NEWSLETTER
A House  Journal of
IEEE Kerala Section
Volume 10 Number 03
July - September 2001

Chairman's Message

Dear Members,

Warm Greetings !!
We have a major activity ahead of us early in 2002 - the All India Student Congress, which is now  planned in February at Thiruvananthapuram. Last year it was in Mumbai and the year before, in Chennai. Both the events were well organised and actively participated, raising high expectations on this year’s Congress. Learning lessons from both the events, Kerala Section has decided that for effective organisation, the Section itself shall provide the lead, with involvement and participation from all the Student branches in the conduct of the All India Student Congress 2002. 

A Student Activities Board has been formed within the Section under the Chairmanship of our past Chairman and Millennium Medal recipient S.Gopakumar (s.gopakumar@ieee.org) for co-ordinating the activities. I request all our Student Branches to actively co-operate and support this programme and be in touch with Gopakumar as early as possible. We shall endeavour to make the Student Congress a very eventful and memorable one. 

On another note, the new Engineering Colleges coming up in the State in large numbers throw up an opportunity for expanding our student activities, and we need to strengthen our systems and structures to take up this effectively. At the same time, there is a concern whether the extra preference for Computer Science and Information Technology branches will result in a dearth of bright students in core engineering sectors, leading in future to a shortage of good engineers in such areas. 

IEEE shall discuss this issue in detail to evolve views and make recommendations, which can be communicated to the promoters of the new institutions. I propose that IEEE organise a symposium which will provide a meeting ground for all the stake holders with experts from various areas like economy, industry, education and Government. The State Government’s participation and endorsement to the programme can be ensured, if we organise the programme before Dec 2001.

Finally, the IEEE year is coming to a close in Dec. The nomination committee is expected to announce the Slate of office bearers for 2002 by the middle of October and there will be time up to Nov 15, for petition candidates, if any. 

Thank you, dear members, for your support and encouragement. 

K G satheeshkumar

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Diary of Events

11-07-2001 “GSM and its applications”, K.V.Balasubramonian, Director,  RTTC,  Thiruvananthapuram.
18-07-2001  “Concrete – a living material”,  P.A.Muhammed Basheer, The Queen’s University of Belfast,  UK.
01-08-2001  “Medical Electronics – Redefining Health Care”,   Koruthu P Varughese,  SCT Medical Centre,  Thiruvananthapuram.
04-08-2001 The fifth meeting of the Executive Committee of IEEE Kerala Section at "Harmonieee", Thiruvananthapuram.
18-08-2001  “EMBESY 2001”, Annual Seminar of IEEE Kerala Section at Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram.
22-08-2001 "Recent Trends in Electric Locomotives", S.Marcus, Divisional  Manager,  Railways,  Thiruvananthapuram.
12-09-2001 “Signalling in Telecom Networking”,  R.Rajaram,  Lecturer,  Regional Telecom Training Centre,  Trivandrum. 
15-09-2001 “Removing Rural - Urban Disparity”, Babu Paul, Ombudsman,  Government of Kerala.
19-09-2001 “Magnets - Movers of Modern Society”,  A.K.Sinha,  Project Leader,  MMP/VSSC.
26-09-2001 “Creativity in Development of Information Technology”, N.N.  Panicker,  Tatsat, Thiruvananthapuram.
 

Forthcoming Events

03-10-2001 “Efficiency and Energy Audit of Electrical Power Distribution System”,  R.K. Hegde, CPRI, ERC, Thiruvananthapuram.
03-10-2001 “Design management – A Powerful tool to reduce system failures”,  Abdul Majeed M.K, Retired Dy Director, VSSC.
06-10-2001  Sixth meeting of Executive Committee of IEEE Kerala Section at  “Harmonieee”,  Thiruvananthapuram,  at 18.00 hrs.
10-10-2001  “Solar Village”,  Ajith Gopi,  Project Engineer,  ANERT.
17-10-2001” Are the recent Macroscopic Normalities in Kerala a Precursor to an Earthquake?”, John Mathai, Scientist, CESS, Thiruvananthapuram. 
November 2001 “Industrial Automation”, a National Conference organised by CEDT,  Calicut.
02-11-2001 Second Executive Committee Meeting of IEEE India Council. Time: 14.00hrs.  Venue: India Habitat Convention Centre,  Lodi Road, New Delhi - 110003.
02,03-11.2001 ACE 2001 at India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi  - 110003. 
07-11-2001  “Outsourcing – Emerging trends in Business”,  N.T.Nair, Vice President,  CMS Computers, Thiruvananthapuram.
22-11-2001  “Microprocessor Based Protection Relays”,  Mohindar S Sachdev, organised by PES of IEEE Kerala Section under distinguished lecture programme.
23,24-11-2001  “Multimedia Communication and Signal Processing”, a symposium organised by IEEE Bangalore Section.
11,12-12-2001  “HIS ’2001”- An international Workshop on Hybrid Intelligent Systems at Adelaide,  South Australia.
February 2002 All India Students Congress (AISC-2002) of IEEE India hosted by IEEE Kerala Section.

