IEEE Central Texas Section

THE ANALOG

Volume 53-03

March 2009

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 Dennis Ferguson, Editor, dferguson@ieee.org


CONTENTS

1. Section Activities

2. Chapter Activities

3. News & Information

4. Local Conferences

5. Other Conferences


IEEE EXTERNAL LINKS

Your IEEE - www.ieee.org
IEEE-USA
IEEE Region 5
IEEE Central Texas Section

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

Friends,

In case you haven't heard, Thuy Dao will be taking over as our CTS committee member for conferences, relieving Scott Atkinson. This is such an important position as we strive to increase our service to the members through many different activities, not the least of which are workshops, conferences, and symposia. And the proper conduct of those activities, from financial planning to technical content can be complex, require great care, and is typically of considerable interest to the section leadership... particularly where the financial health is concerned. So thanks in advance to Thuy for all the help she'll bring in this new role. But also a big thanks to Scott for the tremendous leadership he's provided in helping guide the successful accomplishment of so many section conferences over the past few years.

We're into our third month of operating with our 2009 budget, and are doing pretty well. As I'm sure many of you have noticed, we really had to tighten our belt this year to handle the current state of affairs with the reduced value of our financial reserves. Yes, we've had to make a few adjustments already, but, by and large, we're doing OK. As I've told your chapter leaders, if there's an unplanned adjustment that's needed in their chapter budget, I am anxious to hear about it, and will bring it to the attention of the section officers for consideration.

There are only a few days left to submit any deserving members for the Region 5 Awards. If you'd like to act, now's the time. If you have questions, several of us can help, including Clif Denny, Scott Atkinson, or any of the CTS officers.

Finally, let me say again THANKS to all for everything you do for the profession.

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

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Membership Development

Have you been renewed your IEEE membership for 2009?

Don't know? Check it out though your MYIEEE account. Login at: https://www.ieee.org/myieee or simply call 1 800 678-4333.

Recognize New Senior Members in the Central Texas Section

On behalf of the CTS, I want to acknowledge those IEEE members who have been recognized for their outstanding performance. This recognition comes in the form of membership upgrade to IEEE Senior Member (SM). Details of becoming an IEEE SM are found at: https://www.ieee.org/web/membership/senior-members/index.html. As a note, the CTS hosts SM Events where CTS members can get begin the process of upgrading their membership. Watch the Analog this spring for announcements for the next CTS SM Event..

Twenty-one new CTS Senior Members elevated in the January and February of 2009 Awards and Advancement Committee meetings. Please acknowledge the following:

  • Xian Liu
  • Jack Burns
  • Jinwoo Choi
  • Kevin Davis
  • Angelo Cattozzi
  • Haoxing Ren
  • Ying Liu
  • Milap Majmundar
  • Carl Mueller
  • Mark Nodine
  • Vivek Sarda
  • Wolfram Sauer
  • Darren Schmidt
  • Scott Weidner
  • Kai Wong
  • Xin Wu
  • Thayne R. Coffman
  • William A. Hohl
  • Keshav Kumar Pingali
  • Asim A. Zaidi
  • Lixin Zhang

Congratulations to the new CTS Senior Members!

Making a difference with students as an engineer

Each year there are a number of science fairs in Texas in which the brightest high school students compete for scholarships, cash and other prizes along with the opportunity to advance to state and international competitions.

I, along with other CTS IEEE members, had the opportunity to judge at the Jr. Academy of Science Fair last month in San Antonio. Along with having fun, we got to interact with some very talented students and supported science and engineering education. There are several other upcoming fairs in the next two months. These are the Alamo Regional Science Fair and the State ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineer Fair. The best students in Texas will be at these events. Judges are needed for each of these fairs. I invite each of you to consider participating.

For more information, please contact John and Rose Perez at jeperez@swbell.net or Robert Fanick at rfanick@swri.org.

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

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Continuing Education

Webinars from IEEE Spectrum

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Student Branches

St Mary's University- San Antonio (https://ieee.stmarytx.edu/)
Faculty Adviser: Djaffer Baroudene, email: dibaroudene@stmarytx.edu
Branch President: Alex Ramos, email: aramos4@mail.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: Austin Robin DeHart, 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: Philip So, email: philip.so.1@gmail.com

Student Member News

Call for student papers

IEEE is holding a student paper contest in conjunction with the upcoming Region 5 meeting, to be held April 17-18, 2009 in Lubbock, TX. https://www.r5conferences.org.

