NEWSLETTER
A House  Journal of
IEEE Kerala Section
Volume 11 Number 4
October-December 2002


Contents

Diary Of Events
Forthcoming Events
Chairman's Message
Slate 2003
Selection Activities
Plastic Electronics
Editorial
AGM
GOLD
Student Activities
Code Of Ethics

Diary of Events

 

 

03-10-2002

"Efficiency and Energy Audit of Electrical Power Distribution System", R.K. Hegde, CPRI, ERC, Thiruvananthapuram.

09-10-2002

"Technology for Enhanced Quality of Life", Ramesh. C. Dutt, President & CEO, Intsyx Tech Resources, Thiruvananthapuram.

16-10-2002

"Quaternary Geology & its implications for Kerala Develoment", K.M. Nair, Former Director, CESS, Thiruvananthapuram.

23-10-2002

"Data Ware-housing", K. Parthasarathy, Engineer, Computer Division, VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram.

06-11-2002

"Economic Impacts of Power Quality", N.T. Nair, Vice - President, C.M.S Computers Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram.

13-11-2002

"Management of Design", K.G.Pillai, NeST, Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram.

13-11-2003

"Thermal Protection System for Re-entry and Re-usable Launch Vehicles", S. Packiri Samy, Scientist Engineer, Polymers and Chemicals Division, VSSC.

20-11-2002

"Agile Process Methodologies", Satish Babu, InApp Information Technologies (India) Pvt Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram.

04-12-2002

"Transmission and Distribution Management in Kerala", P.S. Chandramohan, Prof. of Electrical Engg, College of Engg, Thiruvananthapuram.

12-12-2002

"Women Engineers in Aerospace - A snapshot of How they Manage their Dual Roles", Valsa.B and Jayanthi.V, VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram, at CSI Hall, Cherian's Square, Thiruvananthapuram

14-12-2002

Fifth Executive of IEEE Kerala Section, at 18.30 Hrs at Swiss Bake House, Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram.

18-12-2002

"Emerging Internet Technologies: Opportunities and Issues", M.C. Jayakrishnan, InApp Technologies (India) Pvt Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram.

20 to
21-12-2002

"ACE 2002", 28th Annual Convention and Exhibition of IEEE India Council organized by IEEE Calcutta Section, at Science City, Kolkata.

 


Top

 

Forthcoming Events

01-01-2003

"Rubber Dams", R. Sreekumar, Dy. General Manager, Project Engg & Exports Division, Steel Industries Ltd., Kerala.

08-01-2003

"Advances in Automotive Electronics", K.N.Ramachandran, Filtran Micro Circuits, Canada.

08-01-2003

Sixth Executive Committee of IEEE Kerala Section, at 18.30 Hrs at 'Harmonieee', Thiruvanathapuram.

11-01-2003

Annual General Meeting of IEEE Kerala Section at 18.30 Hrs at Hotel Horizon, Thiruvananthapuram.

 

Top

Chairman's Message

Time for resolutions?
It is highly gratifying to note that the Newsletter is being widely read - it is meant to be read. It is meant to raise discussion on issues affecting all of us - professionals, students, members of society. No one can arrogate to himself / herself absolute views. One looks at issues from one's own lens - wide or narrow as the case may be but never infinitely wide. Hence reactions to thoughts are most welcome - the more complementary (not complimentary) the reactions the better.

Institutions such as IEEE operate on a basis of Volunteerism. Thus they differ from a company or Government agency where people work and get compensated at periodic intervals. IEEE office bearers are called volunteers and not officers. The institution will collapse if volunteerism is absent or in inadequate measure. Hence we need to generate volunteers in every generation. The Kerala Section from its inception has been uniquely marked by a large band of volunteers. We can not live on past glory - hence I suggest that every member undertakes to make a volunteer out of at least one other member. This could take the form of formal training or informal mentoring on what IEEE stands for, what IEEE can offer to members & society and what IEEE can not do (after all every institution operates under some constraints). We shall facilitate the creation of a large network of volunteers and we welcome suggestions from members to make IEEE Kerala Section overflowing with not just members but volunteers.

We wish all a professionally satisfying New Year!


R. Narayanan

Top

IEEE KERALA SECTION SLATE FOR THE YEAR 2003

Chairman
R.Narayanan (SM40298899)
Vice President
Tata Consultancy Services
Technopark Campus
Thiruvananthapuram - 695581.

