IEEE University Partnership Program

UCLA Award Showcase

2011-06-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

An active IEEE Student Branch like UCLA can amass an impressive record of accomplishment. Hard to know until you see it laid out in a list.

They need to add a few, including a third place showing at the recent California Micromouse Competition. Here, team UCLA's team "In Green We Trust" admires their award.

"There's a Mouse in the Maze"

2011-06-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

UCSD Jacob's Engineering profiled the recent California Micromouse competition hosted by the IEEE Student Branch. Read for inspiration: "There's a Mouse in the Maze." Here's a link to my photos of the competition on Flickr.

Tough act to follow: UCSD Branch Chairs Minji Kim 2010-11;

Jordan Rhee, 2008-10; and David Jackson, 2007-08.

http://ieee.ucsd.edu/

UPP (and UPP Contacts) Around the World

2011-06-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

IEEE University Program Expands to China

Student Branch Chairs Meet to Exchange Ideas

Robots at Peking University Strengthens IEEE – Student Ties

A Week in the Life of a Student Branch Chair

Organizing an IEEE Student Professional Awareness Conference

New Mobile Video Apps Innovation Challenge - $10,000 Prize!

2010-07-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Learned about this from an engineer I met at the Formula Hybrid competition in May:

Dialogic Corporation is calling upon mobile application developers to participate in the Second Annual Dialogic Innovator Challenge. The theme of this year’s Innovator Challenge is to create the ultimate sports application based on video. The grand prize winner of the Challenge will receive a cash prize of US$10,000, while the first runner up will receive a cash prize of US$5,000 and the second runner up will receive a cash prize of US$2,500. More details are available at: www.dialogic.com/innovator. Submissions for the contest will be accepted from April 21st through August 31st. Winners will be announced at the end of September.

Applicants are also invited to download software from the Innovator Challenge portal to develop their video applications. The developer platforms include Dialogic IP Media Server, Dialogic Host Media Processing Software and the DiaStar Server, as well as to use the Dialogic® Vision™ Servers and Gateways. Dialogic is also offering access to a developer network that will allow developers to use and test Dialogic products for the development of trial applications. Additionally, in-person or online training courses are available to help developers gain proficiency in evaluating, developing and deploying solutions based on Dialogic products.

All entries will be featured on the Innovator Challenge web site, where the general public will be invited to rate the applications. The winners will be determined by online rating in conjunction with a global judging panel of independent representatives from telecoms, media, analysts and industry institutions.

IEEE Participates in Cloud Computing Discussion at U.S. White House

2010-06-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

On 20 May, IEEE Chief Information Officer Alexander Pasik joined United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce Dennis Hightower and key U.S. administration officials to discuss the creation and adoption of national standards for cloud computing. Among other participants were Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, the Administration’s Cyber Security Coordinator Howard Schmidt, and other industry leaders.
IEEE was specifically asked to provide input on how the federal government can collaborate with different organizations to establish security standards for cloud computing so that they could be integrated into the commercial sector. Read more here:

"Cloud computing" has been appearing in the IEEE Xplore "most popular" search terms statistics for some months now, and there are several hundred journal and conference articles since 2008. This technology has been on my radar since Ken Elkabany, a former IEEE Student Branch Chair at Berkeley, and some fellow alums started PiCloud. (I confess to vicarious pride in the accomplishments of the students I've met through IEEE.) Ken was one of those undergrads who knew his way around research literature....

Microsoft and IEEE Join Forces

2010-02-21T17:26:00.000-08:00

From a February 17 press release:
REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 17, 2010 — Today, Microsoft Corp. and IEEE announced a collaboration to empower students to reach their professional aspirations. The goal of the Microsoft-IEEE collaboration is to increase the number of students engaged in technical pursuits with the long-term benefit of strengthening business and society through the use of technology.

Read more, here.

New Face of Engineering 2010

2010-02-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

Pittsburgh biomedical engineering researcher, entrepreneur selected as an Engineers Week "New Face of Engineering."

IEEE-USA reports that "Biomedical engineer Sanna Gaspard is researching ways to improve the survival rate of premature babies. For this and other work she was chosen as a 2010 Engineers Week "New Face of Engineering."

Gaspard, a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University, was one of 13 engineers recognized for this international honor and featured in a full-page ad that ran in USA Today on 16 February: http://www.eweek.org/Site/pdfs/USA_Today_Ad.pdf

"What does a CPU have in common with a fast food restaurant?"

2010-01-29T12:41:00.000-08:00

Twenty years earlier on 31 January, Russia opened its first McDonald's, in Moscow. What does fast food have to do with engineering? Check out the above-referenced article one of many presented at the 2005 Frontiers in Education conference or read "The Evaluation of Service Quality in Fast Food Industry" by authors from Beijing JiaoTong Univ., Beijing. Reliable colleagues say McD's food in Beijing is far superior to the US; I missed that experience in September.

Serial killers? Ten years ago, on the same day, the most prolific serial killer in Britain was jailed. Read the 2006 IT Professional article, "Data Mining and Predictive Analytics in Public Safety and Security" on how "crime and criminal behavior, including the most aberrant or heinous crimes, frequently can be categorized and modeled," aiding apprehension.

Thirty years ago today, American comedian Jimmy Durante died. He's quoted in IEEE Computer Applications in Power, "Interchange scheduling: discipline or disorder?" 10/96.

My favorite Durante quote? “Be kind to people on the way up - you'll meet them again on your way down.”

Can you change the world?

2010-01-29T07:08:00.001-08:00

Of course you can!

Show us how and you could win US$10,000. The IEEE Presidents’ Change the World competition recognizes students who develop unique solutions to real-world problems using engineering, science, computing and leadership skills to benefit their community or humanity.

Tell us how you have made a positive impact in the world and you could win US$10,000 and the title “IEEE Student Humanitarian Supreme,” plus a free trip to the 2010 IEEE Honors Ceremony in Montreal, Canada.

Registration closes 31 January. Submit your entry today. (http://www.ieee.org/changetheworld)

The Week in IEEE Xplore: Jan 9-15

2010-01-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Jan 15, 1885: First known photograph of a snowflake taken by American Farmer Wilson A. Bentley
Shape classification of snow particle into snowflake and graupel using image processing,
ICROS-SICE International Joint Conference, August, 2009 -- I have added a new word to my vocabulary: graupel (granular snow pellets) . I also wasn't aware that IEEE Standards are used to define cameras, hence "A side view of natural falling snow particles was photographed by IEEE1394 camera..."

Jan 16, 1970 - Architect Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal Award from American insitute of Architects
Design and Control of Tensegrity Robots for Locomotion, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Oct. 2006, "Tensegrity structures were first invented by Snelson in 1948 and formally patented by Buckminster Fuller in 1962 [16], who coined theword tensegrity as an abbreviation of tensile integrity." P. 994

Jan 17, 1985 -British Telecom retires famous red telephone boxes
Over 1,600 articles by BT authors -- have fun!

The Week in IEEE Xplore: Jan 2-8

2010-01-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

Jan 2, 1920 - Birth of Isaac Asimov
See series in Computer by Roger Clarke, titled "Asimov's Laws of Robotics: Implications for Information Technology." Part 1, Part 2

"Because many contemporary applications of information technology exhibit robotic characteristics, the difficulties Isaac Asimov identified in his stories are directly relevant to information technology professionals."

8 Jan, 1935 - Birth of Elvis Presley
Editorial Metadata in the Cuidado Music Browser: Between Universalism and Isolationism, 2003 WEBDELMUSIC Conference, and RE-LIVING LAS VEGAS: A multi-user, mixed-reality edutainment environment based on the enhancement of original archival materials 2009 VECIMS.

Jan 8, 1980 - Death of John Mauchly, co-inventor of ENIAC, whose classic paper Influence of Programming Techniques on the Design of Computers (with Grace Hopper) was published in Proceedings of the IRE, Oct, 1953. In 1984, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing published a reflective article by Mauchly's widow, Kathleen, John Mauchly's Early Years.

All dates/info from "Date-a-Base Book 2010" by Dave and Kate Haslett.

Where Does the Time Go? Redux

2009-12-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

Oops. Six months since the last post. But I HAVE been feeding ideas to the IEEE Twitterers, and am up-to-date, sort of, on my flickr page (or will be by the end of today.) Facebook seems to be where so many people hang out virtually, yet there is something about a blog that still appeals to me -- and I need a good New Year's resolution.

A few links to review/keep in mind:
IEEE Fellows Class 2010 - if you see anyone you know -- congratulate them!
IEEE Xtreme Programming Competition
IEEE Humanitarian Technology Challenge
IEEE Presidents' Change the World Competition

And on the humanitarian theme, read John Dupuis' recap of relevant IEEE articles, special issues .

Vote! Engineering Your World Video Competition

2009-07-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Help Choose the Winner of the IEEE Engineering Your World Video Competition.

As part of IEEE’s 125th Anniversary celebration, the IEEE Engineering Your World video competition asked participants to submit short videos demonstrating their use of science, engineering and technology to make their living spaces more livable, fun, convenient or futuristic.

After reviewing submissions from across the globe, the judges have determined five finalists. The submission that receives the most number of online votes will be named the winner.

Vote for your favorite finalist online at the IEEE 125th Anniversary Web site (link to http://www.ieee125.org/celebrate/engineering-your-world/index.html)

IEEE President-Elect Candidates Debate to be Streamed Live Through IEEE.tv

2009-06-10T07:19:00.001-07:00

The IEEE Philadelphia Section will host the 21st IEEE President-Elect Candidates Debate on Thursday, 18 June at the Sheraton University City Hotel in Philadelphia, Pa. at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (23:00 UTC). For the first time, the debate will be broadcast live on the Web through IEEE.tv.

The IEEE President-Elect candidates, J. Roberto Boisson de Marca, Moshe Kam and Joseph V. Lillie will answer questions from members of the audience.

Watch the program on IEEE.tv (www.ieee.tv). Learn more about the IEEE Annual Election. (http://www.ieee.org/elections)

2009 Honors Ceremony to be Streamed Live Through IEEE.tv

2009-06-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

For the first time, the IEEE Honors Ceremony will be broadcast live on the Web through IEEE.tv. The 2009 Honors Ceremony will take place Thursday, 25 June at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles, Calif. at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.

Robert H. Dennard, IEEE Life Fellow, will be presented with the IEEE Medal of Honor for inventing dynamic random-access memory which fostered faster and more reliable computers. Other honorees include individuals whose work has:

~enabled deep-space exploration
~improved digital storage technologies
~advanced radar detection, among others.

