JDS Uniphase Corp. announced Friday that Ronald C. Foster will step down as executive vice president and CFO, effective immediately. Foster will remain with the company until March 1 to facilitate the transition. The company said it has begun a nationwide search for his replacement. David Vellequette, vice president and operations controller, will be the interim senior financial officer. JDS Uniphase is a San Jose, Calif., maker of components, modules and subsystems for data communications, telecommunications and cable television, display, product and document authentication, medical/environmental instrumentation, decorative, aerospace and defense applications.    . . .    The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 74 new members and 10 foreign associates, for a total of 2195 US members and 178 foreign associates. Among them are several researchers of photonics-releated topics, including: John Edward Bowers, professor of electrical and computer engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, for development of high-speed semiconductor lasers and other optical devices for optical switching and communications systems; James Q. Crowe, CEO, Level 3 Communications Inc., Broomfield, Colo., for Internet-based communication technologies and services; Roger T. Howe, professor, electrical engineering and computer science, University of California, Berkeley, for microelectromechanical systems development; A. Jackson, materials science professor emeritus at University of Arizona, Tucson, for advancing the science and technology of single crystal growth and materials made by casting; Marc D. Levenson, editor-in-chief for Micro-Lithography World, in Campbell, Calif., for the introduction of phase-shifting methods to improve optical lithography and for contributions to quantum spectroscopy; Subhash Mahajan, chair, department of chemical and materials engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, for advancing the understanding of structure-property relationships in semiconductors, magnetic materials and materials for light-wave communication; Andrew J. Ouderkirk, corporate scientist, 3M Film and Light Management, St. Paul, Minn., for the development and commercialization of multilayer polymer films with unique optical properties. Ralph J. Cicerone, chancellor of the University of California's Irvine campus, was recently elected president of the academy, and Barbara A. Schaal was elected vice president, for terms beginning July 1. For more information, visit: www.national-academies.org