IEEE Central Texas SectionTHE ANALOG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Volume 54-01 |
January 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Newsletter of the Central Texas Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. Published monthly. Deadline for inclusion is the 27th 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 ActivitiesWelcome to the January 2010 issue of The Analog, the newsletter for the Central Texas Section of the IEEE. After a particularly difficult 2009, the new year and decade suggests a time of reflection on the events of the past year and an opportunity to make plans for the coming year. As the CTS IEEE Section leadership changes hands, there is both renewal and continuity as plans are laid for the coming year. Please support your new section leaders and societies as they embark on new efforts to make 2010 both exciting and supportive of Central Texas IEEE members. Finally, as I know the past Chairman of the CTS Section, Garrett Polhamus, would say, "thanks for all you do for the profession". D. Ferguson Back to TOP Membership DevelopmentHave you renewed your IEEE membership for 2010?It is easy to forget and easy to put off. If you haven't renewed your IEEE membership, or don't know if you have, go to your MYIEEE account NOW and check at www.myieee.org or call 800 678-4333. Renew now to avoid loss of any of your IEEE benefits. If you have already renewed, thank you for being part of the Central Texas Section and the IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association. IEEE Honors 2010 Class of FellowsIEEE recently announced its class of 2010 Fellows, which consists of members from around the world who have demonstrated an "extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest." They join a group of thousands of other IEEE distinguished Fellows who have contributed to the advancement or application of engineering, science, and technology. The IEEE Board of Directors awards the honor of Fellow to no more than 0.1 percent of the voting membership as of 31 December of the preceding year. Please welcome Keshav Pingali and Elmootazbellah N. Elnozahy to the distinguished list of 37 other IEEE Fellows in the Central Texas Section IEEE GOLD to Host Upcoming Professional Development WebinarIEEE Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) invites IEEE members to attend an upcoming Professional Development Webinar in January. "A Survival Guide for Scientific Writing in the Academic and Professional Environments," presented by Dr. Matthias Reumann, will cover the backbones of an article, overcoming writer's block and other methods to improve your writing, and preparing your manuscript for editor review. This event will be held on Thursday, 21 January 2010, 11:00am - 12:00pm EST. Register Now. Did you know about IEEE - IEEE SpectrumAs a member of IEEE you have exclusive download privileges to view IEEE Spectrum articles and features. Current Spectrum feature articles include:
Joe Redfield Back to TOP Section & Chapter NewsCentral Texas Future City Competition UpdateOverview: The Central 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. vA 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 (https://www.futurecity.org). We will need 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). Update: We have a place! The competition will be January 23 (Saturday) at Texas State in their new Engineering Department. Let me know if you're interested, or if your company is interested in sponsoring a specific prize. Dawnlee Roberson Central Texas Section - New OfficersPlease congratulate the 2010-2012 Officers of the Central Texas Section. Having received no petition candidates, they are elected by acclamation. They are: Tom Grim - Chairman Thuy Dao - Vice-Chairman Austin Dawn Roberson - Vice-Chairman San Antonio Dina Triyoso - Secretary Kenny Rice - Treasurer Clif Denny Discover EngineeringDiscover Engineering is a Central Texas program that coordinates classroom visits from local engineering volunteers. The mission of Discover Engineering is to excite K-12 students to pursue careers in math, science, and engineering through hands-on engineering activities and collaborative, volunteer-driven initiatives of the engineering and education communities. During the 2008-2009 school year, Discover Engineering volunteers visited over 13,000 students from more that 80 schools in the greater Austin area. Over 800 volunteers from more than 50 area companies, government organizations and professional societies participated in these visits. Registration for volunteers and teachers for the 2009-2010 school year is now open on the Discover Engineering web site (https://www.centexeweek.org). Teachers can sign up for a single classroom visit, an entire grade level, or an entire school. Individuals, Teams or entire companies can sign up as volunteers. Please take a few minutes to look at our web site, then sign up as a volunteer. And don't hesitate to pass this information on to any others you think would be interested. John Purvis New Central Texas Senior Members Congratulations to the Central Texas Section IEEE members elevated to Senior level in the last cycle!