The ceremony also will honor IEEE student members who were selected as winners in the inaugural IEEE Presidents’ Change the World Competition. These students developed solutions to problems that benefit humanity. This is the first time students will be recognized at this annual event.

A URL for viewing the Ceremony will be provided on the Awards Web site (www.ieee.org/awards) at a later date. Learn more about the 2009 IEEE Honors Ceremony. (http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/HonorsCeremony/2009hc.html)

Where Does the Time Go?

2009-06-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

I wish I had the discipline to keep this blog current, since there is so much going on at the IEEE that really inspires me to share. Take the IEEE 125th Anniversary celebration in Macha, Zambia which encouraged engineers to use their unique skills to benefit the lives of those in rural communities. Coverage of this event included an address by the Hon. Mubika Mubika, Dep. Minister of Communications and Transport, and photos of the celebration. Thanks to Gertjan van Stam, ViceChair of the IEEE Zambia Section, and Adrian Pais, 2009 chair of IEEE Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) for bringing all of these links to our attention.

IEEE GOLD Sponsored Webinars for 2009

2009-01-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

For GOLD and student members

Helping engineers get through the business landscape, work together increating new products and contribute in a business or commercial role iswhat this series of three webinars is offering. Each session will bescheduled for one hour and is offered at no charge. Our speaker, ArunGopalakrishnan,, is a Market Manager for the DuPont Company in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. The sessions are outlined below with the first two session dates confirmed.

Seminar 1: Saturday, 24 January 2009, 8:00am Eastern
Topic: "Navigating a globalized, turbulent business landscape – whatengineers need to know"
Concepts covered in this session will include:
* Cost of Capital and how this drives business decision making
* New Product Portfolios and how projects get selected and killed
* Global competition and shortening product life cycles
* Drivers of outsourcing in support services, manufacturing facilities andeven research and development

Registration is open for the first session scheduled for Saturday, 24January 2009 at 8:00am Eastern for one hour. Please register at http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://icm3.ieee.org%2Feventmanager%2FOnlineRegistration.asp%3Feventcode%3D1kx

Seminar 2: Saturday, 28 February 2009, 8:00am Eastern
Topic: "How engineers and marketers work together to create new productsin innovative companies"
Concepts covered in this session will include:
* Best-in-class new product development processes
* Identifying true unmet customer needs with high value potential
* How to foster cross-functional collaboration between technical andmarketing processionals
* Examples of successful product launches and critical success factors

Seminar 3: Saturday, March 2009, 8:00am Eastern. Topic:
"Career change: how engineers can contribute in abusiness/commercial role for a technology company"
Session will explorehow people with engineering experience who also develop business skills canplay key roles in technology companies where a combination of technical andcommercial skills can be very effective.

Biography: Arun Gopalakrishnan has worked for the DuPont Company as aMarket Manager in Wilmington, Delaware since July 2006. Arun's first roleat DuPont was providing marketing consulting to startup businesses withinthe company. He moved to his current role in DuPont's PerformanceElastomers division in August 2007, where he sets the global strategy anddrives revenue growth in the Energy, Oil & Gas business segment. Arun'sareas of specialty include innovation processes, business development, andpricing and profitability management.

Any questions send to gold@ieee.org. For more information on each webinar topic, dates and details, visit http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.ieee.org%2Fweb%2Fmembership%2Fgold%2Fevents%2FArunGsessions09.html

GOLD and WIE Newsletters

2009-01-15T08:25:00.000-08:00

IEEE GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) publishes a quarterly newsletter which contains articles, events, resources and more specifically designed for young professionals transitioning from student life to the professional world: http://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs_iportals/iportals/membership/gold/GoldRush_Dec2008.pdf

IEEE WIE (Women in Engineering) promotes the interests and careers of women scientists and engineers. Its latest newsletter is at:
http://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs_iportals/iportals/membership/women/newsletter/IEEE_WIE_DEC-08_pdf.pdf

IEEE 2009 Class of Fellows

2009-01-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

Below is a list of the 2009 IEEE Fellows from "my" schools - the complete list can be found at http://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs_iportals/iportals/membership/fellows/2009_Fellow_Class.pdf

"The grade of Fellow recognizes unusual distinction in the profession....[conferred] upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest."

Columbia University
Keren Bergman -for contributions to development of optical interconnection and transport networks

Steven Mark Nowick - for contributions to asynchronous and mixed-timing integrated circuits and systems

University of California, Los Angeles
Panagiotis D. Christofides - for contributions to analysis and control of nonlinear and distributed parameter processes

Alan Yuille -for contributions to computer and biological vision, medical image processing and computational theories of cognition

Texas A & M University
Aniruddha Datta - for contributions to control techniques in cancer genomics

Scott L. Miller - for contributions to the theory of spread spectrum communications

California Institute of Technology
Michelle Effros - for contributions to source and network coding

Simon H. Yueh
Pasadena, CA, 91109, U.S.A.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
William Freeman - for contributions to computer vision, computer graphics and machine learning

Franz Kärtner - for contributions to ultrafast optics

Joel Schindall - for leadership in satellite communication and surveillance systems

University of Michigan
Farnam Jahanian - for contributions to dependability and security of network systems

Mahta Moghaddam - for contributions to forward and inverse scattering techniques for radar remote sensing

Anna G. Stefanopoulou - for contributions to control of energy conversion systems

Dawn Marie Tilbury - for leadership in networked and logic control systems

Dartmouth College
David F. Kotz - for contributions to parallel and distributed systems and wireless networks

Stanford University
Gregory T.A. Kovacs - for contributions to fabrication and use of biosensors for medical, environmental and space applications

Shan Xiang Wang - for contributions to magnetic materials and device

University of California at San Diego
Mohan Manubhai Trivedi - For contributions to intelligent transportation systems

Dean Tullsen - for contributions to the architecture of multithreaded and high-performance processors

University of California, Berkeley
David N.C. Tse - for contributions to wireless communications

Lightspeed Venure Partners Summer Grant Program 2009

2009-01-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Time's a-wastin' for this novel opportunity I discovered through a Stanford listserv post:

FIRST ROUND DEADLINE IS JANUARY 16th
~Interested in getting paid to work fulltime on your startup this summer?
~Looking for free office space on Sand Hill Rd and access to a venture capital firm and its portfolio executives?
~Don’t want to give up any equity in your company?
~Lightspeed is now accepting applications for its 2009 Summer Grant Program.
OVERVIEW
For the third consecutive year, Lightspeed Venture Partners is offering grants for undergraduate and graduate students studying engineering and computer science who are interested in exploring an entrepreneurial opportunity over the summer of 2009 in the technology or alternative energy fields.
PROGRAM DETAILS
1. Up to 20 individual grants will be awarded.
2. Each team member will receive $10,000 and each team will receive $5,000 for discretionary use.
3. All teams will be considered for a $500,000 seed investment from Lightspeed upon conclusion of the summer grant program
4. Students will be provided office space at Lightspeed’s office complex at 2200 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA in from June through September.
5. Grant winners are required to work full time on their startup project for minimum 10 weeks between June 1 & Sept 30.
6. Lightspeed will organize weekly seminars from portfolio company executives and functional experts including: attorneys, CFO’s, PR specialists and recruiters.
7. There are two, independent submission deadlines. Winners announced 3 weeks after each deadline.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE
· Each team must include at least one student (graduate or undergraduate in Engineering or
Computer Science) who was a student in the 2008-2009 academic school year
· Only team members committed to working full time in the Menlo Park office for 10-12 weeks in the
summer of 2008 are eligible to receive the grants
· Groups of 1 to 4 people may submit proposals as a team
OBJECTIVE
· Provide entrepreneurial students with the opportunity to spend the summer building their startup.
· Create an environment where students can:
§ Devote 100% to your startup idea and work closely with their team members
§ Interact with entrepreneurially-minded peers
§ Receive frequent guidance from the professionals at Lightspeed and experienced executives.
HOW TO APPLY
· Application information can be found at www.lightspeedvp.com
· Applications are submitted by email to summergrant@lightspeedvp.com
· Send questions to Linus Chung at linus@lightspeedvp.com
NO OBLIGATION, NO EQUITY
· Grant winners are under no obligation to Lightspeed
· Lightspeed does not take equity as part of the program
TWO SUBMISSION DEADLINES
· Round 1 submissions are due January 16, 2009, winners announced by February 6, 2009.
· Round 2 submissions are due April 3, 2009, winners announced April 20, 2009.

Arts + Science = New Curriculum Redux

2008-12-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, in reviewing our free, monthly newsletter What's New @IEEE for Libraries, I learned that the most-read vignette recapped my blog post of May 27, 2008. I hope it prompted many people to find articles such as "Anthropology, Archaeology, and the Social Study of Technology: An Overview" by IEEE's own Michael Geselowitz (IEEE History Center) and Shirley Gorenstein of RPI, or The Economics of Privacy by Justin Zhan and Vaidyanathan Rajamani of Carnegie Mellon. No equations, except for philosophical ones.

Gift Giving, IEEE Spectrum Style

2008-10-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Check out IEEE Spectrum annual Gift Guide for the perfect present for the gamer in your life (Toshiba’s new Qosmio G55-802 notebook computer), "green" lover (Electric Zero X dirt bike) and the little guy -- or girl -- who is looking for a whirl (FlyTech Bladestar rotary-wing flying toy). There's more, of course, including the low-down on the latest accessories for the Apple iPhone.

Latest Issue of IEEE GOLDRUSH Newsletter

2008-10-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of the IEEE GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) initiative, as it speaks to my own experiences as a fairly recent graduate, well, the third time around. I wouldn't have the position I hold today, nor the pleasure of so many career-related friendships, without being involved in the professional associations in my field. But when I was younger, these groups were intimidating, peopled as they were with those vastly more experienced than I - or so I thought.

IEEE GOLD provides support for students as they make the transition into the workplace, with technical and career information, professional and social networking opportunities, and that all-important leadership development.

Among the topics covered in the September 2008 newsletter are "Top 10 Things Professors Need to Hear" (tips for those seeking tenure), advice for technology consultants, choosing between a start up and large company, and more -- all pithy and practical articles written by young(er) engineers who have "been there, done that."

The newsletter is freely available on the web at: http://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs_iportals/iportals/membership/gold/GOLDRushSept2008v3.pdf

Visit the GOLD home page at: http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/gold/index.html

New IEEE Award Sponsored by Toyota Recognizes Environmental and Safety Technologies

2008-10-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

The IEEE Foundation recently announced that Toyota Motor Corporation has donated US$300,000 to support a new IEEE award, the IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies. This award will recognize outstanding accomplishments in the application of technology in the IEEE fields of interest that improve the environment and/or public safety. Toyota Motor Corporation has agreed to sponsor this award for ten years, with the first presentation scheduled for 2010.

The IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies is relevant to a wide community including intelligent transportation systems, wireless communications, sensor networks control, control and automation, computing and signal processing.

Toyota’s sponsorship supports the awarding of this IEEE Medal to an individual recipient, or a team of recipients up to three in number, each year for the years 2010 through 2019. The award consists of a gold medal, a bronze replica, a certificate and honorarium. To learn more about this and other IEEE Awards, visit http://www.ieee.org/awards.

Contact:

Karen Kaufman
Development Communications Manager
IEEE Foundation
+1 732 981 3436
k.m.kaufman@ieee.org

IEEE Seeks Volunteers for Humanitarian Technology Challenge

2008-10-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Humanitarian Technology Challenge (HTC) is a partnership between IEEE and the United Nations Foundation designed to bring together technical professionals and humanitarians to develop technological solutions for pressing challenges facing humanity.

A small number of IEEE members are needed to help shape the early stages of the program, working with humanitarians to further detail challenge definitions and outline a solution process. This is a unique opportunity for IEEE volunteers experienced in systems engineering to work directly with prominent humanitarian volunteers.

The following initial challenges were identified by focus groups composed of representatives from ten humanitarian organizations:
*Reliable Electricity – Availability of power for electronic devices
*Data Connectivity of Rural District Health Offices -- Capability of exchanging data among remote field offices and central health facilities
*Local Management and Tracking of Supply Distribution – Ensure that supplies are getting to the people that need them in order to maximize the impact of assistance
*Incident Tracking – Determine locations and extent of medical problems in order to focus resources
*Patient ID and Tie to Health Records – Maintain consistent patient records, including when patients visit different clinics and when they relocate.

IEEE volunteers should be experienced in the application of technology to solve humanitarian issues and be willing to commit approximately two to four hours per week to the project. A conference call/webcast for early stage volunteers is scheduled to take place in late November, 2008. This will be followed by an in-person conference scheduled for the first quarter of 2009, where additional volunteers will be needed.

For more information, visit the HTC Web site (www.ieee.org/go/htc). Interested volunteers should contact Harold Tepper, IEEE HTC Project Manager, at h.tepper@ieee.org.

Presidential Candidate's Forum at Stanford and Online 10/21

2008-10-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

Scientists and Engineers for America and our partners cordially invite you to a Candidates’ Forum Presidential Perspectives on Energy and Innovation, featuring:

~Kurt E. Yeager, Co-chair, McCain California Energy Security Coalition
~Daniel M. Kammen, Senior Advisor on Energy and Environmental Policy for Barack Obama
~Moderated by Paul Rogers, Resources & Environmental Writer, San Jose Mercury News

Tuesday, October 21 6:30-8:00 P.M.
Questions will be accepted from the audience, or in advance at Questions@SEforA.org

Kresge Auditorium Stanford University 555 Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, CA
Seating is limited; RSVP by October 17 rsvp@SEforA.org 202.223.6444

View the forum live at www.SHARP.SEforA.org/candidate-forum/

Cosponsored by: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
American Chemical Society (ACS)
American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS)
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
American Physical Society (APS)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
IEEE-USA

Stanford IEEE Hosts Orientation for Frosh/Soph

2008-10-15T04:52:00.000-07:00

The Stanford IEEE Presents:
The 2008 Freshman-Sophomore Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Orientation

Curious about Electrical Engineering or Computer Science? Want to learn more about what the difference between the two majors is? Unsure of what classes to take as a freshman? Interested in learning about what opportunities are available to a student studying Electrical Engineering or Computer Science at Stanford?

This orientation is for you!

Where? Gates 100
When? Thursday October 16th, 2008 at 5:15 PM
Who? Professors Simon Wong (Vice Chair of Electrical Engineering) and Mehran Sahami (Associate Chair of Undergraduate Education for Computer Science)
What? A great opportunity to learn more about the opportunities available to you here at Stanford!

Free food and beverages will be served!

Stanford Spotlights Computing for Socio-Economic Development

2008-10-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

Autumn Seminar Series – Thursday, Oct. 16
6:00pm - 7:00pm – Wallenberg Hall, Room 124, Stanford University
Computing for Socio-Economic Development Kentaro Toyama
With Support from CHIMe Lab, Asha for Education (Stanford Chapter)
Engineers for Sustainable World, IEEE, HCI Research, and Stanford India Association

Abstract:
On the same planet where there are 1.4 billion Internet users, a far less fortunate 1.4 billion people survive below the World Bank's extreme poverty line. Computing technology has transformed the lives of the wealthiest people on the planet, but it remains out of reach and irrelevant for the poorest. How do you design user interfaces for an illiterate migrant worker? Can you keep five rural schoolchildren from fighting over one PC? What value is technology to a farmer earning a dollar a day?

Questions like this will be raised in a sample of research work from the Technology for Emerging Markets group (http://research.microsoft.com/research/tem) at Microsoft Research India, in Bangalore. We are a multidisciplinary research group consisting of anthropologists, economists, designers, and computer scientists who together seek new applications of computing technology for the world's least privileged communities in domains such as agriculture, education, healthcare, and microfinance. The constraints are severe, with poor education, terrible infrastructure, and a shortage of funds making even the best-designed systems challenging to implement. Nevertheless, we believe this is a challenge worth undertaking, and one that can make a difference as long as we retain equal measures of skepticism about the brash claims of technology and optimism about its true potential.

Bio:
Kentaro Toyama (http://research.microsoft.com/~toyama) is assistant managing director of Microsoft Research India, in Bangalore, where he supports the daily operation and overall management of the research lab. He also leads a group that conducts research to identify applications of computing technology in emerging markets and for international development, and is co-founder of the IEEE/ACM Int'l Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development. From 1997 to 2004, he was at Microsoft Research in Redmond, where he did research in multimedia and computer vision and worked to transfer new technology to Microsoft product groups. In 2002, he took personal leave from Microsoft to teach mathematics at Ashesi University, a private liberal arts college in Ghana. Kentaro graduated from Harvard with a bachelors degree in physics and from Yale with a PhD in computer science.

IEEE TECHNOLOGIES THAT BENEFIT SOCIETY

2008-10-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (30 September 2008) -- As part of its public-awareness program to promote engineering and technological literacy, IEEE-USA has helped to underwrite almost 600 local television news reports on engineering and science since 2005. The "Discoveries & Breakthroughs Inside Science" TV news reports are distributed to local U.S. television stations in more than 100 cities, transit systems in seven U.S. cities, as well as through the Voice of America and the Roo Online Video Network in more than 60 countries. Stations airing the IEEE-related spots include a mix of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, cable and independent affiliates. IEEE-related technology stories have their own Web site at http://www.aip.org/dbis/IEEE.

Recent TV news reports on IEEE technologies that benefit society have included segments on:
--Engineers who have created a model to forecast the progression of a future pandemic allowing researches to design the best way to distribute food and vaccines to those in need
--Engineers who have invented a device to bring air samples into contact with genetically engineered biosensors to detect dangerous biological agents
--Environmental scientists and engineers who have developed mathematical models to calculate the impact of pollution from Europe and Asia on areas in the United States
--Chemists and engineers who have designed a technology that protects soil and helps promote plant growth to keep topsoil in place over the long term Additional TV news reports on IEEE technologies include:
--Biomedical and safety engineers who, in order to improve safety for children using seat belts, have added a more lifelike abdomen to models representing youngsters between the ages of 4-8
--Engineers who have developed a computer program to track and schedule immunizations for infants
--Pyschoacoustics researchers and industrial technologists who use a pen computer to help visually impaired students learn science and math --Engineers and scientists who have developed a new technology that allows cardiologists to capture detailed pictures of the heart in less than one second, revealing subtle changes in blood flow and blockages in tiny blood
vessels
--Biomedical engineers who have used advanced cone beam imaging technology to take a series of two-dimensional x-rays, allowing dentists to create a detailed three-dimensional picture of a patient's mouth

The "Discoveries & Breakthroughs" TV news service was developed by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) with a coalition of 23 technical professional organizations including IEEE/IEEE-USA. The service delivers 12 vetted 90 second TV reports monthly -- in English and Spanish -- with a potential reach of up to 75 million TV viewers, and an estimated 41 million online views per month. Academic research has documented that the public obtains most of its information about engineering and science from local TV news and that viewers of the "Discoveries & Breakthroughs" service are more likely to support engineering and science than those who are not viewers.

Former IEEE-USA Mass Media Engineering Fellow Sourish Basu and former IEEE
Washington Internships for Students of Engineering Participant Elizabeth Johnston participate with other society representatives in weekly telephone conferences to develop and vet story ideas. "Discoveries & Breakthroughs" is seeking new story ideas to include in its TV reports incorporated in local TV news broadcasts. Pitches should be directed to Emilie Lorditch, the series' manager and senior science editor, at elorditc@aip.org.

IEEE Electron Devices Society to Hold Career Development Strategy Session

2008-09-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

The IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) will hold a free career development strategy session especially designed for graduate students and young professionals who are Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD), Sunday 14 December, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Hilton San Francisco Hotel. The session includes a seminar on career development strategies in today’s globally competitive world and a panel discussion focusing on career options and career path selection with expert panelists from academia, research, design, development and manufacturing. Following the session, attendees will be able to meet EDS officers and Administrative Committee (AdCom) members at a special networking session. This event will be held in conjunction with EDS' flagship conference, the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), held 15-17 December. For information concerning the IEDM and to register for the GOLD Seminar, please visit the web-site at http://www.his.com/~iedm/.

For additional details on this EDS sponsored GOLD event, please contact EDS GOLD representative, Dr. Ravi Todi at rtodi@ieee.org.

Celebrate IEEE's 125th!

2008-09-02T06:36:00.001-07:00

Ca you believe it? IEEE is turning 125 next year (put 13 May 2009 on your calendars!) , and work is underway to take the celebration worldwide. There are any number of ways you

can get involved - check out our 125th anniversary site, launched just yesterday as a platform to share our accomplishments and support our involvements in using technology to make a difference in our communities and the world. http://www.ieee125.org/

Students -- get started on your entry for the IEEE President's Change the World Competition: http://www.ieee125.org/newsroom/news/2008-09-02-ieee-challenges-students-change.html In addition to a People's Choice award, there's a grand prize of US $10,000!

$5,000 in Scholarship Prizes for 'How Engineers Make a World of Difference"

2008-08-27T04:42:00.001-07:00

IEEE-USA is launching the organization's second online engineering video competition for undergraduate students on "How Engineers Make a World of Difference," and will award four scholarship prizes totaling $5,000 to the undergraduates who create the most effective 90-second video clips aimed at an 11-to-13-year-old student audience.
The clips should reinforce engineers' contributions to the quality of life and convey how engineering can be a creative and rewarding career. Winning entries will be announced and shown during Engineers Week, 15-21 February 2009.

