December 2, 2003

FCC CHAIRMAN MICHAEL POWELL TO ADDRESS ACADEMIC
AND TELECOM INDUSTRY LEADERS AT UC SAN DIEGO DEC. 9
By Barry Jagoda

Michael Powell, the powerful and thoughtful Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will visit the campus of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to talk about “Charting the Future of the Telecom Industry.” Powell will outline his view of that future during an hour-long conversation on current issues in telecommunications with two of UCSD’s leading authorities in the field: Peter Cowhey, Dean of UCSD’s School of International Relations/Pacific Studies (IR/PS), an expert in telecom regulation and policy; and Larry Smarr, Director of the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology [Cal-(IT)²].

The event will take place at 11 a.m. PST on December 9 at the Robinson Auditorium on the campus of UCSD. The event is open to press coverage. Members of the news media wishing to attend should reserve space by calling Barry Jagoda, 858-534-8567, or bjagoda@ucsd.edu

Media outside of San Diego can watch the entire conversation in real time via a live webcast [RealPlayer or RealOne Player required]. The streaming video will be available for viewing from any of the following UCSD websites: www.calit2.net, www.irps.edu, or www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu. Online news services interested in offering the live webcast to their viewers can link directly to the URL (11 a.m.–12 p.m. only on Dec. 9) at http://earth.ucsd.edu:8080/ramgen/encoder/Powell.rm. Effective Dec. 10, the streaming video will be archived and available for on-demand viewing at http://www.calit2.net/multimedia/.

Michael K. Powell was appointed as an FCC Commissioner in 1997 and was designated Chairman by President George W. Bush in January 2001. He is a former Chief of Staff of the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department, Washington attorney, and U.S. Court of Appeals judicial clerk. A graduate of Georgetown University Law School and the College of William and Mary, Powell is a retired U.S. Army officer.

Peter F. Cowhey became Dean of IR/PS in July 2002. He holds the Qualcomm Chair of Communications and Technology Policy and also is Director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC), a UC system-wide unit devoted to international relations. In 1994, Cowhey took leave from UCSD to join the FCC and, in 1997, became Chief of the agency’s International Bureau, where he was in charge of all policy and licensing for international telecommunications services. Cowhey's current research includes the reorganization of the global communications and information industries, and the future of foreign trade and investment rules in the Pacific Rim.

Larry Smarr became founding director of Cal-(IT)² in 2000 and is also the Harry E. Gruber Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering. A widely-quoted authority on the future of information technology and telecommunications, Smarr was a pioneer in prototyping national information infrastructure as the founding director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Powell’s visit to UCSD is co-sponsored by the San Diego Telecom Council, IR/PS and Cal-(IT)².

Media Contacts:
Barry Jagoda, (858) 534-8567, or Doug Ramsey, (858) 822-5825