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 participant's 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 NewsHumanitarian Technology Challenge Launches Student Design CompetitionIEEE is sponsoring a Regional Student Design Competition for solutions to one of three humanitarian problems as part of the joint IEEE-United Nations Foundation Humanitarian Technology Challenge (HTC). The competition runs from Oct. 2009 to May 2010. HTC is a partnership among humanitarians, technologists, funders, and others, to develop implementable technological solutions to some key challenges facing humanitarian health and disaster workers today. The participants volunteer their time to collaborate for the benefit of humanity. The Regional Student Design Competition challenges students to provide a working prototype, scale model or detailed engineering design specifications for a project that satisfies one of the three Challenges. The project can be developed by student individuals or by student teams. Teams must be led by an IEEE student member. More information about the HTC project, and detailed descriptions of the challenges, can be found at https://www.ieeehtc.org. Rules for the Regional Student Design Competition can be found at https://www.ieeehtc.org/index.php/htc/students/challenge. Back to TOP Calls for VolunteersThe Future City Competition needs judges. The CTS is sponsoring a regional competition for the National Future City Competition on 23 Jan 2010 at Texas State University in San Marcos. We need your help to judge. We have over 30 teams registered that will require judging and the winning team will receive an all expense paid trip to Washington DC to compete at the National Future City Competition during Engineer's Week. If you would like to help and spend a day interacting with some of the most amazing and talented Junior High age kids in our region, please send an email to Dean Schneider at d.schneider@ieee.org for instructions on how to register as a judge. Back to TOP 2. Chapter ActivitiesMultiple Chapter EventsBack to TOP Antennas & Propagation/Microwave Theory and Techniques
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Topic/Title | Physical Synthesis: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly |
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Speaker | Dr. Charles J. Alpert Charles (Chuck) Alpert received two undergraduate degrees from Stanford University in 1991 and his doctorate from UCLA in 1996 in Computer Science. Upon graduation, Chuck joined IBM's Austin Research Laboratory where he continues to work. He currently manages the Design Productivity Group, whose mission is to architect design automation tools and methodologies to improve designer productivity and reduce design cost. Chuck is the proud husband to his wife Cheryl and their three girls Candice, Ciara, and Charlie. Chuck has published over 100 conference and journal papers and has thrice received the Best Paper Award from the ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference. He has been active in the academic community, serving as chair for the Tau Workshop on Timing Issues and the International Symposium on Physical Design. He also serves as an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design. For his work in mentoring, he received the Mahboob Khan Mentor Award in 2001 and 2007. He was also named IEEE Fellow in 2005. |
Abstract | A decade ago, physical synthesis emerged as a design aid to address the problem of optimization after cell placement caused by increasingly large wire delays. Early physical synthesis tools were fairly simplistic scripts wrapped around traditional placement and logic synthesis optimizations. Advances and technology have put increasing pressure on physical synthesis tools not only to perform timing takedown with increasingly aggressive frequences but also to manage many additional design constraints like power management, routability, and variability. Trying to solve all aspects of physical implementation simultaneously creates massive complexity for both the tool and the designer. This talk overviews the basics of physical synthesis, from placement to buffering to gate sizings and explains fundamentally how a physical synthesis flow weaves together its components to perform timing closure. It explains how the complexity of physical synthesis and corresponding designs have mushroomed to create design problems that are not just bad, but sometimes downright ugly. |
Date/Time | Tuesday, Jan 12th, 6:30-7:30pm |
Cost | none |
Reservations | not required |
Location | UT Campus - ENS 306A |
Notes | Cookies, soft drink |
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 renhaoxing@ieee.org or dferguson@ieee.org
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No Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology meetings are scheduled for January.
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Topic/Title | SharePoint: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. |
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Speaker | Philip Wheat, Community Architect Evangelist, Microsoft |
Abstract | As someone who's been involved in SharePoint since before it was SharePoint (Codename: Tahoe), it's been an interesting ride to see where SharePoint started, where it's been, and now with the announcement of SharePoint 2010, where it's going. Of all of the Microsoft Technologies in public usage, I can think of no other that's had as wild and as interesting a ride as SharePoint. In this session we'll talk about how this affects what people are using SharePoint for, what effects the roots of the product have on projects, and what you can expect in the next release. Come with plenty of questions - I'll be soliciting scenarios and examples from the audience to work through during the presentation. |
Date/Time | 2010 January 14th, 6:30-9:00pm |
Cost | none |
Reservations | none |
Location | Microsoft Technology Center: Austin |
Notes | This is a joint meeting with Austin SPIN (Software Process Improvement Network). We will have a separate meeting January 20. |
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No Computer Society - San Antonio meetings are scheduled for January.
