Book Review: Modern Standardization

| Dr. Ahmed S. Khan, David Law

Book Review:  

Modern Standardization: Case Studies at the Crossroads of Technology, Economics and Politics by Ron Schneiderman

 

Modern Standardization book coverIn today’s global economy, the importance of the formal study of standards has been highlighted by the new demands of international trade. Politics of standards development and adoption is becoming a complex affair in an era of intellectual property rights. In today’s global market place, the major challenges are: How do standards development organizations (SDOs) keep pace with the creation and development of products driven by new and emerging technologies? How to teach engineering and technology workforce and students the importance and applications of standards?

Globally, more than a half a million engineering and technology standards are considered as the basic building blocks for the development of new products that help drive the processes of compatibility and interoperability. Standards make it easier to compare competing products. As new standards are developed and adopted, they promote international trade and allow technical cooperation between organizations and countries.

Recently published book Modern Standardization — Case Studies at the Crossroads of Technology, Economics, and Politics by Ron Schneiderman (published by IEEE Press/Wiley) address these key challenges. It was written as a result of efforts by the IEEE Standards Education Committee (SEC) to gain a better understanding of what products and services would be useful for standards education at the university level. The book covers up-to-date issues related to ethics, policies, and business strategies in standards developments.

The book is a useful resource for faculty, students, engineers and entrepreneurs. The major strength of the book is its collection of standards-specific case studies which offer an opportunity to combine professors’ teaching preferences with real-world insights into the technical, political, and economic domains of engineering. Students can appreciate how standards experts and SDO working groups institute policies, procedures, and guidelines to develop and establish standards. Students can learn how to select and apply standards in new product design and service. The book is primarily designed to be used as a supplemental resource for a course in standards. There is a curriculum guide available for educators to help them design and implement courses effectively.

The book is also a good reference resource for engineers and entrepreneurs, as it covers a survey of national and international standards development needs for a wide array of technologies such as smart energy grid, cyber security, wireless technologies, vehicles’ black box, electronic design automation (EDA), the Internet and Internet of Things (IoT), and explores the push for open standards. The book presents a discussion on the collaboration efforts between U.S. and European standards organizations for promoting trade through Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

In short, the book is a welcome addition to standards literature and serves as an important resource for standards stakeholders in academia and industry. It informs them how standards experts and SDO working groups establish the policies, procedures, and guidelines to ensure the integrity of the standards development process, thus enabling organizations to develop new products and promote global trade.


Dr. Ahmed S. Khan

askhan@devry.edu

DeVry University

Dr. Ahmed S. Khan is a Professor of Electronics and Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Information Sciences at DeVry University, Addison, Illinois. Dr. Khan has Thirty-two years of experience in research, instruction, curricula design, development, evaluation, implementation and program accreditation, management and supervision. Dr. Khan received an MSEE from Michigan Technological University, an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management, and his Ph.D. from Colorado State University. His research interests are in the areas of Nanotechnology, and Social and Ethical Implications of Technology. He teaches Wireless Engineering, Network Engineering, Fiber Optic Communications, Science Technology and Society (STS), and Project Management. He also advises students on their senior design projects. He is the author of many educational papers and presentations. He has authored/coauthored many books, including the most recent “Nanotechnology: Ethical and Social Implications,” CRC Press (2012).

Dr. Khan is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE), and a member of American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), and has been listed in Who’s Who among America’s Teachers. Dr. Khan has been serving as the faculty adviser to the student chapter of IEEE at DeVry, Addison, IL since its inception in 1986. Dr. Khan also serves as an ETAC program evaluator for the ABET.


Related Content:  Check out the IEEE.tv Meet the Author video featuring Ron Schneiderman, author of the Modern Standardization book.