IEEE Central Texas Section

"THE DIGITAL"

Volume 52-04

April 2008

Newsletter of the Central Texas Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.

Published monthly. Deadline for inclusion is the 25th day of the previous month. Send submissions, comments, questions to Kevin Nickels, Editor, k.nickels@ieee.org

CONTENTS

1. Section Activities

2. Chapter Activities

3. News & Information

4. Local Conferences

IEEE EXTERNAL LINKS

Your IEEE - www.ieee.org
IEEE-USA
IEEE Conferences - Calls for Papers
IEEE Xplore - fulltext access to IEEE Publications
What's New at IEEE
Society News from IEEE
IEEE Standards Association
The Spectrum Online - The Magazine for Technology Insiders

1. Section Activities

Chairman's Column

With March Madness upon us, there's hardly time to look at email anymore. Regardless, your officers have been busy this past month looking at several new ways of doing business within the Central Texas Section. At a CTS officers' meeting last week, we started an effort to revamp our strategic plan for the section. This involved assessing our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats... and we came up with plenty of all four. This will lead to some changes in our current strategic plan for the section, and for the direction we will be pursuing in the future.

In addition we looked in depth at the problem of how best to provide support to the volunteers doing the hard work of putting on workshops, seminars and conferences in the section. This will lead to some additional discussions on several options for changing how we support these activities in the future. A number of other items were given attention, including the status on our budget, our joint meetings held within the section, and our current set of by-laws.

One item worth special attention this month is a reminder to all to ensure their chapter remains a "Chapter In Good Standing", meaning be sure and earn your funding rebate from IEEE by holding the required number of meetings annually. The number is not large and the documentation not hard. If you're having trouble, let the officers know and we'll see if we can help.

Some of our larger IEEE meetings are slated for this month. The Region 5 Conference in Kansas City will be held mid-month, and the IEEE-USA conference will be in Indianapolis at the end of the month. If you can attend, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience. These are great opportunities for networking and gaining a better understanding of the activities on-going and resources available within IEEE.

Thanks again for all you do to support the profession.

Garrett Polhamus
Chairman, Central Texas Section
polhamus@ieee.org

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Membership Development

Have you heard about the new member benefit, IEEE memberNet?

IEEE memberNet is an online search and networking tool that allows members to connect with technical and engineering experts worldwide. This tool can be utilized by members seeking peers who share a common technical interest, membership, or affinity. To find out more information go to: https://www.ieee.org/web/membership/memberNet.html

Check it out, launch the network, look yourself up, look up colleagues and if you have not done so already, opt-in.

Have Fun!

Joe Redfield
CTS Membership Development Chair
J.Redfield@ieee.org
210-522-3729

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Section & Chapter News

Denny recieves honors

At the January 29, 2008 Spring Planning Meeting in San Marcos, Clif Denny recieved a clock and plaque thanking him for his service as CTS Chair. Pictures can be found at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/PastChairPresentation2008.JPG

SENIOR MEMBER UPGRADE EVENT April 28, 2008

"Supersize" your IEEE Membership - Upgrade to Senior Member Status

If you have a baccalaureate degree in engineering and seven or more years of professional experience you are eligible to apply for upgrade to Senior Member Grade. Complete upgrade information, including requirements can be found at www.ieee.org/membership/upgrade.html

If you meet the requirements but never seem to have the time to complete an application, we are planning the first Senior Member Event for 2008 on Monday evening, 6:00 to 8:30pm, on April 28th at National Instruments in north Austin. (A similar event will be held this fall in the San Antonio area.) Senior members who have been through this process will be at the meeting to provide assistance in reviewing your application. We will have computers available to help you to finalize your application if needed. After the event, the Central Texas Section (CTS) will manage that the required references are written by CTS senior members. Light refreshments will be provided.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Joe Redfield at J.Redfield@IEEE.org

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Continuing Education

Webinar Presents Benefits of Long-Term Care Planning

Lengthening life spans mean more people will experience in their senior years acute or chronic ailments that require extended health care. In a free webinar sponsored by IEEE Financial Advantage, Steve Cain, Senior VP at MARSH Private Client Life Insurance Services, addresses the need for post-retirement health care planning from a personal risk-management perspective. The discussion includes funding options, Long Term Care Insurance, and tax implications. Visit: https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10941/158258

Free IEEE Webinar on Photonic Integrated Circuits

Learn about the latest advancements in photonic integrated circuits in an IEEE webinar taught by IEEE Fellow Christopher R. Doerr. ÒInP Photonic Integrated Circuits for Fiber-Optic Communications,Ó scheduled for Wednesday, 9 April 2008 at 2:00 pm EDT, will provide an overview of the technology behind InP PICs, focusing on devices for fiber-optic communications that monolithically integrate two or more functions. Ideal for telecommunications design engineers, research and development engineers and engineering managers, this webinar will highlight how InP-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) can simplify system designs, reduce space and power consumption, improve reliability and reduce the cost of deploying optical networks.

