THE IEEE LEADERSHIP WIRE
1 May 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:
*EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE VISITS PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
*IEEE-SA APPROVES NEW STANDARDS
*IEEE SPECTRUM EDITOR NAMED ONE OF MOST INFLUENTIAL BY FOLIO MAGAZINE
*UK'S IEE COMPLETES MERGER; JOURNALS TO BE RE-TITLED
*NON-MEMBER IEEE SUBSCRIPTIONS EXCEED US$100M IN 2005
*IEEE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION VUSPEC SERIES ACHIEVES FIRST US$ 1 MILLION IN SALES
*EARN CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS THROUGH FREE TRIAL OF EXPERT NOW
*2006 IEEE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION AWARD: CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
*COMPUTER SOCIETY SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR TECHNOLOGY OF THE DECADE AWARD
*IEEE U.S. SCHOLARS INVITED TO APPLY FOR FULBRIGHT-NOKIA GRANT
*IN THE NEWS
**EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE VISITS PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA**
In mid-April the IEEE Executive Committee visited six cities in the People’s Republic of China to meet with local industry and academic and government leaders to strengthen relations and better understand their specific needs that could be met through professional associations such as the IEEE. The IEEE also agreed to terms on a representative office in the Haidian Science Park in Beijing. The initial focus for this office will be to further global accreditation of engineering curricula and provide opportunities for professional certification, particularly for software development professionals and support IEEE’s global standards development efforts.
**IEEE-SA APPROVES NEW STANDARDS**
The IEEE Standards Association has completed a standard to make rechargeable lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries for cellular phones more reliable and robust. The new standard, IEEE Livium(TM) 1725, “Standard for Rechargeable Batteries for Cellular Telephones,” is the first to adopt a systems approach in setting uniform criteria for battery design, production and evaluation. The group also recently passed the first U.S. standard to supply environmental guidelines for institutional purchasing decisions for desktop and laptop computers and monitors. For a full list of recent standards announcements, visit http://standards.ieee.org/announcements/index.html.
**IEEE SPECTRUM EDITOR NAMED ONE OF MOST INFLUENTIAL BY FOLIO MAGAZINE**
The April issue of Folio Magazine named IEEE Spectrum Editor in Chief Susan Hassler as one of the “40 Most Influential People in the Industry.” Folio magazine is "the Magazine for Magazine Management" read by magazine industry publishing executives worldwide.
The publication cited several of Hassler’s accomplishments since she took over as editor in 1999. Among these was the overhaul of the publication that included a September 2004 relaunch of www.spectrum.ieee.org and a “design makeover” that successfully adapted overly technical topics to a wide range of readers. According to Folio, Hassler “added more accessible coverage and a slick new design that helps the magazine make it to many newsstands. Now IEEE Spectrum’s competitive set is more Scientific American and Popular Science, rather than the dry trade books of yore.”
**UK'S IEE COMPLETES MERGER; JOURNALS TO BE RE-TITLED**
The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), often referred to as IEEE's sister organization in the U.K., has completed its merger with the Institution of Incorporated Engineers to form the Institution of Engineering and Technology, or IET. Journals and conference proceedings from the merged IET will remain available through the IEEE Xplore digital library, where title listings for these publications will be adjusted as new editions are released. The name of the IEEE/IEE Electronic Library, which provides full online access to titles from each organization, will be changed to the IEEE/IET Electronic Library in May.
**NON-MEMBER IEEE SUBSCRIPTIONS EXCEED US$100M IN 2005**
Institutional subscriptions to IEEE publications rose 8.5 percent in 2005, passing the US$ 100M mark for the first time. The growth was driven by increasing sales of the IEEE/IEE Electronic Library and IEEE Enterprise subscriptions as well as sales from a new program consisting of tiered pricing for smaller schools and universities in the United States. For more information, contact Jonathan Dahl, Staff Director, IEEE Sales & Marketing at j.dahl@ieee.org.
**IEEE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION VUSPEC SERIES ACHIEVES FIRST US $1 MILLION IN SALES**
Last month, gross sales of the IEEE VuSpec Series of personal browser-based standards tools officially passed US $1 million. Launched in 2003 with just six titles, the Series has expanded to over 40 titles offering users access to a variety of standards, unique time-saving features, and exclusive related tools including clickable image maps, links, and interactive calculations. There are now approximately 3,000 customers in over 70 countries using IEEE VuSpec. For more information, visit http://shop.ieee.org, http://standards.ieee.org, or contact Damon Logiudice, Product Manager at d.logiudice@ieee.org.
