IEEE Central Texas Section

THE ANALOG

Volume 53-07

July 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

Chairman's Column

Membership Development

San Antonio Vice-Chair's Column

Section & Chapter News

Continuing Education

Student Branches

Calls for Volunteers


2. Chapter Activities

Multiple Chapters

Antennas & Propagation/Microwave Theory and Techniques

Joint Circuits and Systems/Solid-State Circuits

Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology

Computer Society - Austin

Computer Society - San Antonio

Consultants Network

Electromagnetic Compatibility Society

Electron Devices Society

Engineering in Medicine and Biology

Graduates of the Last Decade

Laser and Electro Optics Society

Life Members Affinity Group

Power Engineering Society - Austin

Power Engineering Society - San Antonio

Product Safety Engineering Society

Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society - Austin

Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society - San Antonio

Technology Management Council - Austin

Technology Management Council - San Antonio

Women in Engineering


3. News & Information

Rethinking Engineering

Electron Budgeting

Linking Worlds

Special Report: Why Mars? Why Now?

Could China Get to Mars First?

IEEE Celebrates 125 Years of Engineering the Future in 2009


4. Local Conferences

5. Other Conferences


IEEE EXTERNAL LINKS

IEEE

IEEE-USA

IEEE Region 5

IEEE Central Texas Section

Call for Papers

IEEEXplore - fulltext access to IEEE Publications

What's New at IEEE

SocietyNews from IEEE

IEEE Standards Association

The Spectrum Online -The Magazine for Technology Insiders


1. Section Activities


Chairman's Column


Dear CTS members,

Your section officers will be meeting on several subjects in the next few weeks. In addition to a strategic planning meeting at which we will discuss the future direction for the section, we will be entertaining several proposals to improve our general operating processes to help the membership. Among those will be a proposal to help offer certification by the section of professional development hours as earned at various local IEEE activities. We'll keep you posted on our plans on this topic.


And in case you haven't heard, please join me as we wish the best to our San Antonio Vice-Chairman as she heads to Washington, DC to become "part of the problem." In her role as a Air Force Reserve Officer, Dawn Roberson will be assigned to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for the next year. Dawn has been a sterling leader for us in San Antonio, serving as a champion for our engagement in such forward thinking activities as Engineers' Week and Future Cities, as well as providing general leadership for the section in the San Antonio area. We have been blessed to have her on our team, and we wish her well in her new assignment.


Be safe in all your summer fun this coming month... particularly when the water sports, long drives, and the south Texas heat are in the equation. And thanks for all you do for the profession.


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

Back to TOP


Membership Development


Half Price IEEE Membership

That's right half price IEEE membership. Join IEEE for the first time and pay only one half annual dues. If you have been looking to join, but waiting for a good excuse, now is it. Go to www.ieee.org/join for details.


Did you know about IEEE - myIEEE 1.7

Did You Know -


You can find out what are the most accessed documents in IEEE Xplore for the month. By selecting the Knowledge Tab in myIEEE, you will see the IEEE Xplore module located in the middle column. Here you will find a list of the top 10 documents accessed this month. Citations and their Abstract are available with quick links to the full article. IEEE Xplore has over two million documents on emerging and revolutionary technologies.


GO TO myIEEE now at www.ieee.org/myieee


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

Back to TOP


Section & Chapter News

  • A new society, the Joint Antennas & Propagation/Microwave Theory and Techniques will be having its inaugaral meeting on July 16th at Texas State University in San Marcos. See the society meeting notice below.


  • Austin TMC chair Doug Russell has just reached agreement with AMACOM, a division of the American Management Association, for his book "Thriving in the Project Management Jungle: Using TACTILE MANAGEMENT(TM) to Create Successful Teams." Release is scheduled for Fall 2010.


  • New Central Texas Senior Members (since January)

    Congratulations to members elevated to Senior level since the beginning of the year.

    • Burns, Jack
    • Choi, Jinwoo
    • Coffman, Thayne R.
    • Davis, Kevin
    • Dhillon, Inderjit
    • Dodabalapur, Ananth
    • Gattozzi, Angelo
    • Haoxing, Ren
    • He Zhong, Li
    • Hohl, William A.
    • Li, Yu
    • Li, Zhuo
    • Liu, Ying
    • Lo, Chia-Tien
    • Majmundar, Milap
    • Mehrubeoglu, Mehrube
    • Millican, Herman
    • Mueller, Carl
    • Nodine, Mark
    • Pingali, Keshav Kumar
    • Saint-Laurent, Martin
    • Sarda, Vivek
    • Sauer, Wolfram
    • Schmidt, Darren
    • Wang, Xiangcheng
    • Weidner, Scott
    • Wong, Kai
    • Wu, Xin
    • Zaidi, Asim A.
    • Zhang, Lixin

Back to TOP


Continuing Education


Webinars from IEEE Spectrum

2009 ROBOTICS SERIES!

Episode I: Robotics101

April 2009: We explored the diverse landscape of robotics focusing on unmanned vehicle applications in academia and industry. Access that webinar anytime at: Episode I: Robotics101


Episode II: Sense, Think, Act For Unmanned Robotic Systems

Most mobile robots, including unmanned robotic systems and autonomous vehicles, can be characterized by three tasks they perform - sense the environment around them; make a decision based on a predefined task and the environment it senses; and finally act in order to perform the predefined task by adapting to its environment.

