this book, he was named the 2002 IEEE Author of the Year.

He holds a bachelor's in electronics and electrical communications engineering, a master?s in systems management, and a Ph.D. in information technology. Aggarwal worked as a software consultant at IBM Corp. in Raleigh, N.C., USA. He left IBM to devote his time, he says, "to creating a peaceful world." "As an engineer, I have solved problems for much of my life," he explains. "When there is a system failure, we go back and trace it to a network fault or to an overload, crash or congestion." Aggarwal learned problem-solving techniques while studying systems management at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh and at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, both in India.

The problem of terrorism is vast and complex, but a model for one solution creating an interdependent, and united society, one based on connecting and cooperating is closer to home. For a role model, look no further than the IEEE, Aggarwal says. "I have always considered the IEEE a family of technical professionals from all over the world committed to making the world a better place through their technical and scientific contributions," he says.

Aggarwal cites the IEEE Distinguished Lecturer program as an example of how the IEEE benefits the world at large. IEEE Societies select members, such as Aggarwal, to travel to section or chapter meetings in cities, regions, or countries throughout the world to lecture on their area of expertise. Often the society pays for the lecturer's travel expenses. "Those who do not have access to distinguished lecturers are being deprived of knowledge and technology. The IEEE is a role model in the sense that it provides those opportunities," Aggarwal says. Aggarwal notes, "Governments, political organizations, and other professional societies can look to the IEEE as a role model because it is an international entity that focuses on cooperation rather than competition."

Aggarwal's next book, Technology for Peace: A Vision of the Future, grew out of his work with IEEE-USA. The book is based on ideas he and others in an IEEE-USA working group on the future of technology developed, will examine how a dialogue for peace can be created by using technology.

BY ERICA VONDERHEID, The Institute June 2003