August 2009 -- There is a large literature on the issue of regulation and technological innovation from
the varied perspectives of history, politics, economics, law, finance, and engineering.
To attempt to add something meaningful to this rich body of writings is challenging.
My only qualification is that of a participant for a short but critical period.
When I found myself, on May 1, 1979, the Chief Scientist of the Federal Communications
Commission, twenty-three years after receiving my doctorate from MIT, my training said to
decide what the most important problems were that needed fixing and to proceed by
whatever promising means suggested themselves to fix them. My technical background
was eclectic, the result of broad interests and perhaps a bit of impatience, but quite devoid
of experience with the theory or practice of regulation. To understand what happened next
on the technology and communication policy side of the FCC, it may be useful to look further
into my improbable presence.
My doctoral thesis was a quantum mechanical calculation of what happens when diatomic
molecules collide, and while a graduate student I worked as an acoustical engineer for Bolt,
Beranek and Newman (since renamed BBN). I worked for a time at Westinghouse validating
criticality codes needed for the design of reactors for submarine propulsion. At Stevens
Institute of Technology I taught and undertook research in range of fluid dynamics issues:
sweeping pressure mines, energy loss mechanisms in ocean waves, orbit stability in a
plasma betatron, and the production of high pressures and high magnetic fields using
chemical explosives. But central for this discussion is my time in the Defense Department’s
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, now DARPA).
Citation
"Unleashing Innovation: Making the FCC User-Friendly" by Stephen J. Lukasik, 5 INFO 76-85 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
Related Scholarship
"Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference: Guest Editorial" by Charles L. Jackson, 5 INFO (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Unlicensed to Kill: A Brief History of the FCC Part 15 Rules" by Kenneth R. Carter, 5 INFO 8-18 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Mark Fowler's Introduction of Mike Marcus" by Mark S. Fowler (April 2008), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: The Path from Carter and Reagan-era Faith
in Deregulation to Widespread Products Impacting Our World" by Michael J. Marcus, 5 INFO 19-35 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Unlicensed: The Case of Wi-Fi" by Ing Victor Hayes & Ir. Wolter Lemstra, 5 INFO 57-71 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Grazing on the Commons: The Emergence of Part 15" by Henry Goldberg, 5 INFO 72-75 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
"Has "Unlicensed" in Part 15 Worked? A Case Study" by Tim Pozar, 5 INFO 86-91 (August 2009), Quick Links: Unlicensed Wireless Policy Conference
