Hampton Roads Section Chair Report

In 2012, the Hampton Roads Section held a total of 20 meetings,
including seven technical, three professional activities and one
social meeting.
In 2013, we have so far hosted three technical meetings.


Most Fun as well as Most Successful Recent Activity

On January 24th the Section co-hosted a joint meeting with the local
chapter of the Marine Technology Society at the Virginia Aquarium and
Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach. The event was attended by
about 200 people.
Our speaker was Dr. Bruce Parker, the author of “The Power of the Sea
- tsunamis, storm surges, rogue waves, and our quest to predict
disasters”. The presentation was followed by a reception and book
signing, providing an excellent opportunity to meet the speaker and to
network with fellow scientists and engineers. Overall, it was a very
successful evening.


Member Engagement Activities

The Section’s main member engagement activity is our annual student
presentation contest, which targets the student chapters at our local
universities. We typically have one or two teams participating from
each university, and the event is always well attended.
Another activity to engage our members is our annual social event.
Last year it was a picnic, which was also well attended.
Finally, the Section website was redesigned this year to make it
easier for members and nonmembers to find out about upcoming events.


Section Activities Focused Outward

Our first meeting this year was held together with the local chapter
of the Marine Technology Society (see above). It featured a speaker
who attracted a broader audience than only IEEE members. We intend to
host at least one event every year in conjunction with another society
in the area in order to attract outside constituencies.
Furthermore, at Section meetings and in newsletters we regularly
encourage our members to get involved in outreach activities. While we
have so far not made a more concerted effort to organize outreach
activities on a larger scale, we know that several members serve as
mentors for middle school and high school students (for example as
“Girls get IT” or FIRST robotics mentors) and/or participate in
outreach events organized by local institutions such as NASA
(Engineering week) or by university student groups such as WiE and
SWE.


Barriers

One barrier that impacts our Section is the geographic division into
two major areas, which can only be reached via chronically congested
bridge-tunnels. We address this challenge by alternating the meeting
locations. However, we believe that this division affects our
attendance at any given meeting significantly.


Issues Requiring Action by the Region 3 ExCom or Committee

There are no issues that require action by the Region 3 ExCom or any
other Committee at the Region level.


Respectfully submitted by Anton Riedl
IEEE Hampton Roads Section Chair 2013


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Dr.-Ing. Anton Riedl
Associate Professor
Department of Physics, Computer Science and Engineering
Christopher Newport University
1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News, VA, 23606, USA
Tel: +1(757)594-7829   Fax: +1(757)594-7919
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