VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN SECTION
NEWSLETTER
IEEE Region 3, Council 09, Section 65
November 1999
*********************************************
Contents
*********************************************
PARTNER'S NIGHT
November Meeting .................. ..................... 1
Reservations ............... ................ ............... 2
Price Increase .................. ................ ............ 3
Chair's Comments, Dan Jackson
Wanted
Gold
Comm. Society members ................... ............. 4
Computer/Control/
Industrial Electronics Chapter Notes ........................... 5
Congratulations ................ ............................ 6
Electronic Newsletter: Attention All ........................... 7
Compendium on VAriable Speed Drives ........................... 8
IEEE Sections Congress '99
Dave Kingma's Trip Report
DON'T MISS THIS ................................. 9
VMS Web Site ............... ................................... 10
1999-2000 Meeting Schedule ....... ............................... 11
Member Benefits ............ .................................. 12
IEEE VMS Section ........... .................................. 13
*********************************************( 1 )
November 18
Partners' Night
All guests are cordially invited
Clarion Hotel, Roanoke
Nancy Vorona
Industry Director for Advanced
Materials & Electronics/
Virginia Center for
Innovative Technology
The Electronics Industry in
Virginia - Plans for the Future
Abstract
You are invited to be a part of the
Virginia electronics industry's vision:
"To be a globally recognized leader in
the electronics industry with an
infrastructure that supports growth
and continuously improves the quality
of life in the Commonwealth." This
vision is the cornerstone for the
strategic plan developed in 1999 by
Virginia's electronics industry.
An outline of the plan's goals, barriers
to growth, and recommended actions
will be presented. In addition, the size
and scope of the electronics industry in
Virginia and, in particular, the
Roanoke-Blacksburg area, will be
discussed. The audience will be invited
to discuss and participate in
implementation of the strategic plan.
About the Speaker
As Virginia's Center for Innovative
Technology (CIT) Industry Director for
Advanced Materials and Electronics,
Ms. Vorona is responsible for
strengthening each of these industries
in Virginia. Working with industry to
identify and solve critical issues facing
these sectors is fundamental to Ms.
Vorona's responsibilities.
Ms.Vorona's professional experience in
electronics includes several years in
marketing and sales management with
International Rectifier Corporation, a
U.S. manufacturer of power
semiconductors based in California.
Ms. Vorona was also responsible for
international marketing and sales for
Integrated Display Technology Ltd., a
Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer
electronic products. In 1993, she
joined the Virginia Economic
Development Partnership to establish
or increase the international business of
Virginia's information technology and
telecommunications companies. Ms.
Vorona joined CIT in 1998.
Ms. Vorona received a bachelor of arts
in romance languages from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill and a master's of international
management from Thunderbird, The
American Graduate School of
International Management, in Glendale,
Arizona.
*********************************************( 2 )
Reservations
Date: Thursday, November 18, 1999
Social: 6:30 PM
Dinner: 7:00 PM
Talk: 8:00 PM
Cost: Member or Guest $15.00
Student $ 7.00
Place:
Clarion Hotel Roanoke Airport
2727 Ferndale Drive NW
I581 Exit 3 Hershberger Rd West
1st Rt. onto Ferncliff Ave.,
2nd Rt. onto Ferndale Drive.
Reserve by 5 PM
Monday November 15
Roanoke:
Dan Jackson (540) 774-0484
Blacksburg:
Ira Jacobs (540) 231-5620
Lexington:
David Livingston (540)464-7545
Radford and Christiansburg:
Russell Churchill (540) 731-0655
*********************************************( 3 )
VMS Activities
Price Increase
You may have noted, the cost for dinner at
the meeting has gone up. Now $15.00 for
members and guests and $7.00 for
students.
The Section subsidizes any differences
between fees collected at the meetings and
the actual cost, which typically includes
banquet hall charges. As with everything
else, this differential creeps up year after
year and the ExComm decided it was time
to trim losses a little.
