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Peter S. Winokur |
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Peter S. Winokur |
Put simply, I was honored by my election to Vice President of the NPSS AdCom. I’m looking forward to a busy year “learning the ropes” prior to my term as President. By way of introduction, I received my B.S. degree in Physics from The Cooper Union in 1968, and M.S./Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of Maryland in 1971/1974. From 1968 to 1983, I was a research physicist at the Harry Diamond Laboratories in Washington, DC. I joined Sandia National Laboratories in 1983 and I’m presently Manager of Radiation Technology and Assurance, with responsibilities for radiation physics, hardness assurance, and technology development in support of microelectronics for space and defense applications. I have been actively involved in IEEE throughout my thirty-year professional career in radiation science and technology and was elected an IEEE Fellow in 1991. I was Chairman of the Radiation Effects Technology Committee from 1995 to 1997, and presently serve as an elected NPSS AdCom member as well as on the IEEE National Fellows Committee and the USAB R&D Policy Committee.
As a member of NPSS AdCom since 1994, I’m familiar with the issues and challenges facing our society. Our diversity is our greatest strength since we have the opportunity to exchange and gather ideas that enable continuous improvement in our conferences and publications. We do an excellent job of reaching “consensus” decisions. In my five years on AdCom, I have never seen a vote “along party lines” so to speak. To promote our primary goal of disseminating information on nuclear and plasma sciences, I believe NPSS AdCom must proactively support the electronic and web-based delivery of our scientific products, and be vigilant that IEEE is providing its necessary services in a cost-effective manner. Our Editors are constantly striving to reduce the “time to publication” for contributed and conference papers, but only authors and reviewers can make that happen. There is a lot going on at the higher reaches of IEEE that can have a profound impact on our society. I encourage you to read our President’s Report in these issues to get the scoop on IEEE’s new financial model and branding. I’ll be attending TAB meetings with Igor and hopefully will come up to speed quickly. The fun part of my job as VP will be to learn more about our ten, somewhat diverse, technical committees. As a scientist, I’m truly interested in what you’re doing and love to read and learn about our technical work.
In my opinion, AdCom has accomplished a great deal in recent years. I’ve seen the transformation of several technical committees from appointive to elective bodies. Most technical committees have ratified constitutions and adopted guidelines for operation. As an author of 130 papers in refereed journals, I know that until you write it down, it isn’t so! AdCom also has a tremendous heritage of leadership. A few years ago, we felt the need for stricter control of our finances, and that has come to pass under the stewardship of NPSS Treasurer, Ed Lampo. The society is on firm financial footing and our conferences are budgeted and run in a responsible, cost-effective manner. At any meeting, the President and VP are supported by a group of Past Presidents that have a comprehensive and collective corporate knowledge of AdCom - who we are, where we’ve been, and even where we need to go. I certainly have benefited from conversations with former Presidents Hal Flescher, Peter Clout, and Ron Jaszczak, and Ken Dawson. There isn’t any need to reinvent the wheel or to go down paths that have proven fruitless. And we’ve got a great NPSS Secretary in Albe Dawson Larsen.
The international nature of IEEE is undeniable. I support present NPSS initiatives to host conferences and expand membership outside the U.S. Many of our conferences (e.g., RT, SFE, NSS/MIC, and NSREC) have a significant fraction of their technical work submitted by scientists and engineers outside the U.S. The transnational nature of NPSS is truly exciting and NPSS leadership has been superb in making us players in this area. We need to pay special attention to our membership and recruiting. The NPSS AdCom brochure is an excellent start, but we need to creatively find ways to expand our membership and (as appropriate) fields of interest.
For now, my primary responsibility as VP is to support Igor in the smooth running of AdCom. Under Igor’s leadership, AdCom is planning a retreat this spring to discuss a few important issues that deserve more time than can be allocated at our normal, hectic meetings. Once again, I’m looking forward to learning more about our society and hope to meet many of you in the next year. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to serve.
Peter Winokur, NPSS Vice President, can be reached at Sandia National Laboratories, MS 1083, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM, 87185-1083; Phone: (505) 844-3013; Fax: (505) 844-2991; E-mail: winokup@sandia.gov.