The Region 5 Paper Contest has three levels: Local, Area and Region. Look at the Central Texas Section website https://www.ieee.org/CTS for deadlines and instructions for submission.

Central Texas Section award $4000 in grants to UT-San Antonio, St. Mary's University and Trinity University.

This was a competitive process where the schools submitted proposals for projects to be funded. Robotics projects were popular as they are a fun way for students to practice what they learn in the class room. It also gives a leg-up on Region 5 robotics competition where UTSA finished in 2007. Community outreach was another popular project where students take design kits into K-12 schools to demonstrate what engineers do. On behalf of our section schools, thanks to CTS for their continued support.

Why You Should Stick With IEEE

Each year about half the IEEE student members who graduate don't renew and move up to full members--they just drop out. But if they don't renew, these graduates will miss out on a load of benefits that could come in handy as they enter the workforce. Check out the top reasons you should keep your membership after you graduate at https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/13927/40069599

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Calls for Volunteers

Student Paper Contest Judges

IEEE is holding a student paper contest in conjunction with the upcoming Region 5 meeting, to be held April 17-18, 2009 in Lubbock, TX. https://www.r5conferences.org/.

The Region 5 Paper Contest has three levels: Local, Area and Region. We need some volunteers to judge the CTS and Southern Area entries. Please contact Clif Denny at c.denny@ieee.org for more information or to volunteer.

IEEE Teacher In-Service Program (TISP)

The IEEE Teacher In-Service Program is sponsored by the IEEE Education Activities Board (EAB) and features IEEE Section volunteers developing and presenting technologically oriented subject matter to local pre-university educators in an in-service or professional development setting. TISP allows IEEE volunteers to share their technical expertise and to demonstrate the application of engineering concepts to support the teaching and learning of science, mathematics and technology disciplines. For more information about TISP, please go to https://www.ieee.org/web/education/preuniversity/tispt/index.html , or contact Dean Schneider at d.schneider@ieee.org.

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2. Chapter Activities


Multiple Society Events

Sponsoring ChaptersJoint Signal Processing/Communications Society and Computer Society - Austin
Topic/TitleClick Quality: Ensuring Value for Growing Online Market
SpeakerTom Cuthbert, President & Founder, ClickForensics.
Date/TimeThursday, March 19, 2009 at 6:30pm
CostFree
ReservationsPlease RSVP to Saurabh Sureka sab@ieee.org for registering.
LocationAT&T Labs - 9505 Arboretum Blvd, Austin, TX 78759
DetailsCheck our website https://www.cts-comsoc-sp.org for details

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

Topic/Title The annual review of the ISSCC conference.
Speaker A panel of:
  • Dr. Betty Prince - Memories
  • Mike Seningen - Digital
  • Lawrence Regan - RF
Date/Time Tuesday March 10th, 6:30pm
Cost none
Reservationsnot required
Location UT Campus - ENS 306A
Notes

Also, although not sponsored by the joint Circuits & Systems/Solid State Circuits society, there is another meeting of interest on March 5th at 7:00pm. David Shippy and Mickie Phipps will be speaking about their new book, The Race for a New Game Machine - Creating the Chips Inside the Xbox 360 & the Play Station 3, at the Barnes & Noble book store in the Arboretum. They will also be signing books following the discussion time. You can listen to an interview with Steven Cherry, editor of IEEE's Spectrum magazine, at https://www.spectrum.ieee.org/podcasts.

The joint Circuits & Systems/Solid State Circuits Societies normally meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. This meeting is open to the public and interested parties. Additional details will be posted at the website. 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 (CPMT) - Austin
https://cpmtaustinchapter.org/

Topic/Title3D Packaging Workshop
Speaker
Date/TimeFriday, March 27, 2009 all day
CostNone.
LocationFreescale Semiconductor,
Long Canyon Conference Room in Bldg C Lobby
7700 Parmer Lane
Austin, TX 78729

Chair: Om P Mandhana
IEEE-CPMT Chapter in Austin
Networking and Multimedia Group
Freescale Semiconductor, Austin, Texas
(512) 996-6063

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

Topic/TitleComputer Forensics
SpeakerGreg Ledenbach, Sr. Member IEEE
AbstractGreg Ledenbach, a private investigator and Guidance Software EnCase Certified Examiner, will discuss Computer Forensics and how data is stored and recovered on computer disks. A short demonstration of EnCase will be presented.

