Central Texas Section
Central Texas Section
Newsletter of the Central Texas Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.
| May 2004 |
Volume 48-05
|
Chapter and Affiliate Meetings
This Month On-Line:
1. *Washingtonpost.com* Discusses Offshoring Online with IEEE-USA
2. ITAA Offshoring Study Seen As Missing Important Issues
3. *IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Webzine Covers U.S. Science and Engineering Careers Outlook, Hybrid Vehicles, Connecting the Engineering World
4. IEEE-USA, IEEE Boston Section Host Globalization Session on 5 May
5. U.S. IEEE Member Volunteers Invited to Participate in IEEE-USA's Careers Fly-In on 18-19 May
6. Report Released on Causes of August 2003 Northeast Blackout
7. Brantley Named New IEEE-USA Managing Director
Editor's Column
A member writes: "What is the Section doing about on-going credits for Professional Engineers?" The Section and Chapters will be providing PDH certificates for volunteers, as well as for attendance to technical meetings. A template for Meeting Coordinators can be found on our website. See Events below for information the Bexar Chapter TSPE October Meeting & Engineering Ethics Course for the annual Ethics requirement. Further information can be found on the TBPE web site (https://www.tbpe.state.tx.us/CEP_Info.htm).
There have been significant changes in requirements for Professional Engineer renewal. An engineer must acquire 15 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) in order to renew his license each year, one of which must be ethics related. You MUST have these credits when you renew your license in the year 2005. You can receive credit starting in September 2003. The TBPE is planning to change your renewal date to your birthday. Up to 15 PDH credits may be "rolled over" to the next year.
Attendance at technical meetings offered
by Societies like ASME, TSPE, IEEE, AIAA, etc. can count for some of the PDHs.
So can the time that you spend serving as an officer or committee member of one
of these Societies. Other PDHs can come from attending technical presentations,
seminars, and so on.
What proof / documentation do I need?
The TSPE board wants the reporting process to be as simple as possible. Starting with the
2005 renewals, there will be three things that a license holder needs to
do:
1) Keep track of activities, dates, etc. on the logsheet provided by
the board. The board has developed a log sheet to help track CEP activities as
you accumulate hours. (Log Sheet is now available for download on CEP Main Page.)
2) Keep some sort of paper proof
of your activity. This can include a certificate of completion or attendance in
a course or seminar, a grade report, a flyer or agenda from a presentation or
meeting, or any other document that shows the date, location, duration, and type
of activity you wish to claim.
3) Certify on your renewal statement that you have completed the CEP
requirement and return with your renewal payment. You do not have to turn in the
full sized log sheet with your renewal payment. This will be the main document
that the board reviews and keeps as a record of completing the CEP requirement.
The renewal forms will change with the first 2005 renewals that require CEP
hours. Please do not send in the Log Sheets with your 2004 renewals! Content providers or activity sponsors do not need to report attendance to
the board.
We continue to work to get you involved in your IEEE, and to provide the programming that you are wanting. If you have any feedback, please feel free to contact me (j.purvis@computer.org).
As always
John R Purvis, P.E.
Chair, Central Texas Section of the IEEE
CTS Student Liaison
The Region 5 Conference was held in Norman, Oklahoma April 2 through 4. As the Student Liaison for the IEEE Central Texas Section I attended the Conference to observe student events and support our participating Student Branches. UT Austin, UT San Antonio and Saint Mary’s attended and were actively involved in the student activities.
All three schools had entries in the Robotics Competition where each student team designed and built a robotic car that is to successfully navigate a race course based on visual cues on the track. Saint Mary’s had three teams. UT Austin and UT San Antonio each had two teams. This is the second year that Region 5 has a race course for the robotics competition. One change from last year is that there were no ramps for the robotic cars to climb over, the bane of many an entry. But this year, each car was to carry a ping pong ball to be ejected upon passing a visual cue on the course. As easy as this sounds, some entries either misfired or failed to eject the ball.
