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Mark Stokes
Well, this month I have great news! Mike Lockard, one of our own Clemson University students, won the SoutheastCon 2000 student paper competition. He received a cash award provided by the IEEE Life Member’s Committee through the IEEE Foundation. Those of you who were at the January meeting will remember how knowledgeable Mike was at the topic of his paper and how well he presented the material. Congratulations to Mike and we look forward to further involvement in the IEEE in the future.
May 23, 2000
Annual Non-Technical Meeting: Achieving Financial Success
Mark Stokes
Taxes, Paying for College, Investments, Insurance, Retirement, Estate Planning ... Money touches nearly every aspect of our lives, from the day we're born until the day we die. The speaker will focus on the "must-know" aspects of good financial planning. The six key areas of financial planning will be reviewed along with examples. Take a critical look at your current approach and make sure you're headed toward financial success. He can also cover where you can get some assistance on these subjects.
Who should attend? This session is for anyone interested in learning practical strategies to improve your family's financial position.
Who's speaking? The session leader will be Rob DeHollander from American Express Financial Advisors. Rob holds a Masters from Clemson in Environmental Engineering and is a licensed PE. who is now a licensed stock broker with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and licensed insurance agent. Rob primarily works with families and small businesses to develop personal, estate and business plans.
The meeting will be Tuesday May 23, 2000 at the Ramada Inn on Route 123 in Clemson. Social and dinner will begin at 6:30PM with the program beginning at 7:30PM. We will have dinner in the restaurant at the hotel unless a sufficient number of people express interest in a catered meal for $10. There is no charge for the program. Please contact Mark or Nick by Monday May 22 using one of the methods listed in this newsletter, if you would like the catered meal.
IEEE-USA OPPOSITION TO UCITA CITED IN RECENT *BUSINESS WEEK* ARTICLE
Pender M. McCarter, APR, Fellow PRSA, Director, Communications
p.mccarter@ieee.org, +1 202 785 0017, ext. 8353
According to a commentary by Neil Gross in the 17 April BUSINESS WEEK, consideration of "the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA) is setting off alarms with many software users, consumer advocates, and technology associations" including the IEEE, ACM, the American Library Assn., and the Consumers Union. Wrote Gross: "Most of these organizations have concluded that UCITA will dilute the warranty protection that customers receive under software licenses. It will also weaken their ability to sue software vendors whose programs are riddled with bugs."
The BUSINESS WEEK writer concludes: "Under current law, if you buy a computer in a store, you can insist on seeing the warranty before you hand over any money. But with UCITA in place, the store can treat the programs you buy for that PC differently. You won't see the warranty or license until after you pay for the product and start to install the program."
By Merrill W. Buckley, Jr.
2000 IEEE-USA President,
Mark Twain said that when he was 15, he thought his father was the most ignorant man on the face of the earth. So he ran away from home to work on a Mississippi steamboat. He returned at 25, and was "amazed to find out how much the old man had learned in 10 years."
Too much of the discussion about age discrimination in our profession misses Twain's point. I hear it all the time -- older electrical engineers' skills are out of date, their salary demands are too high, IT workers as young as 35 want a life outside the job so they are not as "reliable" as younger workers.
As the U.S. career services and public policy arm of the IEEE, with 230,000 U.S. members to represent, we are working to counter these false impressions. Our ongoing efforts on behalf of older members include: IEEE-USA's Older Workers Initiative, begunby 1999 President Paul Kostek http://www.ieeeusa.org/bod/kostek/opi/index.htm; the Age Discrimination page on our Website http://www.ieeeusa.org/EMPLOYMENT/age.html; the Older Workers Survey that is now in the field, with results due in June.
But why should younger IEEE members care about age discrimination? Consider what those who deny the serious evidence of age discrimination, particularly in IT, are really saying. I don't believe that as a group, older engineers have failed to keep up their skills. We all know that, as Twain might have put it, book learning isn't the same as job experience. Our profession changes so fast that, because we are a profession, being an electrical engineer means that you have to stay current to survive. What those who claim that older workers must be out of touch are really saying, is that the IT industries are a short career. Get in at 25, get out by 40, and do something else for the rest of your life. If you can.
That is where the IEEE-USA, your advocate, comes in. We don't accept that our profession is a throw-away career. We believe continual improvement is vital. And we know that the value an engineer adds to our economy and our society grows with experience.
Those who have now turned 40, 50or older have the immeasurable benefit of keeping their skills current through one of the most profound periods of accelerating technology in history. Those who are 29 today will be 39 and 49 a lot sooner than they might think. Programmers whose newly-minted skills are in Java and Linux might keep in mind that, 20 years ago, the newly-minted skills were C and C++. What happened to COBOL and Fortran will happen to Java, too, and the same arguments might be heard again. "Y2K graduates with computer degrees are out of date," someone may claim in 2020. "Nobody does Java anymore, and Linux has moved parsecs since the invention of Digital Oxygen. We need younger workers who can do voice-response programming in Chinese..."
Twain was right, if these changes occur, some who deny the obvious evidence of age discrimination now will be amazed to discover how far ahead of its time IEEE-USA was. But we're not going to let that happen, because we're already fighting for older workers -- and younger ones -- right now.