Vice Chairman
E.E.Rajakumar (SM07321631)
Group Director,
Computer and Information Group VSSC,
Thiruvananthapuram - 695022.

Secretary
Sasi P.M (M40293392)
Joint Director,
ER&DCI Thiruvananthapuram - 695033.

Treasurer
S. Meera (M40298697)
IT Analyst
Tata Consultancy Services
Technopark Campus
Thiruvananthapuram - 695581.

Top

Section Activities

Guidance and Control of Launch Vehicles

A talk on "Guidance and Control of Launch Vehicles - An ISRO perspective" by S. Dasgupta was organized on 14-08-2002. Stability and the accuracy with which a launch vehicle can inject a satellite into orbit is decided by its Guidance and Control function in addition to its Navigation System accuracy. While aerodynamic forces such as lift, drag, wind forces, etc. assist an aircraft in its flight, these turn out to be destructive to a rocket as it travels through the atmosphere. Only through a careful modeling of the forces and control the system design can the rocket be made to fly safely along the fuel-optimum path.

What is aimed at in the design of the trajectory is the attainment of maximum pay load with structural load constraints, control force, heat flux and range safety. The different systems in the making of a rocket include propulsion, aerodynamics, structure, guidance and control. Guidance is an algorithm to steer the vehicle along an optimal path to meet the constraints in trajectory and to generate thrust cut off. Control systems maintain the stability of dynamic modes due to all the different factors including engine dynamics.

He concluded his speech by narrating the achievements made by ISRO in the past few years. Over these years, ISRO has developed a large variety of Guidance and Control algorithms which have been highly successful in achieving near perfect orbits for the satellites, from the days of SLV-3, ASLV, PSLV to the latest one, namely, GSLV.

Neuro-Fuzzy Systems

Koshy. P. Vaidyan on 28-08-2002 delivered a talk on "Introduction to Neuro-Fuzzy Systems". What exactly is fuzzy logic?, he commenced his speech with this question. Natural language abounds with vague and imprecise statements like "The car is going fast", "It is every hot today" etc. For instance, what is the speed that can be considered to be 'fast'? if it is a speed of 60 kmph or higher, then what about a speed of 59.99 kmph? Is it 'slow' or 'fast'? Fuzzy Logic is basically a multivalued logic that allows intermediate values to be defined between conventional evaluations like slow/fast, tall/short, black/white, yes/no, true/false etc. It is a superset of Boolean logic that has been extended to handle the concept of partial truth. It can handle problems with imprecise and incomplete data, and it can model nonlinear functions of arbitrary complexity.

Artificial Neural Network is an information-processing paradigm that is inspired by the way biological nervous systems, such as the brain, process information. It has a large number of highly interconnected processing elements that usually operate in parallel, and are configured in regular architectures. The collective behaviour of a neural network, like the human brain, demonstrates the ability to learn, recall and generalize from training patterns or data.

Nero-Fuzzy systems combine the advantages of Fuzzy systems and Neural networks while overcoming the drawbacks in them. Apart from the basics, the modeling of a fuzzy logic system using neural networks and its simulation using Metlab were discussed. The talk also covered the architecture, learning procedure and control applications of ANFIS, which is a neuro-fuzzy system.

Life-Style Diseases

On 04-09-2002 a talk was arranged on "Life-Style Diseases" and Sapna G. Nair was the expert who delivered the talk. With the advent of antibiotics, immunisation, increased public hygiene and nutrition, newer surgical techniques etc. death due to acute diseases has reduced. Thus increased life span gives rise to a newer set of problems - those that are inextricably linked to our environment and lifestyle.

Change in lifestyle can prevent many diseases to which we are already genetically pre-disposed. The following are the main factors that determine our lifestyle-Diet, Exercise, Occupation and Relaxation.

Diet: Diseases like diabetes, hypertension, Coronary artery diseases (CAD), arteriosclerosis, Gastro esophageal reflex disease, (GERD), Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Chronic constipation, piles, acidity, etc. are caused by compromise on quantity, quality and regular eating habits. Quantity of food should be according to digestive power only. * Only 2 full meals a day * Heavy meals to be avoided after sunset. * Stomach should be filled - 1/3rd with food, 1/3rd fluids, 1/3rd to be kept empty.

Exercise is most important in prevention of stress & related diseases, cardiovascular diseases, promoting good metabolism and health and prevention of aging. Moderate exercising - regularly * should include all muscle groups * should impart flexibility to joints. E.g. Yoga * Reduced in summer and increased in winter * Should not be immediately before or after meals and bath.