*********************************************( 4 )
CHAIR'S COMMENTS
by Dan Jackson
d.jackson@ieee.org
Those of you who did not attend the
October meeting missed a very good
presentation on the status of electric
vehicles. In November you certainly won't
want to miss the presentation on "The
Electronics Industry in Virginia - Plans
for the Future" by Nancy Verona, from the
Virginia Center for Innovative
Technology.
WANTED: Senior Members, Fellows,
Life Seniors, & Life Fellows! On
December 11, I will need about a dozen
good men and women to evaluate Senior
Member applications and elevations. The
meeting starts at 8:30am and should be
over before 4:00pm. A continental
breakfast and lunch are provided. We will
be meeting at the Wyndam Hotel
(formerly Airport Marriott) in Roanoke.
All Senior Members and Fellows in the
Section will be getting a letter requesting
their response. Please do not disappoint
me. You may contact me at 540-774-0484
or d.jackson@ieee.org.
GOLD: Graduates Of the Last Decade.
The Section records indicate that we have
149 members who received their first
degree in 1989 or later. Are any of you
interested in having any meetings where
the subject is of particular interest to
members in the beginning of their careers.
These gatherings could be on career
issues, business or financial subjects, or
primarily social in nature, or anything
else you might want. If you are interested
please contact me at 540-774-0484 or
d.jackson@ieee.org.
COMMUNICATIONS SOCIETY
MEMBERS
The are 126 members of the
Communications Society listed as
members of the Section. Are we
presenting programs of interest and value
to you? If not let us know what you want.
Although our programs for this year are
mostly set we will need programs for next
year. Also, we may be able to make some
adjustments or add to our regular
schedule. Contact
Dave Kingma, Program Chair,
540-552-3011 x304,
dkingma@swva.net,
with your suggestions.
I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving
Holiday.
...Dan
*********************************************( 5 )
Computer / Control /
Industrial Electronics Chapter
The current year schedule is under
development
Speakers and Topics - Any Ideas?
What would you like to hear about at
Chapter meetings? Here is your chance
to express your views on computers,
control systems, or any phase of industrial
electronics.
The audience consists of engineers,
engineering students and professors,
usually about a dozen or two. The talks
are brief, one hour or less, with a half-
hour for discussion afterwards. If you are
developing a presentation for a larger
audience, here is an opportunity to try it
out. The format is informal.
Please contact me with your ideas:
Dave Geer, Chapter Chair
540 - 387 - 7359 (voice)
540 - 387 - 7631 (FAX)
d.geer@ieee.org (email)
The March Meeting is already scheduled.
It will be joint with the Section and
promises to be of wide interest. Dr. Ira
Jacobs, Professor of Electrical and
Computer Engineering at Va. Tech. will
discuss a current industry hot topic:
DSL vs. Cable Modems
Telco and CATV Competition for
Broadband Wireline Access
Details at our Web Site
http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/ieeevm
...Dave Geer
*********************************************( 6 )
- Congratulations -
To our new Senior Member:
Fei Wang
Are you eligible?
Have you applied?
Contact Ira Jacobs
ijacobs@vt.edu
...editor
*********************************************( 7 )
Electronic
Newsletter
Attention All Members
The VMS Newsletter is circulated via e-
mail to members who have signed up for
the service. It is also available, along with
back issues, on our Web site. In addition,
all members receive a hard copy in the US
mail.
We would like to reduce costs by
eliminating the hard copy to those
members who would be happy with the
electronic versions. If you like the idea,
please send your name to the editor with a
short note to that effect. We will see that
you are placed on the distribution list.
NOTE: To get the program off the
ground we will be sending an e-mail
message with this request to all members
for whom we can find addresses.
...editor jhfslf@swva.net
*********************************************( 8 )
IEEE Publishes New Compendium
On Adjustable Speed Drives
PISCATAWAY, NJ, 26 October 1999 -
The IEEE announces the release of
Techniques For Proper Selection and
Applications of Adjustable Speed Drive
Systems, a compendium of over seventy of
the most current and classic articles on
adjustable speed drives (ASDs). Today,
rapid technological changes in the field of
ASD systems require that engineers access
information quickly and effectively.
