THE IEEE LEADERSHIP WIRE
1 April 2006
The IEEE LEADERSHIP WIRE is a report for top-level IEEE volunteers about IEEE affairs and organizational information. It is intended specifically for members of the IEEE Board of Directors, key Board committees and the six major operating boards. The newsletter is sent on or around the first of the month.
CONTENTS:
*PRESIDENT-ELECT LEAH JAMIESON RECEIVES AWARD FOR COMMUNITY ENGINEERING PROGRAM
*IEEE FOUNDATION MATCHES FUNDS FOR SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS
*IEEE SPECTRUM WINS FOUR AWARDS FOR BUSINESS JOURNALISM
*NEW AWARD RECOGNIZING ETHICAL PRACTICES SEEKS NOMINATIONS
*IEEE-USA PUBLISHES NEW eBOOKS
*ONLINE PUBLICATIONS NOW COUNTER COMPLIANT
*IN THE NEWS
**PRESIDENT-ELECT LEAH JAMIESON RECEIVES AWARD FOR COMMUNITY ENGINEERING PROGRAM**
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association (ECEDHA) presented its Innovative Program Award to IEEE President-Elect Leah Jamieson and Edward J. Coyle, a Purdue University colleague, for the creation of the Engineering Projects in Community Service Program (EPICS®) at its annual conference. The honor is awarded to a department or individuals that have developed and demonstrated a successful, innovative engineering education program.
Now in its 10th year, EPICS lets student teams design, build and deploy real systems to solve engineering-based problems for local community service and education organizations. Founded at Purdue University, where Jamieson is currently serving as interim dean of the College of Engineering, there are now EPICS programs at 16 universities, including the University of Aukland, New Zealand, and one local high school. EPICS has also been honored by the National Academy of Engineering, the Carnegie Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the IEEE Education Society, among others. For more information, visit the EPICS website.
**IEEE FOUNDATION MATCHES FUNDS FOR SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS**
For every dollar donated to the IEEE Presidents’ Scholarship Fund through 2009, the IEEE Foundation will match it dollar-for-dollar up to US$100,000. Through this matching program, the IEEE Foundation seeks to raise the funds necessary to support the annual awarding of the IEEE Presidents’ Scholarship indefinitely. THE IEEE Presidents’ Scholarship recognizes outstanding achievement in research and presentation of engineering knowledge in an IEEE field of interest. The recipient is selected each year by a group of IEEE volunteer judges from the field of students participating in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
Since its inception in 1999, seven exceptional students have received this US$10,000 scholarship, which is payable over four years of undergraduate study in engineering or a related field. To make a donation, go to https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/HomePage.asp?cguid=C1E20BB6-87E2-4257-ACD0-3C31153A946E&sid=B06BF861%2D25BC%2D4C5D%2DA2C6%2D11C3E5BC1F38
**IEEE SPECTRUM WINS FOUR AWARDS FOR BUSINESS JOURNALISM**
IEEE Spectrum received four Jesse H. Neal Awards for business journalism presented by the American Business Media trade association last month. The June 2005 special report on China’s Tech Revolution was named the “best single theme or special issue of a magazine” while Harry Goldstein’s “Who Killed the Virtual Case File” (September 2005) was named “Best Single Article” in the category of magazines with more than US$7 million in revenue. Goldstein’s investigative report explored how the FBI spent US$100 million on a case-management system that was ultimately unusable. Both award-winning items were named as runners up for the “Grand Neal Award” – the organizations’ highest honor. It was the first time in recent memory that the same magazine won both runner-up recognitions.
**NEW AWARD RECOGNIZING ETHICAL PRACTICES SEEKS NOMINATIONS**
The Ethics and Member Conduct Committee (EMCC) has established an award for an IEEE member or an organization employing IEEE members that has shown exemplary ethical behavior or practices. The deadline for nominations for the first IEEE Award for Distinguished Ethical Practices is 1 July 2006. Rules and the nomination form are available on the EMCC Web site at http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/committee/emcc/award.html and through the “Other Awards Programs” link on the IEEE Awards Web site at http://www.ieee.org/awards.
**IEEE-USA PUBLISHES NEW eBOOKS**
Released in a downloadable PDF format, IEEE-USA has published three new eBooks:
*The Reliability of the Electric Transmission Infrastructure in the 21st Century, An Analysis: The Energy Policy Act of 2005;
*The State of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Implementation and Its Policy Implications;
*Interoperability for the National Health Information Network (NHIN).
Additional EBooks covering communicating with Members of Congress, strategic thinking, career transitions, tech policy and others will be released later this year. Most eBooks are available to IEEE members for a special discounted price of $4.95; nonmembers pay $14.95. To order, go to http://boldfish.ieee.org:80/u/2302/103318
**ONLINE PUBLICATIONS NOW COUNTER COMPLIANT**
Usage statistics for all IEEE online subscription package subscribers now conform to the international set of COUNTER standards and protocols governing the recording and exchange of online usage data. The new COUNTER standards provide universities and libraries with a better understanding of how the information they purchase is utilized, and will allow publishers and industry professionals to see how the information products they circulate are accessed by customers online.
The IEEE, its members and its products and services are mentioned frequently in journalists’ reports on technology and the engineering profession. Here are just a few recent references.
14 March – THE WALL STREET JOURNAL – A story examining the safety of making and receiving phone calls aboard airline flights prominently featured excerpts from an article published in the March issue of IEEE Spectrum. The authors, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, indicated in their article “There is a clear and present danger: cell phones can render GPS instruments useless for landings.” The story received wide pickup in both print and broadcast outlets including ABC and CBS News, USA Today, MSNBC.com, (U.S.) National Public Radio, Information Week and The Philadelphia News, among others.
13 March – EE TIMES – A cover story reported the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) vote to approve IEEE 802.11i – an amendment to the IEEE 802.11™ standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN) – over China’s Wired Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI). The article included an IEEE statement that “IEEE remains committed to supporting the international standards process and maintains its offer to work with China to harmonize the WAPI technology with existing IEEE and international standards.”
9 March – INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY – The front page article discussing H-1B Visa caps quoted IEEE-USA’s senior legislative representative Vin O’Neill, who indicated that H-1B visas cost Americans jobs and pay. IEEE-USA president Ralph Wyndrum, Jr. was quoted on the issue in the Pittsburgh Business Times, The Sacramento Business Journal, and The Houston Business Journal, among others. Additionally, IEEE-USA H-1B spokesperson Ron Hira appeared in a 30 March NBC Nightly News segment addressing the issue.
18 February – THE OTTAWA CITIZEN – An article profiling engineer Wade Bortz, featured in IEEE Spectrum’s “Top 10 Dream Jobs” issue, quoted executive editor Glenn Zorpette. Bortz received the designation as “an engineer in paradise” because, according to Zorpette, “he was not only based in Hawaii, but has the opportunity to travel all over the Pacific Region.” Bortz travels throughout the South Pacific to design and install sensitive low-frequency microphones for the United Nations’ Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
February – UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL – A paper detailing the creation of a tiny, easy-to-manufacture motion sensor which appeared in the December issue of IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems was featured in a UPI story and also appeared in Medical News Today (United Kingdom), Science Daily and The Washington Times Insider. The discovery is one of a new generation of sensors that can be made using the computer chip manufacturing industry’s standard techniques and equipment.
***********************************************************
IEEE LEADERSHIP WIRE staff contact:
Francine Tardo
IEEE Corporate Strategy and Communications
Tel: +1 732 465 5865
Fax: +1 732 981 9511
Mailto: f.tardo@ieee.org
***********************************************************