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Students Corner

STUDENTS CONGRESS

All Kerala Students Congress scheduled for  15th and 16th September at the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram is postponed to November 2001, due to some unavoidable reasons.

The re - scheduled programme will be announced later.

AISC 2002
The All India Students Congress- 2002 is hosting by IEEE Kerala Section at Thiruvananthapuram
 in February 2002.

SPAC
The IEEE Students  Chapter of TKM College of Engineering, Kollam organized SPAC  on 7th and 8th of September 2001 and was colourful.

ATTENTION TO ENGINEERING STUDENTS

IEEE - Computer Society,  Kerala Section provides you an opportunity to equip yourself to face the challenges of  tough competitions.  We propose to conduct an aptitude test of one hour duration during the last week of November  2001 at Thiruvananthapuram.  This  is  free to all engineering students.  The  information about your performance will be made 
available to you. If you are interested, please note down and act on the following:
Register your name by mail to : tcs-ieee@tvm.tcs.co.in
Information needed
i. Name 
ii. Engineering Branch
iii. Semester/ Year 
iv. College 
v. Contact address with Ph. No. 
vi. e-mail id, if any.
Last date for registration :  November 15th 2001
The venue, time & date of the event will be announced by   November 3rd  week. 
Registration through e-mail is preferred. However, if you have difficulties, you can register by post. Address for communication: 
Ratish Ravindran, TCS, Technopark Campus, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 581, Ph: 416671.
K. Kesavasamy
 Secretary, IEEE Computer Society
Kerala Section

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Section Activities

U.S. ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

A Round Table Discussion on “U.S Economic slowdown – Impact on Indian I.T.sector” was organised on 23-05-2001. The slowdown in U.S. Economy should be seen as an opportunity for Indian I.T.Sector to develop product innovation and to turn their attention more to the domestic market.  R & D efforts should be increased to evolve serious robust and sensible business models.  Opportunities in offshore model and those in East and South East Asian countries can be tapped.  China has been concentrating on hardware manufacturing.  In India, particularly Kerala hardware sector can be tapped.  I.T should be used in governmental and business operations in Kerala more widely so those I.T. professionals could be profitably developed.  In I.T. education sector, study of core subjects combined with training in computer or I.T is recommended.

CREATIVITY IN RESEARCH

N.N.Panicker presented a talk on “Creativity in Research” on 30-05-2001. He started his talk by defining the term research as the investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or practical application of such new theories of laws.  He continued that the discovery of new facts, new methods and new theories or insights leading to potentially useful new interpretations and applications should result from good research effort.

By this standard, the quality of research output has been declining, in spite of substantial increase in the investment of money and manpower.  Yet, our progress depends on finding new solutions and gaining better insights. A creative approach can help.  Creativity is the expression of the capacity to generate new, novel and potentially useful ideas.  Creative problem solving is a systematic technique that can be effectively used in arriving at optimum solutions efficiently.  Creativity can help in identifying problems, resources, tools and methods.

He concluded by stating that ‘in creative research, curiously, aptitude, mental flexibility, resourcefulness and dedication come into play and The capabilities should be continuously improved to meet the demands of growing desires and goals.  Attitudes of self-worth and self-reliance should be developed.  Attention should also be given to effective time management’.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY CELEBRATIONS

The World Environment Day was celebrated with Kerala State Pollution Control Board and Science & Technology Museum on 05-06-2001.  The function was inaugurated by the Mayor of Trivandrum Corporation J. Chandra, and presided over by P.Vijayachandran, Chairman IE(I) KSC.  C.G.Sukumaran Nair presented the main talk on the subject “connect with the world-wide-web of life”.  Then a paper meeting moderated by M.N.Prasad was held on “Automobile Pollution - A threat to life”.  M. K. Vahad offered felicitations.  K. V. Indulal presented a report on Pollution Control Awards 2000.  B.Anil proposed a vote of thanks.

MOST ROADS IN KERALA AND ONE IN NEPAL

On 06-06-2001, S.S.Kaimal delivered on the topic “Most Roads in Kerala and One Road in Nepal”. The condition of most roads in Kerala leaves much to be desired.  Uneven surface, potholes and in case of roads with a gradient, longitudinal gullies in the bench mark a majority of the roads even in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram.

In the speaker’s opinion, most of these failures of road surfaces are not due to structural failure under the load of traffic. He opined that these are due to lack of adequate attention to elementary details like provision of adequate camber and longitudinal drains. Also the transverse profile of the roads allows quick and smooth flow of surface water to the drains, proper laying and consolidation of bituminous surfacing, provision of seal coat where required etc are to be ensured.  In the absence of these, rainwater penetrates into the base course of water bound macadam which loses its cohesive strength and the road surface suffers collapse.

