Bill Gjertson, Chairman of the
1999 IEEE International Symposium
on EMC in Seattle, and Newsletter
Editor Janet O'Neil.
In early 1997, I volunteered to work on the 1999 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility steering committee. I was new to the area of Seattle, and thought this would be a good way to meet others in my new surroundings as well as contribute to the EMC Society. Little did I know then about the tremendous amount of work required to put on one of these symposia. In fact, the steering committee meetings were held monthly for several years and then weekly as the symposium date approached. Subcommittees such as arrangements, exhibits, publications, and technical program also met on a regular basis. I enjoyed working on the committee; the purpose of this commentary is not to complain, but rather to salute all those who have worked on the annual EMC Society Symposium steering committees in years past. It’s the old adage, unless you do it, you cannot imagine what it’s like.
The problem is, each EMC Symposium is great and the appearance to the attendees is that these events “just happen.” (That’s what I always thought!) Which, in reality, is the utmost compliment since if things weren’t running so smoothly, people would recognize that someone, somewhere had “dropped the ball.” The truth is that some 20 people or more are working on these committees for several years to ensure that the members of the EMC Society and others are treated to great technical sessions and memorable social events at the annual symposia. With attendance growing and budgets expanding, this becomes more and more of a formidable challenge for volunteers.
So, let’s acknowledge and thank all those who have worked on the IEEE EMC symposia in years past, and remember to thank the Washington DC 2000 steering committee personally next year when we convene at the Washington Hilton and Towers for our annual symposium.
No wonder those who have served on these symposia steering committees have their secret nods and knowing glances. They’re acknowledging that they’ve been there in the trenches!
Editor’s Note: As a follow-up to the article “EMC in Academia” from the Spring 1999 issue of this Newsletter, it was announced that a joint study agreement has been formalized between the Thomas J. Watson IBM Research Center and the Department of Electrical Engineering of the University of L’Aquila (UAq), Italy. This agreement formalizes the currently active joint research work on the development of the Partial Element Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) technique to address EMC problems on printed circuit boards. It will be administered by Dr. A. Ruehli, IBM Yorktown and by Prof. A. Orlandi and Dr. G. Antonini at UAq.