Chapters Make SSCS Vital Around the World

Albert Wang, SSCS Distinguished Lecturer, visiting with Chapter Chair Martin Hristov of the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Chapter—Albert Wang, of the Illinois Institute of Technology and SSCS Distinguished Lecturer visited the SSC/ED chapters in Sofia and Varna, Bulgaria, in early August 2003. Marin Hristov of the Technical University of Sofia, Chapter Chair of the SSC Sofia Chapter, organized the visit in Sofia, which included general discussion of IEEE chapter activities and issues, as well as lab visits. In the afternoon, Wang delivered a Distinguished Lecture at Melexis, a major microelectronics company in Bulgaria. The lecture was very well received by an audience of approximately forty. Technical discussions followed the lecture. The next day Jordan Kolev of the Technical University at Varna hosted a chapter meeting with Wang presenting another Distinguished Lecture on ESD protection.

SSC/ED Varna, Bulgaria, Chapter Meeting 2 August 2003. On the left is Chapter Chair Jordan Kolev; Albert Wang, SSCS Distinguished Lecturer, is fifth from the left.

Minsk Chapter—Wang also visited the SSC Belarus–Minsk Chapter 7–8 July 2003, and was hosted by the Minsk Chapter Chair, Sergei Malyshev, of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. On 7 July, Wang delivered a Distinguished Lecture at Integral (a regional microelectronics giant) on advanced ESD protection for ICs, which was well accepted by the audience of about forty. Discussion followed the lecture, including reviews of some related recent designs by members of the National Academy. Mutual interests in future collaboration on related IC designs were discussed. On 8 July Wang visited the Institute of Electronics of the National Academy of Sciences.

Professor Malyshev expressed appreciation of society financial support for IEEE membership (membership fee subsidies) as critical to maintaining local chapters. The Minsk SSCS and EDS chapters have been doing quite well with many organized activities. However, other IEEE society chapters have stopped functioning due to the membership drain caused by the fee, which is a burden to local members with lower incomes. Wang reported that, overall, this was a very fruitful visit.

Albert Wang, SSCS Distinguished Lecturer, visiting with Minsk Chapter Chair Sergei Malyshev of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

West Ukraine—The West Ukraine Chapter organized the 8th International Seminar/Workshop on Direct and Inverse Problems of Electromagnetic and Acoustic Wave Theory (DIPED-2003) 22–25, September 2003. The Republic of Georgia Chapter was co-organizer of this event. The Electron Devices Society provided technical co-sponsorship and inclusion of the Seminar Proceedings into the IEEE Book Broker Program. The MTT-S, AP-S, CPMT-S, SSC-S, and Ukraine Section were among the supporting IEEE institutions. The Seminar/Workshop was held at the Pidstryhach Institute of Applied Problems of Mechanics and Mathematics, NASU, Lviv, Ukraine.
Forty-eight papers of participants from Georgia, Germany, China, Lebanon, Poland, Russia, UK, and Ukraine were presented in the 6 oral sessions:

• Theoretical aspects of electrodynamics
• Complex media
• Diffraction and numerical methods
• Antennas and transmission lines,
• Mobile antenna radiation
• Acoustics and field measurement

The paper topics covered the traditional scientific areas: propagation, diffraction and scattering of waves in homogeneous and non-homogeneous media, synthesis of radiating systems and field transformers, restoring the shape of radiating and scattering bodies, as well as the novel problems such as study and simulation of electromagnetic field in the complete vehicle structure, development and modeling the new antenna system for mobile phones, and decreasing the interaction of electromagnetic field of mobile phones on the human body.

The participants of the Direct and Inverse Problems of Electromagnetic and Acoustic Wave Theory (DIPED-2003) held at the Pidstryhach Institute of Applied Problems of Mechanics and Mathematics, NASU, Lviv, Ukraine.