The Fiber Optics LAN Section (FOLS; www.fols.org) of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA; www.tiaonline.org) has elected its slate of officers for 2006.

Dan Harman, applications engineer at 3M, has been elected as section chair. “Dan is an excellent choice to lead the Fiber Optics LAN Section,” says Gary Cawley, chair in 2005. “He has been an active force in the section for several years, most recently playing an integral role in developing the section’s latest generation of our cost model.”

Cawley adds, “Dan has a lot of exposure to end users and brings to the FOLS a true understanding of the challenges they face. He can help the section better answer the concerns and questions that users face when they make their infrastructure decisions.”

“This is an exciting time to be leading the FOLS,” says Harman. “Fiber is gaining mindshare among users as they become aware of the cost and performance benefits it offers compared to new generations of UTP copper.”

Harman adds, “Fiber is an especially attractive option for users who want the flexibility of supporting voice, data, video, and security over the same infrastructure.”

In addition to Harman, the following leaders in the fiber-optic industry have also been elected to FOLS offices for the coming year:

• Vice chair: Andrew Oliviero, OFS;
• Communications subcommittee chair: Rodney Casteel, CommScope;
• Membership subcommittee chair: Beni Blell, Berk-Tek;
• Standards subcommittee chair: Herb Congdon, Tyco Electronics.

-Patrick McLaughlin