THE IEEE LEADERSHIP WIRE
1 February 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:
* IEEE LAUNCHES ENHANCED WEBSITE
* YEAR END MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS RELEASED
* DEALS BRING IEEE PRINT PUBLICATIONS TO CHINA
* IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY CELEBRATES 60 YEARS IN 2006
* NEW IEEE VIRTUAL EXHIBIT INVESTIGATES NANOTECHNOLOGY
* THE GRAINGER FOUNDATION GIFT TO BENEFIT POWER ENGINEERING STUDENTS
* SOCIETY MAGAZINES WIN AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
* IEEE TRAVEL OFFERS GLOBAL ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING
* WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE SUBSCRIPTIONS REACH RECORD HIGH
* STANDARDS EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS NOW AVAILABLE
* IN THE NEWS
**IEEE LAUNCHES ENHANCED WEBSITE**
The IEEE has introduced the first of several planned enhancements to the organization website. All of the updates – many of which are based on recommendations and comments from existing site users – are intended to make www.ieee.org a more valuable resource for members, the technical profession and the general public.
The initial update reveals a new site design and migrates the organization&rsquos extensive range of educational and informational content into a streamlined navigation system with additional search capabilities. The web launch team will continue to collect and act on feedback from users as the site evolves. Comments can be submitted online at: http://www.ieee.org/web/services/general/feedback.html.
**YEAR END MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS RELEASED**
Final IEEE membership numbers for 2005 totaled 367,395, an increase of 0.3 percent compared to 2004. Student membership reached a record level in 2005, with a total of 73,780, an 8.1 percent increase over last year, and a 2.1 percent increase over the previous high of 72,328 in 2002. Conversely, decreases were recorded in higher grade (-1.2 percent to 293,525) affiliate (-0.2 percent to 27,226) and society (-1.6 percent to 346,532) memberships.
Complete details are available in the Membership Development Report at http://www.ieee.org/mdprogreport. These reports are password protected and require an IEEE Web Account username and password to log in. The redesigned membership development section of www.ieee.org now provides quick access to membership development programs and direct links to frequently-used resources. Locate these and other membership development resources at http://www.ieee.org/md.
**DEALS BRING IEEE PRINT PUBLICATIONS TO CHINA**
The IEEE has signed a US$1.2 million agreement with iGroup and Shanghai World Publishing Corporation for the distribution of IEEE print periodical titles in China in 2006. This follows a similar $500,000 deal negotiated last year by the IEEE Computer Society. IEEE will bulk-ship magazines, journals and transactions to China for distribution. For more information, contact Paul Canning, IEEE Sales & Marketing, p.canning@ieee.org or Georgann Carter, IEEE Computer Society, g.carter@computer.org.
**IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY CELEBRATES 60 YEARS IN 2006**
The IEEE Computer Society is marking its 60th anniversary with a series of special activities including monthly articles on the history of computing in COMPUTER Magazine; awarding the "Technology of the Decade Award" at a joint meeting of the society's Board of Governors and the IEEE Education Society's board on 30 Oct. in San Diego; and a 60th Anniversary History Competition for undergraduates who design and build a website on the history of computing. 60th anniversary events will be posted throughout the year at http://computer.org/60thAnniversary
**NEW IEEE VIRTUAL EXHIBIT INVESTIGATES NANOTECHNOLOGY**
The IEEE Virtual Museum has launched a new exhibit entitled "Small is Big: The Coming Nanotechnology Revolution." Sponsored by the IEEE Foundation, the exhibit examines the cutting-edge field of microscopic technologies which, according to the museum, will change factories, reshape the environment, cure diseases and greatly expand our technological horizons. The exhibit investigates nanotechnology's 30-year history and speculates on where the "nanotechnological revolution" may lead in the future. To explore this and other exhibits found in the IEEE Virtual Museum, visit http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org.
**THE GRAINGER FOUNDATION GIFT TO BENEFIT POWER ENGINEERING STUDENTS**
The Grainger Foundation, based in Lake Forest, Illinois, has provided a US$150,000 three-year pledge that will be matched by funds provided by the Power Engineering Society to finance student activities for 2006 through 2008. The program will encourage student participation at IEEE Power Engineering Society meetings and conferences. It also will fund special student program activities including energy-related facility and technical tours as well as student and faculty industry panel discussions and luncheons. For more information, visit http://www.ieee.org/organizations/foundation.
