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Volume 53-10 |
October 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 CONTENTS1. Section Activities2. Chapter Activities3. News & Information4. Local Conferences5. Other ConferencesIEEE EXTERNAL LINKS
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1. Section ActivitiesChairman's ColumnDear CTS members, Please help me welcome our new PACE Committee member, Alvin Schurman. PACE (Professional Activities Committees for Engineers) is a grassroots network of IEEE volunteers and committees organized at the section and chapter level in the United States with support from their respective regions and IEEE-USA. The goal of the PACE Network is to promote the professional interests of IEEE's U.S. members as well as provide a mechanism for communication of members' views on their professional needs. Thanks in advance to Alvin for helping us work the PACE program for the section. We're beginning to see our first budget estimates from your chapter leadership for 2010. Be sure and alert them to the ideas you'd like to see occur in your group. Though funds remain tight, we'll continue to try to support those most important action in the section. And of course, don't forget to vote in your CTS elections as we once again plan to enjoy a peaceful change in leadership for the chapters and section for 2010. Finally, thanks again for all you do for the profession. Garrett Polhamus Back to TOP Membership DevelopmentIEEE GOLD Webinar - What field of engineering would be most crucial for the 21st Century?The IEEE has an ongoing focus on Graduates Of the Last Decade (GOLD) members. On October 2nd at 10 AM EDT, there will be a webinar hosted by Dr. R.A. Mashelkar. Dr. Mashelkar is Chainman of India's National Innovation Foundation. For more information and to register for the free webinar, visit https://www.ieee.org/web/membership/gold/events/gandhianengrg.html. IEEE Annual Elections - VOTE... VOTE... VOTEThe annual election ballot has been sent to each IEEE member this last month. Elections close 12 noon EDT on October 1st. If you haven't yet voted, vote online NOW at www.ieee.org/elections. Did you know about IEEE - IEEE MemberNetDid You Know - The IEEE is an online search and networking tool that allows members to connect other technical and engineering experts worldwide. This tool can be utilized by members seeking peers who share a common technical interest, membership, or affinity.
To participate, you simply op-in though your MyIEEE account. And it's FREE to IEEE members... check it out at www.ieee.org/membernet/. Joe Redfield Back to TOP Section & Chapter NewsCentral Texas Future City CompetitionCentral Texas Section of IEEE will be the organizer of the Central Texas Future City competition. This competition, targeted at teams of 7th and 8th graders, is open to all. A team is comprised of 3 students, a teacher/adult, and an engineer/mentor. If you want to be a mentor, or your child, or child of a friend wants to compete, check out the national future city website (www.futurecity.org). We will need mentors for the teams, and judges for the deliverables (software program, essay in advance, and physical model and presentation on the day of the competition), and some day of competition volunteers. The judges for the software program and essay can judge whenever they want, as long as it's before the deadline (early January), and the competition will probably be January 23 (Saturday) at Texas State. Let me know if you're interested, or if your company is interested in sponsoring a specific prize. Central Texas Section - Nominations Committee 2010 Slate of OfficersThe Nominations Committee for Section Officer Elections is submitting the following slate of nominees for 2010 Central Texas Section Officers: Tom Grim - ChairmanThuy Dao - Vice-Chairman Austin Dawn Roberson - Vice-Chairman San Antonio Dina Triyoso - Secretary Kenny Rice - Treasurer Additional nominations may be submitted to the Nominations Committee by petition with the signature and member numbers of at least 25 Section members. The Nominations Committee members are Clif Denny, Joe Redfield, Scott Atkinson and John Purvis. Elections will be announced in the November Analog with results announced in December, 2009. Clif Denny IEEE-USA to Host Three Career Workshops at ITC 2009On 5 November, IEEE-USA is partnering with the International Test Conference (ITC) in Austin, Texas, to hold three career workshops geared to helping engineers advance in their chosen professional endeavors. The three workshops entitled: Innovating Your Career-What it takes to Step Yourself Ahead