These selected readings provide up-to-date
information on recent advances in the
selection and application of ASD systems,
offering under one convenient cover a
choice selection of ASD papers. Areas
covered include: - Historical review and
future trends of ASDs - Overview of
power quality issues and considerations -
Impact of system supply voltage transients
and sags - Overview of induction motor
interactions in ASD systems - Installation
considerations for ASD systems - Motor
insulation withstand capability issues -
Motor shaft voltages and resulting bearing
current issues
Expert Wayne Stebbins has carefully
selected the most significant and valuable
articles current to ASDs. With over thirty
year of experience, Mr. Stebbins has been
responsible for power distribution
projects, utilities testing programs, and
facility energy management processes;
while currently focusing on the technical
aspects of projects in the areas of power
distribution, adjustable speed drive system
applications, energy management systems
and power quality issues.
To order Techniques for Proper Selection
and Applications of Adjustable Speed
Drives - List price $69.95; IEEE Member
price $49.95 - use product number SR113-
QVE. Order from:
IEEE Customer Service Department
445 Hoes Lane
PO Box 1331
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331
e-mail: customer-service@ieee.org
phone: 1.800.678.4333
Web: http://www.ieee.org/eab
*********************************************( 9 )
IEEE Sections Congress
'99
Trip Report
Dave Kingma
Thanks to the VMS section for allowing
me to attend IEEE Sections Congress '99
as your primary delegate. It was an
excellent opportunity to learn about the
IEEE organization, the nitty gritty of
running a section, and to pick up new
ideas from other sections who have
successfully implemented them. Most of
the weekend was spent in workshops and
tutorials on various subjects of our choice.
These sessions prepared us for the
caucuses on Sunday that resulted in 40
recommendations to the board. The
meeting concluded on Monday with all
primary delegates voting on the priority of
those recommendations. If you would like
to see the recommendations and the
priorities chosen for each, be sure to visit
www.ieee.org/sc99. I chose to participate
in the following tutorials, workshops, and
caucuses:
? Employer Support Tutorial
? Membership Workshop
? IEEE Orientation Tutorial
? Publicity and Marketing
Workshop
? Section Management Tutorial
? Program Resources Tutorial
? SAMIEEE Workshop
? Professional Networking
Workshop
? Chapter Programs/Issues Caucus
? Region 3 Caucus
I took lots of notes throughout the
sessions and would be happy to share
them with anyone who's interested.
For brevity, I've included a list of
ideas I picked up in the sessions
(some may argue the brevity issue):
1. E-mail invitations to the meetings
a few days before the meeting.
Newsletters or e-mails far in
advance of the meeting don't
result in a calendar entry for the
recipient.
2. Offer a door prize at the meetings
and require an e-mail address on
the entry form to build your
database of valid e-mail
addresses.
3. Put an e-mail address column on
meeting signup sheet.
4. Section should get involved with
High Technology Councils in the
area.
5. Promote science and technology
education in K-12 (look at EAB
conference proceedings where 50
educators and 50 IEEE members
met).
6. If IEEE travel takes you away
from work, submit a trip report to
your employer to show them they
are getting something for their
money (assuming they support
your expenses or time off).
7. See if your company will pay for
a visiting speaker's expenses and
in return, schedule your speaker
to present a slightly different
topic to your company during the
day.
8. Promote the Professional
Development Conference.
9. Some companies are reluctant to
support dues for their employees.
Recommend they support 50% of
the total cost for those that are
members and 100% for those that
are officers or volunteers. Those
that are active in the IEEE will
benefit the company more.
10. Hang an IEEE membership form
outside your cubicle / office at
work.
11. Designate a life member to
answer questions for members.
12. Call folks that leave the IEEE to
learn from them. What made
them leave?
13. Easiest membership problem to
solve - students who don't
continue after school. Lots of
students don't know IEEE extends
past school.
