Orin Laney became interested in electronics when he built his first crystal radio at age twelve. He was raised in the Washington DC area and received his BSEE from the University of Maryland under its Co-op Engineering Program. After working as a design engineer for four years, he paused for two years to obtain an MBA from Brigham Young University. Since graduation, Mr. Laney has founded several small businesses in the electronics field. He is busier than ever, designing, researching, and making deals.

Mr. Laney does most of his design in video and high speed analog, digital signal processing, ultrasonics, and real-world computer interfacing. He is active in the IEEE as a senior member and is a former Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee.

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MAKING IT: HOW TO GO INTO BUSINESS FOR YOURSELF

After four or five years of concentrated study neatly packaged into semester or quarter-sized challenges, the engineering student is ready to graduate and begin a career. Many are surprised to discover that employers value them less for their academic prowess than for certain intangible qualities. The flip side of the coin is that employers are always surprised when the engineers who exemplify those intangible qualities are first to quit their "careers" to start their own businesses.

This is a short course on how to amaze your friends, surprise your enemies, and disconcert and annoy your career counselor by making a successful business of your own. Topics include how to prepare, the risks required, decisions you will need to make, and how to test your readiness. Among other areas, the speaker will discuss strategies for getting started and the relative advantages of various business areas, such as consulting, manufacturing, and retailing, and business forms such as sole proprietorships, incorporation, etc.

For the skeptics among you, the reasons not to go into business will also be discussed. The relative merits of employment will be included for comparison, and several of the most important mistakes of new businesses will be developed at length.

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WHAT EVERY GRADUATE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

During your student years, every term paper, design, and formula is handed in, graded, and then either returned or pitched. Upon graduation, however, your first employer will be paying for your labor and will neither return nor pitch your work. Instead, copyrights, pre-invention assignment agreements, confidentiality statements, and other legal devices will divide ownership between what is yours and what belongs to your employer.

The speaker will explain what intellectual property is, sketch the types and implications of the various kinds of protection that apply to engineering work, and discuss the importance and usefulness of patents and the current status of copyright protection. This information will be invaluable for those who will write software at home, have hobbies related to their engineering careers, or plan to consult or start a business at some point in the future. The points developed will be crystallized into several important questions to ask at job interviews. Then, using case histories, Mr. Laney will outline intellectual property career strategies useful to any creative individual.

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TALES OF AN EXPERIENCED ENGINEER

Before leaving the womb of your alma mater, there are certain facts of life that you should know. FACT: grades are poor predictors of career success. FACT: not all jobs are worth having. FACT: calculus causes warts. Would you like to know what to ask a recruiter, what employers actually look for, and what it is that engineers really do?

Mr. Laney will serve up a potpourri of anecdotes drawn from a long and varied career, including: the time he had to stick his arm in a vat of liquid hydrogen, the Boss from Hell, and the Project That Would Not Die. He will cover the warning signs of a bad job, the best ways (and reasons) to leave a position, and the crucial differences of excellent engineers. Mr. Laney will also provide an assessment of the current state of the profession, an opinionated look at various career paths, and an explanation of why shuttles blow up and telescopes don't focus. Finally, he will explain how the graduating engineering student can have some fun while making a living, and the promises and challenges that await those who care to go looking for them.

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