Stress and Relaxation: Stress is major cause of most diseases nowadays as most diseases are psychosomatic in nature. Relaxation techniques are like deep breathing exercises, pranayama, spirituality and religion, team sports, yoga, motivational talks and good company are to be practised.

Occupation: Specific occupation related diseases like problems of spine, eyes, gastric diseases and allergies can be avoided with proper awareness of posture, care of eyes and following specific preventive measures.

Quality Management System

A talk on "The New Edition of ISO 9000 Quality Management System" by B.C. Bhaumik was held on 11-09-2002. ISO 9000 is a generic title representing a family of standards, primarily concerned with quality management. It is an international effort of 140 countries to develop and implement quality management system standards. Its basic concept is prevention of wrong things ever happening. It is voluntary. Quality Management System (QMS) is that part of management system which directs and controls an organization with regard to quality, which include quality-planning, control, assurance and improvement.

A quality product can result in an organization, if the information on mission, responsibilities and inter-relationships or each person in the organization is clear. Also each person's means to achieve quality must be clearly understood and translated into action. Evaluation is done through QMS Adult and Management Review.

The standards formulated in 1987, and comprehensively revised in 1994 are being revised since 2000 incorporating changes in approach. There is shift of emphasis in this revision. From developing Documented Procedures, the focus is now on understanding and managing processes. The quality is ensured in the form of results instead of record maintenance. In the place of 20 discrete quality system elements, the operation is based now on QMS comprising many inter-related processes that incorporate all the 20 system elements throughout a comprehensive process network.

The 2000 Revision of ISO 2000 is founded on Customer focus, Leadership, Involvement of people, Process approach, System approach to management, Continual improvement, Factual approach to decision making and mutually beneficial supplier relationship.

SSI in Globalisation Scenario

On 15-09-2002 G. Rajmohan presented a paper on "Indian Small Scale Industries in Globalisation Scenario". The small-scale sector in India has grown steadily over the years, acquiring an important place in the nation's economy, with significant contribution in terms of generation of employment, output, and exports.

The number of SSI units has grown from 0.42 million as on March 1974 to 3.37 million units in March 2001. The small-scale sector accounts for 95 % of the industrial units in the country, contributing 40 % of the output of the manufacturing sector and approximately 1/3rd of the nation's exports.These units provide employment to over 1.86 million persons.

While the process of liberalization and globalization has opened up new channels of growth for the various sectors of the economy, it has also sprung up several challenges. The rule based trading order of the WTO has wide ranging implications for our indigenous small and medium industries, agriculture, services sector, and our local R&D initiatives. All the quantitative restrictions on over 1400 items have been removed with effect from April, 2001 making them freely importable. This has affected the indigenous market of a large number of small and medium enterprises in the country.

The two major factors that have been the driving force of the small and medium enterprises in Germany, Italy and Taiwan have been - Innovation and Differentiation.

The focus of our small-scale industry must be our domestic market, which if catered to well is a one billion strong market. This can enable them to take on the phenomenon of WTO and its related challenges.

What is most important is that our objective and thrust must be on the globalisation of the economy and not just globalisation of the domestic market.

Lightning in high-rise buildings

A talk on "Constructional Aspects of Protection against lightning in high-rise buildings in Kerala" by K.K. Vasu was arranged on 18-09-2002. In the place of the conventional lightning conductor, a closed circuit network of copper strips can be advantageously used. With appropriate design the net will be a more effective and safe lightning conductor for high-rise buildings.

Enhanced quality of life

Ramesh C Dutt delivered a talk on "Technology for enhanced quality of life" on 09-10-2002. Better quality of life is associated with higher standard of living, good nutrition, efficient health care, longevity, quality education and satisfactory job situations.

Technology is one of the important routes for achieving better quality of life for the people. Innovative technology is highly essential. Knowledge, which is the key driver of economic performance, is the main source of competitive advantage.

The right inputs in formulation of Technology Policies must be supplied by the Scientists, Technologists and professionals must through their competence in the fast changing world earn the required trust from the media, government and the general public. The technologists must also find solutions to the issues created by technology like unemployment problem of the traditional labour force, etc.

An aggressive technology policy appropriately formulated by the professionals and technologists, they themselves taking the lead and a good vibrant relationship among the politicians, academicians and industrialists will result in enhancement of quality of life in Kerala.