The competition is open to all U.S. undergraduate students in engineering, computer science and information technology. Entries can be provided by individuals or teams, with at least one undergraduate participant who is an IEEE Student Member. More than one video entry is permissible. Entries must be submitted through YouTube by midnight Eastern Time on
Friday, 16 January 2009. The competition will be judged by two engineering
graduate students, Andrew Quecan and Suzette Presas; and Nate Ball,
engineer-host for PBS' "Design Squad."

For more information on how to enter the IEEE-USA Online Engineering Video Scholarship Competition and to upload an entry on YouTube, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/video_competition

To view the IEEE.tv program on the first 2007-2008 IEEE-USA competition, go to http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/IEEEtv/about.html

IEEE-USA has been actively involved in promoting public awareness of engineers and engineering since 1981. Working in tandem with its sister organizations, IEEE-USA has helped to foster and maintain a positive image of engineers and engineering through a variety of programs aimed at specific audiences using targeted media.For more information on IEEE-USA's public-awareness program, see
http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/default.asp

Understanding humanitarian works through the lens of engineering

2008-08-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

2008 IEEE Humanitarian Workshop

"Understanding humanitarian works through the lens of engineering"
Saturday, October 18, 2008, at Boston University.

Jointly held with IEEE GOLD and EWB-USA

* Synopsis Many of us are fortunate to live in a relatively secure environment where we can pursue education and dreams. Far away from most of us - in Africa, or even close to home like New Orleans in the United States or Sichuan in China, where catastrophes struck recently, there is a tremendous need for humanitarian aid. Engineers can play an active role in bringing hope, relieving pain, restoring livelihood, and accelerating economic progress in these areas through appropriate use of technology.

IEEE aims to develop a platform to create awareness among the younger engineers and students on how we can use our engineering knowledge and skills to bless communities. Therefore, IEEE partners with a number of organizations, such as Engineers Without Borders - USA and United Nations Foundation to put together a 1-day workshop. At the end of the workshop,
attendees will be more informed on how humanitarian organizations use technology to positively impact the world we live in. Eventually, we hope attendees will obtain a more holistic understanding of how they can play a part in humanitarian efforts, and even be inspired to do so at the end of the workshop.

* Tentative Program
Keynote speeches:
- Humanitarian projects and technology
- How organizations stay involved with humanitarian outreach
- Research and field projects: case studies
Hands-on session:
- Solving problems faced in the field
Booth visits:
- Connect with humanitarian organizations and project leaders
Lunch and refreshments will be provided

* Organizers
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a non-profit organization established to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. Today, IEEE has more than 375,000 members worldwide, sponsors more than 850 conferences annually, and has nearly 1,300 standards under development. IEEE Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD),
the young professional entity of IEEE, collaborates with Region 1 (Northeastern USA) and Boston Section to host this workshop. http://www.ieee.org, http://www.ieee.org/gold

- Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB-USA) is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. The partnerships involve the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.
http://www.ewb-usa.org

* Main Speakers
- Mr Mitul Shah, Senior Director of UN Foundation
- Ms Colleen O'Holleran, Mr Seth Kassels, and Ms Rosemary Powers, Senior Managers of EWB-USA
* IEEE GOLD Humanitarian Fellowship
Sponsorship is available for attendees who desire to participate in humanitarian projects. Interested attendees may compete for the IEEE GOLD Humanitarian Fellowship. 10 fellowships (each worth up to US$3000) will be awarded to applicants who fulfill the selection criteria. The details of the criteria will be provided at a later date. For more information, please
contact Darrel Chong at dchong@ieee.org.

Humanitarian projects corresponding to each of the 10 fellowships will also be made known to attendees prior to the workshop. Recipients of the fellowships will take part in the humanitarian project that they have chosen at the time of the application. At the end of the project, recipients will share with IEEE the learning and experiences gained from being involved in grass roots humanitarian work.

* Hands-on Session
- Prizes for innovative solutions
Problem solving is a norm for EWB-USA's field project teams. More often than not, the best solutions are not only effective, but also simple to implement and easy to learn. To allow the attendees to have a feel of solving some field-related issues, EWB-USA will be designing a mock session based on completed projects. The workshop will get attendees to brainstorm
and propose solutions to challenges that are faced by EWB-USA. Teams that
come up with the most innovative solutions will win prizes.
* Registration
- Free for IEEE and EWB-USA members
- $15 for non-members ($10 for registration before Sept 21)
- Anyone who registers before Sept 21 will be eligible to one of ten gifts
- Registration closes on Oct 11
For registration, please go to
http://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/1/gold

Contact
humanitarian@ieee.org

Can YOU Change the World?

2008-08-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

The IEEE Presidents’ Change the World Competition recognizes students who develop unique solutions to real-world problems using engineering, science, computing and leadership skills to benefit their community or humanity.

Tell us how you have made a positive impact in the world and you could win US$10,000 plus a free trip to the 2009 IEEE Honors Ceremony in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Prizes: IEEE Student Humanitarian Supreme: US$10,000
IEEE Distinguished Student Humanitarian: US$5,000
IEEE Exceptional Student Humanitarian: US$2,500
IEEE Outstanding Student Humanitarian: US$1,000 (up to five awarded)
People’s Choice (online vote): US$500

For complete details and eligibility requirements, visit ieee125.org/ChangetheWorld on September 1 -- but start thinking now!

UCSD EDS & LEOS Chapters Host Distinguished Lecture

2008-07-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

Fluorine Plasma Ion Implantation (Treatment) Technology: a New Dimension in GaN Device Processing

Professor Kevin J. Chen - Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Abstract:
Wide-bandgap gallium nitride (GaN) and related compound semiconductor materials possess attractive characteristics including high breakdown voltage, high polarization-induced carrier density and high electron saturation velocity. Rapid progress has been made in material growth and device processing technologies during the last decade. Meanwhile, there remain technical challenges to overcome. For example, unlike the silicon MOSFET technology, in which the devices' threshold voltage can be locally adjusted in the processing stage by ion implantation, the threshold voltage of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is mainly determined in the material growth stage and exhibit negative values. Recently, a robust approach to modulating the local potential and carrier concentration in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs was developed based on a post-epitaxy fluorine plasma ion implantation (or treatment) technology. The most significant development based on this technology is the demonstration of self-aligned enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with low on-resistance.

In this talk, Dr. Chen will give a comprehensive overview of the fluorine plasma ion implantation technology. Underlying physical mechanisms will be discussed, together with detailed dc and RF device characteristics. Examples of extending this technology to improve the performance of power transistors as well as power rectifiers will be shown. The reliability issues related to the fluorine plasma ion implantation will be discussed based on results from stress test and molecular dynamics simulation.

Tried scitopia.org yet?

2008-07-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite tech search sites is scitopia.org. Full disclosure: IEEE is a major partner in this, along with 20 (for now) other society publishers. I'm quite proud of this initiative -- as a librarian, I applaud any effort to help users "cut to the chase" so to speak. With scitopia.org I don't waste time assessing what's credible -- or not -- in a freely accessible site.

I've added a scitopia.org search box to my blog (scroll down -- it's on the lower left) -- you can, too.

WIE Rocks!

2008-07-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Our very own Dr. Karen Panetta (IEEE Fellow, Worldwide Director of IEEE Women in Engineering) has garnered a lot of attention for her work dispelling the myth of the "Nerd Girl" in engineering. Newsweek recently covered Karen's initiative - Geek Girls: Revenge of the Nerdette and last Friday Karen and several of her students appeared on the Today Show

Learn more about IEEE Women in Engineering and check out its new magazine (you can see the premiere issue here), winner of a 2008 Apex Award of Excellence!

Head Start on Celebrating Pi Day (March 14)

2008-07-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

Need a clever way to break up the monotony of a long, cold month? Read about Stanford's and Worcester Polytech's Pi parties in the Institute: Student Branches Celebrate Pi Day

Pi (pie) - a - Prof has always been one of my favorites....

Dartmouth Formula Hybrid in IEEE's Institute

2008-07-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

Check out the article in the July issue of IEEE's Institute on Dartmouth's Formula Hybrid competition!

McGill Wins Hybrid Race Car Competition

Drexel Hosts Engineering Comedian Don McMillan

2008-07-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Drexel IEEE Student Branch co-sponsored "Technically Funny" on May 29, featuring engineering comedian Don McMillan.

"Before he became a nationally known stand-up comedian, McMillan spent 10 years as an engineer at IBM, AT&T and VLSI Technology. His show is funny, smart and clean, and he just might be the only comedian who works in PowerPoint!"

Cloud Computing at Stanford

2008-07-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

Call For Participation!
*** Cloud Computing--- the New Face of Computing---Promise and Challenges ***
Date: July 19 (Saturday)
Place: Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University
Organizers:
~Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society: (http://ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/computer/)
~Stanford Student Chapter of the IEEE
~North America Taiwanese Engineers' Association (NATEA): (http://www.natea.org/sv/conferences/nfic/2008/nfic_2008.php)

Registration: http://www.natea.org/sv/conferences/nfic/2008/nfic_2008_reg.php

$65 Non-IEEE Member;
$60 IEEE Member;
$30 Students or Unemployed

*** The list of Talks ***
Hamid Pirahesh, IBM Almaden Research - Keynote

Jimmy Lin, University of Maryland at College Park
"Scalable Text Processing with MapReduce"

Jim Rivera, Salesforce.com
"Platform as a Service: Changing the Economics of Innovation"

Joydeep Sen Sarma and Ashish Thusoo, Facebook
"Hive: Datawarehousing and Analytics on Hadoop"

Hairong Kuang, Yahoo
"Take an internal look at Hadoop"

Mano Marks, Google
Kevin Beyer, IBM Almaden Research
"Jaql: Querying JSON data on Hadoop"

Mihai Budiu, Microsoft Research in Silicon Valley
"DryadLINQ -- a language for data-parallel computation on computer clusters"

Jinesh Varia, Evangelist, Amazon Web Services
"Cloud Architectures -- New way to design architectures by building it in the cloud"

Summer Reading

2008-06-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

I'm not an engineer, but still find plenty of material that appeals to me (IEEE Spectrum, of course, is a monthly favorite.) Try reading it on a plane or train -- it's a great conversation starter. I had a fascinating talk about patent trolls with a SoCal engineer working on Wall Street that began with "I see you read Spectrum?"

