VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN SECTION NEWSLETTER IEEE Region 3, Council 9, Section 6 January, 1999 CONTENTS ***************************************** January Meeting 1 Reservations 2 Directions 3 VMS Activities November meeting report 4 ExComm Meeting 5 New Section Members 6 1999 Student Competition 7 Computer/Control/IES Report 8 Southcon®/99 9 IEEE Leadership Wire - Excerpts Revision Ieee Constitution 10 1998 IEEE Member Growth 11 COOP. Agreements Signed 12 In the news 13 Eng. & Computer Careers 14 Modern Materials Handling 15 About the Leaderdship Wire 16 VMS Web Page - Features 17 1998-99 VMS Schedule 18 Your IEEE Benefits 19 Virginia Mountain Section 20 *****************************************( 1 ) January Meeting Intersociety Joint Meeting IEEE Virginia Mountain Section ASHRAE Shenandoah Section Rapid Prototyping Dr. Jan Helge Bøhn Director of the Rapid Prototyping Laboratory at Virginia Tech. Virginia Military Institute Moody Alumni Hall Abstract: New manufacturing technologies have emerged over the past decade which allow automated fabrication directly from 3D solid computer models. These systems are used to provide quick physical prototypes of products, tools, and volumetric data. Within hours an engineer can now touch and feel a design and can often perform limited functional tests. In the future engineers will have available injection molding tool fabrication within days, injection- molded-quality part production without the use of tools, continuously varying chemical and mechanical properties throughout a part, computer control of fiber orientation in composites, and imbedding of various components (e.g., sensors, actuators, IC devices, wiring) during fabrication. About the speaker Dr. Jan Helge Bøhn is member of Mechanical Engineering faculty and Director of the Rapid Prototyping Laboratory at Virginia Tech. His primary research activities are in the area of high-performance fabrication using fused deposition modeling (FDM) systems. Current projects include the development of software for fabricating 20-40 times faster with existing FDM systems, fiber composites and soft elastomers for FDM, new FDM type systems, and rapid tooling applications. At Virginia Tech, Dr. Bøhn teaches a course entitled Introduction to Rapid Prototyping. This senior technical elective is approved for graduate credit and is the first university course offered anywhere which is dedicated to the topic of rapid prototyping. *****************************************( 2 ) Reservations for the January Meeting Thursday, January 21, 1999 Social hour 6:30-7:00 p.m. Dinner 7:00-8:00 p.m. Lecture 8:00-9:00 p.m. Cost: Members: $13.00 Students: $6.00 Non-Members: $15.00 Please make reservations by Monday, Jan. 18, 5:00 P.M. Roanoke: David Livingston (540) 857-6261 Blacksburg: Ira Jacobs (540) 231-5620 Lexington: Ed Wheeler (540) 464-7548 Radford and Christiansburg: Russell Churchill (540) 731-0655 *****************************************( 3 ) Directions From I-81 North from Roanoke, take 64 East about 1 mile. Exit onto Rt. 11, proceed South toward Lexington. The Maury River Bridge is about 1 mile, just after the 3rd traffic light. After the Maury River Bridge, take a soft left onto N. Main Street into Lexington. VMI and Washington & Lee campuses are on your right. Follow the sign on the right onto the VMI campus just after the Y intersection about 1/2 mile on N. Main. The meeting will be held in Moody Alumni Hall--across the street from the southwest corner of the parade grounds. *****************************************( 4 ) VMS Activities Meeting Report Our annual spouses night was celebrated at the November VMS meeting. We took this opportunity to formally honor a longtime section leader, Dan Jackson, with the presentation of a plaque recognizing his continuing efforts and quiet leadership in our organization. Dan's devotion to, and work for IEEE, has left its enviable mark at many levels. Some appreciation of that is gained simply by looking at his record. Nationally, he is on the IEEE Educational Activities Board as Chair of the Professional Development Committee, he also chairs the United States Activities Awards and Recognition Committee. He has been Chair of the EAB Continuing Education Committee and the IEEE-USA Ad Hoc Coordinating Committee for National Engineers Week 1993. For the Region, he served as Director during 1990-91 and has also been the Regional Vice Chair. At the state level he has worked as the Virginia Council Chair and Vice Chair. Locally, Dan has been the VMS Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Newsletter Editor, and of course, we are all aware of his depth of knowledge of IEEE lore and how all heads turn