Computer Forensics Presentation Outline:

  • What is "Computer Forensics?"
  • What does "deleted" mean?
  • How is data stored on a disk?
  • How is deleted data recovered?
  • What software/hardware tools are used?
  • Demo of Guidance Software EnCase (if time permits)

Date/TimeWednesday, March 18, 6:30PM Networking 7:00PM Program
Costnone
Reservationsnot required
LocationNational Instruments, 11500 N. Mopac Expy Bldg C, Rooms 1S13, 1S14, 1S15 - see map
Note:There is a joint meeting with the Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society - Austin on March 19th

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

Topic/TitleComputer Security, Information Disclosure, and Cybercrime
SpeakerDr. Wenbin Luo, Engineering Department at St. Mary's University
Date/TimeTuesday, March 17, 2009, 6:30pm networking, 7:00pm dinner, 8:00pm program
Cost$10 IEEE Members, $13 Non-members, $0 students
ReservationsRSVP to Yu Zhang by Monday before meeting, (210) 999-7399
LocationSt. Mary's University Center Conference Room B, San Antonio, TX
NotesSee www.ieee-cs-cts.org for directions and parking information.
This meeting is open to the public.
AbstractComputer security continues to be a growing concern because the number of viruses, intrusions, and other attacks on computer systems increases every year. Without robust computer security systems, financial and business transactions would be unable to efficiently function. Personal information that exists in electronic formats is extremely vulnerable. In this talk, I will first give a brief review of existing cryptography techniques and protocols including DES, AES, RSA, ECC, SSL, and current research trends. Then, I will discuss web application vulnerabilities and how attacks are constructed based on those vulnerabilities. Example web vulnerabilities covered in the talk include SQL injection, cross domain attacks, phishing, and pharming etc. At the end, if time permits, I will discuss how to write secure code. For example, how to control hijacking attacks (buffer overflows and format string bugs).
BiographyDr. Luo received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Fudan University, Shanghai, China. He also received his M.S. in statistics and Ph.D. in computer engineering from University of New Mexico. He joined Engineering Department at St. Mary's University in 2003 where he currently holds the rank of an associate professor in computer engineering.

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Central Texas Consultants Network
https://ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/cn

Topic/Title Is Real Estate a Good Investment for Engineers?
Speaker Michael Farrell worked for 27 years in the Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola primarily in leadership positions. While there he conducted business in 15 different countries and become certified as a Project Management Professional. He retired from there in 2003 and began helping out his wife, Anita in her real estate business and obtained a Texas real estate license in 2004. Besides working with buyers and sellers, he also flipped some properties doing everything from Competitive Market Analyses to pulling weeds. Michael writes a monthly e-newsletter and Deal of the Week.
Date/Time March 25th (Please note new meeting date in 2009 is 4th Wednesday of the month), 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.
ReservationsFor more information, contact Ed Gordon ebg@ieee.org or Kai Wong kaiwong@ieee.org
LocationChina Star Restaurant, 6134 Hwy 290E, Austin TX, Westbound access road of 290E, just east of I-35
AbstractWatching the national news, we can see a pretty grim picture of the real estate business. This session will address the greater Austin area market as a unique entity. What are the long term trends? What determines if a metropolitan area is in a buyers' or sellers' market? How can one purchase property with a self-directed IRA? How can one purchase property below market? This session will also address lessons learned from the properties that the Farrell team flipped.

SAVE THE DATE -- May 26th, IEEE CTCN presents HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL CONSULTANT, Workshop, 2-6 pm, location to be supplied, $20 IEEE/$25 PUBLIC/$35 AT DOOR. For more information, contact Ed Gordon ebg@ieee.org or Kai Wong kaiwong@ieee.org

Do a friend a favor. Bring your colleague to grow the Consultants Network.

The Consultants web directory is to be found at https://www.alesu.com/xltrp/ieeecons/listzero.htm

Do the Consultants Network a favor. Give a talk or get a speaker for one meeting this year. Email the bio and summary to the Chairman.

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

No Electromagnetic Compatibilty Society meetings are scheduled for March.