Quaternary Geology

"Quaternary Geology and its Role in the Development of Kerala" was the topic presented by K.M. Nair, Former Director, CESS on 16-10-2002. Quaternary period refers to the last two million years of the Earth's history. Of this, the last 10,000 years is referred in scientific literature as Holocene and the rest as Pleistocene. Quaternary period is noted for two major events of glaciations the last glacial maximum (lgm) is dated at 18,000 years before present (ybp). The sea level fall and rise accompanying the glacial-interglacial events, drastic chances in climate and, local and regional tectonics together have resulted in the landscape, environment and much of the mineral resources of Kerala. The above events are inferred from sedimentary record and landscape observation of the coastal sedimentary basin of our State. The characteristic landforms of Kerala coast such as lagoons, estuaries, seasonal and perennial wetlands-now under paddy cultivation, sand ridges under human settlements, and the intervening runnels used for cultivating various crops have all resulted from the above events. The most noteworthy of the above events is the changes brought about by the sea level rise after the lgm at 18000 years. In this process numerous heavy mineral rich palaeo-beach ridges have been deposited in the shelf area. The marine inundation at about 7000 ybp of vast areas in the coastal planes followed the receding of sea are responsible for almost the entire landscape of coastal Kerala. The important mineral resources like heavy mineral placers, silica sand, lime shell deposit, tile/brick clays, etc., are also the products of the sea level related events of the late Quaternary period. Utilization of the minerals ground water and other environmental resources as well as the construction activities must take into consideration the origin and evolution of the landforms with the strata there under, and the basic natural functions of each land form unit of our State.

DataWare-Housing

On 23-10-2002 K.Parthasarathy delivered a talk on "DataWare-Housing". Top managers, analysts and knowledge workers need more and better information. Even though billions of bytes of data about various aspects are created every day in an organization, only a small fraction of the same is actually available to the decision makers. The Date ware-housing technology makes it possible to provide all the key-people in the enterprise with access to whatever level of information required by them.

This is made up of many interconnected elements such as operational data base/external data base layer, Information access layer, Data access layer, Metadata layer, Process management layer, Messaging layer, Data warehouse layer and Data staging layer. Each layer is responsible for performing specific operations on the data.

The technologies which assist in creating Data Warehouse are Data Modeling, Database security, Heterogeneous database integration, Distributed database, Access methods and indexing, High performance computing and metadata.

Power Quality

N.T.Nair delivered a talk on "Economic Impacts of Power Quality" on 06-11-2002. In the present era of heavy dependence on electricity, the emphasis has shifted from "any power" to "quality power". Power should be made available to the user at the standard voltages and frequency and without interruptions for disturbance, which may harm the working of the equipments consuming electricity.

Power Quality variation normally encountered are high frequency events like unidirectional impulse, oscillating impulse, repetitive impulse, common and normal mode events, etc, voltage events like sages, Surges, outages and interruptions of short duration and long term outages, neutral-to-ground voltage, etc.

The impact of Power Quality variations in various sectors like manufacturing, medical facilities, telecommunication, buildings, banking etc. is phenomenally significant. The average cost of downtime in credit-card industry is indicated as U.S $ 2,580,000/- per hour.

The Power Utility, Consumers and equipment manufacturers are all to be responsible in maintaining the distribution of quality power.

Management of Design

On 13-11-2002 K.G.Pillai presented the topic "Management of Design". Design demands power to reason and to conceptualize. In practice, design involves cost, quality and schedule. The essentials of design include good engineering, study of constrains and derived requirements. Life cycle of a product goes through concept, design, prototype and simulation. Design review and implementation-readiness-review are essential.

Agile Process Methodologies

"Agile Process Methodologies" was the topic by Satish Babu in connection with the Technical talk Series on 20-11-2002. Software development in the past was dominated by heavy weight process methodologies. The approach had been similar to what is practiced in the design methodology of other engineering disciplines. Here the emphasis is in well laid out procedures, documentation, distinct phases (mostly non-iterative) of design, construction and testing.

An emerging new body of thought in the software realm, Agile Process Methodologies, approaches the Software Process from a very different viewpoint, promoting lightweight processes. Creative talent is essential in software design. Software is meant to be "Soft", meaning that the development cannot remain rigid. Software creation is an unfolding process that results from interaction between the evolving software and the user-designer.