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Topic/Title | Professional Certifications: How They Help Your Career |
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Speaker | Dean Bushmiller Dean Bushmiller of Expanding Security has navigated the certification market for over 10 years, guiding fortune 100 companies, the military, and certification organizations. He has designed certifications for vendors and vendor neutral organizations. He has written over 1200 hours of courseware and taught certifications to 1000's of professionals. Expanding Security is an Austin-based company specializing in security training for business architects, C-level management, and security network managers. |
Abstract | In today's competitive job and business market, everyone is looking for an edge. With over 200 certifying bodies and 1000's of certifications, it is difficult to know what is in demand, what industries want which certifications, or if you even need a certification. |
Date/Time | Wednesday, January 27, 2010, |
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 a friend a favor. Bring your colleagues to grow the Consultants Network.
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No Electromagnetic Compatibility Society meetings are scheduled for January.
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No Electron Devices Society meetings are scheduled for January
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| Topic/Title | INCELL's Research and Clinical Applications |
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| Speaker | Dr. May Pat Moyer |
| Abstract | An update from Mary Pat Moyer on the work going on at INCELL in clinical and cellular biotechnology. INELL is a vigourous and creative local-built biotech firm making big strides in applied biotechnology. |
| Date/Time | 2010 January 20th at 7:00 pm |
| Cost | $10/members, $15/nonmembers |
| Reservations | RSVP to: Royce W. Johnson KCI Research Fellow JohnsonR@kci1.com << preferred 210-859-6359 (cell). |
| Location | KCI R&D (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 January.
For more Information contact Jason Polendo jpolendo@ieee.org
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No Laser and Electro Optics Society meetings are scheduled for January.
For more information, contact Ray Chen
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Our 2010 Officers will be:
We are in the process of planning a technology expo for 2010, where members can display and explain details of their historical items.
Our Excom could use several additional members. If you would like to meet for an occasional lunch and help with our future plans, please let Ernest know by sending him an email at efranke@swri.org.
Remember to consider attending the Panama Canal Tech Tour next February. This has been developed for the special interests of IEEE Members.
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| Topic/Title | The Dark Side of the Sun: Solar Storms and Their Influence on Earth |
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| Speaker | Dr. Maher Dayeh Dayeh is a scientific analyst experienced in space and atmospheric data analysis and instrumentation. He holds a PhD in Physics (2007) and a Masters in Space sciences (2003) from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, and a Bachelor in Physics (2000) from Lebanon. Dr. Dayeh is currently finishing his postdoctoral appointment in the Space Science and Engineering Division at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. During his PhD, Dr. Dayeh worked on analyzing and interpreting energetic particle, solar wind plasma, and magnetic field data from Wind and the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft during solar energetic particle events and interplanetary shock events associated with coronal mass ejections. While working toward his Masters, Dr. Dayeh was involved in designing, building, and operating the triggered and natural lightning energetic radiation detectors at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) in Camp Blanding, Florida. He then worked on the data analysis that resulted in the discovery of energetic radiation from rocket-triggered lightning and confirmed x-ray observations from natural lightning. Dr. Dayeh has authored and co-authored 10 refereed publications in space and atmospheric physics, and presented 30 contributed talks/posters at national and international conferences and workshops. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. |
| Abstract | The Sun is continuously affecting the Earth by a host of interconnected physical processes that are very dynamic in nature. These processes are among the principal threats to the modern human technology that our society is progressively becoming dependent on. Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar flares are gigantic outbursts of magnetized plasma that sweep through the interplanetary space bypassing Earth. These events often lead to geomagnetic storms that sometimes wreck havoc on technological systems such as orbiting satellites, Earth-based power grids, communication cables, pipelines, and railway signaling, among others. The term Space Weather was specifically introduced to describe and forecast these solar-terrestrial effects. In this talk, I will first review the Sun-Earth connection within the context of solar storms, and then examine the impact of these storms on ground-based technology. In particular, I will discuss the 1859 severe superstorm, its consequences, the possibility of a similar event recurrence, and our preparation to anticipate such an event. |
| Date/Time | Tuesday, 2010 January 26th |
| Cost | Dinner is free for full-time students |
| Reservations | Please RSVP if you plan to attend. To reply or for further information, please contact Kevin Ewing via email at kewing@shermco.com. |
| Location | El Gallo Mexican Restaurant |
| Notes | The bar will be available to those who care to purchase a drink or beer. In fact, there is a service window, so we don't even have to leave the party room. When you order, you will have a choice from seven special selections and five traditional combinations on our menu. All meals include coffee or tea and special selections include soft drinks. |
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| Topic/Title | Thermal Imaging and Diagnostics |
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| Speaker | Bobby Grubb and Jeffrey Piel from Grubb Engineering |
| Abstract | Electrical testing and thermographic surveys will be covered. |
| Date/Time | Thursday, January 28th, 2010 - 6:00-6:30 Registration |
| Cost | $10 members, $15 non-members |
| Reservations | Please RSVP to John Brogan @ 210-342-0586, or jabrogan@ieee.org |
| 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 January
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.
