2012 IEEE Vice President, Member and Geographic Activities

Howard retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1994, having served as a pilot, satellite launch director, engineer and engineering manager, including a tour in the People’s Republic of China where he served as a senior U.S. Government technical representative enforcing technology-transfer control plans and procedures during satellite launch operations. Other achievements include successfully launching seven satellites by directing launch-base test and integration involving booster, satellite, and range hardware; and developing DoD engineering processes for mission-critical computer systems. Howard is currently a consultant for the U.S. Navy in the area of embedded instrumentation and architectures.

 

Howard is currently Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He has secured over $550,000.00 in external funding from NSF and NOAA. He holds two patents and has published a textbook, 12 refereed journal papers, 38 conference papers and 27 posters or abstracts.   He has graduated 1 Ph.D. student and 35 MS students. 

 

IEEE ACTIVITIES: (S’73-M’77-SM’02)

·         Member and Geographic Activities Board, Chair 2011, member 2008-09

·         IEEE Board of Directors, member 2011, 2008-09

·         IEEE Public Visibility committee, member 2011

·         TAB ad hoc committee on Society Membership, member 2010-11

·         MGA representative to the Technical Activities Board (TAB), member 2010

·         IEEE-USA Board of Directors, member 2008-09

·         Chair, IEEE Public Visibility ad hoc committee, 2009-2010

·         Chair, IEEE-USA Business Development & Conferences ad hoc committee, 2010

·         Chair, MGA “Conference Tiger Team” ad hoc committee, 2010

·         TAB/PSPB Products and Services Committee, member 2010

·         vTools (formerly OU Management) ad hoc committee, member 2006-10

·         Eta Kappa Nu Increased Cooperation ad hoc committee, member 2006-09

·         IEEE Strategic Planning Committee, member 2009

·         IEEE Governance Committee, member 2008-09

·         Chair, “Improving OU to OU Relationships” ad hoc committee, 2008

·         Chair, “Member MGA Join/Renew Web-experience” ad hoc committee, 2008

·         MGA Strategic Direction and Environmental Assessment (SD&EA) committee, 2008

·         RAB/TAB Section/Chapter Support Committee member 2007

·         RAB Strategic Planning Committee, member 2007

·         Chair, Rejuvenation Subcommittee of RAB/TAB Section/Chapter Support Comm, 2006-07

·         RAB Awards Committee, member 2006-07

 

·         Past Director Region 1, 2010-11

·         Chair, Region 1 Budget Committee, 2010-11

·         Chair, Region 1 N&A Committee, 2010-11

·         Region 1 ExCom Member, 2004-11

·         Director Region 1, 2008-09

·         Director-Elect Region 1, 2006-07

·         Chair, Region 1 Educational Activities, 2004-05

·         Chair, Region 1 Area A (Northeast Area), 2004-05

·         Chair, Central New England Council, 2004

·         Vice-Chair, Central New England Council, 2003

 

SECTIONS/CHAPTERS:      

·         Providence Section ExCom member, 2000-11

·         Chair, Providence Section Program Activities, 2005-07

·         Chair, Providence Section Educational Activities, 2002-07

·         Chair, Providence Section, 2003-04

·         Vice-Chair, Providence Section, 2002

·         Chair, Providence Section PACE, 2000-01

·         Chair, Vandenberg Section, 1990

·         Vice-Chair, Vandenberg Section, 1989

 

·         Counselor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Student Branch, 2000-05

 

·         Member Computer Society

·         Member Computational Intelligence Society

 

IEEE CONFERENCES: (presented papers and/or chaired sessions)

·         The 2007 IEEE Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security

·         The 2nd IEEE International Symposium on Dependable, Autonomic and Secure Computing

·         IJCNN’06 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks

·         IJCNN’05 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks

·         IJCNN’99 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks

·         IEEE National Aerospace and Electronics Conference, 1996, NAECON  

 

·         Participated in several POSIX IEEE 1004 standards development meetings (1991)  

 

·         Proven ability to multitask with concurrent IEEE leadership positions as Region Director and committee chair (IEEE OU-OU ad hoc, IEEE public visibility ad hoc, MGA join-renew ad hoc) and committee membership (IEEE Governance, IEEE SPC, MGA SD&EAC)

