pIEEEdmont potentialpIEEEdmont potentialMark Stokes
Well, I was going to write something like "Welcome back to work", or "I hope you all had a great summer", but in light of recent events, none of us are thinking much about our summers. I don't want to say anything else about the recent tragedy because there are many many others that can put forth better words about it than I can. I just want to forward my condolences to everyone that has been effected by what has happened and give my encouragement that we will move forward.
I am sorry for waiting so long with this message, but in light of the air traffic cancellations and closures, I wanted to make sure the plant tour that I had scheduled was indeed cancelled as well. I'll leave the meeting announcement here, but please know, the tour has been cancelled. You can however, take a virtual tour of the tour here: http://www.gspairport.com/tower_tour.html.
One last thing is a message from our own Dan Jackson, Region 3 Educational Activities Mentor and Virginia Mountain Section past Chair.
"Personal Message: 15 Sept 2001 10:30 AM
I received the following from the Executive Director of VSPE who has written a letter to the Editor objecting to John Hall's characterizing the terrorists as engineers. Thought some of you might like to respond as well.
Dan Jackson
Sep 13, 2001
URL: http://www.timesdispatch.com/frontpage/MGBVVQJVJRC.html"
Next Meeting
(Cancelled due to Airport security)
Plant Tour of the GSP Airport Control Tower
Mark Stokes
Meeting details:
Where: Greenville Spartanburg International Airport, Greer, SC
(for directions, call Rosylin Weston at 864.848.6256- or visit their web page: http://www.gspairport.com)
When: (Cancelled due to Airport security)
Agenda:
1:00pm First tour
1:30pm Additional meeting times for more than 15 people.
As for dinner, since this meeting is not being held at a regular meeting place, no meal will be provided.
From one of our members:
IEEE Congressional Advocacy
Recruitment Effort (CARE)
Our Goal: To have an IEEE U.S. Member(s) pay a constituent visit on every U.S. Senator and Representative in their District or Washington, DC office sometime during the 107th Congress (2001-2002).
By Lee Stogner
IEEE-USA PACE Network,
This past week, Allen Thomas and I visited with Rep. Jim DeMint of South Carolina. This visit was to fulfill the initial part of our CARE Pledge. The process was very simple to setup. I contacted Rep. DeMint's local office here in Greenville, SC and scheduled an appointment to discuss the IEEE and how its constituents wanted to become a resource that he could depend on. His office said that the visit would be no problem and that he is always interested in visiting with people from his district.
We arrived at Rep. DeMint's office about 1/2 hour early just in case he could see us early. We found this to be to our advantage in that it gave us more time to talk to his staff before the official meeting. Given that a Congressman can meet with thousands of people a year, the more time that you do spend with the staff, the better their memory of you and the better the opportunity to start building a successful relationship.
Our meeting with Rep. DeMint began with his asking several questions about the nature and base of the IEEE. We explained how the IEEE got started and its role in the development of electrotechnology across the world. We also explained how the IEEE-USA began not as a split from the IEEE but as a means of providing the extra US support that Regions 1- 6 members need.
From a time perspective, the meeting went very fast. We discussed the need for continued support for research in the physical sciences and that he could always depend on the IEEE in South Carolina to be available for advice on issues of technology. He shared with us that his committee interests were Education in the Work force, Small Business and Transportation / Infrastructure. We then talked about how the IEEE sponsored many educational activities to further precollege, college and continuing education. We said that many small businesses have at their beginning an engineer with a dream. We also noted that without IEEE standards, you wouldn't be able to support today's transportation systems.
The meeting ended with a promise from both sides to keep in touch and work together.
After the meeting, it was back to the staff for final words. Keep in mind that the staffer that we met initially was in the room during the meeting with Rep. DeMint. In the final staff meeting, we exchanged business cards along with email addresses. The staffer also recommended that we participate in the SC Upstate Technology Council. This would be a clear and quick way for the Piedmont Section of the IEEE to get involved with local issues. We said that we could promise representation to the Council.
The meeting concluded and we noticed that Rep. DeMint was already involved in another constituent meeting.
Both Allen and I felt good about taking time to meet with our Congressman and begin what we hope will be an ongoing responsibility for us to provide IEEE positions and advice to Rep DeMint and his staff.
I wrote this letter to you in hopes that I might inspire more of you to participate in the CARE Program. The easy access to your Congressman is almost over for another year. If you go to the CARE web site, you will notice that only a small number of you have bothered to take the pledge. Maybe the reason was a vacation conflict or special project at work. Whatever the reason was to date, I want to ask you again to consider becoming involved in the program. The staffers in the local Congressman's office are always available to meet with you throughout the year. In addition, many Congressmen have a practice of being in their home offices on Fridays.
You still have a chance to participate and help us build an IEEE that is recognized for the hard work, organizational size and mission that we represent. You may say that Government Activities is not your thing. If not, help me find someone in your local section that likes the subject and wants to volunteer. I'm willing to bet that if we get Government Activities going again, that it will impact and help support the other activities that we do here in Regions 1 - 6.
Get involved, I'm counting on you.
Thanks,
Lee Stogner IEEE-USA VP Professional Activities Mobile 864-444-0618
CARE Program Web Page: http://www.ieeeusa.org/forum/care.
