The Chapters of the IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society (EMC-S) play an important role in advancing the theory and practice for the technical fields of interest to our Society, and for encouraging the maintenance of the high professional standards of the EMC Society.
EMC-S Chapters provide an important opportunity for local technical experts to meet and discuss current technical developments such as the results of local industry efforts, ongoing university research, reports on the highlights of conferences, as well as the work of Distinguished Lecturers. Chapter meetings provide our members with the opportunity to meet colleagues holding similar interests in an informal atmosphere conducive to the friendly discussion of common ideas.
A Chapter is a technical subunit of one or more Sections, or a Council, constituted by a minimum of twelve (12) members of a Society (or societies, in the case of a joint chapter) and established by petition to the parent unit(s) and Societies concerned to represent and fulfill the technical needs of the members and the missions of IEEE. A Chapter functions in a manner similar to that of a committee of the Section/Council.
This article is intended to notify our members what they should do to form an EMC Chapter, how to get it started, and how we can help.
There are three alternative organizational goals to start an EMC-S chapter, and the formation steps for each type of chapter are different.

Requirements to Form a Local IEEE EMC Chapter
To form a new IEEE EMC Chapter, the Chapter organizer must gather 12 or more signatures from higher grade (other than students or affiliates) IEEE Members on a Society Chapter petition. Signers must be members of the Society, and higher grade members (no students, nor affiliates). In particular the petition must include:

The petition form can be found at: https://www.ieee.org/organizations/rab/scs/forms_petitions/chapter_petition.doc
The completed petition shall be submitted to the Section Executive Committee, via the Section Secretary, for approval. It is suggested that more than the specified amount of names and signatures be included to ensure that all petitioners qualify, thus speeding the petition’s processing.
IEEE Regional Activities staff will review the petition and work with the organizer to resolve any discrepancies. The Chapter will be considered established after Regional Activities has ascertained that the Regional Director and the Society President have no objections to the formation of the Chapter.
Following approval, the Section Chairman, the Chapter Organizer, the Regional Director and the President of the Society will be notified. The Chapter formation will be noted in the Report of the Managing Director at the next meeting of the Regional Activities Board.

Requirements to Form a Joint Society Chapter
Joint society chapters are affiliated to two or more technical societies in a section. Typically, the joint chapters are for related societies to EMC-S, such as Antennas and Propagation, Microwave Theory and Techniques, etc.
The requirements to form a new joint society chapter are the same as for a single Society Chapter, except that not less than three of the 12 signatures on the petition shall be higher grade members of each of the Societies involved. It is not required, but may be useful, that Chapter members or officers maintain membership in both Societies. It is suggested that more than the specified amount of names and signatures be included to ensure that all petitioners qualify, thus speeding the process of the petition. Approval is required from the Section and Societies that will be represented.
Joint Society Chapter Chairs should ensure that Chapter activities reflect the interests of both (or all) Societies and all members from each participating Society should be invited to all Chapter events. Joint Society Chapters also provide a broader perspective of interest and potential events and information sharing for the members.
Joint Society Chapters may receive support from each of the Societies represented in the Chapter.

Requirements to Form a Joint Section Chapter
Joint section chapters are those for which the membership is across the boundaries of two or more sections, and are related only to the EMCS. Only one section is the administrative parent, which is responsible for reporting the chapters activities and receives the rebate to be passed along the chapter.
To form a new joint section chapter, a petition must be signed by not less than twelve (12) higher grade members of the Sections involved, who are members of the EMC Society, and submitted for approval by the pertinent Sections Executive Committees. It is suggested that more than the specified amount of names and signatures be included to assure that all petitioners qualify, thus speeding the process of the petition. The petition must include:

The Joint Chapter shall be considered established after Regional Activities has ascertained that all entities involved have no objections to the formation of the Chapter.
Following approval, the Sections and Societies involved, the Chapter organizer and the Regional Director will be notified. The Chapter formation will be noted in the Report of the Managing Director at the next meeting of the Regional Activities Board.
Joint Section Chapters must invite the Chapter members from the other Section to all of the meetings and develop its good working relationship with the leadership of that Section as you have with your own Section.

