To - Region 3 Committee
From - Howard Moses
Subject - Virginia Mountain Section Report for Annual IEEE Region 3 Committee 
Meeting in Columbia

    This report covers the year 2001 plus the first quarter of 2002.
The Section was active in holding eight dinner meetings/presentations
during 2001 as well as accompanying ExCom meetings.  Toipics were
chosen to appeal to a wide range of interests for industry, academic,
and student participants.  For 2001, the subjects included Electronics
in Virginia, Biomedical R&D, Java Software, a Student Paper
Competition, Night Vision Technology, Fuel Cell Technology,
Semiconductor LED's and Lasers, and Wireless Communications.  The Fuel
Cell Technology presentation was conducted as a joint meeting with the
local American Chemical Society chapter and drew the largest
attendance.  Two Spouses' Nights were also included.  During 2002,
three presentations have been conducted convering Student Project
Competition, Space Technology Innovations, and Future Technology
Directions.

    Chapter meetings complemented the Section Meetings.  Two each were
held by the Computer/Control and Microwave/Devices groups.  Each
chapter had a joint meeting with the Section as well as a separate
meeting.  Other Activities included support of high school robotics
team competition and Girl Scout merit badges.

    The year 2001 was successful in maintaining or achieving a number
of milestones.  The Bylaws were updated and elections conducted so as
to operate on a calendar (IEEE) year rather than the academic year.  A
break even budget was achieved, and the finances were incorporated
into spreadsheet formats which parallel the L-50.  Several Senior
Member upgrades were accomplished.  A Fellow nomination is now
pending.  Regular meetings were conducted as scheduled using a Clarion
Hotel as a central site.  The monthly Newsletter was expanded and a
Section WEB page improved.

    There are significant challenges being addressed at the present
time.  The Newsletter Editor/Webmaster will be leaving the area and
must be replaced.  Likewise, the PACE Committee Chair is vacant.
Searches are underway to fill these immediate openings.  We would like
to have greater attendance at meetings as well as more active student
participation.  An inordinate amount of effort is being provided by a
small core of dedicated individuals instead of spreading tasks more
widely among volunteers.  We don't seem to be attracting younger
members from industry or academia.  There are questions regarding
holding meetings in a central location vs geographical distribution.
We are trying to re-invigorate our Industry Applications Chapter which
had lapsed by not having regular meetings. The EXCOM has recently
embarked on a series of "brainstorming" endeavors to highlight these
issues to the membership and develop a Strategic Plan for continued
Section success.

Howard J. Moses

2002 Virginia Mountain Section Chair
mmoses@ieee.org