I subscribe to a number of email alerts for IEEE publications -- IEEE Technology and Society Magazine (TSM) and IEEE Communications Magazine (CM), among them. This week's TOC alerts were irresistible - who wouldn't want to read "The Engineer, the Dancer, and the Severed Head" and "Dead Poets and Engineers?" (TSM, vol. 27, issue 2).

In CM, vol. 46, issue 6, I enjoyed the President's Page on "Standards: Making Them Work in the Real World," and the link to standards as a competitive intelligence tool.

Arts + Science = New Curriculum?

2008-05-27T05:09:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot lately about the union of science, engineering and technology with the humanities and social sciences.

Princeton announced a $25 million gift from Dennis J. Keller and his wife, Constance Templeton Keller, "to strengthen links between engineering and the liberal arts"
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S20/75/72A00/ .

Columbia University 's School of Engineering and Applied Science headlines their page "Engineering - The Newest Liberal Art," http://www.engineering.columbia.edu/pages/academics/undergraduate_studies/index.html.

Today's New York Times Science Section has a lead story "Curriculum Designed to Unite Art and Science," http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/science/27angi.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss.

And a few examples in IEEE Xplore:

Engineers as Problem-Solving Leaders: Embracing the Humanities, Jablokow, K.W., IEEE Technology and Soceity Magazine/Winter 2007

An Approach to Undergraduate Engineering Education in the 21st Century , Kastenberg, W.E.; Hauser-Kastenberg, G.H.; Norris, D36th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference, Oct. 2006

Shaping the Future of American University Education: conceiving engineering as a liberal art, Barke, R.; O'Neil Lane, E.; Knoespel, K., 2001 Proceedings, International Symposium on Technology and Society

My background is English, business and information science: among the 1.8+ million articles in IEEE Xplore are at least a few I don't understand (written with a smile). But whenever I need perspective on engineering and politics, or management, or economics, even philosopy, sociology, and some pretty arcane arts, I'm rarely disappointed. Try using IEEE Xplore in ways you don't expect. I'd love to know what you find -- and how you're able to use it.

Stanford IEEE Presents Analog Filters with Robert Pease

2008-05-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 27
Invitation to Students, Engineers and Technicians:

Primary Topics will be: Low-Pass, High-Pass, Band-Pass, and Notch Filters, using op-amps and R's and C's. "Passive" filters using L's and C's will be mentioned briefly. Related aspects of R's, C's, and Amplifiers will be discussed. The use of National's Webench will be featured. We'll leave
time for Q & A.

Biographical Info for Robert A. Pease
Robert A. Pease graduated from MIT in 1961 with a BSEE degree. He was employed at Philbrick Researches up to 1975 and designed many Operational Amplifiers and Analog Computing Modules. Pease joined National Semiconductor in 1976. He has designed about 24 analog ICs including power regulators, voltage references, and temperature sensors. He has written about 65 magazine articles and holds about 21 US patents. Pease is the self-declared Czar of Bandgaps since 1986. He enjoys hiking, and trekking in Nepal. His position at NSC is Staff Scientist. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.

Pease has written the definitive book, TROUBLESHOOTING ANALOG CIRCUITS (May 1991), now in its 17th printing. It has been translated into French, German, Dutch, Polish, and Russian. Pease is a columnist in Electronic Design magazine, with over 250 columns published. The column, PEASE PORRIDGE, covers a wide range of technical topics. Many of Pease's recent columns are posted at: http://electronicdesign.com/Departments/DepartmentID/6/6.html

Pease also has posted many technical and semi-technical items on his main web-site: http://www.national.com/rap Pease was inducted into the Electronics Engineering Hall Of Fame in October 2002. Refer to: http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=17269&Extension=pdf. See Pease's other web site at http://www.transtronix.com/

Pease is also the Dean of NSC's Analog University, which provides many engineering classes on analog topics.

Stanford IEEE Presents "Sustainability in a Corporate World"

2008-05-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

May 29, presented by Accenture Technology Labs.

"Accenture leads the SMART Building Alliance (SBA), providing Enterprise Energy Management Solutions and decreasing building-based energy spend. The SBA Solution uses a comprehensive building analysis and open IT standards to leverage existing building management system infrastructure. Sophisticated analytics identify energy saving opportunities and continuous optimized control keeps buildings operating at peak efficiency. The SBA solution creates value in the form of reduced energy consumption, reduced maintenance costs (labor, parts, and inventory) and reduced environmental impact."

Speakers:
Brent Blum - Accenture Technology Labs Consultant
Brent Blum has been with Accenture since 2004 and has held a variety of roles related to the Sensor and Mobility space. These roles have included Online Health Services, Core Sensor Telemetry Architecture, and the SMART Buildings Alliance. He continues to have a strong interest in telematics as well as a variety of Web 2.0 technologies, RFID, IPTV, automotive technologies and the role of technology in society.

Sean A. Stauth – Accenture Technology Labs Consultant
Sean A. Stauth is a consultant within the Mobility and Sensors group at the Accenture Technology Labs. He has been working on developing Enterprise Resource Planning Mobile applications for executives and helping define the Tech Labs' strategy in the mobility space. Recently, he has been instrumental in establishing the technical architecture vision for the SMART Buildings Alliance.

Han C. Choi – Accenture Technology Labs Analyst
Han C. Choi is an analyst with the Accenture Technology Labs and a former Stanford IEEE officer. While earning a degree in Electrical Engineering, he was involved in a wide range of research experiences spanning from electrical engineering to socioeconomics. During his time at the Technology Labs, he has primarily focused on designing a robust and flexible framework capable of handling the unique and versatile challenges of the energy management industry.

Sample IEEE Xplore articles on "enterprise energy management"
Right Power, Right Price, Forth, B.; Tobin, T., IEEE Computer Applications in Power, 15, 2, pp 22-27
Enterprising Energy Management, Van Gorp, J.C, IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, 2, 1, pp. 59-63

Stanford Spring Mixer - May 5, 2008

2008-05-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

Stanford IEEE hosted its annual spring mixer on May 5, 2008 in David Packard Electrical Engineering Atrium. Over 30 IEEE, EE and related engineering students attended the annual event. This year, speakers industry were invited to give a first-hand candid view on high technology entrepreneurship. Emily Melton, the director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Munjal Shah, CEO & Founder of Riya.com gave a panel style discussion on entrepreneurship to members of the EE, CS, and IEEE community at Stanford. Following the talk, a dinner was served and attendees were encouraged to mix and meet each other and the speakers.

GRE to Add Non-Cognitive Test

2008-05-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

Students hear me talk ad nauseum about the importance of the soft skills to success in today's hyper-competitive world.

Today's "Inside Higher Education" includes news of the Educational Testing Services' (ETS) plan to add a "Personal Potential Index" to the exam required for admission to many graduate/PhD programs. IMHO this would work to the advantage of IEEE student leaders, who are pretty uniformly impressive in the sought-after abilities: "knowledge and creativity, communication skills, team work, resilience, planning and organization, and ethics and integrity. "

For more, see: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/05/22/ets

Pathfinder on Power and Energy

2008-05-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of the young engineers I met early on at Drexel, Anuj Jain, emailed with a question about finding resources on renewal energy, and ways to participate in the global "conversations" on relevant issues. IEEE has an exhaustive pathfinder covering everything from "Education and Careers" to "International Perspectives" to "Communities and Discussion Groups."

Take a look at: http://www.ieee.org/portal/site/refguides/menuitem.c0ff26d5c7a183f144e72f8e5bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=pesguide&path=refguides/pes_guide&file=default.xml

Engineering a Greener World - Drexel - April 10, 2008

2008-04-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

Invited Speakers:

David Rosner, National Commission on EnergyPolicy - Sustainable Engineering Policy

Paul Marcoux, VP of Green Engineering, Cisco Systems -
Industry Going Green

Douglas Arent, Director of Strategic Energy Analysis - NREL
Renewable Energy: Status and Prospects

The presentations can be found online at: http://media.irt.drexel.edu/MediaSite/Viewer/Viewers/Viewer240TL3Banner.aspx?mode=Default&peid=8af64f47-8423-4a6a-9341-f44fd2d55df1&pid=227ce53a-a6c5-45c2-ba7c-11ea3c7d0abb&playerType=WM7

Scroll through to find a series of fascinating talks regarding the impact of green technology on all aspects of our lives.

Texas A&M Branch Organizes Research Symposium

2008-04-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

The Texas A&M IEEE is hosting a symposium to showcase the undergraduate research opportunities available to you. This will be an excellent chance to learn about different ways to:

~Expand your educational experience
~Earn Elective credit hours towards graduation
~Add valuable research experience to your resume
~Get your foot in the door for graduate school research programs

On Saturday, April 5, in Zachry 102, the IEEE will be hosting graduate researchers and professors from 6 different fields of research to give informationals and lab tours to interested students. There will be free food and drinks during lunch as well as other raffle give aways.

Drexel IEEE Technical Poster Symposium, March 7

2008-02-25T09:10:00.000-08:00

The Drexel IEEE Poster Exhibit and Competition is aimed at highlighting current innovative research work ongoing in the fields of Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Computer Engineering at Drexel University. It is also a platform for the presenters to gain valuable experience prior to attending larger conferences.

This event is being held by the Drexel IEEE Graduate Forum, that primarily focuses on the application of fundamental theory and practice of electrical, electronics, biomedical and computer science and engineering amongst the Drexel graduate student community and its interaction with the IEEE community nationally and internationally.

The Poster symposium will also facilitate in connecting the different departments at Drexel University and promote better collaboration between different research laboratories. Furthermore, outstanding posters will be recognized and awarded.

For more information see: http://www.ece.drexel.edu/IEEE/grad/techsymposium2008/

Drexel Scholarly Communication Symposium, April 16

2008-02-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Drexel University Libraries, with support from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), will present The 5th Annual Scholarly Communication Symposium titled: Scholar2Scholar: How Web 2.0 is Changing Scholarly Communication. Join us for a half-day symposium featuring speaker presentations, panel and roundtable discussions, followed by a networking lunch.

Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Time: 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Location: Drexel University, Edmund D. Bossone Research Enterprise Center, Market Street (between 31st and 32nd Streets), Philadelphia, PA
Details and registration information will follow shortly.

See also: http://usefulchem.blogspot.com/2008/02/scholar-2-scholar-meeting-at-drexel.html
and http://scholar2scholar.wikispaces.com/

Stanford IEEE Mentorship Program

2008-02-25T03:21:00.000-08:00

The Stanford IEEE Mentorship Program pairs undergraduate Stanford EE students with upperclassmen or graduate students based on similar academic interests to provide guidance in educational and career decisions. Mentors have the opportunity to reconnect with younger students while sharing their experiences and thoughts on the field. There will be planned Stanford IEEE sponsored events for mentors and students, but the extent of the mentor relationship will be decided on an individual basis. Mentors will be provided with a stipend to spend on mentor-advisee meetings (i.e. coffee lunch at Bytes Café). The eventual vision is to create a sense of community where aspiring engineers can share perspectives on the future trends of our field.

