Below is a copy of the current What's New @ IEEE for Students Newsletter. It is a monthly, opt-in email update designed to provide you with the latest news regarding IEEE activities, industry trends, career development tips, and new IEEE product releases.

VOLUME 7          NUMBER 3          MARCH 2005

CONTENTS:

1. New Look, New Tools, New Features: IEEE Xplore 2.0 Coming Soon
2. Recruit a Student Member, Earn Credit Toward IEEE Dues
3. CaliforniaSchool Wins Award in Future City Competition
4. Get More from Your IEEE Membership with myIEEE
5. Proceedings of the IEEE Examines Grid Computing
6. Deadline Looms for Optical Fiber Workshop Paper Submissions
7. Speech Technology Pioneer to Receive IEEE Medal of Honor
8. Women in Technical Education Talks Up Engineering to Ghana's Girls
9. Hardware Buying Program for IEEE Members Now Offers Bigger Discounts
10. Regional Student Paper Contests Offer Prizes Worldwide
11. Faculty Role Key to Raising Enrollment of Women in Math, Science
12. Seven Myths About Voice Over IP: IEEE Spectrum Reports
13. Understanding and Assessing Team Dynamics

1. NEW LOOK, NEW TOOLS, NEW FEATURES: IEEE XPLORE 2.0 COMING SOON
A major upgrade to the IEEE Xplore online delivery platform will soon offer researchers a more functional design, enhanced searching and usability, and many other new tools and features. The new system will provide subscribers and IEEE Members with full-text searching of all content, and will enable free, basic searches for all visiting researchers. In addition, new "home pages" for all IEEE periodicals will include links to past and current issues, along with scope and manuscript submission information. IEEE Xplore 2.0 will be released in the coming weeks. For more information on these and other new features, visit: www.ieee.org/products/onlinepubs/news/0105_01.html

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2. RECRUIT A STUDENT, EARN CREDIT TOWARD IEEE DUES
Did you know that you can earn credit toward your 2006 IEEE dues when you refer a fellow student to join IEEE? Through the IEEE Student-Get-A-Student program, current IEEE Student members can receive credit towards next year's dues for recruiting new members. New students joining now pay half-year rates and receive membership through the remainder of 2005. For the rules of the IEEE Student-Get-A-Student program, and tips on recruitment, visit: www.ieee.org/sgs

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3. CALIFORNIA MIDDLE SCHOOL WINS AWARD IN FUTURE CITY COMPETITION
Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School of Oceanside, California, USA, received the fifth IEEE-USA Best Communications System Award at the recent national finals of the National Engineers Week Future City Competition. The honor, one of 31 special awards, was for the most "efficient and accurate communications system." Louisiana regional champion St. ThomasMoreSchool won the overall competition. Visit: www.eweek.org/site/News/Eweek/2005_FC_champions.shtml

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4. GET MORE FROM YOUR IEEE MEMBERSHIP WITH myIEEE
The IEEE has launched myIEEE, a new web-based membership "portal" developed to explain the benefits of IEEE membership and to help current members get the most out of their IEEE experience. Visitors to myIEEE can find out about IEEE Societies, affinity groups, and the IEEE Standards Association, as well as IEEE publications and other benefit offerings. IEEE Members may log in to a members-only section to see personalized information, such as upcoming conferences in their fields, or use the new "Service Advisor" feature to receive recommendations for IEEE membership offerings based on their technical interest profile. Visit myIEEE at: www.ieee.org/myieee

An IEEE Web Account is required to access the members-only section of myIEEE. Don't have one? Register at: www.ieee.org/web/accounts

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5. PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE EXAMINES GRID COMPUTING
This month, Proceedings of the IEEE looks at recent advances in the field of grid computing. Papers in this special issue provide an overview of the current state of grid computing, including academic and industry insights into grid applications, infrastructures, architectures, enabling technologies, and future visions and trends. Also included are tutorial overviews of the field, perfect for both non-expert electrical engineers and field researchers. Preview the issue and read the editors' introduction at: www.ieee.org/portal/pages/pubs/proceedings/current.html

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6. DEADLINE LOOMS FOR OPTICAL FIBER WORKSHOP PAPER SUBMISSIONS
The abstract submission deadline for the Fourth IEEE LEOS Workshop on Fibres and Optical Passive Components (WFOPC) is 20 March. Topics may include fibres, splices and connectors, modulators and SHG devices, and many more. This event, co-sponsored by the IEEE Laser and Electro-Optics Society, will take place 22 to 24 June in Mondello, Italy. For submission details and requirements, visit: leos.cres.it/wfopc/index.htm