**EARN CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS THROUGH FREE TRIAL OF EXPERT NOW**
Expert Now IEEE, which features the best of IEEE's educational content delivered in one-hour long interactive online learning courses, is offering a free trial open to anyone with an IEEE web account. The three free courses offered are:
* "Real-Time Computer Systems"
* "Transition to Management"
* "Introduction to Wireless Ad-hoc Networks”
Expert Now IEEE helps individuals stay current in their fields, learn from recognized experts without having to travel and maintain their license or certifications by earning Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
The trial is available through September. Later this year, IEEE members will be able to purchase individual courses in the Expert Now IEEE collection when they are made available for sale via IEEE Xplore. To access the free trial, visit http://www.ieee.org/web/education/secure/Expert_Now_IEEE/trials.html. For additional information on Expert Now IEEE, contact Marilyn Catis at +1 732 562 5323; or mg.catis@ieee.org.
**2006 IEEE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION AWARD: CALL FOR NOMINATIONS**
Nominations are being sought for the 2006 IEEE Standards Association International Award presented to an IEEE Standards Association individual member who has made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the international goals of IEEE-SA. The deadline for nominations is 31 May 2006. Complete information and nomination forms are available at the IEEE Standards Association International Award web site: http://standards.ieee.org/sa/aw/intlaward.html.
**COMPUTER SOCIETY SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR TECHNOLOGY OF THE DECADE AWARD**
The IEEE Computer Society is seeking nominations for its 60th Anniversary "Technology of the Decade Award," which will recognize a significant contribution to innovative information technology over the past 10 years. Nominations are due by Thursday, 15 June. For more information, visit the Computer Society website.
**IEEE U.S. SCHOLARS INVITED TO APPLY FOR FULBRIGHT-NOKIA GRANT**
Eligible U.S. scholars and specialists are invited to apply for the Fulbright-Nokia Grant in Electronics, Information and Telecommunications Technology, which provides an opportunity for the recipient to collaborate with Finnish colleagues over a four to nine month period. The grant includes research and lecturing at a university in Finland. Interested candidates should contact a Finnish host university, to request a letter of invitation. The deadline for the 2007-2008 academic year is 1 August 2006. For more details, visit the Council for International Exchange of Scholars website.
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.
27 April – SINA.COM – China’s popular media portal ran as an interview remarks from IEEE President Michael Lightner on IEEE visits to China last month and on the ongoing conflict over the WAPI standard. The article published verbatim messages developed to convey neutrality towards the conflict surrounding WAPI and IEEE 802.11i and reinforcing IEEE's interest to cooperate with China. This included the key position that IEEE “remains committed to supporting the international standards process” and “stands by its offer to work with China to harmonize WAPI technology with existing IEEE and international standards.” Additionally, the article reported that the visit was one of IEEE’s many outreach efforts in its long-term commitment to supporting the professional needs of electronic and electrical engineers in China. To view the article online (in Chinese), visit http://tech.sina.com.cn/it/2006-04-27/0022919589.shtml. The article is carried on the Science and Technology site of Sina as well as in the News section.
7 April – THE BOSTON GLOBE – Michael Buryk, business development manager for IEEE Recruitment Services, was quoted on the improved job prospects for technology professionals in a story on the expansion of Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai Technologies. The company, which provides services for improving content distribution over the Internet, plans to add at least 75 new engineering positions due to a recent surge in business.
7 April – THE NEW YORK TIMES – IEEE Spectrum news editor Bill Sweet, author of “Kicking the Carbon Habit: Global Warming and the Case for Renewable and Nuclear Energy,” wrote an op/ed on the safety and efficiency of nuclear reactors. Sweet concluded “If we’re to get into step with the world effort to reduce greenhouse gases, we are going to need to rely more, not less, on carbon-free nuclear energy.”
April – SCIENCE MAGAZINE – The IEEE Virtual museum was featured in the publication’s NetWatch section that highlights interesting websites. Science Magazine is a journal of original scientific research, global news and commentary produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
16 March – INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE AND THE NEW YORK TIMES – A paper presented at the IEEE-sponsored Pervasive Computing and Communications Conference in Pisa, Italy, was the focus of a story on the vulnerability of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to software viruses. The paper, “Is Your Cat Infected with a Computer Virus?” demonstrated how it was possible to infect a tiny portion of memory in chips large enough to hold only 128 characters of information.
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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
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