14. Get a shuttle astronaut to speak at
your meeting - attracted 250 to
300 people to another section that
normally has meetings our size.
15. Hold a "free lunch" session with
the student branch so that the
section members can network
with the students.
16. The topic "how to buy your first
home" was great for attracting
GOLD members.
17. Students calling students works
the best. Utilize student branches.
18. Get a GOLD member on your
executive committee.
19. Make the section aware of the
student chapter meetings and
make sure section representatives
attend these meetings. Put the
student meeting dates in your
newsletter.
20. Invite the chair of the student
branch to the section EXCOM
meetings.
21. Invite project managers from
local companies to a mixer that
includes students, members, and
prospective members.
22. Offer free admission to your
meeting for new members who
bring a membership application
with them.
23. Let the student branch write a
proposal for one of the section
meeting programs and let the
students run the meeting.
24. Promote the RE-SEED program
in K-12 schools (Retirees
Enhancing Science Education
Through Experiments and
Demonstration).
25. There are currently more awards
than nominees. Seek out the
awards and nominate to
recognize!
26. The section bylaws need to be in
line with the IEEE bylaws.
27. Place banner ads for the IEEE or
your programs on web pages
(BEV, VT, etc).
28. Advertise during Engineers Week
activities or the Future City
competitions.
29. Contact Media Networks.
Regional issues of magazines
occasionally need to fill space
and don't charge for these spots -
at least for non-profits (ex: Time
Magazine).
30. Pass your copy of Spectrum
around the office and wear IEEE
merchandise.
31. Contact companies to sponsor the
section for $5-10K. For that, they
can send X people to your
meetings without charge and the
section will run company
advertisements in the section
newsletter and web page.
32. Sell IEEE shirts, books, etc. at
meetings. Sections get discounts
and make money on the sale.
33. Don't look for those that aren't
busy to volunteer. The best
volunteers are also those that are
extremely busy. They are usually
more effective and manage their
time better.
34. Use the TIPS information in the
SAMIEEE database to determine
member interests.
35. Keep folks that are in arrears on
the newsletter mailing list for at
least six months.
36. Add local companies to your
newsletter distribution.
37. Always send newsletters to the
student branch.
38. Involve members, even if they are
not on the EXCOM. Have them
set up a program.
39. Keep track of who shows up at
meetings and put them in your
database.
40. Work with other societies
(AFCEA, ASME, etc).
41. Get support from the region or
PACE for special section
activities - simple to apply for.
42. Sell advertising in the section
newsletter.
43. Give an award at a local science
fair.
44. Have an annual awards dinner -
make up awards if needed.
45. M-PAC: There is regional support
for these Member Professional
Awareness Conferences
(leadership skills).
46. Offer free pizza at meetings
instead of meals.
47. Appeal to families in your
programs. Invite families on plant
tours.
48. Other program ideas:
Demonstrate active acoustics
(change room into sound hall),
amateur radio, public radio
stations.
49. Put meeting notices in company
newsletters or bulletin boards.
50. Most newspapers have free
listings in the "business
meetings" area.
51. Call those that attended the last
meeting to make sure they know
about the next meeting.
52. NASA will provide people to
speak on interesting topics such
as the Pathfinder. Send e-mail to
Ron Jensen for more details.
53. Use zip codes in conjunction with
TIP codes in the SAMIEEE
database to determine best place
to hold meetings on a particular
topic.
54. Contact those that have put their
mail on hold and find out why.
55. Membership development is
following and getting to know
your people, not just getting more
members.
56. Hold a workshop on professional
networking. Meeting particulars
are on the web.
57. Arrange a speaker that can be
called at the last minute in case
of a no-show.
Again, thank you for the opportunity
to attend this meeting. I'm hoping
that these ideas spark other thoughts
that, in the end, will ensure a
thriving section for many years to
come.
...Dave Kingma '99-'00 Vice-Chair
IEEE Virginia Mountain Section
-------------------------------------
Note: This report is available on our
Web site on a page under "Special
Interest Items". You may browse and
send comments directly to Dave from
that page.