In Agile Programming, instead of freezing the requirement specifications at the commencement of the project itself, chance is considered as a natural feature of software. At every point of development of the software, the customer is involved and closely works with the Development Team. Agile Programming is people centric and is not Process centric. The development is done through continuous iterative effort aiming at satisfying the customer requirement fully".

Top

Plastic Electronics or Organic Electronics

Compiled by: N.T.NAIR, Editor, IEEE India Bulletin

Electronic industry is dominated today by silicon, an inorganic material that goes into almost every microelectronic device in use. Even though there has been remarkable reduction in manufacturing costs over the years, silicon-based electronics remain too expensive still. The trend will continue to be so for the foreseeable future, making it difficult for incorporation of silicon devices in very low cost consumer goods. Costs aside, there are practical problems like, silicon being too brittle, can not be easily built into items as flexible as, say, clothing. This is where plastic (ie, organic polymer) chips might come in, bringing with it flexibility and reduced cost.

Organic molecules or polymers, the plastic-like materials, are renowned for their excellent mechanical properties, such as strength and flexibility. Until recently, plastics were also known for being insulators than conductors or semiconductors. What changed this was the discovery in the late 1970s that, if the organic polymer was doped chemically, it could be made to act like a metal with dramatically greater electrical conductivity. That simple discovery kick started research into a whole new technology, based on conducting and semi-conducting plastics. Some of them, so-called 'conjugated' materials, can be made into semiconductors or full conductors of electricity. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2000 has honored these developments. Recently, even superconductivity has been observed in a conjugated polymer demonstrating that a full spectrum of electrical properties, from insulating to superconducting, can now be achieved with plastics, even though previously this was thought to be possible only with inorganic materials. Investigations of high-quality organic single crystals of these carbon-based materials also allowed for the observation of the Fractional Quantum Hall effect, a phenomenon till then restricted only to the purest inorganic semiconductors such as Si or GaAs.

Besides the many similarities, there are significant differences between these organic and conventional inorganic materials. It is indicated that organic electronics may not be able to compete with silicon CMOS (complementary metal - oxide - semiconductor) technology in terms of speed. So, we, probably, can not expect a computer made of plastic chips any time soon in our near-by computer store.

While silicon chips have superior switching speeds and durability, plastic chips might have the edge on one crucial point: the price. This derives from their ease of handling. They do not require high vacuum equipment and can be deposited at room temperature from solution, giving hope for low-cost, lightweight, rugged, flexible electronics: plastic electronics. Organic semiconductors should therefore tap a new market, involving applications that demand little from the speed of the circuits, but require that they can be produced in large quantities over large areas and at a low price. Organic, carbon-based materials combine their good semiconducting properties with mechanical properties that permit flexible, lightweight, and distributed electronic and optoelectronic applications ranging from low-end data storage, electronic tags & labels ('electronic barcodes') to smart cards, displays, and toys. Even wearable or disposable computing might be possible. Such low-cost applications represent a formidable challenge for single crystal, polycrystalline, or even low-temperature amorphous silicon technology. Consequently, organic electronics might be able to go where silicon can't follow.

The workhorse of plastic electronics is the so-called organic thin film transistor (OTFT), which is very similar to the metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor-based (MOSFET) silicon technology. OTFTs can switch and amplify electrical signals as needed for logic operations.

While transistor performance sufficient for the envisioned applications can be achieved using these low-cost processing and patterning techniques, logic circuits based on individual OTFTs must be prepared in order to commercialize 'plastic electronics'. So far, various companies have demonstrated the integration of a few thousand transistors. In one prototypical application of OTFTs, electronic paper, plastic electronics are used to drive an electro-phoretic display. This was first demonstrated through a collaboration of Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, & E -Ink, and has now been reproduced by other companies. High voltages and rather low currents are needed to switch the electronic ink pixels, requirements that nicely match the characteristics of the organic transistors. That the display is also only several millimeters thick and bendable reveals the unique capabilities of plastic electronics. With continued progress in materials engineering, processing, and ultra-low cost fabrication techniques, commercial products may become possible and an evaluation of the full potential of plastic electronics would evolve.