He said that a dramatic improvement in the condition of our roads could be achieved with active public cooperation if the engineering fraternity leads the way with an uncompromising commitment to excellence and dedication to the job in hand. For this each road is to be treated as a separate challenge and meeting the challenges with appropriate technological and managerial responses.  This will need little assistance from external agencies like World Bank either in technology or with funds.  In this context the speaker’s experience in 1973 of upgrading the Dharan-Phusre Road (3km) in Nepal in hilly terrain subject to heavy rainfall as in Kerala, seems relevant.  Very satisfactory results were achieved there with limited funds by technological innovation and close attention to detail.  ‘It is felt that similar result can be achieved in Kerala also with a comparable effort by all concerned’, he concluded.

TETRA – A DIGITAL MOBILE RADIO STANDARD

S.Sukesan presented a talk on “TETRA – A Digital Mobile Radio Standard” on 13-06-2001. TETRA” (Terrestrial Trunk Radio Access) is the professional Mobile Radio Standard developed by ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute).  TETRA is used in air traffic control, for police and tactical military purposes, in Ambulances etc. TETRA standards are used for “Voice + Data”, “Conventional Direct Mobile” and “Packet Data Communication”.  The inter system interface facilitates different systems to be grouped.  Network sharing is possible through TETRA while ensuring security.  The base station on TETRA can grant bandwidth on demand.  By making the system portable, wireless channels enable cellular phone, cordless phone and professional mobile radio applications.

RE-ENTRY AND RECOVERY FOR 
SPACE TECHNOLOGY

Re-entry and recovery for space Technology” was the talk by A.Subramanian on 20-06-2001. Launch vehicles come under the classifications of expendable, reusable and returnable launch vehicle.  Mastering of re-entry technology facilities advantageous exploitation of its potential for many scientific experiments involving weightlessness, microgravity, vacuum, fully sterile condition, absence of convective forces, buoyancy and hydrostatic forces and also to extra terrestrial resources.  It may also result in colonization of other Planets.
Problems encountered in re-entry include Vehicle Stability, navigation guidance and control, high heating rates, communication black out in vehicle location and recovery. The various phases of the mission such as orbital manoeuvring and deorbitation, change of orbit inclination, choice of required path/lifting angle, etc. Key Technologies involved are ablative/re-radiative heat shield, hypersonic flap control, flap leading edge, deceleration system, impact attenuation, floatation system and mechanisms for payload experiment.

CREATIVITY IN TOURISM

A talk on “Creativity in Tourism” by N.N.Panicker was held on 27-06-2001. He opined that tourism could be benefiting us in many ways. But, it is double-edged sword as it can also cause harm to the economy, heritage, environment and even the culture.  Tourism development is inevitable and it is our creativity that can help us reap its benefits and steer clear of its dangers.
Creativity is needed in planning and execution of tourism development.  Creativity would manifest through the generation of new, novel and potentially useful ideas, through creative problem solving and through promotion of creative expressions.
He concluded the talk by stating that a creative approach for tourism development can ensure maximum benefit with the minimum harm.  Creativity will help us to attract tourists sharing our values and to cater to their special needs, now possible through modern technology and management.

EXPERIENCES OF ANTARCTICA EXPEDITION

S.Venkateswara Rao delivered a talk on “Experiences of Antarctica expedition” on 04-07-2001. The first Indian expedition to Antarctica took place in 1980 and a station called ‘Dakshin Gangotri’ was set up in the ice shelf.  This station is now sinking. The second station ‘Maitri’ was constructed at about 90 km from the port.  Helicopters are used to transport equipment and personnel from port to the station.  Eight snow vehicles are also kept at Maitri station, and a team from the Indian army maintains them.

Antarctica is the driest place with zero humidity.  So static electricity is generated even on shaking of hands.  Hence precautions are taken to avoid fire hazards in the storage of oil etc.  Drinking water is provided by a lake known as Priyadarsini lake, which remains liquid from December to April. Expedition from twenty-eight countries is located at Antarctica.  In summer, migratory birds are found there.   Each Indian expedition to Antarctica costs about Rs.30 crore.

GSM AND ITS APPLICATIONS

K.V.Balasubramonian presented the topic “GSM and its Applications” on 11-07-2001. GSM or Global System for Mobile Communication is the first international standard, which gives access to all participating countries.  GSM follows many technical standards such as Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).  He explained its operational characteristics such as International roaming, High Spectral Efficiency, Improved speech quality, High link integrity, High degree of flexibility, Large selection of interfaces to other services such as PSTN/ISDN/PSPDN, Economy in sparsely and densely populated areas, Provision of tele-services and bearer services, Better use of available frequencies, Low terminal service cost, Range of new services and facilities, etc.