...editor
*********************************************( 10 )
VMS Web Site
? Announcements
? Chapter Activities
? Special Reports
? Newsletters: Past & Present
? Leadership Wire
? QuickLinks to IEEE & Others
? More
http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/ieeev
*********************************************( 11 )
1999-2000 MEETING SCHEDULE
DATE
SPEAKER/TOPIC
MEETING PLACE
September 16
50th Anniversary
Hotel Roanoke
October 21
Joint Meeting with Industry
Applications
Dr. Jason Lai, Virginia Tech
Topic: "Electric Vehicles and Power Electronics"
Appalachian Electric Power,
Christiansburg
November 18
Partners' Night
Nancy Vorona, Industry Director for Advanced
Materials & Electronics, Virginia Center for
Innovative Technology
"The Electronics Industry in Virginia
- Plans for the Future"
Clarion Hotel, Roanoke
January 20
Joint Meeting: Microwave
Theory and Techniques
Roger Marks, Distinguished Lecturer, NIST
"Standards for Broadband Wireless Access Systems"
Appalachian Electric Power,
Christiansburg
February 17
Bart Cregger, Assistant Dean of Engineering, VCU
"Engineering Education for the 21st Century:
The Model at VCU"
Appalachian Electric Power,
Christiansburg
March 16
Joint Meeting: Industrial
Electronics/Computer/Control
Systems
Ira Jacobs, Virginia Tech
DSL vs. Cable Modems
Telco and CATV Competition for Broadband Wireline
Access
VMI, Lexington
April 20
Student Project Night
Virginia Tech
May 18
Plant Tour
Cloverdale Station
*********************************************( 12 )
Take Advantage of Your Member Benefits
CONTINUING EDUCATION
CURRENT TECHNICAL INFORMATION
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* IEEE Internet Project
* Info on IEEE RABFacts System
HERE ARE SOME OF THE PERSONAL BENEFITS IEEE MEMBERSHIP
BRINGS YOU:
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* Become an active part of your local professional community.
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Program Highlights:
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Program Benefits and Services:
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Travel & Conference Registratio
For access information and details on any of these, point 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/ieeev
select: Links to IEEE, then Member Services
*********************************************( 13 )
IEEE Virginia Mountain Section
VMS OFFICERS
Chairman: Daniel W. Jackson
d.jackson@ieee.org g (540) 774-0484
Vice Chairman: Dave Kingma
dkingma@swva.net (540) 552-3011 x304
Sec./Treasurer: Howard J. Moses
arcova@swva.net (540) 731-0655
VMS Executive Committee
John Bay
bay@vt.edu (540) 231-5114
Russell Churchill
arcova@swva.net (540) 731-0655
John Fennick
jhfslf@swva.net (540) 552-0052
Ira Jacobs
ijacobs@vt.edu (540) 231-5620
Junior Past Chairman:
David Livingston
d.livingston@ieee.org (540) 464-7545
Virginia Council Representative:
David Livingston
d.livingston@ieee.org (540) 464-7545
VMS Chapter Chairs
Industry Applications
Dal Y. Ohm
ohm@usit.net (540 ) 552-8973
Industrial Electronics/Computer/Control Systems
David Geer
d.geer@ieee.org (540) 387-7359
Microwave Theory & Techniques/Electron Devices
Tim Gittemeier
Tim.Gittemeier@gaastek.de.ittind.com
(540) 563-3972
Power Engineering
Ted Aaron
Tea45@aol.com (540) 381-2521
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Awards:
Ira Jacobs
ijacobs@vt.edu (540) 231-5620
Education:
Russell Churchill
arcova@swva.net (540) 731-0655
Membership Development:
Ira Jacobs
ijacobs@vt.edu (540) 231-5620
Nominations:
David Livingston
d.livingston@ieee.org (540) 464-7545
PACE :
Dan Jackson
d.jackson@ieee.org (540) 774-0484
Program :
Dave Kingma
dkingma@swva.net (540) 552-3011 x304
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
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