First to come to market will be light emitting polymers (Also known as polymer light emitting diodes). Over the coming decade, LEPs are expected to become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Unlike the liquid crystals used in many of today's flat-panel displays, LEPs are electro-luminescent -ie, their molecules can emit light on their own. The displays are made by applying a thin film of the polymer on to a glass or plastic substrate that has been coated with transparent electrodes. Light is emitted from the polymer when an electric field is applied across the electrodes. Not having to heat up a tungsten filament to create light, LEPs can light up in a fraction of a microsecond - making them, in effect, instant on-off bulbs. Also, because unlike LCDs they do not need back-lighting, LEPs can be used out-of-doors in daytime as well as night. As a display, they are lighter and more energy-efficient than liquid crystals or other display technologies . More interesting still, LEPs can be dissolved in a thin solution and printed on a variety of surfaces, making it possible to turn an entire wall into a screen. Initially, LEPs will compete in niche markets like alphanumeric and dot-matrix displays, probably knocking the conventional LCD off its pedestal.

It is still early days for organic electronics. Plastic transistors have nothing like the switching speed of those made from crystalline silicon. Although plastic transistors and diodes seem to have promising future in displays, they are unlikely to replace silicon devices at the hind end of performance. Their most useful role will be in throwaway products or in hybrids that take advantage of robustness and flexibility of plastic circuitry.

Even though talk in the labs is plastic electronics, any thought of silicon's demise is premature. The reality might be that silicon will have to share its dominance of the semiconductor world with a remarkable range of upstart materials based on polymers.

Nevertheless, the future for carbon-based electronics appears very bright indeed!

Top

Editorial

For the last couple of decades, we witnessed the most dramatic innovation in the application of the computers. It has been widely accepted in almost all areas especially from engineering to bio-informatics. These days we talk much more of the computer hardware and application software in medical, health and biological fields, which save our lives, are also emanated out of IT.

Today's advanced medical equipment which could take very detailed and high quality scans of the human body with minimum exposure is the result of user interface of medical imaging applications. Just think on the hardware including CT and MRI scanning now most popular in high-tech specialty hospitals. They use very high-end computing equipments, which are required from image acquisition to processing and viewing in Medical Imaging. Over and above this, the software used in medical systems is vastly different from commercial image manipulation.

Even though it is still in an infancy stage, for the quick reference, doctors can carry and update patient records and medical books on their laptops using advanced reference technology. When a patient visits his doctor, he is not expected to carry the reports. The doctor would probably have the complete medical history along with the scans he had done. Such detailed knowledge can lead him to seize swift decision and this is one of the many ways in which computer has percolated into health care.

Traditionally the skill of a surgeon is developed through practical training on animals, cadavers and patients. Today high-tech simulators are replacing these traditional techniques. They simulate working environment on a surgical procedure using a computer. It also put the doctor in the perspective of the camera that is at the point of operation. Models of the organs are generated by 3-D modeling software from real images taken during actual procedures. Surgical actions like cutting of tissues with precision and to generate feedback reactions which are performed using virtual reality. Moreover, patient data and digital images are transferred over a telecommunication network with other devices and software to pave way to telemedicine. It delivers expert help to far away places especially when the specialists are in cities and the patients are in places having difficulty in access.

The role of computers and simulation in biology is another area of interest - the 'Digital Biology'. Photolithography, Robotic Automation, Tissue Engineering are some other related developments. The production of artificial skin - 'engineered tissue' is a combination of living cells and a support structure needs a process of 20 days to turn out a three-layered skin from a skin factory. Another product is 'engineered cartilage' for joint replacement. Bones, blood vessels and life saving internal organs like liver, heart, etc are a very long-term goal. All these will help to return people to normal lives. The future of this endeavour will be the possibility to procure internal organs from open market until tissue engineers can replicate virtually internal organs of human body.

Besides, today computers are used for getting more explanations on metaphysical concepts and ideas more helpful for faith healers. The concept of Aura and the idea of biorhythms are two most popular areas. A field of energy that surrounds human and other animate and inanimate objects is the aura. Its state is supposed to be an indicator of the physical and mental condition and well being of an individual. By seeing the aura of a person one can diagnose disease. Cameras called 'Kirlian cameras' are capable of producing colour photographs that are directly stored on to a computer. Using software packages auras are captured and analysed.

The idea of biorhythms are based on the postulates developed at the end of the eighteenth century. This is a completely different perspective related to the human behaviour. Its theory is fairly simple. Human responses and conditions are cyclic in nature. Emotional, physical and intellectual cycles are three distinct cycles, all of which are start off at birth. Certain software that calculate and graphically represent these cycles are available to indicate how one would act or respond based on these cycles. Many feel this concept to be interesting even though supporting and opposing arguments exist.

