Columbia SC Section Report March 2003
 
Officers
Chair: John Montague
Vice Chair: Brian Bendt
Secretary: Chad Moore
Treasurer: Dale Joyner
 
We submitted our 2002 annual reports before the deadline and should
receive a 10% bonus.
 
Attendance for our meetings is consistently good with an average of
about 18 IEEE members per section meeting. During 2002 the Section
held several meetings, in accordance with IEEE Bylaws. The following
technical/social meetings were held:
 
January 2002: Allan M. Quick of KryoTech made a presentation entitled
"Starting a Technology Company in Columbia." Mr. Quick discussed
Thermally Accelerated technology and the challenges of starting a
technology company in Columbia.
 
February 2002: Ed Peebles of Conita visited with the Columbia SC
Section to discuss the productivity enhancements for the mobile worker
using voice applications. Mr. Peebles made a presentation and offered
a demonstration of conversing with a computer over an analog phone
line.
 
April 2002: Dan Smith of Comporium Communications (an independent
telephone company in Rock Hill, SC) discussed the basics of Dense Wave
Division Multiplexing (DWDM) and the applications of DWDM at
Comporium.
 
September 2002: Dr. Randy Collins, an Electrical Engineering professor
at Clemson University, gave a presentation on Transient Power Quality
Events. Dr. Collins began by defining these events and followed with
an explanation on why they happen, what problems they can cause, and
how the events can be minimized. Dr. Collins also provided brief
examples of different transient power events.
 
October 2002: The Columbia SC Section initially intended this meeting
to include a tour of the Saluda Dam, but due to construction, Bill
Argentieri offered a presentation on the Saluda Dam Remediation
Project.
 
November 2002: Mitchell Tibshrany Jr., a member of the Engineering
Licensing Board for South Carolina, made a presentation on the process
and requirements of becoming a Professional Engineer.
 
The Columbia SC Section also provided our annual social picnic in May
and our annual Christmas dinner in December.
 
The primary goal for 2003 is to continue the Section's meeting
activity with a focus on increasing attendance in Section meetings and
elections. We continue to plan on offering technical meetings, plant
tours (one tour to ABB Plant in Florence, SC is already scheduled in
April), and social meetings in hopes to attract additional members.
 

Brian Bendt
2003 Chair
Columbia SC Section