IEEE Richmond Section

Section Report to the IEEE Virginia Council
March 1, 2003

The Richmond Section of the IEEE has been active in the following areas:

1. Section Meetings
The Section held monthly meetings at the Sheraton Richmond West Hotel,
6624 West Broad Street, Richmond. The Section executive board
solicited menus and meal prices from a variety of businesses which
agreed to commit space for our monthly meeting needs. The Section
selected the Sheraton for its reasonable price of $20 per meal,
service, commitment to Section needs, and central location for the
membership.

On September 5, 2002, Mr. Rick L. Wakefield, Systems Engineer, Cisco
Systems, Inc., spoke on ÒWireless LAN Communications.Ó Several of the
attendees included those who have not been attending for a long
time. There were several questions from the audience, as the topic
generated high interest among the members.  On October 3, 2002, the
keynote speaker was Mr. Mike Caccia, Technical Account Manager,
Siemens Energy and Automation, Food and Beverage. His speech was
titled: ÒTrends in Motion Control.Ó The topic held the interest of
members and guests, who lead a lively discussion regarding the
presentation.

On November 7, 2002, Mr. Mark Mitchell, Project Manager, Combined
Cycle Projects, Dominion Energy, spoke on: ÒPROJECT MANAGEMENT in
REVIEW: KEY POINTS for SUCCESS.Ó The speaker presented a scenario of a
project, and discussed all the technical and managerial issues that
come to play from conception to construction completion.

The December 5, 2002, meeting had to be cancelled due to inclement
weather and low reservations.

On January 9, 2003, Mr. George McClure, Region 3 PACE Chairman, spoke
on engineering careers, benefits, and other professional issues. The
meeting was very enlightening. Several of the Virginia Commonwealth
University IEEE Student Branch attended, together with the Dean of the
College of Engineering, Dr. Mattouck.

The February meeting was the Richmond Joint EngineersÕ Council (RJEC)
Annual EngineersÕ Banquet. The keynote speaker was Dr. John Fenn,
Nobel Prize Winner for Chemistry. It was held at the Jefferson Hotel,
Richmond. Community leaders were recognized and Student Paper
finalists were awarded scholarships: First Place $1,000, Second Place
$400, and Third Place $250, all in savings bonds.

On March 6, 2003, The topic will be: ÒA Business Model for Electric
Systems Reliability in a Deregulated Market.Ó The speaker will be
Mr. Harold Adams, Dominion Resources Services. The meeting will be
jointly held with the Power Engineering Society Chapter. During the
social, interested members can sign up to establish a new Computer
Society Chapter.

The April 3, 2003, meeting will feature Software XP, while the May 8,
2003 meeting will be reserved for a forum on Process Control.

All meetings are announced in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, free of charge. Additionally, the Section meetings are on the Richmond Section web site and sent to subscribers to the major domo electronically. Meeting attendance has been averaging in the middle 30.

2. There is a new look for the IEEE Richmond Section Web Site at:
   https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r3/richmond/. The new look includes links
   to other IEEE web sites, a historian page, past programs and
   presentations, presentation for the month, recognition of Section
   Sponsors: ITAC, IBM, and Infineon. In addition to that there is a
   list of the Section Officers and their telephone numbers.

3. The Section enhanced the content of its newsletter, a copy of which
   is attached to this report.

4. The section participated in the 2003 Sections Congress, by sending
   Mr. Andy Shulick as a delegate. He reported to the Section on his
   unique and exciting experience.

5. The Section voted to encourage area engineering schools to
   establish IEEE Student Branches, by offering to provide financial
   incentives to cover some of the chapter meeting expenses.

6. The Section elected new officers: Adeeb Hamzey, chairman; Andrew
   Shulick, vice chairman; Greg Tait, treasurer; and Barbara King,
   secretary.

7. The executive board nominated Adeeb Hamzey to represent the Section
   at the Virginia Council and act in the capacity of Section PACE
   chairman.

The 2002 Ð 2003 season has been a great success for the IEEE Richmond
Section. Renewed member interest in section meetings is a good example
of the vitality of the section.
  
Respectfully submitted by:

Adeeb Hamzey
Chairman,
IEEE Richmond Section
2/28/03