What's New @ IEEE in Circuits

VOLUME 3 NUMBER 5 MAY 2002

CONTENTS:
1. First Quarter Chip Sales Indicate Recovery May Be on the Way
2. Hawaii the Place to be for Circuits in June
3. Ask*IEEE Launches Improved Service
4. Chipmakers Display Cutting-Edge Thinking
5. ISCC offers the Latest on this Year's ICs
6. ATM Technology Provides Industry Focus
7. The Toughest Transistor Yet: An IEEE Spectrum Special Report
8. IEEE 802.15.1 Standard Approved
9. Job Search Strategies - Planning for Results
10. Backscatter: Reality and the Virtual Engineer
11. Do Engineers and Customers Mix?

WHAT'S NEW SPECIAL - 15% OFF SELECT IEEE PRODUCTS LISTED IN THIS ISSUE!
Look for the What's New Specials and order instructions below.

1. FIRST QUARTER CHIP SALES INDICATE RECOVERY MAY BE ON THE WAY
Strong first-quarter growth in chip sales may indicate an even stronger than predicted recovery this year, according to Semico Research Corp. Contrary to most industry forecasts, the Phoenix, AZ, firm predicted a nearly 20 percent chip sales recovery from the 2001 industry recession for 2002. Visit: www.eet.com/semi/news/OEG20020503S0056

2. HAWAII THE PLACE TO BE FOR CIRCUITS IN JUNE
Hawaii is the place to be during the second week in June, say organizers of the VLSI Technology Symposium on Technology and Circuits. The event will be held in the 50th state of the United States from 11 to 13 June. Among the highlights of this conference are the largest MRAM demonstrated to date at 1-Megabit, and a 3-GHz Pentium 4 processor, which will feature the unprecedented scaling of a design from 1 GHz to 3 GHz. Invited speakers include Jim Meindl from Georgia Tech on on-chip interconnects, Takakuni Douseki of NTT on ultra-low-power LSI design for future mobile communication, Ken Wise of the University of Michigan on biomedical implantable devices, and Hiroshi Tamayama of Fuji Photo Film on digital still camera technology. Visit www.vlsisymposium.org/

3. ASK*IEEE LAUNCHES IMPROVED SERVICE
The Ask*IEEE document delivery service for IEEE journal, conference, and transaction papers and magazine articles has been enhanced. New features include electronic delivery of many IEEE documents, improved access to content from thousands of publishers, and online order status checking. For IEEE members, the copyright fee is waived for IEEE-copyrighted documents, including those delivered electronically. IEEE members must use their IEEE Web Account username and password when creating the Ask*IEEE user account. Previous Ask*IEEE usernames and passwords are no longer valid. www.ieee.org/services/askieee/

4. CHIPMAKERS DISPLAY CUTTING-EDGE THINKING
A series of developments in a variety of companies shows that chip manufacturers have their eyes on the prize in R&D areas. AMD is cutting prices on some of its catalog while releasing new Athlon processors. Intel claims its new Xeon chips can boost application performance by 30 percent, all the while making plans that focus on anytime, anywhere access to information. Industry analysts believe these developments and others on the horizon will spark competition among chipmakers. content.techweb.com/tech/networking/20020103_networking

5. ISCC OFFERS THE LATEST ON THIS YEAR'S ICS
Lauded as "the foremost global forum for the presentation of advances in solid-state circuits," the 2002 edition of the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) presented an exhaustive overview of emerging ICs. Engineers working at the cutting edge of IC design and use met at this year's conference in San Francisco to network with leading experts and cover topics ranging from analog and wireless communications, digital, images, displays and MEMS to signal processing and even first disposable chip for hearing aids. Get the proceedings of ISCC 2002 at: shop.ieee.org/store/product.asp?prodno=CH37315
***What's New Special - Use Code WNI for 15% Off - order instructions below***

