Every five years each of the IEEE Societies undergoes an extensive review by the Society Review Committee (SRC). The Oceanic Engineering Society completed its last review in 2005 and has just completed its current review in February of 2010. The SRC reported in February to the Technical Activities Board with the following Executive Summary:
     OES is a relatively small society with only 1,600 members but is very active for its size. In contrast to most societies, its membership has been gradually increasing over the last several years, with commendable global presence. The society is well managed with an ADCOM comprising a diversity of volunteers (affiliation, region, etc.). The society regularly provides officers for the Councils it is a member of. OES has an active program of technical activities, successful conferences and publications, and is financially sound.
     The SRC further commented that the Society has an excellent Conference Operational Manual which provides continuity from one conference to the next. The Society has a streamlined web-based conference management process for paper submission, review, filtering, and submission to Xplore. IEEE has looked at this system and is considering adopting some of this process for general use. The SRC did note that our distinguished lecturer program has been relatively weak and the Society explained that the VP Technical Activities has been given responsibility for revitalizing the program. The SRC did take note of all our activities aimed at younger students, including middle school, high school and undergraduates and commented on our excellent Student Poster Contest associated with the OCEANS Conferences. They also noted a lack of members in Region 9. We noted that we conducted a workshop in Chile in 2008 and are holding a symposium in Buenos Aires in April of 2010 which we hope will lead to an OES Chapter. We also have plans for activities in Brazil. They also consider as a best practice having a Vice President for Conference development that carries out our strategic plan and a Vice President for conference operations.
     This very favorable review we received is based on all the hard work that our volunteers are doing. Rene Garelo and the JOAB committee are to be commended for their development of the OCEANS Operations Conference Manual. Todd Morrison, along with Sandy Williams, and the Veraprise crew are to be commended for our Conference web based tools which have streamlined our operations. I appreciate the help of all of you in preparing for the Review. Christian de Moustier conducted a separate review with the Publications Committee on the Journal that was also very successful and did much to establish an understanding of the operations of the Oceanic Engineering Society.
     I just completed a RECON trip with Robert Wernli, Vice President for Conference Development, to Korea to revitalize the plans for OCEANS 2012 in Yeosi and to prepare a venue for OCEANS 2014 in Taipei, Taiwan. Both of these conferences should be very exciting with the 2012 conference associated with EXPO 2012 in Korea. Both Local Organizing Committees were very enthusiastic about conducting the OCEANS Conference. A representative from the Marine Technology Society accompanied us on the visit and MTS may be a co-sponsor for these events.
     The next couple of months will be very busy for OES with our IEEE/OES South America International Symposium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 12–14 April; the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, 3–7 May; and our spring OCEANS Conference in Sydney. Australia, 24–27 May. Our new Vice President for Technical Activities Liz Creed is working with our OES Chapters to help them increase their activities. Planning for the OCEANS Conference in Seattle is well under way with a very competent and active Local Organizing Committee.