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

Topic/TitleWhat's Driving the Semiconductor Industry?
SpeakerShelly Van Dyke, Strategist & Market Analyst, Corporate Strategy, Freescale Semiconductor
Abstract
Date/TimeThursday March 26, 2009 6:00-7:30PM
RefreshmentsLight refreshments are provided
ReservationsPlease RSVP to Christian Catalan at Christian.Catalan@amd.com. We need an accurate count to purchase refreshments.
LocationSEMATECH Room F-C - Map at https://www.sematech.org/corporate/map.htm

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

Topic/Title Sevocity: EMR in a web-enabled world
Speaker Mark Holliday, COO, Sevocity Inc.
AbstractSevocity is a modern web-based EMR with headquarters in San Antonio. Mr Holiday will describe it and the many issues around design and implementation of n EMR. This particularily timely with the push to create a national-wide means of health record management.
Date/Time 6:30 pm, March 18, 2009
Agenda 6:30 - networking, 7:00 dinner, 8:00 Presentation
Cost $5 non-members, Students free! (Menu will be provided by Sevocity)
Reservations Please email Royce Johnson (JohnsonR@kci1.com) so we have a head count for dinner.
Location Sevocity Corporate HQ, San Antonio,
Contact Royce Johnson for adress

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Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD)

No Graduates of the Last Decade meetings are scheduled for March.

For more Information contact Jason Polendo jpolendo@ieee.org

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Laser and Electro Optics Society

No Laser and Electro Optics Society meetings are scheduled for March.

For more information, contact Ray Chen

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Life Members Affinity Group

Topic/TitleDatapoint - Innovators in the Early Days of Microcomputers
SpeakerLewis Donzis, Jonathan Schmidt, John Murphy, Henry Donzis
Key Datapoint employees in the 1970's and 80's, now at Perftech, Inc.
Date/TimeWednesday, March 18, 11am to 1pm
Cost$10 for IEEE members; $15 for non-members; Students Free
Reservationsemail to Bob Harris (boss@ieee.org or texaspi@texas.net) so we can estimate food requirements.
LocationAldino at the Vinyard, 1203 N.W. Loop 1604, #101, San Antonio (Located in the Northwest quadrant at 1604 & Blanco Road intersection)
Notes

Datapoint Corporation was a Fortune 500 company located in San Antonio in the 1970's and 1980's. They made programmable computer terminals and were responsible for many innovations including many key features of personal computers. Datapoint was responsible for the specifications of the Intel 8008, the first 8 bit single chip microprocessor and the architecture used in all the x86 processors. Datapoint also invented the ARCnet, one of the first and most successful local area networks. The speakers for our program were invloved in many of these significant innovations and will share some of their experiences while at Datapoint.

The Life Members group is in the process of submitting the Datapoint inventions for recognition as IEEE Milestones in Electrical Engineering and Computing. This submission includes documenting the time and location where significant events occurred.

Planning Committee Members Needed

We are looking for a few more volunteers to round out our Chapter's planning Committee. We currently have three, Scott Atkinson, Bob Harris and Ernest Franke. We meet monthly for lunch to review IEEE, Central Texas Section and Chapter activities. Interested folks should contact scott.atkinson@fullarmorgroup.com or 210-481-4932.

If a Life Member is not receiving email from our Chapter, please contact Scott Atkinson at scott.atkinson@fullarmorgroup.com or 210-481-4932.

For more information, contact Scott Atkinson

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Power and Energy Society - Austin
https://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/pes/centraltexas/austin

Topic/TitlePower Management in the 21st Century
SpeakerDr. Carlos Coe
Dr Coe has served as Chariman and CEO since the inception of the company in November 2004. Prior to founding the company, Dr. Coe was previously President and CEO of Anthony International, a $115 Million company with 800 employees providing merchandising systems for refrigeration. From 1994 to 1999, Dr. Coe was the Whirlpool Corporation in a variety of executive roles, including VP of a $500 million business unit and General Manager of a Chinese joint-venture. From 1986 to 1994. Dr. Coe was employed with BDM International, a subsidiary of Ford Aerospace, where his roles included GM of various business groups and KV's. Dr. Coe received his PhD and MA in Engineering from Princeton University, and a BS in Engineering from the Citadel.
Date/TimeTuesday, March 24, 2009, 6:00 - 9:00pm
CostDinner is free (limited menu selection) for full-time students, $12 or $20 for IEEE members and accompanying spouses, $15 or $23 for non-IEEE members.
ReservationsPlease RSVP - if you plan to attend please reply to this invitation. To reply or for further information, please contact Mike Noth via email: mikenoth@ieee.org.
LocationEl Gallo Mexican Restaurant, 512-444-2205, 2910 S Congress, Austin, Texas