of the Competition, Entrepreneurship and Financing/What You Need to Know Panel Discussion: Angels, VCs and Entrepreneurs, and How to Start a Successful Consulting Practice: The Nuts and Bolts, will be free to ITC registrants and interested engineers in the central Texas area can attend for a nominal fee of $25. Those not wanting to attend the entire conference can register with IEEE-USA to attend just the career workshops. Local IEEE ConferencesSeveral conferences supported by local societies are scheduled for October through December. See Local Conferences below. Back to TOP Continuing EducationThe Engineering Leadership Institute begins its 2009-2010 year with a one-week intensive bootcamp, training engineering managers to:
This program also includes quarterly follow on workshops, geared to the participants' needs. Certification from the Engineering Leadership Institute is available. Register now at https://lifelong.engr.utexas.edu/management/index.cfm. Back to TOP Student BranchesSt Mary's University - San Antonio (https://engineering.stmarytx.edu/ieee/) Texas State University - San Marcos (new branch, 2009 Trinity University - San Antonio University of Texas at Austin (https://ieee.ece.utexas.edu/) University of Texas at San Antonio (http:/www.utsaieee.org/) Student Member NewsWhy You Should Stick With IEEEEach 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 VolunteersIEEE Teacher In-Service Program (TISP)The next CTS offering of the TISP Seminar to Teachers will be given at TES Region 13 in Austin on November 18, 2009. If you woudl like to help in the seminar and be trained to perform the seminar in your local area/school disctrict, please feel free to join us on the 18th of November. Contact Dean Schneider at d.schneider@ieee.org to volunteer or for more information. 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. Back to TOP 2. Chapter ActivitiesAntennas & Propagation/Microwave Theory and Techniques
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Topic/Title | Chip Reveal 3D |
|---|---|
Speaker | Dr. Jerzy Gazda, Cerium Laboratories |
Abstract | This presentation describes the techniques used to reverse engineer integrated circuit layouts for diagnostic, litigation, and obsolete semiconducotr fabrication. The techniques used to create detailed 3D images involves state-of-the-art imaging, image processing, and the manipulation/signal processing of very large image files. |
Date/Time | Tuesday October 13th, 6:30pm |
Cost | none |
Reservations | not required |
Location | UT Campus - Avaya Auditorium |
Notes | Dr. Gazda currently serves as the Section Manager at Cerium Laboratories LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spansion Inc. leading a 12 person group. In this role, He is responsible for operations of analytical equipment group providing nano-scale metrology and analysis to support Spansion manufacturing efforts at Fab-25 in Austin, and wide range of customers with materials characterization needs in Semiconductor, Green Energy, Nano-Technologies, and Catalyst industries Dr. Gazda joined AMD Inc. in December of 1999. He supported the manufacturing efforts in three AMD Fabs world wide as TEM analysts and since 2001 as Group Leader. During his tenure, he has helped in introduction of the first 1 GHz microprocessor, semiconductor manufacturing technology transitions from 0.25um to 60nm transistor nodes, and participated in R& D efforts to develop advanced transistor/memory cell designs and interconnects structures for AMD and Spansion devices. Since June 2004, analytical services of the Cerium Laboratories are being offered to a brad range of customers. Upon successful establishment of the company, AMD sold Cerium Labs to Spansion Inc. in October of 2006. Currently Cerium Labs serves over 100 customers and provides services in areas of Analytical Imaging, Surface Characterization, and Analytical Chemistry. As one of the original founding mangers of the company, Dr. Gazda has been involved in developing market for TEM, FIB, SEM and other analytical services offered by Cerium Labs. Dr. Gazda has bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics and M. S. in Metallurgy from University of Illinois at Chicago. He earned Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern in 1999. Prior to AMD, Dr. Gazda worked for over 8 years at Argonne National Laboratory developing structural alloys for nuclear industry applications. |
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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No Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology meetings are scheduled for October.