CONCRETE – A LIVING MATERIAL

Concrete – a living material” is the topic for the talk on 18-07-2001 by P.A.Mohammed Basheer. He narrated the historical context in the use and development of concrete as a building material, concrete as a structural material; causes and rectification of deterioration of concrete, durable concrete construction and role of non-destructive tests on concrete structures were highlighted in the talk. He explained the three-M’s - the factors affecting durable concrete.  They are materials, (grades, etc.), method (design formwork, curing process etc) Man (quality of construction).  Durability is improved by the use of pozzolans. He continued his talk stressing on its various properties.

He said that concrete could be classified as almost a living material, as it takes in air and water, it breathes and its internal structure grows and dies in course of time.
 

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Editorial

Education is capable enough to erode ignorance. It is a major vehicle to carry a society, which will value the lives of human beings. It also provides opportunities to live in harmony with fellow beings and nature. The individual in the society has concern about others, their needs, desires, miseries in which he could be of assistance. From society to nation and further to the entire world, the need to strive together for social cohesion is the key to peace, progress and prosperity. 

Many countries in the world have adopted sound educational system to achieve the goal. Parallel to it the development of science and technology is unpredictably in its zenith. It has visible impact in the society. At present, one can analyse whether these progresses are in the right way. Could it ultimately make peace and prosperity to the mankind? How far the information, knowledge and wisdom achieved through education do pave way to remove ills of the society? 

Terrorism and insurgency at all walks of lives is now a reality. A lot is being talked about fighting against it. Also, in the last two decades terrorist activity was a threat to the entire world. The latest one is what we witnessed on 11th September 2001 - a black day in which thousands of innocents perished within no time. A more detailed report states the death of about 6,000 people, demolition of the World Trade Centre towers, and damage to the US military command centre. Consequent to this catastrophe, the world is facing a new threat, nobody can predict its direction and eventuality. Also, we are in the midst of a paradigm shift with the impact of the terrorist attack and its consequence resulting in brutal massacre of humanity.

Besides, another threat is the bio-terrorism. In this venture the use of chemicals and biological warfare by the terrorists as well as anti-terrorists activities will be gainfully employed. Preparedness against the consequences of any such attack is the major task of all countries whether directly or indirectly involved in the fighting's or not. Biological weapons include bacteria, viruses and toxins that are deliberately spread in air, food or water to cause disease or death to living organisms. A bio-attack may take days or weeks to spread on the earth's surface, until enough illness and deaths have occurred to realise what has happened.

Now everyone is afraid of Anthrax. It is the latest nightmare not only in the US but also in other countries. It caused on humans by inhalation, ingestion and skin cuts, easily causing panic to the masses.  It can remain alive for a pretty long time and are very stable, environmentally. According to the Researchers, the four prerequisites of anthrax spores to come alive and start multiplying are nutrients, temperature, moisture and oxygen content. These biological agents are odourless and have a long incubation period. Typically, it takes three to twenty one days to exhibit the symptoms of the disease on a patient. The disease leads to death of the infectant, the majority of them being common innocent people. 

Are these hazards due to the advancement of the educational system and technological development of the current era? Is undemocratic, uncivilised and brutal suppression of a people in a country or a geographical area the real reason behind the growth of terrorism? Or the dominance of religion over a régime in some other countries? Is it easy to wipe out terrorism, which is deep-rooted and widespread? All these are questions, which are difficult to be answered. But one thing is sure, brutal and barbarious attacks are considered most condemnable, war is not the remedy for peace.  While anti-terrorism and counter-insurgency measures are being strictly enforced precautions should be taken that similar activities would not exploit the human rights of the innocent people. 

An important point to note at this adjunct is the terrorist attacks and its influence on software and IT field. No doubt, the recent attack on the US will affect Indian software exports and business in the IT field to some extent. Certain onsite projects are delayed because of strict security concerns, both from the parent company in India as well as the client in US.  Also, immigration and procurement of work visas may become difficult. All these may affect our ability to do on site work. Yet there are valid reasons to believe that software exporters will not be negatively impacted, at least in the short run.

Contrarily, attacks could open up new opportunities for India in security-related information technology products and services, back-office outsourcing areas, etc. Though the attacks underscore the risk in deriving large proportion of revenues from a single country, one beneficial effect is that it may accelerate the move to diversify markets to other countries like Europe, Asia, etc.

While the current cataclysms are on its way, we, the professionals, have to realise the situation and direct our activities to the emerging global trends. The right weapons and approaches are information, knowledge and wisdom. Calling our attention back to the process of learning and teaching in Indian tradition  - the 'Vidya', which leads to humility, may not be egotistical.  The ultimate goal of this process is to light the path for becoming the eligible, competent and qualified to earn through right means. Lack of these qualities may be the domain of the materialistic pursuits resulting in dramatic erosion of human values and thereby creating havoc and crisis to all over the world.