Sign up today at https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10942/158258 and receive a complimentary package of IEEE journals and conference proceedings for attending.

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Student Branches

St Mary's University- San Antonio (https://ieee.stmarytx.edu/)
Faculty Adviser: Djaffer Ibaroudene, Email: dibaroudene@stmarytx.edu
Branch President: Damon Cardenas (email: dcardenas@stmarytx.edu)

Trinity University - San Antonio
Faculty Adviser: Farzan Aminian, email: farzan@engr.trinity.edu
Branch President: Jonathan Simpkins, email: Jonathan.Simpkins@Trinity.edu

University of Texas at Austin (https://ieee.ece.utexas.edu/)
Faculty Adviser: Sriram Vishwanath, email: sriram@ece.utexas.edu
Branch chair: William Ward, email: chair@ieee.ece.utexas.edu

University of Texas at San Antonio (https://www.utsaieee.org/)
Faculty Adviser: Yufang Jin, email: Yufang.Jin@utsa.edu
Branch chair: John Collins, jcollins@lonestar.utsa.edu

Student Member News

Students invited to present projects.

The IEEE Computer Society invites students to present their projects at the 4th annual Student Night. See Computer Society entry for details, or contact Dr. Nickels for more information.

Trinity CS Student paper places second in southern region

Congratulations to Michael Pellon, Phillip Coleman and Jason Leezer from Trinity University. Their paper "Simulating Social Systems with Multi-Agent Systems" placed second in the south area student paper contest. Next up is the Region 5 conference in Kansas City, April 18-19. Other R5 student competition includes robotics, circuit design, and ethics. Students can also participate in leadership training. Good luck to all the students.

IEEE's Position: Four Years Is a Good Start

The IEEE has recommended that the traditional four-year degree, such as a bachelor of science or of engineering in the United States, remain the first professional degree in engineering. For more information, visit https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10740/40069599

Need Money? IEEE Societies Have Scholarships

Several IEEE societies offer students scholarships, as well as design awards and fellowships. For a list, some with application deadlines just right around the corner, visit https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10743/40069599

Signal Processing Distinguished Lecturer

Sponsors Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society, UT-Austin Student Branch
Topic/Title Face Identification by Computer and by Human: Two sides of the Same Coin, or Not?
Speaker Tsuhan Chen
Date/Time 6:30-8:00pm Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Cost Free
Location CPE 2.208 The University of Texas at Austin Campus
Directions https://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/areas/engineering.html
Abstract Identifying human faces is an important task for multimedia database retrieval. It has also attracted much attention in homeland security. While human perception is fine-tuned to detect and recognize face images with great precision, existing face recognition algorithms running on most efficient computers perform much worse than humans. This talk introduces some interesting facts in human perception of faces and presents examples of image analysis techniques that are inspired by human perception. Comparing these techniques with face recognition algorithms based on conventional pattern recognition techniques, we will outline some promising research directions.
Speaker Bio Tsuhan Chen has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, since October 1997, where he is a full Professor. He directs the Advanced Multimedia Processing Laboratory, striving to turn multimedia technologies from science fiction into reality. His research interests include multimedia signal processing and communication, implementation of multimedia systems, multimodal biometrics, audio-visual interaction, pattern recognition, computer vision and computer graphics. From August 1993 to October 1997, he worked in the Visual Communications Research Department, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ, and later at AT&T Labs-Research, Red Bank, NJ, as a Senior Technical staff member and then a Principle Technical staff member.

Dr. Chen received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Taiwan University in 1987, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, in 1990 and 1993, respectively. He is a Fellow of the IEEE.

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Calls for Volunteers

IEEE Region 5 Secretary Needed

Ken Pigg was offered and has accepted a position in his primary field of interest and will be moving to North Carolina in the near future. Donald Preston has agreed to accept the position of IEEE Region 5 Treasurer and is working with Ken Pig to transfer the financial records. Don is a past IEEE Region 5 Treasurer and has served as treasurer for many IEEE Technical Conferences.