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Topic/Title | Social Networking |
|---|---|
Speaker | Omar Gallaga |
Abstract | Omar Gallaga is a technology writer for the Austin American Statesman. Omar also appears on NPR radio talking about technology. |
Date/Time | Check the CS- Austin web site for more details. |
Cost | none |
Reservations | not required |
Location | National Instruments, 11500 N. Mopac Expy Bldg C, Rooms 1S13, - see map |
Notes |
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| Topic/Title | The Smart Grid |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Stephen Mokry, P.E., Senior Director, System Planning & Asset
Management, CPS Energy |
| Abstract | The industry is rapidly changing based on the need to optimize the electrical grid that supplies energy to all market segments. The price of energy and the environmental impacts of continuing business as usual has been the catalyst for the evolution to a Smart Grid model for the energy industry. The way the industry generates, transmits, distributes and most importantly the way customers consume energy, will need to transform to a new more sustainable model. As utilities develop their vision for the future, they must consider a myriad of complex challenges. Growing power demand, carbon emissions and environmental compliance, an aging infrastructure and aging workforce, and increasing requirements for greater reliability are all just the beginning. At the same time, the utility customer - accustomed to conveniences of a modern digital economy -- expects increasingly better and faster service in every dimension of life. For many utilities, designing their future around a smart grid as a central enabling technology provides the only way to satisfy all these demands. |
| Date/Time | Wednesday, October 20th, 2009 - 6:30-9:00 pm |
| Cost | $15 IEEE members, $18 non-members, $4 students |
| Reservations | Required by Friday, October 16, 2009, please email Yu Zhang, Yu Zhang, or call (210) 999-7399 (so we have a head count for dinner). |
| Location | University Center, Conference Room B, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX 78228. (Building 8 on the campus map). Map available at: https://www.stmarytx.edu/map/. |
| Notes | See www.ieee-cs-cts.org for directions and parking information. This meeting is open to the public. |
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Topic/Title | Building and Managing Your Authority as a Consultant |
|---|---|
Speaker | Christine Lambden and Casey Conner Christine Lambden and Casey Conner are the authors of two books that relate to consulting: Everyday Practices of Extraordinary Consultants (2008) and Extraordinary Interviews (2009). They are also the founders and primary instructors at ConsultingStance.com, an online community and training resource for consultants. They have a combined total of more than 35 years in the consulting industry and their advice is based on personal experience in the trenches as consultants, clients, and consulting firm owners. |
Abstract | Consultants come in the door at a new client with a certain level of authority automatically attributed to us. What can we do to maintain that authority? How do we balance authority with the need to connect and build relationships within the client organization? This presentation will offer some tips and advice, along with stories from our own experience (good and bad), to help you manage your Authority during an engagement. |
Date/Time | Wednesday, October 28th, 2009, (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 | Cost: $5.00 minimum charge for the restaurant. Supper is at optional extra cost. Reservations not required. All interested parties are invited to attend. For more information, contact Ed Gordon ebg@ieee.org, or Kai Wong kaiwong@ieee.org. |
Location | China Star Restaurant, 6134 Hwy 290E, Austin TX, Westbound access road of 290E, just east of I-35 |
Notes |
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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No Electromagnetic Compatibility Society meetings are scheduled for October.