K Gopalan Nair

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FUEL CELLS – THE ULTIMATE POWER SOURCE
N.T. NAIR,  Editor, IEEE  India Bulletin

Think of a day,   when a  small  gadget  sitting  in   the backyard supplying all the power needed  to run  everything in the house like  ACs, lights, TV etc, with no more need to have the umbilical cord to  the utility’s grid. Fuel cells promise to do exactly that, may be within a decade or little more.

Internal combustion engines in use today are notoriously inefficient, converting only about 18% of the heat content of petrol into useful energy. There is a continuous search for alternate methods that are efficient,  environmentally safe and cheap.   Fuel cells, although  known in concept for more than 150 years, are actively being considered now as it  holds great promises in  stationary power generation. 

Sir William Grove is widely attributed to be the “Father of the Fuel Cell”. Based on his experiments in 1839 on the electrolysis of water, Grove reasoned that it should be possible to reverse the process, reacting hydrogen with oxygen to generate electricity. The term “fuel cell”  was coined in 1889 by Ludwig Mond and Charles Langer, who attempted to build the first practical device using air and industrial coal gas.

Fuel cells are energy conversion devices that convert hydrogen and oxygen  into electricity and heat. The fuel is not burned in a flame (as in conventional engines) but oxidized electrochemically, i.e., fuel cells are not constrained by the fundamental law that governs heat engines, the Carnot limits, which specifies the maximum theoretical efficiency that a heat engine can reach. They have much in common with batteries, which also convert energy that is stored in chemical form into electricity. In contrast to batteries, however, they oxidize externally supplied fuel and therefore do not have to be recharged.

A fuel cell has four main components  - the negative electrode, the positive electrode, the electrolyte and a catalyst. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen, which is the fuel, over the other, generating electricity, water and heat, by the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, aided by the catalyst.  A single fuel cell produces 0.7 volts of DC power. To get this voltage up to a reasonable level, many separate fuel cells must be combined to form a fuel cell stack. This looks more like a large battery. 

Fuel cells need a supply of hydrogen to work. There are three main methods that scientists are researching for inexpensive hydrogen generation. All three separate the hydrogen from a ‘ feedstock’, such as fossil fuel or water - but by very different means.

Any hydrogen-rich material can serve as a possible fuel source.  This includes fossils fuels - methanol, ethanol, natural gas, petroleum distillates, liquid propane and gassified coal. The hydrogen is produced from these materials by a process known as reforming. A reformer turns hydrocarbons or alcohol fuels into hydrogen which is then fed into the fuel cell. Unfortunately reformer technology is still nascent. 

Hydrogen can also be generated from bacteria and algae.  The cyanobacteria, an abundant single-celled organism, produces hydrogen through its normal metabolic function. 
The first successful fuel cell devices resulted from inventions in 1932 by engineer Francis Bacon. However, the technical challenges were daunting and it was not until 1959, a quarter of a century later, that Bacon and his co-workers were able to demonstrate a practical five-kilowatt system capable of powering a welding machine. In the late 1950s, a then little-known federal agency called the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began to search in earnest for a compact electricity generator to provide onboard power for manned space missions. After discarding nuclear reactors as too risky, batteries as too heavy and short-lived, and solar power as too cumbersome, NASA turned to fuel cells. Today, after reliably supplying electricity (and water) to the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions, fuel cells have proven their role in space.

The technology with the earliest promise for central station generation, phosphoric acid fuel cells, now is being offered commercially. An 11-megawatt unit was demonstrated in Tokyo, Japan, and more than one hundred 200 kW units have been installed worldwide.
Fuel cells are categorized according to the type of electrolyte used. Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells were used in the “Gemini” space craft missions and designed by DuPont. PEM fuel cells are being tested in mobile sources such as buses and smaller vehicles. Platinum is used as the catalyst in Phosphoric Acid fuel cells, one of the most mature fuel cells. Alkaline fuel cells are one of the oldest types of fuel cells used in US space programmes. 
All three of the above fuel cell types operate at temperatures that require that conversion of fuel to hydrogen must  occur outside of the fuel cell. This approach introduces a level of complexity avoided by the following two fuel cell designs: 

Molten carbonate fuel cells rely upon nickel-based catalysts  and can operate at higher temperatures. Reforming the fuel into hydrogen can occur inside the fuel cell. Most  of the larger fuel cells on the market today rely upon this approach. 

The solid oxide fuel cell has  the ability to operate at even higher temperatures that can support fuel formulation within the fuel cell. This technology is the least mature of the fuel cell types currently on the market. Nevertheless, it offers the promise of reduced cost and greater quantities of thermal heat for use at the  installation site.