IEEE Region 5 is in need of a replacement Secretary. Please conact any section officer if you have interest in the position.

David J. Pierce
2008/09 IEEE Region 5 Director
d.pierce@ieee.org

IEEE Mentoring Connection

The IEEE Mentoring Connection is looking for "online" mentors to help guide younger IEEE professionals in career planning and professional development. Currently, 989 mentees, but only 440 mentors have registered to participate. Mentor participation is open to all IEEE members above the grade of Student Member. Shortly, we will be inviting Graduate Student Members to join the program. These members have graduated with their first professional degree and are presently in a graduate program (Masters, MBA, PhD, etc.). We will need additional mentors in the program to handle the requests from this new group. We need you! Presently our mentors represent positions in academia including Associate Dean and Professor. Various Industry positions are represented by Director of Engineering, Senior Sales Engineer, Project Manager, Corporate Owner, Consultant, R&D Technical Manager, Licensing Manager, Division Manager - Control Systems, Electrical Engineer, Vice President Research, Director - Customer Operations, Computer Scientist - Branch Chief, Senior Product Development Engineer, Design Engineer - Power and Retired.

If you have received an invitation to join the program and been thinking about it, now is the time to join. If you have already signed in as a mentor - thank you for participating. Gary Hinkle, a mentor in the program, says "Helping young engineers develop in their careers is very rewarding. Working with some of these individuals has proven to be quite a challenge, because of the diversity among those seeking mentors. I'm glad to be contributing to this program."

The program enables the mentee to select their mentoring partner online from a list of individuals who have volunteered to serve as mentors. After mentors are identified as a potential match, they are contacted and asked to begin establishing a relationship.

Interested members can visit https://www.ieee.org/mentoring for information on the roles and responsibilities of each mentoring partner, including additional program information and an FAQ page. Potential mentors are asked to review the time and effort commitment to the program necessary to ensure a successful mentoring partnership. To enter the program website, please go to https://www.mentoringconnection.com and use the IEEE Group ID "IEEE2006" to enter for the first time. Once in, you will need to set your own User ID and Password.

If you have any questions, please contact Cathy Downer, Regional Activities, at c.downer@ieee.org.

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2. Chapter Activities

Multiple Chapters

Signal Processing Distinguished Lecturer

Sponsors Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society, UT-Austin Student Branch
Topic/Title Face Identification by Computer and by Human: Two sides of the Same Coin, or Not?
Speaker Tsuhan Chen
Date/Time 6:30-8:00pm Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Cost Free
Location CPE 2.208 The University of Texas at Austin Campus
Directions https://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/areas/engineering.html
Abstract Identifying human faces is an important task for multimedia database retrieval. It has also attracted much attention in homeland security. While human perception is fine-tuned to detect and recognize face images with great precision, existing face recognition algorithms running on most efficient computers perform much worse than humans. This talk introduces some interesting facts in human perception of faces and presents examples of image analysis techniques that are inspired by human perception. Comparing these techniques with face recognition algorithms based on conventional pattern recognition techniques, we will outline some promising research directions.
Speaker Bio Tsuhan Chen has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, since October 1997, where he is a full Professor. He directs the Advanced Multimedia Processing Laboratory, striving to turn multimedia technologies from science fiction into reality. His research interests include multimedia signal processing and communication, implementation of multimedia systems, multimodal biometrics, audio-visual interaction, pattern recognition, computer vision and computer graphics. From August 1993 to October 1997, he worked in the Visual Communications Research Department, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ, and later at AT&T Labs-Research, Red Bank, NJ, as a Senior Technical staff member and then a Principle Technical staff member.

Dr. Chen received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Taiwan University in 1987, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, in 1990 and 1993, respectively. He is a Fellow of the IEEE.