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

Topic/TitleImpact of a New DOE Regulation and Environmentally Friendly Medium Voltage Transformer Installations
SpeakerJim Stieler, Cooper Power Systems
Date/TimeThursday, March 26, 2009 - 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 credit cards)
ReservationsPlease RSVP to John Brogan @ 210-353-3375 or jabrogan@ieee.org
LocationGrady's BBQ, 6510 San Pedro, San Antonio (210-806-8036)
NotesFor more information please go to our web site at https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pes/centraltexas/sanantonio

As always you do not have to be an IEEE member to attend.

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

No Product Safety Engineering Society meetings are scheduled for March.

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 7:00pm. 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 - Austin
https://www.cts-comsoc-sp.org/

Topic/TitleClick Quality: Ensuring Value for Growing Online Market
SpeakerTom Cuthbert, President & Founder, ClickForensics.

Tom Cuthbert is a leading industry voice in battle against online advertising fraud. He has spoken on the topics of online advertising fraud, search advertising, analytics and click fraud at top industry events, including ad:tech, Web 2.0 Summit and the Search Engine Strategies conference. He has also appeared as a click fraud industry expert on CNBC and Bloomberg television. Tom is frequently tapped by leading newspapers and magazines and his views on click fraud have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Red Herring, Financial Times and Associated Press. As a key member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Click Measurement Working Group, Tom is working with Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and top advertisers to develop the industry's first click fraud measurement standards. He also founded the Click Quality Council, which represents more than 40 leading advertisers who work together to provide advertiser input into the development of industry click quality measurement standards.

AbstractThe problem of click quality and click fraud in the popular pay-per-click advertising medium has gained widespread attention as one of the biggest threats to online search advertising's future. Advertising in ad networks and on publisher sites is growing faster than any other segment in the search market. This growth coupled with the rise in cybercrime during a recession means that click quality issues are only expected to increase for both advertisers and publishers. Furthermore, the complexities involved in monitoring these widely disparate networks will expand significantly.

Highlights of the talk include:

  • How publishers, ad networks and advertisers can better identify click fraud and poor quality traffic and stop it from impacting campaigns.
  • The latest industry data on the click fraud rates on content and ad networks.
  • An overview of new click fraud trends and what publishers, ad networks and advertisers can do to protect themselves and improve quality.

Date/TimeThursday, March 19, 2009 at 6:30pm
CostFree
ReservationsPlease RSVP to Saurabh Sureka sab@ieee.org for registering.
LocationAT&T Labs - 9505 Arboretum Blvd, Austin, TX 78759
DetailsCheck our website https://www.cts-comsoc-sp.org for details

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

Topic/TitleTBD
SpeakerTBD
Date/TimeMonday, March 23, 2009 at 6:30pm
CostFree
ReservationsPlease RSVP to Brian Kelley dr.brian.kelley@gmail.com.
LocationSWRI, 6220 Culebra Road, Bldg 139, Room 206
More details on our website:https://www.cts-comsoc-sp.org
AbstractTBS - check our website for updates

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

Sponsors Technology Management Council, in conjunction with the Women in Engineering
Topic/Title Taking a new Microprocessor into Production
Speaker Arun Achamkulamgara, Intel Corporation
Date/Time Tuesday March 10, 6:30-8:30
LocationAMPLIFY Credit Union, Burnet and Braker
Notes This meeting is free and open to the public. See https://www.austin-tmc.org for details and to RSVP.

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

No Technology Managmeent Council - San Antonio meetings are scheduled for March.

Contact Nils Smith (nils.smith@ieee.org) for information about the San Antonio TMC.

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

No Women in Engineering meetings are scheduled for March.

