Area 9 Report
January 18, 2008
Devon Gayle, Area 9 Chair
Introduction
The Officers of the IEEE Jamaica Section for the year 2007 were:
Wilfred A. Roberts - Chair, Carolyn Ferguson - Vice Chair, Sheldon Smith – Secretary, David H. Miller – Treasurer.
The year under review continued to be one of mixed accomplishments by the IEEE Jamaica Section. This was due to the varied participation of our members at our monthly meetings and other activities organized by the Section.
The Jamaica Section continued to provide leadership in the areas of electrical, electronics and computer engineering.
A schedule of technical meetings planned and held for the year 2007 is shown in Table I.
Technical Presentations:
The Section made a deliberate effort to present a wide range of topics to satisfy objective 2, stated below.
TABLE I
Activities of the Jamaica Section (2007)
|
Month |
Activities |
Responsibility |
Topic |
Presenter |
|
January |
EXCOM Retreat. Strategic Planning Meeting |
Section, COMSOC & Computer Society Chapters, UTECH Student Branch. |
Goals & Objectives. Improved Member Participation in IEEE. |
EXCOM |
|
February |
Administrative Meeting.
Social |
Section, EXCOM
Section |
Continued Strategic Planning. UWI Student Branch. 30th Anniversary Awards Ceremony. . About IEEE |
Section, EXCOM
Section, EXCOM |
|
March
|
Admin. Meeting 30th Anniversary Meeting Technical Meeting
30th Anniversary Meeting |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee Section, Computer Society Chapter 30th Annie. Committee. |
Planning activities 30th Annie. Ceremony “Information Security: New Threats to Secure Banking.” |
EXCOM. 30th Annie. Committee. Mr. Daniel Tulloch-Reid IEEE Jamaica Section MD Chair 30th Annie. Committee |
|
April |
Admin. Meeting. 30th Anniversary Meetings |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee |
Jamaica Section Activities 30th Annie. Ceremony |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee |
|
May |
Admin Meeting 30th Anniversary Meetings Technical Meeting |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Section, COMSOC |
Jamaica Section Activities 30th Annie. Ceremony
“Ethanol a Renewable Fuel” |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee Mr. Ricardo Neins Manager Ethanol Operations Petrojam Limited |
|
June |
Admin Meeting 30th Anniversary Meetings
Technical Meeting |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Section, COMSOC |
Jamaica Section Activities 30th Annie. Ceremony
Presentation and Tour of TVJ Facility |
EXCOM 30th Annul. Committee Mr. Stephen Legister Director, Technical Strategy & Development, RJR Communications Group |
|
July |
Admin Meeting 30th Anniversary Meetings (Weekly) Technical Meeting |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Jamaica Section |
Jamaica Section Activities 30th Annie. Ceremony “Automated Drop-Out Switch for Distribution High Voltage” |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee Mr. Devon Gordon Jamaica Public Service Co. Ltd & UTECH |
|
August |
Admin Meeting 30th Anniversary Meetings (Weekly) Technical Meeting (Postponed) |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Jamaica Section |
Jamaica Section Activities 30th Annie. Ceremony “Sustainable Waste Management in Jamaica through the use of Waste Derived Fuels in Carib Cement’s Kiln.” |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee Mr. Earl Barrett, Group Manufacturing & Development Manager (Acting) Caribbean Cement Company Ltd |
|
September |
Admin Meeting 30th Anniversary. Meetings (Weekly) Technical Meeting (Postponed) |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Section, Computer Society Chapter |
Jamaica Section Activities 30th Annie. Ceremony
Hardening Wireless Point of Sales Devices |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Mr. Sean Thorpe, Academic Advisor, Jamaica Section Computer Society Chapter, UTECH |
|
October |
Admin Meeting 30th Anniversary Meetings (Weekly) Technical Meeting |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Section, Computer Society Chapter |
Jamaica Section Activities 30th Annie. Ceremony “Information Systems & Technologies to be implemented under the Norman Manley Int’l Airport Terminal Expansion Project.” |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Mr. Richard Gibbs Airports Authority of Jamaica |
|
November |
Admin Meeting 30th Anniversary Meetings (Weekly) Technical Meeting
30th Annie. Awards Ceremony |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee
Jamaica Section
Section, COMSOC, Computer Society Chapter |
Jamaica Section Activities 30th Annie. Ceremony
Class D Audio Amplifiers
“IEEE: A Dynamic Technical Professional Society” “Jamaica Outlook – The Role for Engineers” |
EXCOM 30th Annie. Committee Vincent M. Hewitt Lecturer/Programme Leader Electrical Degree, UTECH Celia L. Desmond 2007 IEEE Secretary & Member, IEEE Board of Directors George F. McClure IEEE Region 3 Director |
|
December |
Administrative Meetings |
Section |
Annual General Meeting & Election of Officers |
EXCOM
|
The goals of the section were as follows:
1. Increasing membership attendance and participation in meetings.
2. Presenting more diversified technical presentations.
3. Increasing student participation in SoutheastCon.
4. Sending Delegates to Regional and PACE Activities.
5. The IEEE Jamaica Section 30th Anniversary Awards Ceremony
Members Attendance at Meetings
This objective was not fully met since attendance at meetings was somewhat similar to previous years with an average of 10 members in attendance. The members that attended participated effectively in the activities.
Standing Committees:
Awards and Recognition
During the 2007 Administration the Area 9 chair continued to chair this standing committee.
Membership Development
Daniel Tulloch-Reid, Standing Committee Chair, continued to be active in this Committee.
Professional Activities
Dr. Halden A. Morris PACE Chair has been very active, however the programme for our M-PAC/S-PAC Seminar was deferred as the focus was on the Jamaica Section 30th Anniversary Awards Ceremony. Dr. Morris received the IEEE “Outstanding Service” award at SoutheastCon 2007, Richmond Virginia.
Publications
Website Development
Further upgrading was done to our website by our Webmaster Milverton Moore in keeping with IEEE’s programme. Milverton was awarded for his contribution and commitment to the development of the website.
For more details, please visit the IEEE Jamaica Section web site at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/r3/jamaica
Communications Society Chapter
The Communications Society Chapter (ComSoc) of the IEEE Jamaica Section, chaired by Dennis Hartley continued their contribution to the development of members in Area 9.
Computer Society Chapter
Dr. Paul A. Golding, Acting Head of School, Computing and Information Technology, UTECH continued to Chair this Society Chapter.
Student Activities
The Student Branch of the University of Technology, Jamaica remains committed to the ideals of the IEEE.
Mr. Vincent Hewitt the longest serving Student Branch Counselor in the IEEE Jamaica Section continued to serve at UTECH and was awarded for his contribution and commitment at the Jamaica Section 30th Anniversary Awards Ceremony.
We have met with Dr. Paul Aiken, of the Electronics Unit and Physics Department at the University of the West Indies (UWI), who agreed to assist with the development of the UWI Student Branch.
Respectfully Submitted by:
Devon Gayle
Chair, Area 9
Phone (876) 511-5700
d.gayle@ieee.org
Wilfred A. Roberts
Chair, IEEE Jamaica Section
E-Mail: waroberts@ieee.org
Tel: (876) 928-6713, (876) 319-1007