At present, fuel cell power plants cost around US$ 3000 (Rs. 1,40,000) per kW, which is high. Once it drops to US$ 1500 per kW, they will achieve market penetration, as per a study. 
In India, BHEL is actively working in this field. Elsewhere, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota, General Motors, among others, are serious players. 
 
 

 

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kerala section bylaws

In all instances, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Bylaws, Constitution, RAB Operations Manual and IEEE Policy and Procedures will prevail when there is a conflict between these documents and Section Bylaws.
ARTICLE I - Name and Territory
Section 1
This organization shall be known as the Kerala Section of the IEEE (or the IEEE Kerala Section).
Section 2 
The geographic boundaries of the Kerala Section shall be determined by the Section Executive Committee with the approval of the Region Director and Regional Activities Board.
ARTICLE II - Officers
Section 1
The elected officers of the Kerala Section shall be:
? Chair 
? Vice Chair
? Secretary
? Treasurer
Section 2 
The terms of office of the elected officers shall be for one year. 
Section 3 
Terms of office will begin on 1 January.  Outgoing officers will continue until their successors are duly elected and take office.
Section 4 
Any vacancy occurring during the year shall be filled by a majority vote of the Section Executive Committee.
Section 5
The duties of the elected officers will be available from Regional Activities Department (RAD).
ARTICLE III - Standing Committees
Section 1
The Standing Committees of the Section will be as follows:
? Awards
? Professional Activities (PACE)
? Student Activities 
? Membership Development
? Inter-Society liaison
? Governmental Interactions
Section 2
The Chairs of the Standing Committees will be appointed by the Section Chair with the approval of the Section Executive Committee, and their terms will expire on 31 December.
Section 3
Each Committee Chair will appoint his/her Committee members, with the approval of the Section Executive Committee, and their terms will expire on 31 December.
Section 4 
The duties of the Standing Committees will be available from Regional Activities Department (RAD).
ARTICLE IV ? Management
Section 1 
The management of the Section shall be by the Section Executive Committee which shall consist of the elected officers, the Past Section Chair and Chairs of the Standing Committees.
The number of voting members elected must be at least one greater than those appointed.
Section 2
A majority of the Section Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.  A quorum shall be necessary for the Section Executive Committee to conduct the business of the Section.
Section 3
Meetings of the Section Executive Committee ordinarily will be held monthly and will be called by the Section Chair or by a request of any three members of the Section Executive Committee.
Section 4
The fiscal year of the Section shall be 1 January – 31 December.
ARTICLE V - Nomination and Election of Officers
Section 1 
A Nominating Committee consisting of 2 (two) members, not then officers of the Section, shall be appointed by the Section Chair with the approval of the Section Executive Committee.
Nominating committee to have 3 or 4 members
Section 2
The nominations of the Nominating Committee will be announced to the Section membership and, following this, a minimum of 28 days allowed for additional nominations by petition.  To be valid, the petition must be signed by 5 (five) or more voting members or 2% of the Section membership, whichever is fewer.
Section 3
If only one nomination is made for each office, the election will be made at the Annual Meeting.  If additional nominations are made, election will be by ballot, mailed to the membership with the vote counted by a Tellers Committee appointed by the Section Chair.
Section 4
The time table for this procedure is as follows:
? Appointment of Nominating Committee: 1  October 
? Announcement of Nominations: 15 October 
? Close nominations by petition: 15 November
? Hold election: 15 December 
? If required, a ballot shall be mailed prior to: 25 November
Section 5
A plurality of the votes cast shall be necessary for election.
ARTICLE VI - Business Meeting
Section 1 
In order to transact business at a Section meeting, at least 50% members must be present to constitute a quorum.
... at least 50% members or 25 members which ever is lower...
ARTICLE VII - Finances
Section 1
All expenditures of Section funds must be approved by the Section Chair.
Section 2
Without prior authorization of the IEEE Executive Committee, Section funds can be used only for normal operations of the Section. 
Section 3
The Treasurer shall be authorized to draw funds as approved by the Section Executive Committee. 
There will be two signatories for the cheques.All cheques should be signed by Treasurer compulsorily and also any one of the other 3 officers viz, Chair, Vice Chair or Secretary.
ARTICLE VIII - Amendments
Section 1
Proposals for amendments to these Bylaws may originate in the Section Executive Committee or by a petition signed by 10% or more voting members.
Section 2
Amendments to or revocation of these Bylaws shall be in accordance with the IEEE Bylaws, RAB Bylaws and RAB Operations Manual.

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EMBESY 2001

IEEE Kerala section organized a conference on embedded systems entitled as EMBESY 2001 on 18th August at Technopark, Trivandrum. About 200 delegates from all over India attended the conference.