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Joint Circuits and Systems/Solid-State Circuits
https://ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/ssc_css/

Topic/Title Ranger Supercomputer (Austin Forum)
Speaker Drs. Jay Boisseau, Karl Schulz, and Omar Ghattas
Date/Time Wednesday April 2nd, 2008 6:30 PM
Cost none
Reservations not required
Location Pickle Research Center - ROC, Bldg. 196, Seminar room 1.603
Topic/Title What Every Architect Should Know About Technology
Speaker Dr. Sani Nassif, IBM Austin Research Lab
Date/Time Tuesday April 8, 2008 6:30PM
Cost none
Reservations not required
Location
Notes UT Campus - ACES 2.402 Auditorium

The joint Circuits & Systems/Solid State Circuits Societies meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. This meeting is open to the public and interested parties. Additional details will be posted at https://ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/ssc_css/. If you have any questions about this meeting or this group, please contact seningen@ieee.org or dferguson@ieee.org

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Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology
https://cpmtaustinchapter.org/

Topic/Title Signal and Power Integrity Design of Packages for High-End ASICs
Speaker Dr. Brian Young, Texas Instruments
Date/Time Thursday, April 3, 2008, 6:00 PM-7:30 PM
Cost None.
Location Freescale Semiconductor,
Long Canyon Conference Room in Bldg C
7700 W. Parmer Lane
Austin, TX 78729
Notes

Chair: Om P Mandhana, Freescale

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Computer Society - Austin
https://www.ieee.org/austin_cs/

Topic/Title Effective Software Development In The 21st Century: The New Face Of Software Engineering
Speaker Dr. Alistair Cockburn, Agile Software Development Founder
Date/Time 6:30pm-9:00pm, Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Cost none
Reservations not required
Location National Instruments, 11500 N. Mopac Expy Bldg C, Rooms 1S13, 1S14, 1S15 - see map
Notes Please arrive early as a large audience is expected! Contact Steven Stacey StaceyLtd@aol.com.
Directions
  1. Get on north MoPac and exit at Duval (one exit south of Parmer)
  2. If you are coming from south of Duval you will take the U-turn at Duval, if you are coming from north of Duval you just need to go through the light at Duval.
  3. Stay to the right on the southbound MoPac feeder road, pass the apartment complex, and take the first National Instruments entrance at 11500 North MoPac.
  4. Follow the entrance road across the small bridge and take your first right to get to the Building C parking area.
  5. You can park in the garage or visitor lot on your right.
  6. We will meet in conference suite 1S13, which is on the first floor -- you'll walk through the lobby and elevator area towards the back of the building. Please sign in when entering.

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Computer Society - San Antonio
https://www.ieee-cs-cts.org/

Topic/Title 4th Annual Student Night
Speaker Students from Trinity, UTSA, and St. Mary's
Date/Time Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 6:30-9:00pm
Cost none
ReservationsNot required. It would be nice to drop a note to Yu Zhang so we can be sure to have enough food, or call (210) 999-7399
Location UTSA (see website for directions and parking details)

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Consultants Network
https://www.alesu.com/xltrp/ieeecons/next_met.htm

Topic/Title Beyond the PC Ð 30:30 Vision(s) of Computing
Abstract With a historical look at the past 30 years of personal computing, and a futuristÕs look at the next 30, Wayne Caswell applies different perspectives in a talk that will be thought provoking, controversial, and filled with outlandish predictions that will likely be proven way too conservative.
Speaker Wayne Caswell
Speaker BioA technologist, futurist and marketer with Dell, Digital Home consulting, IBM, Siemens, FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee, BIG Broadband advocacy and CAZITech Consulting, Wayne knows the positive effect digital technologies can have on society and the challenges of adopting them. He is exploring options adjacent to the PC industry Ð in market sectors with higher growth and more impact, like Broadband & Wireless Internet, Web 2.0 & Cloud Computing, and Pervasive or Green technologies. WayneÕs 30-year IBM career progressed from punch card and computer operator through programming and systems engineering, and into marketing, product planning, and market strategy. He has a BS degree in Technology Management from American University, and is a member of the Austin Wireless Alliance, Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA), Telecom ThinkTank, and the World Future Society.
Date/Time Thursday, April 10, 2008.
(New regular meeting is on 2nd Thursday)
Networking at 6:00 pm, Business and program from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Cost $5.00 minimum charge for the restaurant. Supper is at optional extra cost.
Reservations Not required. All interested parties are invited to attend.
Location China Star Restaurant, 6134 Hwy 290 E, Austin TX. Westbound access road of 290E, just east of IH 35

Do a friend a favor. Bring your colleague to grow the Consultants Network attendance. The Consultants web directory is to be found at https://www.alesu.com/xltrp/ieeecons/listzero.htm

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Electromagnetic Compatibility Society
https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/chapters/centraltexas/index.html

Topic/Title Guided tour of ETS's Acoustic Systems divisionÕs new facilities there
Speaker Glen Watkins, ETS
Date/Time 6:30pm April 16.
Reservations RSVP Mike Royer at mroyer@ptitest.com
Location ETS-Lindgren - www.ets-lindgren.com/
Notes Food will be provided.