Requirements to Change the Status of an Existing Chapter
The status of an existing Chapter may be changed from single to joint, or vice-versa, or from one joint combination to another without submission of a petition. The change in status will become effective following approval of the change by the Regional Director, the Society Presidents and the involved Section Executive Committee(s).
1. The written request, with full details on the proposed change in Chapter status, shall be submitted by the Section Executive Committee. This request should include the name and address of the Organizer of the restructured Chapter who will act as its Chair, and be faxed or mailed to the address below
2. Action will be taken by Regional Activities staff to obtain approval of the change in status by those concerned
3. When the necessary approvals have been received, the Section Chairman, the Chapter Organizer, the Regional Director and the Presidents of the Societies concerned will be notified
4. The Chapter formation will be noted in the Report of the Managing Director at the next meeting of the Regional Activities Board
5. Send the completed petition to the attention of Mrs. Lauren Leaston via fax +1 732 463 9359, or mail to:
IEEE REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
Section/Chapter Support
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, New Jersey 08855
e-mail: l.leaston@ieee.org
Existing Chapters often become Joint Society Chapters when they find that some of their members are involved in technology related to another Society’s field of interest.

Gathering Signatures for the Petition
Your Section leadership, as well as the EMC-S Chapter Coordinator, have all contact information for the Society (or Societies) members in Sections. Contact your Section SAMIEEE (Section Access to Member Information) representative, or the EMC-S Chapter coordinator at fr.maradei@ieee.org for a list of Society members in a section with contact information including address, phone numbers, and e-mail.
In order to help you to solicit members for forming a Chapter from other societies, the EMC-S offers membership incentives to new members of the EMC-S, who can help you to form the Chapter.
This is the “deal”: Anybody who joins the EMC-S in your Section between the time you start-up the process and the time you submit the petition, will receive FREE their first year EMC-S membership. That means that:
a) If you recruit IEEE members from other IEEE Societies, they can join the EMC-S without any additional fee for the first year. All they must do is complete the PAPER membership application, mark the EMC-S in the Society list, BUT NOT INCLUDE ANY FEES.
Those forms must be sent to Elya Joffe, Vice-President for Member Services, at eb.joffe@ieee.org, so that he can process them with IEEE. Please include, if possible, a business card and make sure that everything, including the IEEE membership numbers, are included.
b) If NON-IEEE members join, they follow the same procedure, except they must pay the IEEE dues, but NOT the EMC-S dues. So, again, the EMC-S must be marked in the Society list, but the fees should be left open, as they are free for the first year (for EMC-S, not the IEEE). Again, the forms must be sent to Elya Joffe, Vice-President for Member Services, at eb.joffe@ieee.org, so that he can process them with IEEE.
This opens a whole new world of opportunities for you to solicit members from other IEEE Societies, with no expense for them for the first year.

General Comments and Useful Links
Joint Society/Section Chapters are a helpful option when the member population of a single Society is too small in a Section to support a Chapter of a single Society. As a result, the Chapter organizer can either expand the Chapter’s geographical boundaries to include a neighbouring Section, or expand the technical focus of the Chapter to include another Society’s (or Societies’) field of interest.
The information on the formation of a new Chapter of an IEEE Society and the petition form can be found at the IEEE web page: https://www.ieee.org/organizations/rab/scs/forms_petitions/socchap_form.html
Detailed information on expanding a Chapter to a Joint Chapter can be found at the IEEE web page: www.ieee.org/organizations/rab/scs/forms_petitions/socchap_form.html
The resources for forming a Chapter are available on the IEEE web site at: https://www.ieee.org/organizations/vols/#chapters
Valuable information regarding IEEE Society Chapters can also be found at https://www.ieee.org/chapters.
For any further question on forming a Chapter or associated issues, please do not hesitate to contact the author at fr.maradei@ieee.org. EMC

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