**SOCIETY MAGAZINES WIN AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE**
The IEEE Signal Processing Society Magazine has won an award for excellence in cover design in the Society for Technical Communication&rsquos (STC) technical art competition. The January 2005 cover, &ldquoColor Image Processing,” was honored by the Willamette (Oregon) Valley Chapter in cooperation with the NYC Metro chapter of STC. Additionally, IEEE Power and Energy Magazine received an award of excellence in magazine design for its March, May and July 2005 issues.
**IEEE TRAVEL OFFERS GLOBAL ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING**
Travel Services has launched www.ieee-hotels.com, a free, online hotel reservation service enabling users to receive IEEE-negotiated corporate rates. Powered by hotel.de, Germany&rsquos most-requested hotel reservation service, www.ieee-hotels.com includes over 150,000 international hotels and accepts payments in both U.S. dollars and Euros. The site is available in English, German, Italian, French and Spanish and includes a Freenights Bonus Program, which lets site visitors earn points that can be redeemed for complimentary hotel stays.
**WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE SUBSCRIPTIONS REACH RECORD HIGH**
Subscriptions to the 10 "What's New @ IEEE" newsletters rose by more than seven percent in 2005, bringing the total number to a record level of 160,472. "What's New @ IEEE" newsletters cover news related to IEEE activities, technology innovations, industry trends and new IEEE product releases.
Subscriptions to "What's New @ IEEE" newsletters are free. Anyone can sign up at http://whatsnew.ieee.org. A complete archive of past issues may be found at http://www.ieee.org/products/whats-new/index.html. To submit stories for consideration for future issues of "What's New @ IEEE,” contact John Platt, managing editor, at j.platt@ieee.org.
**STANDARDS EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS NOW AVAILABLE**
A new IEEE Standards in Education web portal that provides open access training on the history, use, and applications of standards has been developed for use in U.S. undergraduate electrical and computer engineering and engineering technology programs. It includes tutorials, case illustrations, news and features section, and a glossary and reference guide. The portal was created by the IEEE Standards in Education Task Force (SETF) with funding and cooperation from the IEEE Foundation, National Science Foundation, IEEE Educational Activities Board, and IEEE Standards Association. For more information or to access these materials, please visit www.ieee.org/standardseducation.com.com or contact Tara Gallus at t.gallus@ieee.org.
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.
19 Dec. -- POPULAR MECHANICS -- The 802.16 wireless metropolitan area network standard was named one of the top 50 inventions in the past half century that have "transformed our world" by a panel of experts recruited by the magazine. Described as "Wi-Fi on steroids," the magazine states "802.16 could end up launching developing nations into the digital age by eliminating the need for wired telecommunications infrastructure."
25 Jan. -- UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL --The wire service highlighted IEEE Spectrum's investigative report on the floundering Iraqi electrical restoration project featured in the February issue. Executive Editor Glenn Zorpette, who visited several Iraqi construction sites late last year, said "candid comments paint a picture of an effort that was hobbled from the start by bad decisions and administration." The UPI article noted that the project is "floundering because of poor planning, poor administration and insurgent attacks."
January -- VANGARD, THE GUARDIAN, THE PUNCH (NIGERIA) -- Two Nigerian print newspapers and one online news site covered 2005 IEEE President W. Cleon Anderson's visit to the country for the opening of a Telecenter at the University of Ibadan. The Telecenter, whose initial planning began in 2003, was a joint project between IEEE and Hewlett-Packard. The Telecenter features 60 computer workstations with online access to more than 4,000 engineering publications and more than a million articles. The VANGARD article quoted Stanley Muoneke, a representative with HP Nigeria, saying "this will change the way (students) study and provide them with countless new educational opportunities to prepare them for the demands of the 21st century."
January -- The 19 Jan. approval of a joint proposal to amend the IEEE 802.11™ wireless local area network (WLAN) standard was covered by numerous industry publications including CNET.com, The Register, This Week in Consumer Electronics (TWICE), PCWorld.com, ZDNet and WirelessWeek, among others. Highlights included CIO India, which stated that "the development ends a long struggle to choose between two main draft proposals for the standard"; and CommsDesign.com which referred to 802.11n as "what may be the most significant new standard to come out of IEEE in the past 10 years." A draft of the amendment is expected in late 2006, with publication slated for 2007.
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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