We are really fascinated by the current innovations and changes in Technology. The transformation is so rapid and it is actually hard to stay updated. The support and activities of professional bodies can upheld and bring every opportunity to its members for this effort. IEEE Kerala Section is far ahead in its activities and striving to support as much as it can. To stay on with the advancement of Technology - This is only possible with co-operation and supports of the fellow members. It is worthwhile to realize the inherent intellectual potential of our professional members to keep up their spirit and enthusiasm in revamping the activities for a more wonderful, interesting and informative efforts in 2003.

Let's look forward to peace, happiness and prosperity in the New Year.


K.Gopalan Nair

Top

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Dear Member,

It is proposed to hold the Annual General Meeting of IEEE Kerala Section at 18.30 Hrs on 11th January 2003 at Hotel Horizon. You are invited to attend the function along with your spouse and thereafter for a dinner.

AGENDA

Silent prayer
Pledge-Code of Ethics
Welcome
Annual Report
Financial Report
Chapter Reports
Student Branch Reports
Election of Office Bearers for 2003
Felicitations
Address by New Chairman
Future Activities
General Discussions
Vote of Thanks
Dinner

Madhu Mangal
Secretary, IEEE Kerala Section
Thiruvananthapuram - 695 001.
Phone: 95471-2332087,
email: madhu_mangal@ieee.org

Top

GOLD

Workshop on Group Discussions and Interviews - Build Your Skills
(November 2 and 3, 2002, at Cochin University of Science & Technology)

A Report

IEEE-Gold Kerala section organized a workshop on "GDs and Interviews - Build Your Skills" on November 2 and 3, 2002 at Cochin University of Science & Technology (CUSAT). The workshop was conducted for final year B.Tech students from different disciplines and institutes. The facilitators of the workshop were Mr. Pramod Chandrasekhar, Head, Human Resources Department, Corporate Training & Education Centre, Tata Consultancy Services, Thiruvananthapuram and Ms. Shamala Padmanabhan, Faculty Member, Corporate Training & Education Centre, Tata Consultancy Services, Thiruvananthapuram.

The workshop began at 1:30 pm with a welcome speech by Mr. Aju Thomas Abraham (Member IEEE-Gold, Kerala Section) who spoke about the IEEE-GOLD Group and its various activities.

The GD session was started off by Ms. Shamala Padmanabhan and she covered various aspects about group discussions in a presentation. She stressed the importance of GDs in corporate recruitments and urged the participants to take an active interest in reading all contemporary articles from every field. After this there was a mock GD session wherein the participants were divided into four groups and each group was made to choose one of the several topics given by the faculty and participate in a mock GD. While one group discussed a topic others watched and gave their feedback at the end of the session. The faculty members also gave their feedback and finer tips to each group. Later the participants could view the playback of these GD sessions, which were video recorded. Evaluation of the group discussions was done by facilitators and faculty members and the participants were also provided with evaluation sheets. This gave them an opportunity to get an idea of their performance and identify their strengths and areas of improvement.

On the following day the session began at 8:30am wherein the importance of first impressions was covered by Mr. Pramod Chandrasekhar. He also covered the various aspects of an interview session. After this there were mock interview sessions where the participants were given real time interviews by the faculty.

The session ended by giving the participants the different views that they had to improve upon and also actual tips on how to face stress interviews and telephonic interviews and even touched upon personal grooming aspects while going for an interview.

The workshop ended with a vote of thanks by Ms. Meera S. (Chairperson, IEEE-Gold Kerala section). The other facilitators of the workshop included Ms. Deepthi R. and Mr. Ratish Ravindran, faculty members, Corporate Training & Education Centre, TCS, Thiruvananthapuram.

At the end of this workshop the feedback from the 30 odd participants was quite overwhelming. Most of them felt that the workshop helped in boosting their self-confidence and also in identifying their strengths and weaknesses. They also expressed that the sessions provided them with an ample opportunity to feel in real time how group discussions and interviews would take place in corporate recruitments.