This was an all day event on Saturday April 3 with almost 40 teams from all schools in Region 5 competing. There were qualifying runs Saturday morning. Those cars that qualified then competed in a succession of elimination rounds. In the afternoon, the competition was narrowed down to five teams to determine a final ranking. The entries from UT Austin and Saint Mary’s progressed in the morning sessions, but only one entry from UT San Antonio advanced into the afternoon rounds. UT San Antonio's entry made it into the final five to compete with two teams from the University of Houston, the team from Louisiana State University and last year’s winner the South Dakota School of Mines. UT San Antonio placed fifth in the final round and fifth in the overall competition. Congratulations to John Bartlett and his team mates for this high overall good finish.
Another all day student event on Saturday was the Design Contest where teams of two from each school are given an unknown engineering task to build a working system. The teams were asked to develop a system that transmits a sequence of 0 or 1 inputs on one toy and detects the sequence on another toy. Two buttons are pressed on one toy in a certain sequence and if the correct sequence is pressed an LED is lighted on the other toy. One button represents a 0 and the other represents a 1. The sequence to detect is 1, 0, 1. Once a sequence of 1, 0, 1 is detected an LED should be lighted and remain lit until another input button press is detected. The transmission from one toy to the other is through the use of an IR transmitter and receiver. All the necessary parts and equipment were provided by Region 5 for the teams to take up this challenge. UT Austin and Saint Mary’s each entered a team into the Design Contest. UT Austin placed sixth and Saint Mary’s placed seventh. Both schools are to be commended for these fine showings.
Region 5 also provided a Saturday morning Leadership Forum for the student branch officers to discuss and exchange experiences between all the branches in Region 5. All three schools were represented by their student leaders. In the afternoon there was a Student Professional Activities Conference providing an opportunity for students to hear from and interact with professionals in industry and academia on topics relevant to the successful pursuit of a professional career beyond graduation. The focus of this Conference was on starting a career in the current tight job market. Topics included choices a new graduate faces, some thoughts on how best to make those choices, and the skills necessary to be competitive. IEEE provided dynamic and experienced speakers for this Conference, such as Mr. Joe Lillie from the Louisiana Section.
The Region 5 Conference next year has been scheduled for April in Colorado. The planning and preparation by the student branches will be well underway by the Fall. The additional challenge to the student branches will be to raise the funds to cover the travel expenses to Colorado.
Current members can renew their membership and update their information (including e-mail address) at https://www.ieee.org/membership/coa.html.
| Central Texas WIE Tour | ||||||||
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Abstract -- We shall begin our tour in the three-dimensional world of the nano-machinery of life, such as ion channels, the ribosome, and viruses, and see glimpses of their function. The next stop shall be in exploration of the human body from within. We shall then fly over an oil-field, as well as skim over our earth's majestic oceans, before heading to the stars, galaxies and beyond. The return shall be equally comfortable.
Learn more by visiting the CCV website and the CCV galley.
|
Biography -- Chandrajit Bajaj is a Professor in the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds the CAM Chair in Visualization and is Director of the Center for Computational Visualization. Dr. Bajaj earned his B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, India, in 1980 and the M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1983 and 1984 respectively from Cornell University Dr. Bajaj serves on the Editorial Boards for ACM Transactions on Graphics and the International Journal of Computational Geometry and Applications. Dr. Bajaj's research interests include Computer Graphics, Computational Mathematics, Geometric Design, and Scientific Data Visualization. His current research focus includes the following:
Dr. Bajaj's web page is at the URL https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/bajaj/ |
5th Annual
IEEE / University of Texas at Austin
Engineering Management Conference
August 12-13, 2004
Austin Texas, USA
WWW.ieeeUTemc.org
CALL FOR PAPERS
The IEEE/UT Engineering Management Conference welcomes all papers related to the broad theme of managing the future, which includes topics such as globalization, international project management, multi-cultural teams, product innovation, and R&D management. A powerhouse of case studies, best practices, and panel discussion from a full spectrum of industries, organizations, and reference points will be showcased. How can engineers best align their current work practices to better meet the demands of the future? This is the question that the conference hopes to address.