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Topic/Title | High-k on III-V. |
|---|---|
Speaker | |
Abstract | |
Date/Time | Thursday, October 22nd, 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 | Conference room at SVTC. - Map at https://www.sematech.org/corporate/map.htm |
Notes |
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| Topic/Title | FIRST: Inspiring with robots |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Mike Henry, Senior Mentor, FIRST |
| Abstract | Dean Kamen was in town in September as the recipient of the 4th Palmaz Award. His history as a serial innovator in medical devices is well known. What may not be as well known is his FIRST program, which is a global program to inspire interest in technology by getting students building and competing with robots. San Antonio's Senior Mentor for FIRST is Mike Henry and he will be describing the program, it's inception and it's results, which are frankly amazing. Dinner will be pizza and salad to go with the theme. |
| Date/Time | October 21st, 2009 at 6:30 pm |
| Cost | $5 members, $10 non-members |
| Reservations | Please contact Royce Johnson (JohnsonR@kci1.com) so we have a head count for dinner. |
| Location | KCI R&D Main Conference Room, Bldg V |
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The Engineering Management Society has become the Technology Management Council. Information about meetings can be found in the sections for Technology Management Council - Austin and Technology Management Council - San Antonio
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No Graduates of the Last Decade meetings are scheduled for October.
For more Information contact Jason Polendo jpolendo@ieee.org
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No Laser and Electro Optics Society meetings are scheduled for October.
For more information, contact Ray Chen
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No Life Members Affinity Group meetings are scheduled for October.
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No Power & Energy Society - Austin meetings are scheduled for October.
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| Topic/Title | Practical Arc-Flash Mitigation Techniques |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Ruben Corvalan, with AmpSafe |
| Abstract | |
| Date/Time | Thursday, October 22th, 2009 - 6:00pm Social, 6:30pm Dinner, 7:00pm Program |
| Cost | $10 members, $15 non-members, FREE for students (Cash only please, no checks or credit cards) |
| Reservations | Please RSVP to Christina Gaydos at 210-658-7250 or chris@grubbengineering.com |
| Location | Grady's BBQ, 6510 San Pedro, San Antonio (210-806-8036) |
| Notes | For more information please go to our web site at https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pes/centraltexas/sanantonio |
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No Product Safety Engineering Society meetings are scheduled for October.
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Topic/Title | Networking and Computing Requirements for Video Games: Current Trends and Solutions |
|---|---|
Speaker | Harlan Titus Beverly is a passionate entrepreneur, engineer, and gamer (Tytus). While at Intel, he was responsible for architecture and development of corporate server networking products, including the world's first 10-Gigabit Ethernet adapter. He later joined Britestream Networks and develop a 100% CPU off-load network security solution with SSL and TCP/IP processing on one chip. In 2004 he conceived and founded Bigfoot Networks, makers of the Killer NIC, www.bigfootnetworks.com https://www.bigfootnetworks.com. The Killer NIC is now a world-wide success and ships in 20-40% of Dell's gaming desktops. Harlan has over 30 patents, has been published in dozens of books and articles, and runs a blog on "Business for Engineers" at https://tytusblog.blogspot.com. |
Abstract | Speaker Harlan "Tytus" Beverly will delve the dark mysteries of the online gaming market and networked game development in the unusual industry that is gaming. The online gaming market has grown from virtually $0 to over $70 Billion/yr market in less than 15 years, and now dominates the gaming industry. Harlan will explore what has fueled this growth, and how specific games and networking technologies have 'leveled up' the industry at distinct moments. Harlan will also explain how networked game development's unique software development, deployment, and testing challenges have led to industry-wide practices that may have applicability in other industries. |
Date/Time | Tuesday, October 15th, 2009 at 6:30 pm |
Cost | Admission is Free |
Reservations | Free Registration Link: https://fcoe.eventbrite.com |
Location | AT&T Labs - 9505 Arboretum Blvd, Austin, TX 78759 |
Notes |
Check our website https://www.cts-comsoc-sp.org for details |
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Topic/Title | San Antonio Public Safety Communications System: Overview and Issues |
|---|---|
Speaker | William Davenport |
Abstract | The San Antonio Fire Department is faced with many telecommunications challenges for its public safety first responders. The challenges start with being spread over a large geographic area (412 sq. miles), working with multiple agencies, and serving the 7th largest US metropolitan population (US Census-2008). SAFD is implementing new systems to tackle its needs, including computer aided dispatching, replacing legacy analog radios with P25 digital communications, integrating with other voice, video, and data networks, and moving into and sharing new frequency bands. Representatives from the SAFD Technical Services Division will present the current fire telecommunications system architecture, highlight key features, and discuss lesions learned and issues that remain. |
Date/Time | Tuesday, October 27th 2009 at 6:30 - 7:30pm |
Cost | $5 for non-members, students, members Free |
Reservations | Please RSVP to Brian Kelley atdr.brian.kelley@gmail.com. |
Location | UTSA Campus: Meeting Room to be announced on website https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r5/central_texas/satx/ |
Notes |
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Topic/Title | M&A: Making it Work |
|---|---|
Speaker | Bob Barker |
Abstract | Mergers and Acquisitions: Making it Work |
Date/Time | Wednesday October 14th from 11:30am - 1:00 pm |
Cost | No cost for meeting, $18 for lunch |
Reservations | RSVP to https://www.austin-tmc.org |
Location | Mirabelle Restaurant, 8127 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX 78759-8632 just north of the intersection with Spicewood Springs. |
Notes |
Contact Doug Russell for more information about the Austin TMC.