Benefits of Being a Mentor
1. Help aspiring young EE navigate through the madness.
2. Share the glory (or mistake) of going to grad school.
3. Share your recruiting and career advise with the young ones.
4. Live vicariously through the new generation.
5. Meet a new friend!

Benefits of Being an Advisee
1. Know which classes to take, which to avoid at all costs.
2. Learn how to get a summer internship or job.
3. Learn how to find a research project with a renowned professor.
4. Learn how to survive life as a electrical engineering student at Stanford.
5. Meet a new friend!

Berkeley Honors E-Week with an Egg Hunt

2008-02-20T05:14:00.000-08:00

In honor of E-Week, IEEE will be holding an Egg Hunt all day Wednesday (02/20)! There will be 100 eggs hidden discreetly in the buildings of Cory and Soda. Every egg is filled with candy, a special prize, or a clue leading to the grand prize, so best of luck to everyone, and Happy E-Week!

IEEE Core Purpose

2008-02-13T08:29:00.001-08:00

IEEE's core purpose: to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.

~ You'll be seeing more of this in the year ahead.

~ Tell me how IEEE is helping you make the world a better place.

Columbia's Reverse Engineering Goes to Drexel 1-15-2008

2008-01-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

Guest speaker and Columbia University faculty, David Vallancourt with Drexel professor and IEEE branch advisor Adam Fontecchio.

Drexel Student Branch Leaders organized this event as a kick-off for the semester. Over 130 students signed in for the evening's iPod exploration at the Bossone Center.

IEEE Student Branches on YouTube

2008-01-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

Promotional Videos
IEEE Interest Video: Louisiana Tech http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dBlP-_heYQ
About the UMD IEEE Student Branch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt823Znd8aE
Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering in Nagpur, INDIA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V8i1esifzA
Bilkent, Turkey IEEE Student Branch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o2898nV4Nw

IEEE-USA Competition Videos
Lousiana Tech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnBukhGBy1w
University of Florida: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6r10TMVJ3w
Texas Tech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrYqE7K3chU

IEEE Evolution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjxFVP0pDGU

IEEE/SAE DArtmouth Formula Hybrid Videos (http://www.formula-hybrid.org/)
ACE Formula Hybrid at Illinois Tech Lauch Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o2898nV4Nw; on ABC 7 News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1ojZGlOqFI&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYaKdUSpnCQ
McGill Formula Hybrid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvCZwB5wnHk
Embry Riddle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSfpaTGCnjE
Dartmouth DFR 2006 Formula Hybrid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeBPvhR2bH4

Internship Opportunities - Dept. of Energy

2008-01-08T05:46:00.000-08:00

*Are you interested in conducting research at the US Department of Energy's largest multi-purpose laboratory?
*Do you know someone who would be an excellent intern, participating in world-class research with world-class scientists?
*Would you like to get paid to learn?
*Are you interested in expanding your resumé?
*Would you like to gain research experience before entering the workforce or graduate school?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above then you should visit www.scied.science.doe.gov to learn more about the following programs:

~ Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) Program
~Community College Institute (CCI) Program
~Pre-Service Teacher (PST) Program Faculty and Student Teams (FaST) Program

Virginia Tech Undergraduate Research Magazine

2007-12-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

IEEE Research Magazine Spring 2008

This year, IEEE is excited to provide to undergraduates, for the first time, the opportunity to formally present their research by sponsoring an Undergraduate Research Magazine. IEEE would like to invite those who are conducting, or have conducted since the Fall of 2005, undergraduate research to submit an IEEE formatted paper to the Research Magazine. IEEE will accept papers until January 28 2008. At that time, a panel of ECE Professors will review the papers. All papers deemed valid will be collected and printed in the Spring IEEE Undergraduate Research Magazine. Of those papers, the authors of the top four papers as judged by the panel, will be recognized and rewarded during the spring semester. These authors will also be invited to present their papers to the ECE faculty, staff and students at a formal ceremony.

This is a wonderful opportunity for those of you already participating in undergraduate research, as well as an incentive for other undergraduates to get involved, as the current plan in to continue to print an annual magazine.

Caltech Mentoring Sessions

2007-12-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

Freshmen Informational Meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 4th from 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Free Food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freshmen interested in the Electrical Engineering or Computer Science majors are encouraged to attend this informational meeting.Upperclassmen will advise the freshmen about which classes to take and how to plan their schedules appropriately.

Upperclass will share their experiences about choosing classes, so that the freshmen can make a more informed decision about thier own classes. In addition, the IEEE board members will descuss the role of IEEE, and tell freshmen about ways that they can get involved.

Stanford Book Swap Social

2007-12-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

Recycled textbooks + savings + snacks + social networking @ Stanford

Free Course on Working with Pre-university Crowd

2007-11-30T13:26:00.000-08:00

IEEE Educational Activities, a partner in the National Academy of Engineering’s Engineering Equity Extension Service, has developed a free, 30 minute online course that provides assistance and support for IEEE members interested in working with the pre-university community.

After completing the course, participants will be able to:
-discuss goals and needs associated with engineering outreach to pre-university students
- demonstrate an understanding of ideas for giving an effective outreach presentation
- effectively work with pre-university schools and teachers.

Extra features within the online course include a transcript, a handout of a sample activity, and a resources section. Visit http://www.ieee.org/web/education/preuniversity/EEES to take the course and go to http://www.grgsurvey.net/cgi-in/rws3.pl?FORM=NAE_IEEE_Outreach to complete the survey. For more information contact Yvonne Pelham, Educational Activities, at y.pelham@ieee.org or +1 732 562 5321.

Columbia Reverse Engineering: LCD 11-29-2007

2007-11-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

Professor Kymissis and Columbia University IEEE student leaders relax after hosting another successful Reverse Engineering presentation, this time on LCDs.

For more photos of this and other student events, see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ieee-upp/

Columbia Reverse Engineering Series: LCD

2007-11-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

Columbia continues their successful reverse engineering series as Professor John Kymissis examines the high-definition world of LCD.

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ieee/flyers/lcd.pdf

IEEE Announces 2008 Fellows

2007-11-26T06:40:00.000-08:00

2008 IEEE Fellows at University Partnership Program Schools
Fellows must have "contributed importantly to the advancement or application of engineering, science and technology, bringing the realization of significant value to society."

MIT
~ Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande for contributions to the development of digital self-aligned gate technology and vacuum microelectronic devices

~ Emery Neal Brown for contributions to state-space algorithms for point processes and applications to neuroscience data

~ Judy L. Hoyt for contributions to silicon-based heterostructure devices and technology

~ Roger G. Mark for development of physiologic signal databases and automated arrhythmia analysis

~ Muriel Medard for contributions to wideband wireless fading channels and network coding

~ Jacob K. White for contributions to simulation tools for RF circuits, electrical interconnects, and micro machined devices

UCLA
~ Abeer Alwan for contributions to speech perception and production modeling and their applications

~ Jia-Ming Liu for contributions to the control and applications of nonlinear dynamics of lasers

Mani Bhushan Srivastava for contributions to energy-aware wireless communications and sensor networking

University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
~ Peter M. Chen for contributions to fault-tolerant storage systems

UC San Diego
~ Pamela C. Cosman for contributions to image and video compression and wireless communications

~ Kit Lai Paul Yu for contributions to semiconductor waveguide modulators and detectors

Stanford
~ Martin M. Fejer for contributions to nonlinear optical materials and guided wave optics

~ Oyekunle A. Olukotun for contributions to multiprocessors on a chip and multi-threaded processor design

Virginia Tech
~ Dong Sam Ha for leadership in VLSI design and test

Caltech
~ Steven H. Low for contributions to internet congestion control

Berkeley
~ Andrew K. Packard for contributions to robust control

Drexel University
~ Athina P. Petropulu for contributions to signal processing for communications, networking and ultrasound imaging

Columbia University
~ Ken Shepard for contributions to computer-aided design of digital integrated circuits

~ Xiaodong Wang for contributions to signal processing for wireless communications

Texas A&M University
~ Hamid A. Toliyat for contributions to the design, analysis and control of multi-phase fault tolerant electric machines

For a complete list of the 2008 Fellow Class, see: http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/fellows/2008fellowclass.html

Stanford's Internet Month Series: Google's Next Gen Search Technology

2007-11-26T05:14:00.000-08:00

WPI Spark Party Photos

2007-11-23T14:23:00.000-08:00

Professor Emanuel ignites the night

The making of the coil...

For more photos, see: http://grimlock.ind.wpi.edu/~ieee/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=Spark2007HEAD

For a great article about all that's going on at WPI's IEEE Student Branch, see: http://www.ece.wpi.edu/News/briana735.html

UCSD/SDSU Rock (pun intended)

2007-11-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

IEEE Student Branch leaders from both schools, and a special keynote speaker, celebrate an outstanding joint Student Professional Awareness Conference.

One presenter captured the spirit: "it is a thrill to see this kind of entrepreneurial effort and leadership among such a large group of young, wickedly smart students...."

IEEE-USA Online Engineering Video Scholarship Competition

2007-11-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

In October, IEEE-USA launched an online video competition for undergraduate engineering students calling on participants to create 90-second video clips, aimed at 11-13 year-olds, that reinforce engineers' contributions to the quality of life and help debunk engineering stereotypes. IEEE-USA will award seven scholarship prizes totaling $10,000 to the most creative and effective video clips highlighting the theme "How Engineers Make a World of Difference." The competition is open to all U.S. undergraduate students in engineering and computer science. All entries must be submitted through YouTube by midnight (Eastern Time) on Friday, 18 January 2008. For more information on how to enter the IEEE-USA Online Engineering Video Scholarship Competition, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/video_competition; or e-mail p.mccarter@ieee.org.