THEME: “Managing the Future”
TOPICS: Papers may include, but are not limited to:
Corporate Entrepreneurship
Design for Environment
Globalization
Intellectual Property
International Project Management
Multi-cultural teams
Outsourcing
Product Innovation
Quality
R&D Management
Supply Chain Management
Technologies of the Future
INVITATION:
We invite papers for presentation at the conference. All interested persons should submit one page abstracts (500-750 words). Abstract and submission guidelines can be found on the web site. Presented papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings.
AUTHOR’S SCHEDULE:
Deadline for Submission:, 2004 Extended to May 15 !!
Notification of Acceptance: June 1, 2004
Deadline for Final Version: July 1, 2004
ABSTRACT INFORMATION: WWW.ieeeUTemc.org
International
Conference on IC Design and TechnologyThe IEEE Central Texas Section will sponsor the International Conference on IC Design & Technology. The International Conference on IC Design and Technology is the global forum for interaction and collaboration of IC design and technology for "accelerating product time-to-market". Close collaboration of the multi-discipline technical fields - design/device/process - accelerates the implementation of new designs and new technologies into manufacturing. This conference will be held on May 17-20, 2004 in Austin, Texas.
Registration is required. Please go to www.icicdt.org for registration and information on final program including lectures, tutorial, plenary, and workshop sessions. There are 8 lectures & tutorials, and 60 papers in 10 plenary & workshop sessions. Pre-registration due date is April 23rd, 2004.
Call For Interest in Standards on Broadband over Power Lines Meeting
7 June 2004
Denver, Colorado USA
The IEEE Standards Association in conjunction with the IEEE Power Engineering Society is holding a Call for Interest in Standards Development for Broadband over Power Lines (BPL). This meeting will focus on understanding how standardization of BPL technologies will accelerate development in this field and on determining what resources are available from industry and IEEE Societies (Power Engineering Society, Communications Society, EMC Society, and others) to drive these standards forward.
The objectives of this meeting are to:
This initial meeting will be held from 10am - 3pm on Monday, 7 June 2004, at the IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting held in Denver, Colorado, USA. Companies are welcome to send individuals to this meeting in support of the above objectives. A registration form for this meeting is located at www.ieee.org/bpl_reg, which contains details for the $100 registration. Registered attendees are invited to submit brief 10-minute
presentations on suggestions to meet the stated objectives. Since space may be limited, attendees are asked to register in advance by 17 May 2004. For further questions, please contact Sue Vogel (s.vogel@ieee.org) or Edward Rashba (e.rashba@ieee.org).
TSSE is a new software engineering conference, providing a forum for managers, practitioners, researchers and educators to discuss the most recent trends, experiences and concerns in the field of software systems engineering. In order to accelerate community learning, this conference will focus on identifying and discussing successes, failures and lessons learned in software systems development. This will help crystallize the critical issues impacting software engineering professionals and their organizations for the next decade.
TSSE will be held at the UT Pickle Research Campus (Commons Building) in Northwest Austin, TX. For more information about the location venue please see: https://www.utexas.edu/facilities/commons/attendees.html
For more information about this conference as it becomes available, please check the UT ARISE web site later this year at: https://www.ece.utexas.edu/arise/
The 2004 IEEE Workshop on Signal Processing Systems (SiPS' 04) is an annual workshop that is co-sponsored by the Signal Processing Society and the Circuits and Systems Society. SiPS' 04 will be held in Austin, Texas on October 13-15.
The IEEE Information Theory Society will sponsor the conference entitled "2004 IEEE Information Theory Workshop (ITW) (#9676)". This conference will be held October 24-29, 2004 in San Antonio, Texas.