toward him whenever the right answer is needed. To occupy some of his spare time, Dan participates in Regional work in connection with nominations for regional officers and for various awards in Virginia, Region 3, and Educational Activities. This year's speaker, John O. Marsh Jr., spoke on a particularly vital topic— ethics. John Marsh is a former Secretary of the United States Army, a former United States Congressional Representative from Virginia, and a member of President Gerald Ford's Cabinet. The title of his talk was "Ethical Considerations: New Requirements and Recent Trends." He began by stating that, in any type of social structure, ethical considerations play a central role. He referenced classical thinkers such as Aristotle and Epicurus and sketched the history of ethics through the present day. He challenged the audience to consider several issues in today's world. He outlined the famous "Ford Pinto" case where Ford elected to place the car's gas tank behind the rear axle even though their engineers knew that fatalities would likely result. In a landmark ruling, the court found that, even though Ford did not break any statue, there was a higher law, a higher ethical law, to which all participants of our society must account. Another modern issue that was discussed is the behavior of multinational corporations. What principles or rules should guide their behavior? Should their behavior be different in different cultures? There is no consensus on all these issues, but we as a society need to continue public discussion of these matters. And, as engineers and scientists, we have a role in helping provide for an informed public debate of these issues, ones that increasingly have a technical component. ... Ed Wheeler *****************************************( 5 ) EXCOMM Meeting There will be a meeting of the Executive Committee one hour before the regular meeting at VMI. *****************************************( 6 ) New VMS Members - Welcome - According to our latest updates, 15 IEEE members have recently joined the roster of the Virginia Mountain Section. All have received welcome letters from Dave Livingston describing VMS activities. We hope to see and meet all of you at future meetings and join Dave in extending greetings to: Ed Aduddell, Blacksburg James M. Baker, Blacksburg Steven D. Balentine, Wytheville Michael A. Benson, Christiansburg Dusan Borojevic, Blacksburg Jeremy A. Crossen, Blacksburg Joseph T. Do, Blacksburg Dennis R. Goetz, Blacksburg Mark Haney, Blacksburg Kenneth Johnson, Salem Wesley W. Jones, Salem Anjali Mishra, Blacksburg Mark A. Morton, Blacksburg Mohammed K. Saleh, Roanoke Christopher M. Sansone, Blacksburg ... editor *****************************************( 7 ) 1999 Student Paper Competition Early word from our University representatives indicate an excellent response to date. It is not too late to sign up. An application form is available from Dr. John Bay or by download from our Web site: http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/ieeevms/ Keep In Touch *****************************************( 8 ) Computer/Control/IES Meeting Report IEEE Computer/Control/IES Chapter Joint with Industry Application Society November 10, 1998 GE Mark VI Turbine Control Phil Roark, Sr. Engineer GE Industrial Systems Phil Roark provided a broad overview of the Mark VI control system used on GE gas and steam turbines, then demonstrated the features of the new system using the first production prototype. The new control retains the triple redundant architecture of its predecessors, while adding new features and improved packaging design. Phil briefly traced the history of GE's turbine controls, which he has been a part of since the Mark I days. Mark I was the first electronic control for turbines, using relay sequencing and analog control loops. Earlier turbines used mechanical and hydraulic controls. Mark II was the first to use micro- computer technology: one 5 MHz 8080 processor in the temperature control system. Mark III was a hybrid analog/digital system. Several prototypes were built, but no production units. Mark IV was the first fully digital control, using 8086 processors in its triple redundant controllers, sensors, and actuators. The redundant design provided an increase in reliability of more than ten to one over Mark I, as measured in mean time between forced outages by EPRI tests. The new Mark VI uses a 133 MHz Pentium in each of its three controllers. Adding up the processors used for operator interface, communication, and input/output yields a total well over 100. The most obvious feature of the new control is the spacious cabinets. Earlier versions were packaged in much more compact enclosures, limiting