Krithi Ramamritham, University of Massachusettes (Verifone Chair Professor at IIT Mumbai) delivered the keynote  address on the challenges in building tiny embedded systems. He examined the different types of embedded systems, the operations they perform and the constraints they operate under. Their relationship with mobile and pervasive computing was also examined. Communication support and database support for embedded applications that have small form factors was discussed in detail.

Kirti Ramamritam inaugurating the seminar

S.Ravishankar, Head of the Advanced Technology Group, Force Computers, Bangalore presented a paper on paradigms for wireless applications. He said that as far as the commercial wireless technologies such as GPRS and UMTS for long range communications, and IEEE 802.11x, Bluetooth, etc. for short-range communications are concerned, there is an alarming lack of originality among wireless service providers as to the kind of applications they expect their subscribers to avail of . He  tried to address this issue by helping identify potential usage/ application paradigms based on the relative strengths and weaknesses of these wireless technologies. It is envisaged that such paradigms would help identify new applications / application classes, which would help grow the wireless market.

Shinto Joseph, MD, Orane Technologies, Bangalore presented a paper on new generation RTOS. In his paper, he addressed strategies for converting the existing applications to  embedded , adding real time features to the existing applications and building new generation applications utilizing  the existing skills and resources.

Linux for real time embedded systems was the topic presented by Madan Sendhil, MD, Timesys India, Coimbatore. He explained how the architectural design decisions in traditional Unix and Linux limit Linux in real-time applications. Innovations in the Linux domain that offer a viable real-time Linux, specifically enhancements in the TimeSys Linux/RT distribution, were discussed. 

R.Muralidharan, GM, OSS Systems India Ltd, Mumbai, and immediate past Chairman of IEEE Mumabi, talked about Optical Networks in real time systems.  He said that optical networks consist of the network elements which are hard real time systems that makes possible the transport of information at very high speeds. The architecture of these network elements as hard real time systems and their role in implemen tation of a distributed real time system with communication support were   explained in his paper.

UML was the topic of presentation of Mr.C.Damodaran, Project Manager, NeST, Thiruvananthapuram. He said UML provides a common framework for modeling object-oriented systems. In fact, UML’s utility as a common language for defining and designing software systems independent of a specific implementation language has increased the acceptance of object-orientation in many software development areas. In its current version, it covers most of the views necessary to construct a reasonable solution to a given problem. However several aspects of real-time systems development require additional support in the form of extensions to the present UML standard. He examined the use of UML in embedded systems and presented the extensions to UML, which will help to model the real time aspects present in embedded systems.

A view of the seminar

Ravindrakumar, Additional Director, ER&DCI presented a paper on System-on-chip design. ASICs are more the norm than the exception nowadays for a range of electronic products which are rapidly increasing in their complexity, functionality and intelligence. Now, even complex microprocessors and programmable DSP elements are available as Intellectual Property “Cores” for embedding into a single silicon chip along with other peripherals. A whole new breed of companies specialising in offering a range of reusable IP Cores is emerging, targeting SOC implementations with high reliability and low turnaround times. He explained some of the issues in  design implementation and testing, besides looking at some of the new methodologies. Some of the perspectives for success of the ASIC design business with reference to the Indian scenario were  highlighted. 

Protection Domains for generalizing the kernel and application protection in RTOS with least performance overheads was the topic of presentation of Pawan Vashisht, FAE Manager, Mistral Soultions Ltd, Bangalore. He explained how the protection domain approach generalizes the traditional techniques for application protection and considerably increases their power and utility. This significant technical advance is a key simplification that unifies protection into a single, superior model. With this technique, developers can now separate applications, shared libraries, shared data, and system software to varying degrees in order to realize the desired level of isolation and protection. 

Satish P, Project Manager, NeST, Trivandrum presented a paper on TCP/IP for embedded systems. He discussed a serious issue faced by developers trying to implement TCP/IP on embedded targets -  the complexity of the networking software often exceeds that of the application and in some cases, the capacity of the underlying hardware itself. He examined  some of the issues involved in implementing the TCP/IP protocol suite in embedded systems and explained some of the practical solutions that are currently available for cost effective implementation in embedded systems.

K.G. Satheesh Kumar, Chairman, IEEE Kerala section welcomed the gathering and R.Narayanan, Vice Chairman, IEEE Kerala section gave an overview of the conference

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Slate 2002 - Announcement

Election of Office bearers for the year 2002

Dear Member,

The Nomination Committee consisting of Muraleemohan Lal, as Chairman, and S.Gopakumar and N.A.P Thampy as members was constituted to furnish the slate of office bearers for IEEE Kerala section for the year 2002. The Nomination Committee has sent the following slate:

i) R.NARAYANAN (SM 40298899) - CHAIRMAN
 Vice President, Tata Consultancy Services 
 Technopark Campus, Karyavattom, Thiruvananthapuram ? 695581

ii)  E.E RAJAKUMAR (SM 07321631) - VICE CHAIRMAN 
 Group Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,Thiruvananthapuram.

iii)  MADHU MANGAL (SM 07846561) - SECRETARY
 Managing Director,PEL Drive
 Pattom,Thiruvananthapuram.

iv) SASI P.M. (M40293392) - TREASURER
Joint Director, ER&DCI,Thiruvananthapuram- 695033.