Top

Student Activities

A Report from NICE Student branch

Activities of IEEE Student Branch of Noorul Islam College of Engineering (NICE) for the current academic commenced on 7th July 2002 with "TechXpose". "TechXpose" is a fortnight technical endeavor to enhance the technical knowledge of the student. The programme was inaugurated by P.Krishnamoorthy Iyer, Principal, NICE. The "TechXpose" launched with a talk on 'VLSI' by Alburt Raj, Head of Electronics and Instrumentation Department of NICE. After the student branch changed from Madras to Kerala Section in view of geographical proximity, the branch has a facelift. Our members are actively participating in various programmes conducted by IEEE, Kerala Section. We got a chance to participate with the organization of the All India Student Congress on 26th & 27th July 2002 at Thiruvananthapuram. The second talk in the series of TechXpose was 'Embedded systems' by Kurshid Jinna, Asst. Professor, Computer Science and Engineering Department of NICE, on 31st July. The Student Branch conducted a workshop on 'How to prepare a resume' and a seminar on 'How to prepare and present a technical paper' by Georgeen George, faculty member, Corporate Training and Education Centre of Tata Consultancy Services on 16th August. The executive committee had decided to take initiative to start Student Branches in the near by Engineering Colleges. Our members organized and conducted a seminar on 'Why to Join IEEE' at St. Xavier's College of Engineering. A membership drive conducted after the seminar netted 68 student members from that College. A similar membership drive was also conducted at our college, which added 98 new student members from a multitude of technological fields covering Electrical Engineering to Information Technology for the year ending December 2002. It is now one of the largest Student member branches in IEEE Kerala Section. On 5th September our branch conducted the third seminar in TechXpose by Hyder Ali, Lecturer, Electronics and Communication Department on the topic 'An introduction to MAT LAB'. Our branch also conducted a seminar on 'Neuro-Fuzzy Systems' by Koshy. P. Vaidyan, faculty member, Corporate Training and Education Centre of Tata Consultancy Services on 19th September. Our branch has been subscribing to various IEEE Society magazines for our Student Branch Library and also proposed to subscribe various IEEE transactions and proceedings.

Rameez Mohammad.M
Chair Person, IEEE Student Branch, NICE

Top

Advertisement

IGA TECH (ISO 9001-2000)

IGA CONTROLS ENERGY

On Line UPS & Line Interactive UPS

Line Interactive UPS

On Line UPS

IGA TECH Industrial Electronics Pvt. Ltd

Thiruvananthapuram Branch:

"Nishas", TC. 7/2034, Medical College P.O.
Kochulloor, Thiruvananthapuram
Telefax : 91-471-557394
e-mail: igatvm@iga-tech.com

Cochi Branch:

CC 51/102, Santhi Nagar,
Kadavanthara Cochin - 20 Kerala, India.
Tel: 91-484-315135
e-mail: iga-tech@iga-tech.com
www.iga-tech.com

Calicut Branch:

23/1248A, Cotton Mill Road Junction,
Bypass Road, Thiruvanoor, Calicut - 673 029.
Tel: 91-495-324963.
Email: igakkd@iga-tech.com

Top

RAJAS COLLEGES

Raja Nagar Vadakangulam - 627 116 Tirunelveli Dist.
(Near Nagercoil & Kanyakumari)
Phone : Reception ( 04637) 530142, 530066, 530072, 530256.
Chairman (04637) 530118
Fax : 530111

Admission 2003-2004 Commenced

THE INDIAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
JAYAMATHA ENGINEERING COLLEGE
SARDAR RAJA ENGINEERING COLLEGE
JOE SURESH ENGINEERING COLLEGE
RAJAS DENTAL COLLEGE
S.A.RAJA PHARMACY COLLEGE
S.A.RAJAS POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE
SARDAR RAJA ARTS & SCIENCE COLLEGE
S.A.RAJA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Courses offered

BE, B.Tech, MCA, MBA, BDS, MDS, D.Pharm, B.Pharm, Diploma in Engineering,
B.Sc, B.Com, etc.

Top

IEEE CODE OF ETHICS

We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:

  1. Tto accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;
  2. To avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;
  3. To be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;
  4. To reject bribery in all its forms;
  5. To improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences;
  6. To maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;
  7. To seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;
  8. To treat fairly all persons regardless of such facts as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin;
  9. To avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action;
  10. To assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics.

 

Top

Printed and published by K.Gopalan Nair, T.C.5/1637, Ambalmukku, Peroorkada,
Trivandrum - 695005  on behalf of IEEE, Kerala Section. Typesetting: Akshara Offset,
Trivandrum. Phone: 471174, 473470
Editor: K. Gopalan Nair  E-mail: kgnairs@md3.vsnl.net.in   phone: 437449