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Electron Devices Society
https://ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/eds/

See EDC web link for future meeting dates, past meeting presentations: https://ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/eds/

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Engineering in Medicine and Biology
https://ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/embs/index.html

Topic/Title A Potential New Paradigm in Craniofacial Reconstructive Procedures: Vacuum Assisted Tissue Engineering
Speaker Dr. Larry Swain, KCI
Date/Time 6:30 pm, April 16, 2008
Agenda 6:30 - networking, 7:00 dinner, 8:00 Technical Presentation
Cost (dinner) $10 IEEE members, $15 non-members, students free!
Reservations Please email HaeOck Lee (HaeOck.Lee@utsa.edu) so we have a head count for dinner.
Location Biotechnology, Science and Engineering Building (BSE) 2.102, University of Texas at San Antonio Main Campus, One UTSA Circle, Map available: www.utsa.edu/maps/1604/
Notes
Meeting Synopsis Larry Swain is the innovation manager at KCI for tissue regeneration. His professional history is long and iconoclastic, having been research leader with UTHSCSA, Biomedical Enterprises, on contract with numerous orthopedic companies, and in independent developments. He is an experimental surgeon, dentist, and electron microscopist by training, all with a focus on regeneration of functional tissues. His work at KCI has led to many breakthroughs, the talk for tonight is our latest to be published.
Future Meetings Hold the dates: May 21

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Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD)

For more Information contact Jason Polendo jpolendo@ieee.org

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Laser and Electro Optics Society

For more information, contact Ray Chen

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Life Members Affinity Group

For more information, contact Scott Atkinson

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Power Engineering Society - Austin
https://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/pes/centraltexas/index.html

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Power Engineering Society - San Antonio
https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pes/centraltexas/sanantonio

Topic/Title David Howell - Texas Board of Professional Engineers
Speaker Ethics
Date/Time Thursday, April 24 - 6:00 PM Social, 6:30 PM Dinner, 7:00 PM Program
Cost $10 members, $15 non-members, **FREE** for students (Cash only please, no checks or cards)
Reservations Please RSVP to John Brogan @ 210-353-3375 or jabrogan@ieee.org
Location Grady's BBQ, 6510 San Pedro, San Antonio (210-806-8036)
Notes See website for more information.

As always you do not have to be an IEEE member to attend. For more information go to our web site at https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pes/centraltexas/sanantonio

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Product Safety Engineering Society
https://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/pses/

Topic/Title Safety Liability Overview
Speaker Brian Falbo - Dell
Date/Time April 15, 2008 (Tax Day), 6:30pm
Cost none
Reservations Call Dale Ritzen (512) 651-5338 for details and directions.
Location Dell, Parmer Campus, Parmer South Building 4, Victoria Conference Room.

Upcoming Meetings - Mark your calanders

May 20, 2008
Topic: "Medical and Home Care"
Speaker:Daniece Carpenter- Dell

June 17, 2008
Topic: "Batteries"
Speaker:Jim Seippel- Dell

We encourage you, others in your organization, or other interested parties to participate in our meetings. The PSES meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 6:30, with the program starting at 7pm. For further information about the PSES, please contact Dale Ritzen at (512) 651-5338 or Gary Schrempp at gary_schrempp@dell.com.

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Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society
https://www.cts-comsoc-sp.org/

Signal Processing Distinguished Lecturer

Sponsors Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society, UT-Austin Student Branch
Topic/Title Face Identification by Computer and by Human: Two sides of the Same Coin, or Not?
Speaker Tsuhan Chen
Date/Time 6:30-8:00pm Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Cost Free
Location CPE 2.208 The University of Texas at Austin Campus
Directions https://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/areas/engineering.html
Abstract Identifying human faces is an important task for multimedia database retrieval. It has also attracted much attention in homeland security. While human perception is fine-tuned to detect and recognize face images with great precision, existing face recognition algorithms running on most efficient computers perform much worse than humans. This talk introduces some interesting facts in human perception of faces and presents examples of image analysis techniques that are inspired by human perception. Comparing these techniques with face recognition algorithms based on conventional pattern recognition techniques, we will outline some promising research directions.
Speaker Bio Tsuhan Chen has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, since October 1997, where he is a full Professor. He directs the Advanced Multimedia Processing Laboratory, striving to turn multimedia technologies from science fiction into reality. His research interests include multimedia signal processing and communication, implementation of multimedia systems, multimodal biometrics, audio-visual interaction, pattern recognition, computer vision and computer graphics. From August 1993 to October 1997, he worked in the Visual Communications Research Department, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ, and later at AT&T Labs-Research, Red Bank, NJ, as a Senior Technical staff member and then a Principle Technical staff member.