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Topic/Title | Effective Meetings |
|---|---|
Speaker | Nils Smith |
Abstract | Do you hate meetings? Do people hate your meetings? Join us to learn new meeting management techniques and reinforce ones you (should) already know. We'll discuss common meeting problems, the function of a meeting, planning an effective meeting, and running an effective meeting. |
Date/Time | 11:30am - 1:00pm, Thursday, October 29th |
Reservations | Contact Nils Smith for more details. |
Location | |
Notes | Aldaco's will offer their regular lunch menu for individual purchase. |
Contact Nils Smith (nils.smith@ieee.org) for information about the San Antonio TMC.
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Jointly held with the Technology Management Society - Austin (see above).
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What's the best gaming console--Sony's Playstation, Nintendo's Wii, or Microsoft's Xbox? According to IEEE Spectrum Contributing Editor David Kushner, we're not too far from the point when that question will be an anachronism, along with gaming consoles themselves. Kushner reports that the CEO of game maker Activision recently said that gamers could soon "expect many of our products to be playable independent of a console." Players would stream gaming content from their computers. Read more at Consoles.
Researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., report that a photovoltaic cell they created by attaching a single-walled carbon nanotube to two electrical contacts generates a cascade of electrons, with hardly any of the energy in the photons lost as heat. The Cornell team, to its credit, emphasizes that confirmation of the physics does not necessarily mean that a practical device will appear any time soon. Read more at Solar Panels.
The unsuccessful efforts to recover the flight data recorder in the recent Air France crash raises questions about the suitability of this long-used device. Investigators and aviation experts are now calling for alternatives to storing flight information onboard in the so-called black boxes. One new system being touted is a "blue box" reporting system that transmits data in real time via satellite. Data is reported only when events--such as a loss of cabin pressure--require it. Read more at Black Box.
Multiple ADCs are a popular war to increase a system's sampling rate. This document discusses how to implement digital equalizers to improve performance. Read more at ADC.
Researchers at MIT say they've made a big step toward combining the capabilities of the silicon used in computer chips with properties of the compound semiconductors found in lasers and high-powered electronics. Read more at Hybrid Chips.
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:
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2009 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics will be held October 10-15, 2009, in San Antonio, TX.
2009 IEEE Systems Man and Cybernetics Conference will be held October 11-14, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk in San Antonio. More information can be found at https://www.smc2009.org
2009 Frontiers in Education Conference will be held October 18-21, 2009, in San Antonio, TX. More information can be found at https://fie.engrng.pitt.edu/fie2009/.
4th Annual Austin Conference on Integrated Systems and Circuits will be held October 26-27, 2009 in Austin TX. For more information, see https://www.acisc.org.
The International Test Conference will be held November 1-6, 2009 in Austin TX. For more information, see https://www.itctestweek.org.
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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