The first quarter of 2012 is already over. It was a very hectic quarter that started with two technical lectures on 6th and 10th January given by two young but eminent researchers from US. The annual general meeting of the section was held on 19th January in which two bright ladies took up the challenging tasks of secretary and treasurer of the section for the year 2013. It is indeed a bold step on behalf of the section to champion the cause of women in engineering. The highlight of this annual general meeting was approval of the new Bylaws of the section which had earlier been vetted by the MGA of IEEE. The section also felicitated two IEEE Fellows from the section who were elected during the last two years. The annual social meeting of the section was also organized on 22nd January at Srihari Kanan Bagan Bari, Badu.

On 21st February the section played host to a well-known Professor from Germany who delivered a talk on Smart Grid. The beginning of March was a momentous time for IEEE Kolkata Section. On 1st March Dr. Peter Staecker, IEEE President-Elect 2012, visited Kolkata Section. Dr. Staecker took part in an inspiring interactive session with academicians, students and professionals in which he answered many inquisitive questions form the participants. A dinner was also hosted by the section in the honour of IEEE President-Elect. It is worth mentioning here that an IEEE President/President-Elect visited Kolkata after a gap of more than two decades.

Another landmark in the history of IEEE Kolkata Section is organizing the IEEE Region-10 meeting in Kolkata on March 3-4, 2012, in which representatives from 67 sections and six councils of IEEE Asia-Pacific region (R10) took part apart from R10 leaders, IEEE MGA leaders, IEEE President-Elect 2013 candidates and other IEEE officials. Altogether there were more than 115 participants from all over the world. I am proud to state that our section received very positive feedback about the R10 meeting from several notable IEEE personalities. This R10 meeting in Kolkata will go a long way in increasing the visibility of our section not only in Asia-Pacific region but also around the globe.

As a prelude to the R10 meeting, a technical seminar was organized in Kolkata on 2nd March jointly by IEEE Region 10 and IEEE Kolkata Section. The topic of the seminar was "Green Technology", in which leading speakers from India, Australia and other R10 leaders delivered talks. During the first quarter of 2012, six conferences were held in Kolkata, Patna, Guwahati and Shillong, which were technically co-sponsored by our section. It indeed is a clear indicator that our activities are not bound to Kolkata only, but are spread all over the geographical area of jurisdiction of Kolkata section.

During this quarter, our student branches were also active. Notably, the NIT Durgapur student branch organized International Conference on Emerging Trends (ICET 2012) on 23-25 March 2012.

Our section is having a steady growth of its membership. In the months of January, February and March 2012, the numbers of new members joining Kolkata Section were 76, 106 and 119, respectively.

Considering all the above, I feel confident that our volunteers are doing a great job in spreading the message of IEEE activities effectively. I look forward to your active participation in our sectional growth. Please feel free to send your constructive suggestions for the betterment of our sectional activities.

I take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy Bengali New Year.

Sivaji Chakravorti
April 07, 2012