·         Clear analytical thinker, passionate where appropriate, able to bring diverse groups to consensus (IEEE Board on HKN, IEEE OU-OU relationships ad hoc committee, IEEE Board on automatic dues increase)

·         Effective communicator, chairing the IEEE Public Visibility ad hoc committee, a multi-year, multi-million dollar communications initiative to raise IEEE stature in ten countries and four demographics—members, professionals, university students, and pre-university students 

·         Over thirty years experience as an engineer, engineering manager, and consultant in electrical and computer engineering

·         Solid support from my employer, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

 

1.   Able to bring the IEEE Board to consensus on the Eta Kappa Nu merger. After two-plus years of debate, the merger was approved 27 to 3.

2.   As Chair of the IEEE Public Visibility Committee, through bi-weekly meetings with IEEE staff and our contractor, I was able to steer the program into developing operational and performance metrics. We now have solid and continued support from the IEEE Board for this multi-year, multi-million dollar program based on data-driven decisions.

3.   As Chair, “Member MGA Join/Renew Web-experience” ad hoc committee, led a team of volunteers and staff that identified over 70 specific changes required to improve the web-based join/renew software for the 2009 cycle. All this was accomplished on a very rapid schedule (February to June 2008) so that changes could be made and tested prior to the 2009 renewal kickoff. 

4.   As a member of the RAB/TAB Section/Chapter Support Committee, I chaired a working group that looked at metrics to define “healthy” sections. The result of this work led to a pilot program to change the incentive part of the rebate formula used to distribute rebates to sections. We piloted this new process in two sections in Region 1 in 2008.

5.   As a member of the RAB Strategic Planning Committee, I was instrumental in indentifying 22 functions that define the core functions of the Regions. A “functional audit” to test and validate these functions was created and piloted in Region 1.

 

I am firmly committed to the transition from RAB to MGA; however this transition is in danger of simply becoming a name change. For this transition to fulfill its promises, we need to continue the work started under Joe Lillie and Barry Shoop and bring it down to the regions, sections and chapters. My view is simple. MGA needs to define what region, section and chapter success will look like under the member-value paradigm, reward behavior that creates member-value, and empower innovation in achieving these results.

 

In my first year as IEEE VP-MGA, I started three major initiatives to re-invent and re-invigorate the local geographic units along those lines. I envision that these initiatives will report back in November 2011, and in 2012 MGA will work to combine them into an operating plan for 2013. I would like the opportunity to complete this effort in 2012. 

 

Specifically I have charged the MGA VC-Geographic Unit Operations to develop a comprehensive set of region and section functions that support the new paradigm, and then establish a baseline at the region level. Simultaneously I created an ad hoc committee led by Joe Lillie to look at all the money coming into MGA, what type of activities generate income, and where it goes so that in 2012 we can develop mechanisms to allocate these resources to achieve member-value results in the local geographic units. The third major initiative is being chaired by the MGA VC-Strategic Development and Environmental Assessment. His committee will operationalize a data-driven regional geographic strategy so that it creates mechanisms that empower innovation and collaboration in the regions, sections and chapters.

 

Simultaneously with moving MGA forward, we need to deliver practical services to our members and volunteers in 2011. These products include: 1) a full library of interactive modules for the IEEE Center for Leadership Excellence, 2) an expanded set of vTools that allow volunteers to expand their productivity by automating many of the routine duties they perform, 3) and a rich suite of global professional benefits that provide direct, tangible benefits to our members.

 

We need to clearly articulate the personal and professional value of membership in the IEEE to our members, and the value to the IEEE of having fully engaged members. The IEEE leadership, from top to bottom, needs to be fully committed to this message, and I will work tirelessly to that end.   

 

I believe that my history of volunteering in IEEE—my grounding in regional activities but strong participation in technical activities—shows that I have the skills, energy and insight to devote to this task. I am a clear analytical thinker, passionate where appropriate, able to bring diverse groups to consensus. I have the solid support from my employer, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and hope that I have your support too.