access to circuit cards for trouble-shooting and repair. The new VME card racks provide much more flexibility. Other new features include Ethernet based networks, floating point calculations to simplify configuration and tuning, and GE's CIMPLICITY graphical user interface. Mark VI uses networks on three levels: between the I/O modules and the redundant controllers within each unit; between the unit controls and other GE controls, such as generator and boiler controls, and between GE and external controls provided by other vendors. The first Mark VI entered service in October 1997, running a steam turbine at the GE Lynn River Works in Massachusetts. The second unit was commissioned in March 1998, running an MS5001 gas turbine, and the third began running the first H class gas turbine in May of this year. Overall, the new Mark VI control system for gas and steam turbines provides a new platform for proven control and protection algorithms, while supporting expansion to include future functions. Meeting details may not always be available when the Newsletter goes to press. Check our Web Site at http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/ieeevms and follow the guides to Chapter activities. Guests are Welcome at our meetings. You do not have to be an IEEE member to attend. Social hour begins at 5:00. Coffee and soft drinks will be available. The presentation will begin promptly at 5:30. There is no charge. RESERVATIONS are appreciated! Call Dave Geer, 540-387-7359 or email d.geer@ieee.org by 5 PM on the Monday preceding the meeting. *****************************************( 9 ) Southcon®/99 The Electronic Exposition and Conference will Take place April 13 - 15,1999 at the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center in Duluth, Georgia. Southcon®/99 will return to Atlanta in a new location Northeast of Atlanta. With the cooperation of the ERA Dixie Chapter and the Atlanta Section of IEEE and the Southcon Board. The decision to locate the show in Duluth was based on the large number of electronic oriented industrials in the area. Engineers and buyers at these firms will have access to displays of the most up to date OEM products, tools and ideas. Plan now to exhibit or to attend. The number of booths is limited. The Surface Mount Technologies Association Atlanta Chapter will Collocate its SMTA 1999 Expo with Southcon on Thursday April 15, at the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center. SMTA was organized in 1996 to serve suppliers and users of surface mount technology. Southcon, which has traditionally been component oriented, and SMTA, which is Surface Mount Technology equipment, material and supply oriented, are two facets of the same manufacturing industry, reflecting the trend towards smaller, lighter products. In 1999, Southcon and SMTA hope to capitalize on the synergy between the two organizations by joining together for one day in the Gwinnett Center as Southcon returns to Atlanta. The proximity of the Gwinnett Convention Center allows local industry to turn out in force for the opportunity to see the latest in equipment, materials and supplies under one roof. For More Information Write to: Southcon 8110 Airport Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045 Phone 1-800-877-2668 Fax 310-641- 5117 E-Mail southcon C ieee.org Win a LAPTOP at Southcon®l999 Win one of three laptops to be given away at Southcon®/99. Each day of the show a laptop will be given to a registrant actually attending, in a random drawing. ... editor *****************************************( 10 ) Excerpts The IEEE LEADERSHIP WIRE 23 Dec. 1998 Vol. III, No. 23 REVISION FOR IEEE CONSTITUTION At its 15 November 1998 meeting, the IEEE Board of Directors accepted the results of the IEEE Tellers Committee, which included the votes necessary to change the percentage requirements for amendments to be made to the IEEE Constitution. The IEEE Constitution, as revised on 15 December 1998, is now available on the web. The url address is "www.ieee.org/constitution/index.html". *****************************************( 11 ) 1998 IEEE MEMBERSHIP GROWTH The total IEEE membership for November month-end was 328,376, an increase of 14,908 (or 4.8%) over November 1997. That is an increased growth rate more than double the 1997 annual rate of IEEE membership growth of 2.3 %. The 1998 year-end membership goal of 330,000, adopted earlier this year by the IEEE Membership Development Committee, has been exceeded. Society membership growth for November was up 23,173, or 6.4% over November 1997 for a total of 384,641 Society memberships. IEEE Membership Higher Grade Student Total Nov. 98 280,214 48,162 328,376 Nov. 97 269,723 43,745 313,468 Change +3.9% +10.1% +4.76% *****************************************( 12 ) COOPERATION AGREEMENTS SIGNED The IEEE recently entered into cooperation agreements with the following: - Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik e.V. (VDE) - The Institution of Engineers, Australia (IEAust) - The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers (India)(IETE) All of these agreements are in effect until 31 December 2001. These agreements are "To encourage the exchange and dissemination of technical information, and to promote understanding and cooperation between members..." of that organization and the IEEE. The agreement outlines specific matters of cooperation, including: visiting member procedures, joint activities, coordination of technical meetings, publications exchange, and membership. The agreement with IETE also includes cooperation in the area of standards information. The agreement with IEAust includes cooperation in the areas of standards information, students, and joint service delivery. For additional information Contact Lynanne Hunt - IEEE Corporate Activities - telephone 732-562-6898; fax 732-981-9515; "MailTo:l.hunt@ieee.org". IEEE agreements may be formed between an international or national organization and either the IEEE or an IEEE society. Agreements may discuss publications, conferences, membership, educational ventures, standards activities or a variety of other activities. All agreements should include terms and conditions for all financial arrangements, length of the agreement, terms to terminate the agreement, and dispute resolution procedures. In all negotiations, special care must be taken. Entities entering into agreements are encouraged to review items with staff to identify difficulties in processing, intellectual property ownership, copyright issues, interrelationships with other active agreements, and costs. Final copies of all agreements should be sent to staff, who will file and distribute to Regional Directors and Section Chairs. For additional information on Society Sister Agreements, Contact Mary Ward-Callan - IEEE Technical Activities - tel. 732-562-3850; fax 732- 981-1769; "MailTo:m.ward- callan@ieee.org". *****************************************( 13 ) IN THE NEWS The IEEE, its members, and its products and services are mentioned frequently in journalists' reports on technology and the engineering profession. Here are just a few recent references. *****************************************( 14 ) Dec. 1998 -- GRADUATING ENGINEER & COMPUTER CAREERS -- A story describing the difficulties involved in attending graduate school while trying to maintain a full-time job, includes an interview with John Reinart, president of IEEE- USA. Reinart described working for Motorola while earning his master's and doctorate degrees. He emphasized time management principles and the importance of corporate and university support of further education. *****************************************( 15 ) Nov. 1998 -- MODERN MATERIALS HANDLING -- An announcement of Jerome Swartz as recipient of the IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition award describes the Symbol CEO and his contributions to the engineering fields. This article also appeared in the 26 Oct. edition of COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS and, as previously reported, the 12 Oct. edition of ELECTRONIC NEWS. *****************************************( 16 ) NOTE The IEEE Leadership Wire is distributed by e-mail on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month. We post it to the VMS Web Page. If articles of this nature are of interest, you may view many of them at that location. Currently, most issues since January of 1997 are available. ... editor *****************************************( 17 ) Items on the VMS Web Page Some of your current Web page features should be of interest to you. Take a look. Special: Student Contest Application 1. Meeting and General Announcements 2. VMS Chapter Meetings and Announcements 3. VMS Newsletters 4. PACE Info, Announcements, 5. and Policies 6. IEEE USA Leadership Wire 7. (an IEEE USA periodical) 8. Links to IEEE Hdq, USA, Services, etc. 9. What Is? (Descriptions of IEEE, Region and Section Entities) 10. Special Interest Items 11. Misc. reports and other items. 