For a pdf of a flyer announcing this, and also, the IEEE-USA Mass Media Fellow Fellows Program, see
http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/files/potentialsad_novdec07.pdf

Stanford: Small Stuff in Search of Big Bucks

2007-11-19T14:38:00.000-08:00

Announcing the IEEE SFBA December 18th noontime seminar.
Again this year we welcome Lux Research who will give us a peek at their work compiling the current state of nanotechnology commercialization. These are the folks who know and you will get it before it goes to press.
Small Stuff in Search of the Big Bucks: Nanotechnology Commercialization by Sector
Speaker: Kristin Abkemeier, Ph.D., Analyst at Lux Research, Inc.
Date: Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Time: Registration & light lunch 11:30am. Presentation & Q/A 12:00 to 1pm
Location: National Semiconductor Bldg E-1 CMA Room. 2900 Semiconductor Drive, Santa Clara, CA
Cost: IEEE Members and Students $5. Non-Members $10 at the door.
Please RSVP at our web site: www.ieee.org/nano

Talk Abstract:
Nanotechnology is shifting from research labs to markets, as world investments reached $12.6 billion in 2006. With the first applications in-market in the materials, electronics and energy, and life science sectors, the impact of nanotechnology in different industries varies from broad and incremental in nature, to high and narrow in scope. While material performance has already been transformed, disruptive technologies are still in development. Successful commercialization of nanotechnology applications depends on executing, finding market pull, and partnering.

Speaker Biography:
Dr. Abkemeier is an Analyst at Lux Research where she covers a broad range of emerging technologies including nanotechnology, semiconductor memory, solar power, and alternative power and energy storage. Her research and analysis help Lux Research clients to form strategic decisions by providing information that expands upon traditional business metrics. Her scientific research experience includes experimental and computational investigations of phenomena in several different semiconductor systems of interest to the field of fundamental physics. Kristin has published several articles in leading physics journals and has also worked as an information technology software developer and science communicator. She holds a Ph.D. in experimental condensed matter physics from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University.

Columbia Presents Motorola and Mobile Devices

2007-11-14T12:37:00.001-08:00

Come see how a cell phone is designed by one of the industry's top companies!

Lead engineers from managers from Motorola Mobile Devices business will host an engineering discussion on how mobile devices are built from the perspective of Electrical, RF, Mechanical and Software engineering disciplines. A Speaker from each discipline will talk about the work they do toward building cell phones using examples of past and current projects.

For a flyer of this event see: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ieee/flyers/motorola.pdf

MIT HALO3 Tournament

2007-11-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

HALO TOURNAMENT with FOOD and PRIZES
What are you willing to do for a FREE copy of Halo 3? Gears of War? ForzaMotorsports?Well, what are you willing to do for Humanity?If you answered take on the Covenant, then come to the Halo 3 Tournament, aspecial Course VI social hour sponsored by MIT ACM/IEEE

Date: Thursday, October 25, 2007Time: 8:00 PM (after the Microsoft Tech-Talk)
Free Prizes? Yes! Free Food? Yes! (Pizza, drinks, other tasty treats)

What's more? A Microsoft Tech Talk at 6:30 PM in 32-123 by Senior Architect JimMiller sponsored by HKN preceding the tournament, that's what!

Stanford Presents Riya

2007-11-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Riya - Visual Search and Its Applications on the Web
Date: Friday, Nov. 2nd
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 pm
Lunch Provided
Please join the Stanford IEEE community in welcoming our very own EE alum, Dr. Burak Gokturk, who has gone on and started exciting online search companies! =========================================
Abstract:
Search has been proven to be a powerful tool and been the most used application in the web. Visual search is a recently developing application of computer vision and machine learning. Several applications have already shown new ways of traversing and searching the web via visual search. This talk describes the meaning of visual search and demonstrates why we need it for the next generation of image search on the web. The talk also discusses several problems in computer vision that are commonly seen in visual search. Web demonstrations will be provided during the talk.

Speaker Bio:
Burak is the 'brain' behind Riya's photo recognition technology, and leads the research team. It is Burak's desire to bring the usefulness of the computer vision science to human attention in this exciting venture. His team's current work aligns with this goal and includes detection and recognition of faces, text and objects from photos taken under uncontrolled conditions.

Prior to Riya, he developed computer vision algorithms at Canesta,Intel and BEKO. He has been in the vision field for more than 8 years, published more than 30 papers, and holds more than 15 patent applications. His computer vision algorithms have been prototyped and/or implemented in various computer vision products. He developed a 3D shape representation scheme, called "Random Orthogonal Shape Sections", which achieved one of the best recognition rates for the
detection of colon cancer. His other research concentrated on tracking, detection and recognition of 3D shapes and faces, medical imaging and 3D image compression. Burak received a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science form Bogazici University, and MS and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Burak is also one helluva soccer player.

Berkeley Undergraduate Research Seminar

2007-11-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

IEEE Student Branch is hosting an Undergraduate Research Seminar [2nd part of Student Professional Awareness Venture (SPAVe)]

Unlike the usual undergraduate research workshop, we will focus on various projects that are seeking new undergraduate researchers for the upcoming Spring of 2008.

At this event, we will have two important speakers who can bring you valuable information and insights regarding undergraduate research opportunities:
1) Greg Gibling
- Part of Research Accelerator for Multiple Processors (RAMP)
- Head TA for CS61C;
2) Professor Ruzena Bajcsy
- Professor of the EECS department
- Research focus includes Artificial Intelligence, Biosystems, Control, Intelligent Systems, and Robotics (CIR), Graphics and Human-Computer Interaction (GHCI), and Security.

Come to support IEEE, and discover new and exciting research opportunities.

CHECK OUT BERKELEY'S MOST RECENT NEWSLETTER:
http://www-ieee.eecs.berkeley.edu/newsletter/vol2issue1.pdf

WPI Spark Party

2007-11-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

From Briana Morey, Student Chair, WPI

The Spark Party will be occurring on November 15th at 6pm. The original Spark Party was thrown in comemeration of the 100th anniversary of the construction of Atwater-Kent, the electrical engineering building at WPI. A professor here, Professor Alex Emanuel was essential in helping us to hold the first Spark Party on November 9th, 2006, as well as in the Spark Party that will be thrown this year. Over 200 people attended last year (we think it was close to 250) which, to my knowledge, was a new record for an event run by the WPI Student Branch of IEEE. It was named the Spark Party because of the stories of the old Spark Parties from when our oldest professor was a student. Apparently, they would assemble collections of power equipment to scare their friends and have a good time.

Today the Spark Party represents all of the best things about electrical engineering, specifically at WPI. It is a strong community effort that brings students and professors together to put on a show for the rest of the professors and the student body. There are power demonstrations, which last year included a pair of Giant Tesla Coils, a Plasma Thruster, a piece of equipment that provided what we dubbed "an Electromagnetic Karate Chop", and many more contributions from students and professors alike. There were also performances by student bands, an electrical engineering rap performed by a student in a giant capacitor costume, a comedy act, and a variety of other types of entertainment. Last year, we had borrowed the Tesla coils from a generous individual, Rick Ladroga, who has provided time and expertise, as well as equipment.
This year, we are building our own. We have a team of students, led by Mike Leferman, who have put no small amount of time and effort into this Tesla coil and it will be unveiled at the Spark Party this year.

The program this year also includes:
~ Demonstrations from Professors Emanuel, Duckworth, Pedersen, Bitar that will demonstrate the most exciting aspects of electrical engineering
~ A demonstration that will produce some impressive sparks from Jim O'Rourke using Van De Graaf and Whimshurst generators
~ An instrumental selection by Professor McNeill
~ The Mario theme song played on an accordion that was modified by a student to contain a synthesizer
~ A few selections from Copper Tree, a student band that was aptly named for a group of electrical engineers
~ The WPI Alma Mater, led by Brenda McDonald, the ECE secretary
~ A student demonstration of a fire fighting robot that he designed and constructed
~ Sketch Comedy by the "Eclectic Comedy Engineers (ECE)" (This is appropriate because of the department's official name: Electrical and Computer Engineering - ECE)

The evening will conclude with a demonstration of the Tesla Coil that we have constructed, and will involve some of the more interesting feats that such a coil is capable of. We expect the program to last between 2.5 and 3 hours.

If you are interested in pictures of last year's Spark Party, they are
available here: http://grimlock.ind.wpi.edu/~ieee/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=SparkParty%21B2006

The photos from this year's Spark Party will be posted here after the event:
http://www.ieee.wpi.edu/pictures/

UCSD and SDSU S-PAC November 16, 2007

2007-11-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Jan 30

2007-05-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

My first visit to WPI for their annual IEEE Networking Dinner. Before the event, Outgoing Branch Chair, (now graduate advisor) Vivek Varshney gave me the grand tour and showed me why WPI kept him as a master's candidate.

Check out WPI's media site for great photos of their activities -- SPARK Party, Pi a Prof, Paintball...
http://www.ieee.wpi.edu/media.shtml

Three of the young PhD students at my dinner table: Ferit Ozan Akgul, Nayef Alsindi and Mohammad Heidari -- all IEEE authors, as well!

Virginia Tech SPAC, January 25-26, 2007

2007-05-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Virginia Tech's IEEE Student Branch Officers after a successful Student Professional Awareness Conference (SPAC)

Showing Josh and I some of the sights of Blacksburg, VA.

Branch advisor Dr. Amy Bell, me, Joshua Bartlett (guest speaker, former U Mich IEEE Branch Chair) and Virginia Tech Branch Chair Brian Crosby.

Amy received an IEEE Outstanding Branch Advisor award in 2006 --
see: http://www.ece.vt.edu/news/articles/byieee.html

IEEE Leaders Summit

2006-10-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. ~Alan Kay

Hard to keep up with the energy, enthusiasm and adventuresome spirit of this group... but what a pleasure trying.

MIT, July 21

2006-07-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

Small world... I learned that IEEE Student Branch Leaders Will Coulter (Caltech), Stanley Wang (MIT) and Vivek Varshney (Worcester Polytech) were all in the Boston area this summer, and invited them to join me for dinner so they could meet.

What we didn't realize until the introductions started? They're all working at the same place: MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

ASEE Annual Conference, June 18-21

2006-07-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

At my first American Society for Engineering Education conference the company was all good, all the time.

Here with me, deboarding The Spirit of Chicago, are Wendy McCarville, Rachel Berrington and Judy Brady.

PRIME 2006, June 11-16

2006-07-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Fabian Uriarte (right) with “future faculty colleagues” received the first University Partnership Program Travel Grant. His paper, "Continuous vs. Piecewise Hysterisis Model of a Current Transformer" was accepted for presentation at the 2006 IEEE PhD Research in Microelectronics Conference, held in Otranto, Italy.

Fabian expects to complete his PhD in Electrical Egineering at Texas A&M next year. He holds BS and MS degrees in EE from another UPP school, Virginia Tech.

About the trip, Fabian says “the best part was becoming comfortable and starting a group of professional friends abroad,” whom he hopes to

encounter again as a university professor .

In May, Fabian placed second in the 2005/6 Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition Paper Contest sponsored by the I EEE Power Engineering Society

More Bits...

