Virginia Mountain Section Report

SoutheastCon ‘97:

     SoutheastCon ‘97 was financially successful with an
$8,200 surplus.  Student participation in the Region 3
Student Conference was high.  We feel the excellent student
participation at the conference was due, at least in part,
to the fact that the conference was held on the campus of a
large university, Virginia Tech., having a large student
population.

     Professional participation, however, was weak.
Blacksburg is about an hour away from the Roanoke airport
making travel arrangements relatively difficult.  Location
may have contributed to the low professional contribution.
We are interested in the results from Southeastcon ‘98
regarding professional participation.  Perhaps, being
located at an airport hotel, the professional component at
this year's conference will be stronger than last year's.

     The technical program at last year's conference was
weak with a relatively low number of papers contributed.  At
least part of the problem, we feel, is the natural weakness
in any technical program in a horizontal conference such as
SoutheastCon.  The participant's interests are too broad for
participants to form a "critical mass" in any one particular
area.  We might, at least, move in the right direction for
future SoutheastCon's by including sessions with a broader
interest.  The sessions on education are excellent examples
of such a topic.  At the same time, we could include
sessions which are more highly focused if topics of
sufficient interest could be identified.  For example, a
group within the host university could sponsor a few such
sessions.  We should experiment with session topics since
the present format can be improved.

Virginia Mountain Section:

     Turning to our section and chapter meetings held within
the Virginia Mountain Section, we feel that we have had a
productive year.  All chapters had interesting meetings and
speakers, and the section's monthly meetings during the year
boasted two IEEE Distinguished Speakers:  Jim Watson and Ron
Waynant.  Our November meeting, spouse's night, was
particularly well received.  Bev Fitzpatrick, a Roanoke-area
business leader, discussed the prospects for economic growth
while maintaining the high quality of life available in
southwest Virginia.

     Our student paper competition continued to suffer from
lack of student interest.  In 1997/98, we shall make a
concerted effort to address this deficiency.  We will likely
move the meeting at which students present their work to
April.  Presumably, this would elicit more participation
from seniors presenting senior design work.  We are also
considering changing the format to a more interactive one —
perhaps some version of a poster session; perhaps one having
project demonstrations.   A poster session-type format may
be perceived as less intimidating by the students and may
result in increased participation.

     Service awards were given to Dr. Russell Churchill and
Dr. Ira Jacobs for their efforts in producing a successful
SoutheastCon ‘97.

Respectively submitted,
David L. Livingston
Chair, Virginia Mountain Section
--
David L. Livingston, Ph.D., P.E.

d.livingston@ieee.org or
d.livingston@roava.net or
dlivingston@vw.cc.va.us