12. IEEE USA Newsletters 13. VMS Calendar Highlights 14. Meet the Officers 15. Student Branches within VMS And More Anything else you would like there? Drop me a note. ...editor *****************************************( 18 ) 1998-1999 REMAINING MEETING SCHEDULE DATE MEETING PLACE SPEAKER/TOPIC January 21,1999 Joint meeting with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Moody Hall Virginia Military Institute Jan Helge Bøhn mechanical engineering, Virginia Tech Rapid Prototyping February 18,1999 Joint meeting with our Industrial Applications Chapter Donaldson Brown Hotel Virginia Tech March 18,1999 Joint meeting with our Power Engineering Chapter Roanoke/Christiansburg IEEE Distinguished Lecturer TBD April 15,1999 Hancock Atrium Virginia Tech Student project night May 20,1999 Litton Poly-Scientific Blacksburg Plant trip EXCOMM meetings will be held preceding the meetings in January, February and March *****************************************( 19 ) Take Advantage of Your Member Benefits CONTINUING EDUCATION CURRENT TECHNICAL INFORMATION IEEE INFORMATION RETRIEVAL Ask*IEEE Document Delivery Service INFO: EMAIL: askieee@ieee.org CAREER TRANSITION SUPPORT Employment Services Job Listings Entry Level Resources Resume Listing Service Job Fairs Job Search Tools and Advice LINKS TO OVER 30 OTHER EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES SUCH AS: THE ACADEMIC POSITION NETWORK ADAMS JOBBANK ON-LINE AMERICA'S JOB BANK CAREERBUILDER OTHER Electronic Communications Services Directory Service (Aliases) Electronic Mail Services Mailing-Lists and Discussion Groups Majordomo Tutorial for ListOwners Usenet Newsgroups - ieee.* hierarchy Public Information Retrieval Anonymous-FTP Server File-Retrieval via E-Mail Traveling the Information Highway with Bob Alden IEEE Internet Project Info on IEEE RABFacts System HERE ARE SOME OF THE PERSONAL BENEFITS IEEE MEMBERSHIP BRINGS YOU: Receive your own personal subscription to SPECTRUM. Become an active part of your local professional community. Enhance your career by networking with technical experts. Save with low member prices on IEEE products. Attend top technical conferences at low member rates. Increase your professional prestige. Join a technical society. The IEEE Financial Advantage Program Program Highlights: IEEE Gold MasterCard and VISA Gold IEEE Mutual Funds IEEE Group Insurance IEEE Conference Management and Travel Program Benefits and Services: Business Services Education Services Financing, Planning & Investing Home Services Insurance Plans/ Supplements Travel & Conference Registratio For access information and details on any of these, take your browser Directly to the IEEE at: http://www.ieee.org/member.html Or to the VMS Home Page at: http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/ieeevms/ select (6) Links to IEEE , then (12) Member Services *****************************************( 20 ) IEEE Virginia Mountain Section VMS OFFICERS Chairman: David Livingston d.livingston@ieee.org (540) 857-6261 Vice Chairman: Ed Wheeler wheeler@vmi.edu (540) 464-7548 Sec./Treasurer: Andy Stevenson stevenson-ac@salem.ge.com (540) 387-8471 VMS Executive Committee John Bay bay@vt.edu (540) 231-5114 Russell Churchill arcova@swva.net (540) 731-0655 Ira Jacobs ijacobs@vt.edu (540) 231-5620 David Kingma dkingma@swva.net (540) 382-0956 Junior Past Chairman: David Livingston d.livingston@ieee.org (540) 857-6261 Virginia Council Representative: Ed Wheeler wheeler@vmi.edu (540) 464-7548 VMS Chapter Chairs Industry Applications Andy Stevenson stevenson-ac@salem.ge.com (540 )387-8471 Industrial Electronics/Computer/Control Systems David Geer d.geer@ieee.org (540) 387-7359 Microwave Theory & Techniques/Electron Devices VACANT Power Engineering Ted Aaron Tea45@aol.com (540) 381-2521 COMMITTEE CHAIRS Awards : Ira Jacobs ijacobs@vt.edu (540) 231-5620 Membership Development: Russell Churchill arcova@swva.net (540)-731-0655 Nominations: David Livingston d.livingston@ieee.org (540) 857-6261 Anbo Wang awang@vt.edu (540) 231-4355 Lynn Abbott abbott@vt.edu (540)-231-4472 PACE : Dan Jackson d.jackson@ieee.org (540)-774-0484 Program : Ed Wheeler wheeler@vmi.edu (540) 464-75 Publicity : John Fennick j.fennick@ieee.org (540) 552-0052 Student Activities: John Bay bay@vt.edu (540) 231-5114 NEWSLETTER Editor: John Fennick j.fennick@ieee.org (540) 552-0052 e-mail Newsletter Subscription Send the one-line message: SUBSCRIBE IEEEVMS your-name to: listserv@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu Anyone may submit material for the Newsletter Deadline: Monday following each meeting Submit To: Editor Change of Address VMS Web Page: http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/ieeevms/ US Mail: IEEE Service Center 445 Hoes Lane, PO Box 1331 Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331 e-mail: address.change@ieee.org Tel: 800-678-IEEE Fax: 732-981-9667 IEEE Web: http://www.ieee.org/i3e_mailer.html (Changes are forwarded to the Newsletter) Visit the VMS WEB page: http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/ieeevms Section/Chapter meeting notices, and reports. 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