To view the IEEE-USA President's Column on H-1B, and for more information go to: http://www.ieeeusa.org/intro/buckley/index.html
SoutheastCon 2001 Logo and Theme
The SoutheastCon 2001 executive committee is working hard to make 2001 a great conference, but we need your help, we need a logo and a theme. If you’re feeling creative, please consider submitting a logo and/or a theme to the committee. Need an idea for a theme? Check out past SoutheastCon web pages. There is a list of a few past SoutheastCon web pages that can be found on the SoutheastCon 2001 web page. Oh and by the way, we are giving cash awards for the winners. $25 for logo and $25 for theme or $60 if they are coordinated with each other. Happy designing and good luck! SoutheastCon 2001 web page can be found: http://www.carol.net/ieee/secon2001
ENERGY SYMPOSIUM ON 'INSURING ELECTRIC POWER RELIABILITY'
Pender M. McCarter, APR, Fellow PRSA, Director, Communications
p.mccarter@ieee.org, +1 202 785 0017, ext. 8353
Slated for 24 May in Washington. IEEE-USA is one of several organizers for the energy symposium "Ensuring Electric Power Reliability, The Challenges Ahead." The symposium seeks to educate policymakers on key technology issues associated with the electric power industry, and is scheduled for 24 May at the Hyatt Regency Washington. Featured will be keynote addresses provided by Bill Richardson, Secretary of Energy (invited); and Kurt Yeager, President and CEO, Electric Power Research Institute. The program includes four panel sessions that examine the interconnection between technical reliability issues and policy impacts in reliability and markets, reliability management, reliability oversight, and reliability research and development. To register, go to http://ieeeusa.org/electricpower/register.html.
From the Web:
http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/milestones_program.html
What is the IEEE Milestone Program?
It's a program conducted by the IEEE History Committee through the History Center to honor significant achievements in electrical, electronic, and computer engineering. After approval by the IEEE, a bronze plaque commemorating the achievement is placed at an appropriate site. A list of the current milestones can be found: http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/milestones_list.html.
What is the purpose of the program?
Actually, there are several: to foster an awareness among electrical engineers of their professional history; to increase public understanding of electrical engineering; to encourage the preservation of historically important materials and sites; and to collect documentation of significant historical events and to make the information widely available.
How does the program work?
An IEEE Section nominates an achievement and provides documentation of its historical significance. After the nomination is approved by the IEEE History Committee and the IEEE Executive Committee, a plaque is cast and the Section conducts a dedication ceremony. To learn more about the program or to apply, contact the History Center Director, Mike Geselowitz. The Milestones Proposal Form is now available on-line!
What value does this have for the Section?
The most important thing is increasing awareness, both by the Section members and the public at large, of local heritage. Also, the documentation of the achievement helps to separate fact from local myth, and the Milestone process opens up channels of communication between the Section and other civic organizations, typically a local historical society.
Bruce Eisenstein
2000 IEEE President
You've already seen the introduction of the IEEE Online Catalog and Store in 2000. I'm happy to announce another new electronic service from IEEE. In an effort to keep you informed about the many resources available from the IEEE, we now offer a "What's New @ IEEE" opt-in email service. This service provides you with monthly email updates on IEEE, industry-wide technology news and product information tailored to your specific interests through eight new "What's New" email alerts:
What's New @ IEEE:
By subscribing to one or more of these opt-in email services at http://www.ieee.org/whats-new, you'll be among the first to know what's new at IEEE and in your field. Please understand you will only receive this service if you choose; it's opt-in, not opt-out. You can easily unsubscribe at any time. And you are protected by our PRIVACY GUARANTEE: once you subscribe to a "What's New @ IEEE" email alert service, you will only be sent the information you request and your email address will not be shared with any other party outside of IEEE.
To subscribe, simply log on to http://www.ieee.org/whats-new, select one or more of the email alert services, enter your email address and click "Subscribe". Your first issue will arrive within 30 days.
I hope you'll subscribe today and maximize the rewards of your relationship with IEEE.
Mark Stokes
Getting the Newsletter too late to make the meeting? Have an email address? Send it to me. I am usually done with the newsletter more than a week in advance of the meeting, however, because of printing times, USPS, etc., it doesn’t arrive until just before the meeting. I do send the newsletter via email right after I write it! I can email it to you as soon as it’s done! The newsletter will come in plain text. It is also available online at the web page listed above.
Use this space to reach over 450 IEEE members in the Piedmont section.
The Piedmont Potential is offering space for sale. Please contact Mark Stokes.
CHAIRMAN Mark Stokes (864) 647-2065 m.stokes@ieee.org
VICE-CHAIRMAN
SECRETARY/TREASURER Nick Pasquerilla (864) 882-2414 ext.1771 n.pasquerilla@ieee.org
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Allen Thomas (864) 228-4322 a.thomas@ieee.org
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES Nick Pasquerilla (864) 882-2414 ext.271 n.pasquerilla@ieee.org
STUDENT ACTIVITIES Dr. John Komo (864) 656-5916 john.komo@ces.clemson.edu
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Lee Stogner (864) 281-8276 l.stogner@ieee.org
NEWSLETTER EDITOR Mark Stokes (864) 647-2065 m.stokes@ieee.org
AWARDS Dr. Randy Collins (864)656-5920 randy.collins@ces.clemson.edu
The Piedmont section of the IEEE is still offering sections of its newsletter for advertising space. If you are interested in supporting this effort, please contact one of the officers listed above.
-Mark