A mobile robot, therefore, can be loosely defined to be comprised of three architectural components - sensors, autonomy algorithms and actuators. In this webcast, we will look at the current technologies, the future trends of these components and the tools that are advancing their innovation.

We will learn how graphical system design tools help roboticists design sophisticated robotic architectures by seamlessly integrating sensors and actuators with cutting-edge algorithms.


Episode III: Robotics in Academia: September 17th, 2009

Back to TOP


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: Bryan Sierra, 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: Kevin Messenhimer, email: kmessen@gmail.com


Student Member News

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

Back to TOP


Calls for Volunteers

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.

Back to TOP


2. Chapter Activities

Multiple Chapter Events

Sponsoring ChaptersIEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society and IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society
Topic/TitleGlobal EMC Regulations for ITE Products
SpeakerRichard Worley, Sr. Engineer, Worldwide Regulatory Compliance Engineering and Environmental Affairs, Dell Inc.
AbstractThis presentation will discuss of the strategies and challenges of developing an EMC compliant product for the global markets.
Date/TimeJuly 22, 2009, 6:30pm social/dinner, 7:00pm program
Costnone
Reservationsnot necessary
LocationNational Instruments, Building C, 11500 North Mopac Expwy., Austin, TX 78759
NotesThis meeting is open to the public.

Back to TOP


Antennas & Propagation/Microwave Theory and Techniques
https://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/mtt/centraltexas

Topic/TitleApplying Correlation Radiometry to the Detection and Classification of Human Presence
SpeakerJeff Nanzer, Post Doctoral Fellow, Applied Research Laboratories University of Texas at Austin
AbstractCorrelation radiometers have long been used in remote sensing to synthesis large apertures using numerous small apertures. Inherent in the aperture synthesis process is that correlation radiometers respond to coherent radiation, filtering out radiation that is uncorrelated between the antennas. In this presentation, I will present some of our research into human presence detection which makes use of the coherent detection capabilities of the correlation radiometer. I will discuss a Ka-band radiometer system that we developed to detect stationary humans from a moving platform for applications such as site security and search and rescue, and will give some experimental results. We use both total power and correlation radiometers in conjunction to help remove responses from non-human objects in highly cluttered environments. I will also discuss other potential applications of the millimeter-wave correlation radiometer, including through-wall detection and activity classification.
Date/TimeThursday, July 16th, 2009, 7:00pm
Costfree
ReservationsPlease RSVP attendence only to Jeremy Pruitt via email: jrpruitt@swri.org.
Location5th floor of the Roy F. Mitte Building Room RFM 5246, Texas State University, San Marcos
NotesDinner will be served. As this is the first meeting, officers will be elected and future meetings will be discussed.

Back to TOP


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

No Joint Circuits & System/Solid State Circuits meetings are scheduled for July.

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

Back to TOP


Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology (CPMT) -Austin
https://cpmtaustinchapter.org/

No CPMT meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


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

No Computer Society - Austin meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


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

No Computer Society - San Antonio meetings are scheduled for July.

This is the annual summer break for the Computer Society and the next meeting will be September 15th.

Back to TOP


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

Topic/Title

From Employee to Entrepreneur

Speaker

Kevin Koym

Abstract

Kevin Koym is Founder and CEO of Enterprise Teaming LLC, an Austin business incubator. Kevin is also Chief Architect of Bootstrap Austin, a 600+ member entrepreneur community, and has founded two other entrepreneur networks in Austin in 2002 & 1997, as well as building technology entrepreneur networks across the countries of Mexico and Chile. For more information, see https://www.techranchaustin.com.

Date/Time

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009, (Please note new meeting date in 2009 is 4th Wednesday of the month), Networking at 6:00pm; Business and Program from 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Cost

$5.00 minimum charge for the restaurant. Supper is at optional extra cost.

Location

China Star Restaurant, 6134 Hwy 290E, Austin TX, Westbound access road of 290E, just east of I-35

Notes

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.