2006-07-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Cafe Scientfique - "Food for the Hungry Mind" and a potential source of speakers/topics
IEEE Gold(Graduates of the Last Decade) contacts Make connections with younger engineering professionals in your community
Why Janie Won't Go to Engineering School (Hint: Janie is not dumb) - I was recently asked why there aren't more women in engineering, and remembered this article by Drexel professor (and Vice President of the IEEE Educational Activities Board) Moshe Kam. Any comments?

Engineering Careers and Other Interesting Bits

2006-06-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

"As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information." Benjamin Disraeli

IEEE Career Alerts
IEEE Career Alerts Archive
Cold Calling Your Way to a New Job (Use the Advanced Search in IEEE Xplore to great advantage - select "affiliation" from the drop-down menu and search by company, university, geography.)
When Seeking a New Job, Think Like an Employer
"Engineering in the Age of Biology", Fawwaz T. Ulaby, Proceedings of the IEEE

"Employers prefer to hire graduates familiar with standards, yet many applicants lack exposure." From: Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, The Role of Industry Standards: An Overview of the Top Engineering Schools' Libraries Check out IEEE Xplore's "100 Top Docs" to see which standards are in the spotlight worldwide. Visit the IEEE Standards homepage. Learn more about standards development. Visit IEEE Standards in Education.

IEEE Branch Builds Computerized Dance Floor
Share your IEEE Photos

Drexel University, May 16

2006-06-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

A highly motivated team of graduate students, led by Anuj Jain and mentored by librarian Jay Bhatt, crafted a Career Event attended by more than 50 students.

Their panel featured six Drexel ECE and biomed faculty, representatives from Drexel Career Services and the IEEE, who shared information and experiences that would assist students in their job search.

Dartmouth Formula Hybrid, May 2-4

2006-06-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

IEEE proudly supports Formula Hybrid™, an innovative design and engineering challenge developed by Dartmouth for undergraduate and graduate students. This competition demands a real-world, multidisciplinary approach to create a car that emphasizes drive train innovation and fuel efficiency in a high-performance application.

Texas A&M Prof. Make McDermott attended the Formula Hybrid faculty conference with assistance from an IEEE University Partners Travel Grant. Next year, participating UPP teams can apply for $500 in travel funds.

UCLA, April 6

2006-06-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Next year's IEEE Student Branch Vice Chair Deepa Deot helped register the more than 70 students who attended their General Meeting on April 6.

Student Branch Chair Stanley Hsu directed the event, which included presentations by professor and IEEE Coastal Los Angeles Section Chair Michael Briggs, librarian Audrey Jackson and IEEE.

California Institute of Technology, April 6

2006-06-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

Rahul Deb and Will Coulter, shown here with Prof. Yu-Chong Tai, outlined their vision for a revitalized IEEE Student Branch at Caltech, at a lunch hosted by IEEE.

UC San Diego, April 5

2006-06-08T08:31:00.000-07:00

The University of California, San Diego, invited Rachel Berrington and I for a full day of events. We worked with librarians Mary Linn Bergstrom, Deborah Kegel and Susan Shepherd to co-host a graduate/faculty lunch, and then Rachel conducted an IEEE Xplore session with UCSD librarians.

The IEEE Student Branch hosted a meeting where they displayed their ambitious work on three national competitions: RoboMagellan, AUVSI and NatCar.

Presenters included outgoing Branch Chair Andrew Chan,

leader of the RoboMagellan team.

University of Michigan, March 28

2006-05-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

The IEEE Student Branch of the University of Michigan hosted Prof. Larry Bernstein of Stevens Institute of Technology as a Distinguished Lecturer.

Ruth Wolfish (IEEE Eastern Client Services Manager) Prof. Bernstein, me and Joshua Bartlett, Branch Chair

Texas A&M, January 24

2006-05-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

Prof. B. Don Russell spoke to a crowd of graduate students and faculty who attended a lunch hosted by IEEE -- in the lobby of the Zachry Engineering building.

Librarian Jane Stephens (right) helped coordinate the graduate/faculty lunch at Texas A&M, and was joined by colleague Pauline Melgoza.

You can't spell E-l-v-I-s P-r-E-s-l-E-y without IEEE.

Rachel Berrington (IEEE West Coast Client Services Manager), Judy Brady (Senior Marketing Manager, Universities), the King, and me at the American Library Association conference earlier that week in San Antonio

UPP Branch web sites

2006-05-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

Berkeley
Stanford
Worcester Polytech
University of Michigan
UCLA
Virginia Tech
UC San Diego
Texas A&M
Columbia
MIT
Caltech
Drexel Grad
Drexel

Virginia Tech, March 24

2006-05-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

Graduate students, faculty and librarian Larry Thompson joined IEEE for a lunch and discussion of the IEEE and the IEEE Xplore digital library.

Later that afternoon we had the pleasure of participating in a Student Professional Awareness Conference (SPAC) run by the Virginia Tech IEEE Student Branch. Shown here are the leaders, with a close-up of outgoing chair Abbas Hussain and incoming chair Brian Crosby.

Columbia University. February 22

2006-05-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed an evening with the Columbia University IEEE Student Branch leaders, as we brainstormed about their ambitions and plans for spring and beyond.

May 1, 2006 Conference Call

2006-05-05T09:48:00.001-07:00

Participating:
Brian Crosby – 2006-2007 Branch Chair – Virginia Tech - undergraduate
Abbas Hussain - -2005-2006 Branch Chair – Virginia Tech – graduating senior
Will Coulter - 2006 – 2007 Chair – California Institute of Technology – graduate
Owen Farrell – 2006 – 2007 Chair – Drexel University – undergraduate
Joshua Bartlett – 2005-2006, continuing through 2007 Chair – U. of Michigan – graduate
John Murphy – 2006-2007 Chair – Dartmouth – graduate

Q: Would students be interested in a UPP Branch Chair “Summit” in Piscataway?
A. Yes, and would like to see the following covered:
o Fundraising strategies
o Generating corporate involvement for technical presentations, class project support, tours, mentoring, etc.
o Methods for keeping students active throughout the year
o Centralization of resources: how do they keep apprised of IEEE opportunities, deadlines, section and regional contacts, etc. throughout the organization/societies
o Scholarship opportunities

Q: Would students support re-instating 1-2 free conference registrations as a benefit of UPP participation?
A: For grads, conference participation is routine, and discount registration a real benefit of IEEE membership (free is even better). If opportunities were communicated effectively, undergraduate interest would be high as well.

How to find presenters/supporters
· IEEE Section and regional activities. Owen says made contacts at Verizon, Boeing and Lockheed Martin at an IEEE Awards Banquet. Take your own business cards if you have them – always try to get business cards from prospects.
· Alumni and previous IEEE officers(use Alumni Affairs office/search your online alumni newsletter)
· Career Resource Center – find out who is coming to recruit and when. Ask them to present as well.
· Career Fairs – same as above, but in person, and ask them to return.
· Tap university faculty for their industry contacts
· IEEE Fellows at your university
Idea: Host an “IEEE Fellows” luncheon or dinner...Spring might be ideal, and you could encourage student members to stay involved the entire year, but making the “Fellows” event an occasion to acknowledge students who have made significant contributions. My ideas only – make it your own. But these women and men are incredibly influential, and in my experience, happy to share their insights with students.

Q. How to find corporate sponsorship (funding) for “project” classes.
A.
· Use IEEE Xplore (affiliation search) and other library resources to find out what regional companies are pursuing similar research.
· Have a detailed proposal (purpose/goal, research conducted to date, budget, seeking funding or donations in kind, time frame, expected outcome, etc) in hand before soliciting support – (DOES ANYONE HAVE A SUCCESSFUL EXAMPLE THEY WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?)

Publicity of events – what works?
· Post to website 2-3 week in advance
· Email once a week, then the night before/hour before
· Posters put up on the day of event
· Flyers placed in engineering study sections in advance
· Word of mouth – announce in classes the day of/before

Who do you invite?
· All IEEE student members culled from opt-in branch listservs or IEEE member mailing list (SAMIEEE, see below)
· Through administration to EE, CE, CS listservs
· Don’t overlook students in other engineering disciplines, i.e. biomed, aero, oceanics, etc.
· Some topics may be of interest outside of the engineering department – patents to law students and financial engineering to business/math majors. (Caution: don’t promise food if you’re inviting the whole school).

Conference call WISH LIST:
· More intercollegiate activities/networking opportunities. (Consider inviting nearby branches to presentations; co-hosting a major speaker such as a Computer Society Distinguished Visitor).
· Centralization of student information/resources – institutional memory. Complaints that it’s difficult to know all of the opportunities/responsibilities available. (I will make this known internally). Suggestion that it is invaluable to get well-acquainted with IEEE Student Activities Chairs/supporters at the section and regional levels. (see below)
· A calendar that can be imported into iCal, Outlook, Mozilla, etc. that lists events, deadlines, etc. (see below).

Links requested:
http://www.ieee.org/
→ Careers → For Students → Resources for Students→ Student Concourse
Look under Branch Operations for much of what I’ve listed below
Branch leadership workbook: http://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs/membership/students/Branchworkbook2006.doc
(If you don’t have this information in a binder, give me a mailing address and I’ll have Student Services send one.)
Regional Activities Chairs:
http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/membership/students/sac/rsacs.html
Student Activities Committee Members
http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/membership/students/sac/sac_info.html
Scholarships and awards: http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/membership/students/sc_scholarships.html
Travel grants: See below
Branch calendar:
http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/membership/students/sc_calendar.html
IEEE Branch member mailing list – SAMIEEE:
First, look at the bottom of the following page, under Student Branch Resources
http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/membership/students/sc_oncampus.html
Only then would I approach:
http://www.ieee.org/organizations/vols/samieee/training.html

IEEE Travel Grants

IEEE INFOCOM
http://www.ieee-infocom.org/travel_grants.htm

Computational Intelligence Society http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/membership/students/awards/sc_neural.html

International Power Modulator
http://www.eng.auburn.edu/pmc2006/travel_grant.html

Communications Society
http://www.comsoc.org/socstr/documents/pp/pp_4_1_5.html

Computer Society
http://www.dsn.org/Student%20Forum.html

Computer Society Distributed Computing Systems
http://icdcs2006.di.fc.ul.pt/

Industrial Electronics Society
http://www.iecon06.iut-amiens.fr/index.php?page=student

Here are useful web sites to help with
Finding a conference: http://www.ieee.org/web/conferences/search/index.html

Searching “call for papers” deadlines: http://www.ieee.org/web/conferences/callforpapers/index.html

One of the many benefits of IEEE membership is reduced registration fees: http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/benefits/products/prod_conferences.html