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Topic/Title | Augmented Reality |
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Speaker | TBD |
Abstract | TBD |
Date/Time | Thursday, 2010 January 21 at 6:00-8:00 pm |
Cost | Admission is Free |
Reservations | RSVP: sab@ieee.org |
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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No Joint Signal Processing/Communications Society - San Antonio meetings are scheduled for January.
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No Technology Management Council - Austin meetings are scheduled for January.
Contact Doug Russell for more information about the Austin TMC.
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No Technology Management Council - San Antonio meetings are scheduled for January.
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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Machining MEMS parts into our electronics devices will lower their power consumption and make them more robust, argues Clark T.-C. Nguyen. MEMS-infused devices could help usher in an age of "cognitive radio," where smartphones scour the airwaves in real time to take advantage of available frequencies, while using virtually no extra battery power. Read more at Mechanical Radio.
According to Robert L. Glass, far too many software developers aren't familiar with the fundamentals of software engineering. Read more at Software.
The salary surveys are in. What kind of pay and benefits package is the norm in this climate? Read more at Salary Survey.
Vestas, the world's largest wind turbine maker, is making courses in wind power available free online. The goal of the e-learning program is to increase knowledge of wind energy as an alternative to traditional energy sources like oil and natural gas. Read more at Wind Power.
Celebrate the profession during Engineers Week 2010, 14-20 February. As always, a number of high-profile events are planned for the week in Washington, across the country and around the world. EWeek 2010 concludes with the Discover Engineering Family Day festival, sponsored by IEEE-USA, on Saturday, 20 Feb., at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Read more at: Engineer's Week.
IEEE is sponsoring a Regional Student Design Competition for solutions to one of three humanitarian problems as part of the joint IEEE-United Nations Foundation Humanitarian Technology Challenge (HTC). The competition runs from Oct. 2009 to May 2010.
HTC is a partnership among humanitarians, technologists, funders, and others, to develop implementable technological solutions to some key challenges facing humanitarian health and disaster workers today. The participants volunteer their time to collaborate for the benefit of humanity.
Three challenges have been identified:
Reliable Electricity: Availability of electric power for lighting and other electronic devices in resource-constrained environments. Important for education, communications, and economic development.
Data Connectivity of Rural District Health Offices: Capability of exchanging data among remote field offices and central health facilities. Important for accessing treatment protocols, creating and monitoring health trends, and sharing results of treatments.
Individual ID Tied to Health Records: Consistent availability of patient medical records. Important for ongoing treatment of patients, especially migrants and those with long-term diseases.
The Regional Student Design Competition challenges students to provide a working prototype, scale model or detailed engineering design specifications for a project that satisfies one of the three Challenges. The project can be developed by student individuals or by student teams. Teams must be led by an IEEE student member.
More information about the HTC project, and detailed descriptions of the challenges, can be found at https://www.ieeehtc.org. Rules for the Regional Student Design Competition can be found at https://www.ieeehtc.org/index.php/htc/students/challenge.
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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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