Back to TOP


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

Topic/TitleGlobal EMC Regulations for ITE Products
SpeakerRichard Worley, Sr. Engineer, Worldwide Regulatory Compliance Engineering and Environmental Affairs, Dell Inc. Abstract: This presentation will discuss of the strategies and challenges of developing an EMC compliant product for the Global markets.
Date/TimeJuly 22, 2009, 6:30pm social/dinner, 7:00pm program
Costnone
ReservationsNot necessary
LocationNational Instruments, Building C, 11500 North Mopac Expwy., Austin, TX 78759
NotesSee https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/chapters/centraltexas/index.html for directions and parking information. This meeting is open to the public.

Back to TOP


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

Topic/Title

Panel Discussion on "Career Transitions"

Speaker

Leslie Martinich

Sylvia A. Stern

Doug Russell

Abstract

Helps you to identify your strengths and competitive advantages, to identify where you s hould focus your efforts, and to understand what to expect during a career transition.

Date/Time

Thursday July 23rd, 2009 6:00-7:30pm

Refreshments

Light refreshments are provided

Reservations

Please RSVP to Christian Catalan at Christian.Catalan@amd.com. We need an accurate count to purchase refreshments.

Location

Rio Grande Conference room at SVTC. - Map at https://www.sematech.org/corporate/map.htm

Notes

Back to TOP


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

No Engineering in Medicine & Biology meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


Engineering Management
https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/ems

The Engineering Management Society is becoming the Technology Management Council. Information about meetings can be found in the sections for Technology Management Council - Austin and Technology Management Council - San Antonio

Back to TOP


Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD)

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

For more Information contact Jason Polendo jpolendo@ieee.org

Back to TOP


Laser and Electro Optics Society

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

For more information, contact Ray Chen

Back to TOP


Life Members Affinity Group

No Life Members Affinity Group meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


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

No Power & Energy Society - Austin meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


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

No Power & Energy Society - San Antonio meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


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

Topic/TitleEMC Regualtions for IT Products
SpeakerRichard Worley, Dell
Date/TimeJuly 22, 2009, 6:30pm social/dinner, 7:00pm program
Costnone
ReservationsCall Dale Ritzen (512) 651-5338 for details and directions.
LocationNational Instruments, Building C, 11500 North Mopac Expwy., Austin, TX 78759

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 6:30pm, 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.

Back to TOP


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

No Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society - Austin meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


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

No Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society - San Antonio meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


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

No Technology Management Council - Austin meetings are scheduled for July.

The TMC speaker for August will be Michael Cruess on "The Top Ten Things You Need To Know about Your IP" and September will be Allison Goodman, an Intel Engineering Program Manager from Folsom, CA, subject TBD. The group is considering a move from evening to lunch meetings and a more southerly meeting location.

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

Back to TOP


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

No Technology Management Council - San Antonio meetings are scheduled for July.

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

Back to TOP


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

No Women in Engineering meetings are scheduled for July.

Back to TOP


3. News & Information

Rethinking Engineering

From China to Africa to Europe to the Americas, fewer students are going into engineering. What's at stake if the number of qualified engineers fails to grow? The world may face an absence of innovation in critical areas like health care, alternative energy, communications, and environmental systems. Read what 2007 IEEE President Leah Jamieson has to say about the attrition problem at: Rethinking Engineering.


Electron Budgeting

Most of us give no thought to the amount of energy our electronic devices consume. But what if access to your home computer, microwave oven, or hair dryer were limited or even prohibited by a 150-watt-hour power budget? Check out a video featuring a couple in Fiji who must make daily compromises due to the meager output of their own hydroelectric generator. Read the story at Electron Budgeting.


Linking Worlds

Cutting-edge engineering can have as much to do with making technology happen in near-impossible conditions as with building something completely new. IEEE Member Gertjan van Stam tackled the near-impossible when he helped build the first Internet cooperative in rural Zambia, in which users share costs of local Internet connection and wireless infrastructure and maintenance. Learn about his career at: Gertjan van Stam.


Special Report: Why Mars? Why Now?

As the American space program faces a crossroad and other nation's race to reach the heights of the high frontier, scientists and engineers around the world are developing plans to build the technology that will define space exploration for a new century. Here's a cornucopia of coverage on where we stand now. Read more at: Mars.


Could China Get to Mars First?

Some experts believe that China could be the first to put people on Mars. Really? It could happen if China were to accelerate its rate of progress. But to do so it would have to depart from the top-down, by-the-book decision making that now prevails in other nations, according to noted space journalist James Oberg. Read more. China.


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 a series of celebrations in major world cities throughout the year:

  • 29/30 August - Bangalore, India
  • 6 October - London, England
  • 30 October - Tokyo, Japan
  • TBD - San Jose, Calif.

Back to TOP


4. Local Conferences

  • 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.

Back to TOP