For further information, please contact, Ms. Sonny C. Matous, Texas A&M University, Electrical Engineering Dept., Room 237 WERC, College Station, TX 77843 3128, +1 979 862 8657, +1 979 862 4630 (Fax), sonny@ee.tamu.edu or Conference Services Dept., at IEEE Operations Center at +1 732 562 3878.
Bexar Chapter TSPE October Meeting & Engineering Ethics Course
Speaker: Jimmy H. Smith, Ph.D., P.E.
Subject: Engineering Ethics
Date: October 4, 2004
Time: Registration & Social Gathering: 11:00 am to 11:30 am
Meeting: 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Location: Villita Assembly Building (City Public Service)
NE Corner of S. Presa St. & Villita St.
Address: 401 Villita Street, San Antonio, Texas
Cost: $ 20 for TSPE members, $ 40 for non-members
(A box lunch will be provided)
RSVP (Deadline: September 17, 2004) (No shows will be required to pay)
Contact: Carolyn Cornish by email: ccornish@pape-dawson.com
or phone 210-375-9000
Provide: Name (Name that will appear on certificate), Company, Phone number, Member/Non-Member Status
Speaker: Dr. Jimmy Smith is a Professor of Civil Engineering at Texas Tech University. He is a Director of the National Institute for Engineering Ethics and a Director of the Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism. Dr. Smith has held the positions of:
President 1994-1996 - National Institute for Engineering Ethics (NIEE)
Member - (1993-1998) NSPE Board of Ethical Review
State President (94/95) - Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE)
Note: This meeting will provide you with 1.5 PDH’s which will more than meet your Ethics requirement for P.E. license renewal.
The IEEE Industry Applications Society will sponsor the conference entitled "2005 IEEE Rural Electric Power Conference". The conference will be held May 8-10, 2005 in San Antonio.
IEEE congratulates our 301 new Senior Members elevated this month. The last A&A Review Panel meeting was held on 3 April 2004 in Arlington, VA. This Senior Member Update in Excel with listings by Region/Section and by Society report can also be accessed online by clicking on the April 2004 link on the Senior Member Update Web site at https://www.ieee.org/ra/md/smupdates.html.
Please report any corrections to the information posted to Mila Thelen at m.thelen@ieee.org. If you have any questions regarding the status of a Senior Member application, send your inquiry to senior-member@ieee.org or go to https://www.ieee.org/ra/md/smappstatus.html.
- The next A&A Panel Meeting will be held on 15 May 2004 in Singapore.
- To check your Region, Section or Society's activity in Senior Member elevations and nominations this year, go to https://www.ieee.org/ra/md/smstats.html.
Communications/Signal Processing SocietiesTOPIC: "Softswitch Technology" DATE: May 20, 2004 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM LOCATION: SBC Laboratories, Inc. (SBC Labs), 9505 Arboretum Blvd, Austin, TX SPEAKER: TBD RSVP: The presentation is open to chapter members and non-members. Free food and beverages will be served to attendees. If you plan to attend, please send e-mail to Howard Headrick at hfrjr@swbell.net for planning purposes. MONTHLY MEETING NOTICEThe Chapter meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM at SBC Laboratories, Inc. (SBC Labs) located at 9505 Arboretum Blvd in Austin, Texas. Please feel free to post meeting notices and invite guests. If you would like to give a presentation on a communications or signal processing topic, please contact Howard Headrick. SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPWe encourage you to join the Communications and Signal Processing Societies at https://www.ieee.org/membership/join/. If you're already a member, please encourage your associates to join one or both societies. IEEE membership provides a variety of benefits to its members ranging from technical publications to conferences to career development assistance to financial services. CTC IEEE COM/SP SOCIETY OFFICERSHoward Headrick, Chairman, hfrjr@swbell.net Brandon Imboden, Executive Vice-Chairman, Brandon.Imboden@Broadwing.com Scott Atkinson, Vice-Chairman of Conferences, scotta@ICSIconsulting.com Les Johnson, Vice-Chairman of Membership, locojohnson@aol.com Hanan Potash, Secretary, potash@flash.net Rick Talbot, Treasurer, rtalbot@austin.rr.com Mark Brockman, Dir. Student Activities & Speakers Bureau, mark.brockman@sbc.com CTC IEEE COM/SP SOCIETY DISTRIBUTION LISTTo be added to or deleted from the chapter mailing list, please send name and e-mail address to Hanan Potash at potash@flash.net. |