CALL FOR PAPERS FOR SOUTHEASTCON 2001
As program chair for SECon 2002, I would like to invite you to submit a paper or a proposal for a tutorial to:
IEEE SoutheastCon 2002
April 5 - 7, 2002
Embassy Suites Hotel
Columbia, South Carolina
SoutheastCon is the annual IEEE Region 3 Technical, Professional, and Student Conference. It brings together electrical and computer engineering professionals, faculty, and students to share the latest information through technical sessions, tutorials, exhibits, and technical competitions. Original papers on all aspects of electrical and computer engineering are desired for the technical program.
For the complete Call for Papers and information about the conference please see our website at http://www.ewh.ieee.org/cmte/secon (conference information)
Or download the call for papers here: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/cmte/secon/callpaper.pdf
Important dates:
November 1, 2001 Initial full-length refereed paper due
December 1, 2001 Initial abstract of unrefereed paper due
December 1, 2001 Proposals for tutorials and workshops due
Mid-January, 2002 Authors notified of acceptance/rejection of paper
February 17, 2002 Camera-ready paper and presentation materials due
John Bowles & John Montague Technical Program Co-Chairs:
General Information about SoutheastCon 2001:
FREE ON-LINE HOW-TO GUIDE FOR COURSE DESIGN AVAILABLE FROM IEEE
The IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) has posted an online tool for course designers, "Reference Guide for Instructional Design and Development." This how-to guide was developed by EAB in partnership with Telcordia Technologies to help individuals design courses and tutorials efficiently and effectively. Based on the Systematic Design of Instruction by Walter Dick and Lou Chaney, the guide outlines six distinct steps to acquire "sound principles of design" when creating courses. These clear steps are displayed on a colorful, friendly webpage.
Learn to:
With each step there is a concise concept outline, tools to aid in the application of the step, and online references that can add to the material in the outline. Links to suggestions for further study are on each page. This guide will help designers to add education value to their tutorials, which can qualify them for Continuing Education Unit credits. Access this guide at http://www.ieee.org/organizations/eab/tutorials/refguide/mms01.htm .
Lynn Murison Outreach Administrator, IEEE Educational Activities ph: 1.732.562.6526 http://www.ieee.org/organizations/eab
News from the IEEE:
IEEE news that I used to place in this section is now available on their online "webzine" which is located at: http://www.todaysengineer.org
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS - 2002 RAB COMMITTEE CHAIRS & MEMBERS
The 2001 IEEE Regional Activities Board (RAB) Nominations & Appointments Committee is soliciting candidates who are interested in serving as Chair on the following Committees in 2002:
In addition, the RAB N&A Committee seeking candidates who are interested in serving as MEMBERS on the following Committees in 2002:
Specific information regarding each RAB Committee is available in the RAB Operations Manual: http://www.ieee.org/organizations/rab/rab/RABOpsMan/OpMan-index.html.
For additional information or to submit nominations, please send an email to . The deadline for nominations is Monday, 1 October 2001.
TRAVEL DISCOUNTS
IEEE meeting and conference organizers can arrange for attendees to obtain substantial rental car rate discounts from participating Avis Rent-A-Car locations in the United States and Canada. This discount is based on zone rate pricing and may vary due to location.
The IEEE is the first association to be given this opportunity and will serve as a test for its continued availability to other organizations. For more information, meeting and conference organizers should call Global Travel Services at +1 732 562 5387 or can apply for the discounts online at: http://www.ieeetravelonline.org/moreinfo/meetingregform.htm.
IEEE WEB SITE LOAD TIME
To decrease the loading time of IEEE Web pages, some content on the IEEE main Web site has been moved to 9,700 servers strategically placed in 56 countries by Akamai. When a user accesses a page, content such as graphics and PDF files, is sent from the nearest Akamai server.
Eventually, this type of content delivery will be extended to the entire IEEE main site. So far, the process is complete for the IEEE home page, Standards 802 offerings, the Travel Online home page and the search page. Overall, the average load time of pages on the IEEE Web site has improved since this transition began about four weeks ago.
SIX NEW JOURNALS TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2002
In 2002, the IEEE will publish the following new journals:
"IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters"
"IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing"
"IEEE Transactions on Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Engineering"
"IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology" (online only)
"IEEE Pervasive Computing Magazine"
"IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications"
For information, contact Laura Pohl - IEEE Technical Activities - telephone +1 732 981 3446; .
PEERS
Educational Activities has launched a new Web site called IEEE Pre-College Educator/Engineers Resource Site (PEERS) to help engineers and educators work together to raise technological literacy at the pre-college level. Visit PEERS at http://www.ieee.org/eab/precollege/peers.
Use this space to reach over 400 IEEE members in the Piedmont section.
The Piedmont Potential is offering space for sale. Please contact Mark Stokes.
CHAIRMAN Mark Stokes (864) 647-2065
VICE-CHAIRMAN
SECRETARY/TREASURER Nick Pasquerilla (864) 886-1771
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Allen Thomas (864) 228-4322
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES Nick Pasquerilla (864) (864) 886-1771
STUDENT ACTIVITIES Dr. John Komo (864) 656-5916
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Lee Stogner (864) 281-8276
NEWSLETTER EDITOR Mark Stokes (864) 647-2065
AWARDS Dr. Randy Collins (864)656-5920
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