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

Central Texas Section Congratulates Five Members Elevated to Senior Member Grade

The last A&A Review Panel meeting was held on 14 February 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Central Texas Section would like to recognize the five members of the section who were elevated to Senior Member grade:

  • Thayne R. Coffman
  • William A. Hohl
  • Keshav Kumar Pingali
  • Asim A. Zaidi
  • Lixin Zhang

Cyborg Moth -- You will be assimilated

Attempts by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to create cybernetic insects (hybrids of biological and electronic bugs) have yielded ultralow-power radios to control the bugs' flight and a method of powering those circuits by harvesting energy, according to research that will be reported last month at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC)

Two papers being presented at ISSCC reveal the latest initiatives in the DARPA-sponsored Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) project, which is currently in its third year. The program's goal is the creation of moths or other insects that have electronic controls implanted inside them, allowing them to be controlled by a remote operator. The animal-machine hybrid will transmit data from mounted sensors, which might include low-grade video and microphones for surveillance or gas sensors for natural-disaster reconnaissance. To get to that end point, HI-MEMS is following three separate tracks: growing MEMS-insect hybrids, developing steering electronics for the insects, and finding ways to harvest energy from the them to power the cybernetics.

Read more at https://www.spectrum.ieee.org/feb09/7747.

Making It as a Consultant

With the world economy so shaky, many IEEE members are looking at consulting to supplement their income or even to replace income from lost jobs. But how do you become a consultant? Read some tips from a recent meeting of the IEEE Consultants Network at https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/14152/06506091

IEEE Takes the Initiative on Sustainability

As resources become scarcer, while more people clamor to share them, and global warming is an increasing danger, it's plain that our current course is not sustainable. To address this, IEEE President John Vig has created the President's Sustainability Initiative to contribute IEEE's expertise to the public dialogue and to strengthen the sustainability efforts of IEEE's societies. Read on at https://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/14148/06506091

Looking for U.S. IEEE Members to Serve as 2010 Government Fellows

Each year, IEEE-USA sponsors Fellowships for qualified IEEE members to spend a year in Washington serving as advisers to the U.S. Congress and to key U.S. Department of State decision-makers. IEEE-USA's Congressional and Engineering & Diplomacy Fellowships link engineers with government; providing a mechanism for U.S. IEEE members to learn, first hand, about the public policy process through personal involvement. Government fellows must be U.S. citizens. Postmark application deadline for 2010 Fellowships: 13 March 2009 For more information, visit: https://ieeeusa.org/policy/govfel/

IEEE Celebrates 125 Years of Engineering the Future in 2009

The start of 2009 marked the official kickoff of IEEE's 125th Anniversary celebration. IEEE is commemorating this milestone with a variety of activities surrounding the theme of Celebrating 125 Years of Engineering the Future. The official 125th anniversary mark is already visible on ieee.org, and is being used on IEEE publication covers and other materials throughout the year. The latest anniversary information is available on https://www.ieee125.org.

Major anniversary events include the first IEEE Presidents' Change the World Competition for college and university students worldwide; a global media roundtable and webcast addressing emerging, world changing technologies on 10 March in New York City; Engineering the Future Day on 13 May and a series of celebrations in major world cities throughout the year:

  • 27 April - Munich, Germany
  • 30 April - Austin, Texas
  • 11 May - Boston, Mass.
  • 8 June - Beijing, China
  • 29/30 August - Bangalore, India
  • 6 October - London, England
  • 30 October - Tokyo, Japan
  • TBD - San Jose, Calif.

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4. Local Conferences

  • IEEE Region 5 meeting will be held Apr 17-18, 2009 in Lubbock, TX. https://www.r5conferences.org.
  • International Conference on IC Design & Technology will be held May 18-20, 2009 in Austin, TX. The venue of 2009 ICICDT will be Freescale Semiconductor at 7700 W Parmer Lane, Austin, Texas, 78729, U.S.A. More information can be found at https://www.ICICDT.org.
  • 2009 IEEE Avionics, Fiber-Optics and Photonics Technology Conference (AVFOP) will be held September 22-24, 2009 in San Antonio, TX. For more information, contact Christine Bluhm at c.bluhm@ieee.org.
  • 2009 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics will be held October 10-15, 2009, in SanAntonio, TX.
  • 2009 IEEE Systems Man and Cybernetics Conference will be held October 11-14, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk in San Antonio. Paper deadline is March 15, 2009. https://www.smc2009.org
  • 2009 Frontiers in Education Conference will be held October 18-21, 2009, in San Antonio, TX. Abstracts are due January 14, 2009. More information, including the call for papers, can be found at https://fie.engrng.pitt.edu/fie2009/.
  • IEEE Conference Search can be found at https://www.ieee.org/web/conferences/search/index.html.
  • See also https://www.wikicfp.com - A place to organize and share Calls for Papers.

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