David Macchiarolo
SoutheastCon 2004 Publicity Chair
d.macchiarolo@ieee.org
SOUTHEASTCON 2004, the annual IEEE Southeastern regional technical, professional, and student conference, will be held March 26-28, 2004, at the Greensboro, North Carolina Marriott Downtown hotel. The theme of the conference is “...Engineering Connects...”. With a wide variety of technical and educational programs, and other activities , there is something for everyone at SoutheastCon!
The conference is being co-hosted by the IEEE Central North Carolina Section, Guilford Technical Community College, North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It will include sessions for presentation of technical papers, tutorials and workshops, industrial exhibits, professional training, and social events. Detailed planning for the conference has been underway since 2002.
New to SoutheastCon 2004 this year is a program for high school math & science students, “The Walking Robot Challenge”. Teams of 2-8 high school students will design and build a motor powered robot that walks under direction. A kit for the robot will be provided at NO CHARGE for up to 20 schools that apply. The competition involves four main components: a written report, the construction of the entry, the robot’s performance on a course in competition with other entries, and an oral report. The IEEE Central North Carolina Section will provide training materials, mentors, blueprints and instructions.
As always, one of the highlights of the conference will be the Student Competitions. Teams of engineering students from colleges and universities from across the southeast United States will compete in the Hardware Contest to overcome a pre-defined robot obstacle course. The autonomous (self-guiding) robots are required to start on the course when directed by a “traffic signal”, travel to a station to receive instructions, and proceed on the course according to the instructions received, capturing metal objects in the correct sequence, and delivering the captured objects at the end of the course. Team points are awarded for correct operation within the time limits specified.
Along with the Hardware Contest, the Software Programming competition will challenge teams of engineering and computer science students. After being given a series of defined programming problems to solve, using Java, C, or C++, the programming teams are ranked according to the most problems solved in the least amount of time. At least six problems will be posed, which avoid, as much as possible, dependence on detailed knowledge of a particular applications area or a particular contest language. The purpose of the contest is to test the teams' skill in adapting programming algorithms to solve the specified problems. No outside network connections will be used during the contest.
The Technical Program for SoutheastCon 2004 includes: Technical Sessions, Tutorials and Workshops. The Technical Sessions will feature authors presenting original papers on all aspects of electrical, computer, and communications engineering that have not been published or presented elsewhere. At least one author per paper must register as an author for the professional conference. Author Registration includes: published Conference Proceedings and a CD copy, Professional Conference, Friday Reception, Saturday Banquet, and Sunday Awards Lunch.
On Friday, March 26th, a series of day-long Professional Development Seminars and tutorials will be presented. One morning session will feature noted career consultant Joyce Richman on learning how to interview more effectively, how to be more effective at promoting yourself within your existing organization, and how to turn negatives into positives. An afternoon session features financial consultants Jeri D’Lugin and Robert Payne with a Financial Checkup to help you prepare for your financial future. For registered professional engineers, these seminars will provide PDH credits.
One 4 hour tutorial by Wiremold and its other companies will cover many areas of wiring, both power and communication. A 3 hour tutorial from DuPont will cover "Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC) Technology”.
As an added attraction, social events and special events are also planned. The conference will sponsor a reception on Friday March 26th and a banquet on Saturday March 27th . There are also special events planned for spouses, and others who are interested:
Friday March 27th
1:30 PM: Tour of Richard Petty Museum, Randleman, NC
8:00PM: “The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion” at the Carolina Theater
Sat. March 28th
10:00AM: Tour of Replacements Limited: the world's largest selection of old & new
china, crystal, silver, and collectibles
The source for everything you need to know can be found at the home for SoutheastCon 2004: www.southeastcon.com
Here you can find details of the programs and student competitions, author's information, special event details, day-by-day schedules, on-line registration, tutorials and professional development, and everything else you need to plan your SoutheastCon 2004 visit. We post updated information on the website, so check it often!
On behalf of all of the participating organizations and sponsors, the SoutheastCon 2004 Committee wants you to join us in the most influential conference in Region 3 for promoting awareness of the technical contributions made by our profession to the advancement of engineering, science, and to the community.
Don't wait- register today for SoutheastCon 2004! On-line registration is available at www.southeastcon.com .