“One generation passeth away, and
another generation cometh; and the earth abideth for ever.”
So spoke the wisest man of all, King Solomon, also known as Koheleth,
the son of David, King of Jerusalem (Ecclesiastes Chapter 1).
So is the nature of the leadership of our Society – Andy
Drozd, our immediate past President, has completed his two-year
term as President of the EMC Society, and I, as your new President,
begin mine. But just as it is said in the Holy Books, “the
earth abideth for ever,” the IEEE EMC Society will follow
the path paved by its past leaders.
Indeed, Andy has led the Society through one of its most exciting
years, the year of its 50th anniversary. 2007 was not only a year
of celebration (which indeed it was, through the hard work of
50th Anniversary Committee, Chaired by Dan Hoolihan), nor only
a year of tribute to our past leadership and remembrance of our
history. Most of all, from my perspective, it was a year where
the bond between our past, present and future was tied again.
Indeed, “one generation passeth away, and another generation
cometh; and the earth abideth for ever.”
Being installed as President of our Society, I humbly realize
that I am following the footsteps of a long succession of excellent
leaders we were fortunate to have had in past years and who led
this Society from its formation, a half a century ago, until these
very days. I will to do my best to be worthy of being recognized
as another link of this illustrious chain.
In this first message as the new President of the EMC Society,
I would like to:
• Introduce myself to our members who have not had a chance
to get to know me over the past few years,
• Outline some of the plans that have evolved out of last
year’s activities of the Long Range Planning Committee,
which will help guide the Society in the coming two years while
I carry the responsibilities of President,
• Ask for your assistance in steering the EMC Society in
the local, regional and international arenas, in order to make
the Society what you’d like it to be.
My Personal Roadmap
Similar to many other members of our Society, I entered the discipline
of EMC by accident. In 1982, when I was assigned to a program
where I first encountered EMI problems in a certain airborne vehicle,
I first realized that EMC is a “peculiar” field. Through
the leadership of Jack L. Moe, since then a good friend and mentor,
I was slowly introduced to the “secret mysteries”
of this field. Another friend and mentor, Oren Hartal, further
led me through my studies. I did realize, though, that only by
attending conferences and symposia, would I actually be able to
network and extend my knowledge. 1986 was my first year at an
EMC Society Symposium (in San Diego).
Len Carlson, a Past President of the EMC Society, then encouraged
me to become active in my local (Israel) Chapter, and working
my way up the ladder to the Society-level leadership. “You
may be a President of the EMC Society one day,” he said
to me. Admittedly, it did seem to me unrealistic, but I took his
advice. I became active in the Chapter, finally serving as Chapter
Chair, and then, I finally decided to run for the Board of Directors.
In the year 2000, I eventually became a member of the EMC Society
leadership team as a member of the Board of Directors.
As time passed, I volunteered for tasks in the Membership and
Conferences Committees. In particular, I served as the Region
8 Membership and Chapter Coordinator and Global Symposia Coordinator.
I also served in the Standards Committees and chaired the Standards
Advisory and Coordination Committee (SACCom). Later on I was elected
as:
• Vice President of Conferences and Symposia
• Vice President of Member Services, and finally,
• President-Elect of the EMC Society
This leads me to where I am today, at your service.
Long Range Plans
“All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not
full.” (Ecclesiastes Chapter 1)
One of the duties of the President-Elect is to form and chair
the latest incarnation of the Long Range Planning Committee. The
2007 Long Range Planning Committee spent the last year working
though the records of the previous committees, collating and updating
the planning matrix. It was exciting to see that under the leadership
of our previous presidents, many plans designed in the past have
actually come into being, while new ideas kept on flowing. “The
sea of ideas is not full.” Brainstorming sessions took place,
and in the recent session, held in November 2007, the long range
planning matrix has been updated and filtered, forming a basis
for setting a roadmap for implementation of short and long range
activities. One of my main goals during the next two years of
my term as President is to find ways to put these plans into action.
Strategy
“Strategy” can be defined as “The Evolution
of a Central Idea through Continuously Changing Circumstances.”
Indeed, the EMC Society is an evolving society, going hand in
hand with progress in technology. New technologies emerge while
techniques used successfully in the past may become invalid. The
evolution and relevance of a professional society entails synergy
and cooperation between practitioners and scientists working hand
in hand. Our Society is blessed with such cooperation and our
symposia as well as publications are a living proof of this.
However, the EMC Society is a large “machine” and
although great ideas continue streaming, the wheels of this machine
cannot roll alone. The power required for moving it is the most
valuable of all, the human power.
“Volunteering is for Everyone”
Even the greatest initiatives cannot materialize at their own
will. Any Society can only thrive just as much as its members
support its goals. The EMC Society is led and run by volunteers
and its success is reliant on the support and active assistance
of interested members of the EMC Society in the global and local
arenas.
A boy asked once a wise man, “Is the butterfly I am holding
in the palm of my hand alive or dead?” If the wise man said
“alive” the boy would crush the butterfly and show
it dead, but if the wise man said “dead,” the boy
would laugh and let the butterfly fly away. The wise man was clever
enough to not offer any of the above replies, answering the boy
“as you will, my lad, as you will.”
That is my message to you: The face of our Society, the course
we take – they are at YOUR will. Following my personal experience
I would like to encourage each and every one of you to consider
stepping up to the challenge of getting actively involved in committees
and the Society’s work in general, including running for
open positions on the Board of Directors. This is your opportunity
to influence and contribute to the evolution of the EMC Society.