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7. SPEECH TECHNOLOGY PIONEER TO RECEIVE IEEE MEDAL OF HONOR
IEEE has announced that James L. Flanagan, Vice President of Research for RutgersUniversity in New Jersey, USA, will receive the 2005 IEEE Medal of Honor for his sustained leadership and outstanding contributions in speech technology. The IEEE Medal of Honor recognizes individuals like Flanagan who have had exceptional careers or made contributions in any IEEE field of interest. Flanagan's research career is internationally recognized for his contributions to voice coding, speech analysis and synthesis, hearing and electroacoustics. For more information, visit: www.ieee.org/portal/pages/newsinfo/flanagan.html

Which other innovators will receive IEEE medals this year? Find out here: www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/pr/2005medalrecips.html

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8. WOMEN IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION TALKS UP ENGINEERING TO GHANA'S GIRLS
Young girls in Ghana should eschew the traditional female vocations of hair dressing, cookery and dressmaking to become engineers. The organization Women in Technical Education (WITED) recently brought this message to more than 500 students at several schools in Bolgatanga, Ghana. The WITED program featured speakers ranging from a female aircraft technician to students studying auto mechanics and electrical engineering. Read more: www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=75662

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9. HARDWARE BUYING PROGRAM FOR IEEE MEMBERS NOW OFFERS BIGGER DISCOUNTS
IEEE members in the U.S., Canada, and the UK now receive even more substantial discounts on more than 250,000 computer products purchased through Insight Inc. This online hardware/software purchasing program provides a members-only discount negotiated exclusively for the IEEE membership. Members registering for an Insight account before 31 March will be entered into a sweepstakes to win an HP iPAQ Pocket PC. There will be one winner from each participating country. Visit: www.insight.com/ieee

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10. REGIONAL STUDENT PAPER CONTESTS OFFER PRIZES WORLDWIDE
Annual regional student paper contests are available to Student Members in each of IEEE's 10 regions. Contests recognize technical, written, and verbal communication skills, and are funded by the IEEE Life Members' Committee. Prizes range from US$200 to US$800. Several of the regional contests have deadlines over the next three months. For details, deadlines and a list of past recipients, visit: www.ieee.org/membership/students/awards/sc_studentpaper.xml

Each year, IEEE Student members compete for up to US$250,000 in IEEE Awards & Scholarships. Many awards are for specific IEEE-related disciplines and range from travel grants to post-doctoral fellowships. For information, visit: www.ieee.org/scholarships

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11. FACULTY ROLE KEY TO RAISING ENROLLMENT OF WOMEN IN MATH, SCIENCE
According to the U.SNationalCenter for Education Statistics, women have generally, though not always, lagged behind in science and mathematics, and that may put them at a disadvantage in terms of pay and career advancement. But the University of Oklahoma (OU) says its overall percentage of female science and math majors has increased -- from 33 to 36 percent in the last five years. The success may be in part due to OU's faculty, said Nancy Mergler, the university's provost and senior vice president. She says professors play a key role in supporting and encouraging young women to study the sciences. The Oklahoma Daily has more: www.oudaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/02/17/42148827b3350

To learn more about trends in the equality of girls' education girls in the U.S., visit: nces.ed.gov/ssbr/pages/trends_educationequity.asp

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12. SEVEN MYTHS ABOUT VOICE OVER IP: IEEE SPECTRUM REPORTS
Once upon a time, nuclear power was going to make electricity "too cheap to meter." Today, the Internet is supposed to do the same thing for telephone calls. This time it may be true. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is one of today's fastest-growing, and most misunderstood, technologies. Confusion, outdated beliefs, and urban mythology reign over such simple issues as how it works, the quality of the calls, and, of course, how much it costs. Want to know more? IEEE Spectrum takes an inside look: www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/mar05/0305vip.html

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13. UNDERSTANDING AND ASSESSING TEAM DYNAMICS
Technical professionals are very good with tasks. But when it comes to successful teaming, tasks are only half the equation -- the other half is about fostering relationships. Find out how to select team members and assess your team's development to maximize productivity in the latest edition of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer: www.todaysengineer.org/2005/mar/team_dynamics.asp

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