Candidates other than those included in the slate can contest the elections as Petition Candidates. To be valid, the Petition must be signed by 5 (five) members or more voting members or 2% of the Section Membership, which is fewer. The petitions should reach the Secretary, IEEE Kerala Section, TC 25/2696(5), Ambujavilasam Road, Thiruvananthapuram? 695001 on or before 5 PM, 20th November 2001 along with the nominee’s willingness, his or her Bio?data, and statement of intent.

The various subcommittees and their Chairmen will be nominated by the new Section Executives as per the Bylaws.

Thanking you for the continued support to IEEE Kerala Section,

Yours faithfully,

Unnikrishnan A.K
Secretary
14 October 2001

NARAYANAN is a gold medallist from Madras University in Mathematics. After brief stints at Tata Institute of Fundamental Reserch, Bombay and the Centre for advanced studies in Molecular BioPhysics and X-ray Crystallography, Madras, he joined the Indian Space Research Organisation and held various positions as Head, Computer Division and Head, Software Quality Assurance Division. He is the Vice President at Tata Consultancy Services. Narayanan had served the Board of Studies in Computer Science in Kerala University. He has been a Visiting Scientist and Guest faculty at Concordia University, Montreal, Institute of System Sciences at University of Singapore and IIT Madras. He had been a member of the Joint Policy Committee of the ISRO-IIT (M) Space Technology cell promoting research projects. 

He has published a number of papers on Software Quality Assurance, Formal Specifications and Software Project Management besides popular articles in newspapers. He is currently the Vice-Chairman of IEEE Kerala Section. Also, he has been selected for Golden Peacock Award for "Excellence in Training" in the year 2000.

E.E. RAJAKUMAR obtained his B.E. in Electronics and Communication  Engineering from Madras University in 1970. Immediately thereafter he  was selected by the Department of Atomic Energy to undergo one year of interdisciplinary training in the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.  He joined the Space Science Technology Centre in Trivandrum in 1971 where  his main area of work concerned the indigenous development of an  on-board computer for the Indian satellite launch vehicle program.  The team led by him developed the architecture for mission critical real - time computing and also realized the total onboard computer system hardware and software for deployment in the Indian Satellite launch vehicle. He a senior member of IEEE and has been with the IEEE for more than 25 years.

MADHU MANGAL received B Tech from IIT Madras in 1973, M Tech and Ph. D from IIT Bombay in 1975 and 1986 respectively, all in Electrical Engineering. During his professional career, which started in 1975, he worked with KELTRON at ER&DC, Thiruvananthapuram, NELCO Mumbai as Head of R&D and CEDTI Calicut, under Government of India, as Director-in-Charge. Based on the developments and designs done by him, more than 150 systems are presently working for various  applications. He has also done System Engineering for AC Drives for Cement industry, Steel industry, Thermal Power plants, etc. Presently he is Managing Director of Peldrive Power Controls, Thiruvananthapuram. He has also guided several M. Tech projects of IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, Calicut University, Cochin University, Kerala University, etc. He is Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India) and Senior Member IEEE. He was Regional Speaker of IEEE in Variable Speed Drives during 1998 & 1999. He is the current Chairman of IEEE Kerala Section’s Joint Chapter on IA & IE.

SASI P.M had his M.Tech degree in Applied Electronics and Instrumentation from College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram and B.Sc(Engg) in Electronics and Communication from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam. He started his carrier in Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation in 1982. From 1988 onwards, he was working in various capacities in Electronics Research and Development Centre (ER&DCI), Thiruvananthapuram. He served as Senior Mission Coordinator in Information Technology Mission Group of Government of Kerala for a brief period.He involved in the standardisation of Malayalam keyboard and character encoding as well as formulating GIS data standards for Kerala. Currently he is working as Joint Director in ER&DCI and a member of the Computer hardware sectional committee of Bureau of Indian Standards. He is an active member of IEEE and the treasurer of the Kerala section. He is one of the major personalities behind the successful organisation of IT Kerala 2000 and the International Conference organised as a part of the event by Government of Kerala. He has also done excellent work on organising cuerrent year’s Seminar -  EMBESY 2001 in August by IEEE Kerala Section.

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Editor: K. Gopalan Nair  E-mail: kgnairs@eth.net phone: 437449