From: John Parr Subject: Area 8 Report, March 2001 To: Region 3 Committee / EXCOM Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 12:39:55 -0600 The three sections of Area 8 continue to have healthy, active programs. Evansville-Owensboro Section Chair, Paul Kuban, reports that the section is active. In January, the section began publishing advertisements in the monthly newsletter to help defray the cost of publication. The Section helped to support the University of Evansville Engineer's Week Banquet. That was held on February 20. The main speaker for the banquet was Dr. Ron York, team leader for development of General Motors' hybrid (gasoline internal combustion engine and electric motor system) concept car, the "Precept". The Section has donated funds to help support the University of Southern Indiana Student Chapter to prepare for competition in the IEEE Southeastcon Student Hardware Contest. Lexington Section Chair, Don Hill, reports that the Lexington Section is active. In January, the section hosted a student paper contest and selected a candidate for submission to SEC01 in Clemson. In February, the section participated in the KSPE NEW 2001 Luncheon where Dean Tom Lester discussed the state of engineering for Kentucky; the section also had a lively hands-on display at the University of Kentucky Engineer's Day festivities. In March, the section will have a technical speaker discuss fuel cells for residential applications and a brief discussion about the patent process. The section plans to approach members in arrears to ask them to re-join. The section will be represented at SEC01 in Clemson. We plan to learn, share ideas, and watch the students compete in multiple contests. Louisville Section PACE & Educational Activities Chair, Joe Cole, reports that the section continues to work with the Louisville Chapter of the Instrument Society of America (ISA). Several of their members attended our December Dinner Meeting. Several IEEE members attended the ISA dinner meeting in February. The speaker was Dr. Darrel L.Chenoweth, Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Assistant Vice President for Research at the University of Louisville. We are currently planning a tour of the Lexmark plant in Lexington for both groups. The Louisville Section has entered an agreement with Imark Communications of Portland, Oregon, to co-sponsor the Kentucky -Information Technology Exposition and Conference (KY-ITEC) on May 16 &17, 2001, at the Kentucky International Convention Center. The Lexington and Evansville/Owensboro Sections are considering participation. We will provide some speakers and use KY-ITEC to promote IEEE membership. The Louisville Section web page is running at https://ieee.louisville.edu and linked to both the IEEE Homepage and the University of Louisville IEEE Student Branch Homepage. We plan to use this as a source of information for members and potential members between newsletter issues. Much work remains to be done. The section is planning a dinner meeting (maybe more) to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Louisville Section, probably this fall. Annual awards will be presented by the Louisville Section to two outstanding members of the University of Louisville Student Branch at the Honors and Awards Dinner on April 3. Several other meetings are planned for the coming months including a presentation by a local patent attorney who is also an Electrical Engineer. Plans for a Subsection in Bowling Green are currently on hold. The Student Branch at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green is growing and active. Respectfully submitted John M. Parr, Area 8 Chair March 15, 2001