6. ATM TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES INDUSTRY FOCUS
The high-profile multimedia industry that deals day in and day out with voice, data and video signals concentrates its focus almost solely on Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology as the best networking solution for its business. Research and development over the last decade has shown ATM to be the most stable technology for use in this industry. In his "Sourcebook of ATM and IP Internetworking," Khalid Ahmad has provided a comprehensive volume of the fundamental principals and protocols used in ATM-based networks. shop.ieee.org/store/product.asp?prodno=PC5745
***IEEE members receive a 15% discount on Wiley-IEEE Press titles***

7. THE TOUGHEST TRANSISTOR YET: AN IEEE SPECTRUM SPECIAL REPORT
Super-fast, ultra-tough transistors of gallium nitride could help usher in broadband wireless communications, better hybrid electric cars, compact radars, and dozens of other breakthroughs. Researchers say that high-power transistors could amplify signals at the highest frequencies and power levels of all semiconductors. But gallium nitride is costly. Now, with a slew of fresh approaches - plus funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - organizations big and small are pushing to commercialize the compound. Read more in the May issue of IEEE Spectrum magazine: www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/may02/gani.html

8. IEEE 802.15.1 STANDARD APPROVED
The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board has approved the IEEE Standard 802.15.1(R), "Wireless MAC and PHY Specifications for Wireless Personal Area Networks," adapted from portions of the Bluetooth(TM) wireless specification. "The new standard gives the Bluetooth spec greater validity and support in the market and is an additional resource for those who implement Bluetooth devices," says Ian Gifford, Vice Chair of the IEEE 802.15 Working Group. For more information, visit: standards.ieee.org/announcements/802151app.html

9. JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES - PLANNING FOR RESULTS
Finding the ideal job takes considerable time, effort and concentration. But with careful planning, focus and diligence, job-seekers stand more than a good chance of landing their dream jobs. Amina Sonnie, Career Experience coordinator at The University of Arizona's College of Engineering in Tucson, offers a practical approach to searching for a new job, including a sample four-week timeline for conducting a search. In the latest edition of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer: www.todaysengineer.org/Apr02/te1.htm

10. BACKSCATTER: REALITY AND THE VIRTUAL ENGINEER
Yesterday's engineers in-the-making had plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning. But today's playing and experimenting environment is ready-made. Without the tinkering experience, how do today's youngsters develop an interest in and understanding of the profession, and what can we do to help? Donald Christiansen has some ideas in the latest edition of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer: www.todaysengineer.org/Apr02/te3.htm

11. DO ENGINEERS AND CUSTOMERS MIX?
Even if the customer isn't always right, it's generally not a good idea to point it out. In a world where a premium is placed on impressions, face-to-face meetings can set the tone of successful business relationships – or sink them unceremoniously. Todd Yuzuriha offers some practical advice for engineers who have to interact directly with customers, in the latest edition of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer: www.todaysengineer.org/Apr02/te4.htm

***WHAT'S NEW SPECIAL - 15% OFF SELECT IEEE PRODUCTS LISTED IN THIS ISSUE!***
As a thank you to our WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE subscribers, the IEEE is offering a 15% discount on your purchase of any of the specially noted books and conference proceedings listed in this newsletter. If ordering from the IEEE Online Catalog & Store shop.ieee.org, include the code WNI in the special instructions field at "final checkout." If ordering by phone, provide the code WNI to the customer service representative. Offer expires on 31 Dec. 2002.

Terms & Conditions: Discount applicable only to items noted in this newsletter and only to orders placed directly with the IEEE; orders placed through resellers and IEEE Fatbrain are not eligible for the What’s New 15% discount. Coupons cannot be combined with any other offer. What’s New 15% discount does not apply to IEEE Press and John Wiley & Sons Inc. partnership titles, however, IEEE members receive a 15% discount on Wiley-IEEE Press titles purchased at the Wiley Web site.

What's New @ IEEE in Circuits is a monthly, opt-in email update designed to provide you with the latest news regarding IEEE activities, industry trends, career development tips, and new IEEE product releases. We welcome your feedback on this service.

Managing Editor: John Platt j.platt@ieee.org
Editor: Lyle Smith, ieeefeedback@ieee.org

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