Computer Society - San Antonio [for more information]The San Antonio Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society will be on summer break with no meetings planned for the months of May, June, July, and August. Our next scheduled meeting will be in September. The Web site, https://www.ieee-cs-cts.org, will continue to be updated during the break and the Austin Chapter will have meetings during the summer. |
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Computer Society - Austin [for more information]
Note Special Date for May Meeting. PLEASE CHECK WEB SITE BEFORE THE MEETING Topic: Agile Development Overview: What it is and how it works Speaker: Ken Schwaber Date: May
19 |
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Consultant's Network [for more information] Topic: "Neurons on Semiconductors" The consultants' web directory has been updated. The directory is to be found at https://www.alesu.com/xltrp/ieeecons/listzero.htm |
Electromagnetic Compatibility Society [for more information]Topic: TBD |
Engineering Management Society [for more information]Topic: TBD T. Scott Atkinson, 210-410-0382, scotta@ICSIconsulting.com
If you are interested in the Engineering Management Society, contact Steve Prough, Vice-Chairman, sdprough@austin.rr.com. |
Engineering in Medicine and Biology SocietyTopic: TBD Reservations: David G. Kilpatrick, P.E., 210-6951406, d.kilpatrick@ieee.org,
or John R. Purvis III, P.E., 512-823-7654, j.purvis@computer.org,
before 1/13 For information contact David Kilpatrick |
Power Engineering Society [for more information]Topic: Lithonia Factory Tour Reservations: For further information, please contact Steve
Kanetsky, 512-326-3380 or Roy Matthews, P.E.,
512-602-8152. |
Women in Engineering [for more information]Topic: A Visual Tour from the NanoWorld to the
Inter-Galactic Medium (and back) |
Joint Solid-State Circuits / Circuits and Systems Societies [for more information]Topic: TBA For further information, contact Gerald Garcia at gerald.garcia@ieee.org |
Product Safety Engineering
Society
|
Laser and Electro-Optics SocietyTopic: Opto-electronic R&D in the Defense Science &
Technology Organization in Australia Date: May
24 2004 Location: MERB2.114 (Pickle Research Campus,
Burnet Rd., Building 160) |
CTS Student BranchesSt. Mary's University [for more information]Trinity UniversityUniversity of Texas at Austin [for more information]University of Texas at San Antonio [for more information] |
Hill Country Electronic EngineersWe are a group of electronic engineers living in the Texas Hill Country and represent backgrounds such as industrial controls, broadcasting, power electronics, networking, telecom, embedded systems, electron beam & X-ray research and much more. Our group meetings are informal, we typically don't have a program with presenters but instead chat about technical subjects and things relating to our careers. We meet on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 7 pm in Fredericksburg in the cozy back room of the Lincoln Street Wine Market (one block South of Main St.). Our last meeting on February 4th was well attended. We invite all Electronic Engineers living in (or around) the Hill Country to attend our next meeting Wednesday April 7th. For more information contact Heinrich Otters at 830 990 7931 or at otters@hc-research.com. |
The goal of this newsletter is to provide the more than 4700
members of the Section with up-to-date and meaningful information. We welcome
contributions and suggestions that will improve the newsletter. Please contact
the editor, Marian Stasney, marian@ieee.org,
if you have any thoughts or suggestions. The deadline for submission is the
25 th of the month. Please send messages in plain, unformatted text. Do NOT
forward email.
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