Dr. Chen received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Taiwan University in 1987, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, in 1990 and 1993, respectively. He is a Fellow of the IEEE.

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Technology Management Council - Austin
https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/ems

Contact Leslie Martinich (lmartinich@ieee.org) for more information about the Austin TMC.

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Technology Management Council - San Antonio
https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/ems

Contact Nils Smith (nsmith@swri.org) for information about the San Antonio TMC.

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Women in Engineering
https://www.austin-wie.org/

Women in Engineering has been an Affinity Group of the Central Texas Section since the Fall of 2002.

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3. News & Information

Did you know? - Central Texas Section/Chapter Calendar Available

Want to know what's going on in the Central Texas Section? In addition to the Analog and the Mid-Month reminders, there is a calendar of events on the CTS website - go take a look today, it's at https://ewh.ieee.org/cgi-bin/calendars/central_texas/calendar.pl

Westinghouse DVD Available

A new DVD that features the life and legacy of George Westinghouse and his partnership with Nikola Tesla is now available. Westinghouse was a pioneer in engineering and his companies continue to advanced technologies in America. More information can be found at www.westinghousefilm.com.

IEEE-USA President's Blog

2008 IEEE-USA President Russ Lefevre has launched a blog at https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10932/158258 to share his thoughts on important issues affecting the careers and lives of U.S. IEEE members.

Call for Proposals: Real-World Engineering Projects & Workshops

The IEEE is continuing with a second year of funding for a program to develop projects and workshops in IEEE fields of interest for use by faculty members worldwide working with first-year students in electrical engineering (EE), computer engineering (CE), computer science (CS) and electrical engineering technology (EET). EE, CE, CS and EET faculty are invited to participate. The deadline for abstracts is 15 April. For more information, visit: https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10944/158258

Spectrum editors step inside the labs to examine how some of the most advanced human-machine interfaces used in prosthetic arms work. Read more and view the exclusive video at https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10185/40069599

Listen to Sir Arthur C. Clarke's Final Interview on Spectrum Radio

In the last interview before his death, science fiction writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke discussed terraforming planets, space elevators and the search for extraterrestrials with IEEE Spectrum RadioÕs Saswato Das. Clarke, author of 2001 A Space Odyssey, spoke with Das from a Sri Lankan hospital in January. He died 18 March at the age of 90.

Listen to the audio clip at: https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10947/158258

Read the IEEE SPECTRUM article at: https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10948/158258

Recent market volatility has many investors nervous and concerned. Which direction will the markets take next? How do we take advantage of the down markets? Larry Grogan of Grogan Advisory Services, serving IEEE members' financial planning needs since 2006 through the IEEE Financial Services Program, is available for private consultation by IEEE members at +1 518 899 6090 or larry.grogan@efs529.com.

Marketplace of Ideas: Do You Need Quiet Time?

To be more productive, engineers and managers at Intel Corp. have adopted a "quiet time" to eliminate office distractions. On Tuesday mornings a group of them turn off e-mail, forward calls to voice mail, decline all meetings, and hang a "Do not disturb" sign on their doors. Some say distractions such as a steady barrage of e-mail and phone calls hinder the ability to focus on work requiring creativity and analysis. But others argue that it's vital to respond promptly so coworkers can get the answers they need.

Would you want your employer to adopt a quiet time such as Intel's? Weigh in it at institute@ieee.org

Presidential Candidates Invited to 18 April Debate on Science and Technology

ScienceDebate2008.com, a non-partisan citizens initiative calling for a presidential debate on science and technology policy, announced that it has formally invited the U.S. presidential candidates to a debate on 18 April 2008 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, four days before the Pennsylvania Primary. The debate will provide a forum for candidates to share their views on the environment, health and medicine, and science and technology policy. The initiative is cosponsored by AAAS, the Council on Competitiveness, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, and signed by over 100 leading American universities and other organizations - including IEEE-USA.

For more information, visit: https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10546/106730

To read IEEE-USA President Russ Lefevre's quote, visit: https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/10547/106730

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4. Local Conferences

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