As a paraphrase on the famous statement by President Kennedy,
“Ask not what the EMC Society can do for you, but what you
can do for the EMC Society,” while an ancient scholar said,
“The wages for a good deed are the good deed itself.”
All professional activities of the EMC Society are performed by
volunteers who are members like you, mostly in our committees.
Meetings of the 11 Technical Committees, three Standards Committees
(and more working groups) and the Education and Student Activities
Committee take place in central locations, via teleconference
calls, electronic communications and through e-mail discussions.
Distance is no longer a barrier.
You can find information about each of the committees on our web
site by clicking on the “Committees” button in the
side bar and following the associated links. You are encouraged
to investigate each of the committees listed there and to contact
the chairman of any that interest you for a further explanation
of the committee, its functions and options to participate in
their activities.
Membership and Chapter Development
It is not possible to run a Society without a healthy membership
that consists of active volunteers and dedicated leaders. Volunteerism,
leadership, succession, membership development, new chapter development,
and professional development go hand in hand.
I am a firm believer that “the chapter is where everything
happens.” That is where technical and professional activities
take place, and that is where networking among the Society members
at the local scale occurs on a daily basis and most of all, that
is where we recruit and engage our membership. Many new chapters
were formed in recent years, and I am glad to have contributed
in some manner or another to their development and success in
my previous position as VP for Member Services.
The EMC Society will continue to spur the growth of new chapters
worldwide and open up opportunities for leadership positions wherever
and whenever possible. In the last year only, we have added several
new chapters in the US and abroad and we expect new chapters to
develop in countries all around the globe over the next several
years.
I am particularly glad to take this opportunity to announce the
creation of the newest chapter of the EMC Society, the Argentina
Joint EMC/AP Chapter. What a great way to begin 2008! Within 12
months we have formed two new chapters in Region 9, Columbia and
Argentina, now increasing the number of our Chapters in Region
9 to three, a 5 dB (factor of 3) growth in EMC power! Congratulations
and welcome to our newest chapter!
Chapter and membership development come with new volunteers, fresh
ideas, and some interesting paths to follow. That is the essence
of our Society’s evolution.
Globalization and Diversity
“Great achievements are not born from a single vision but
from the combination of many distinctive viewpoints. Diversity
challenges assumptions, opens minds and unlocks our potential
to solve any problem we may face”
The 21st century may be entitled “the Age of Globalization”
and our Society strives to be and I believe succeeds in being
truly global. Indeed, my being elected as the first non-US President
of the EMC Society is the best proof that the EMC Society was
and is a truly global Society. I hope, during my term of office,
to lead the EMC Society in the path of further globalization,
not neglecting the excellent foundation we have now, which we
will continue to support and make even stronger.
No doubt, globalization is a major endeavor requiring that bridges
be laid across diverse geographic, political, and cultural as
well as language barriers. However, experience has shown that
communicating as engineers-to-engineers, we can bridge the gaps!
Goodwill and vision have led us and will continue to do so. As
we watch the tip of the compass, we see that (almost) everywhere
it points around the globe we are present or represented, whether
in chapter and membership activities, in global conferences and
symposia involvement, as well as in standards and technical activities
all facilitated by communication and networking.
It is my personal plan to expand the EMC Society to regions of
the world where it is not currently present, Africa and the Middle
East, in particular. Asia and Central and South America will also
be the focus of our actions and there is much that the EMC Society
can and will do to assist in the formation of new chapters and
support existing chapters. After all, electromagnetic fields know
no physical barriers.
Let us recognize and see the beauty and benefits of diversity,
and work together, across the barriers, to make the world a better
place for us all.
“One Generation Passeth Away, and
Another Generation Cometh”
In closing my first President’s Message, I would like to
humbly express my gratitude for the honor bestowed on me in giving
me the opportunity to serve as your President for the next two
years. I will do my best to fulfill the expectations placed in
me.
I would like to express my personal gratitude to Andy Drozd, the
outgoing President, and now the Immediate Past President, for
the encouragement and support he has given me over the years to
help get me to this point in my IEEE service, as well as for his
own outstanding service to the EMC Society. I have been following
Andy in various positions in the BoD for several years now, and
have learnt to appreciate Andy’s dedication and thoroughness.
Board of Directors Meetings
Just in case you have the time, inclination and opportunity, I
want to remind all our members that all meetings of the EMC Society
Board of Directors are open. Any members who want to attend will
be most welcome. This would be your opportunity to take a look
at the manner in which our Society is run, and even have a chance
to express your own opinion on issues in debate. You may even
find it interesting enough to make you want to run for the Board
during its next election!
The schedule of BoD meetings is posted on the Society web site
(www.emcs.org) and in the Calendar
section of this Newsletter. If you can’t attend a BoD meeting
to tell us your thoughts in person, note that the contact information
of all members of the BoD and the major committee chairs is listed
on the Society web page.
Please be assured that the EMC Society Board of Directors, and
I as President, are at your service, and my e-mail InBox is open
to you all. I hope to be able to meet as many of you as possible
during my term, wherever you are around the globe. I would be
glad to hear from you with any suggestion, comment, or just a
friendly message. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me at: eb.joffe@ieee.org.
EMC
President’s
Message