What's New @ IEEE in Circuits

VOLUME 3 NUMBER 10 OCTOBER 2002

CONTENTS:
1. Electronic Vision Made Possible with Silicon Retina
2. SSCS Members Give Society High Marks
3. New Integrated Circuits Release Available
4. A Better Ballot Box? - An IEEE Spectrum Special Report
5. IEDM to Feature Photonic Band Gap Designs and Sub-100nm Technology
6. Organic and Molecular Electronics Standards Working Group Formed
7. IEEE Membership Offers New Options for 2003
8. Search IEEE Conference Proceedings for Five Hottest Patent Technologies
9. New Motorola Radio Product Steps Back to Analog
10. IEEE Members Receive Discounts to Comdex Fall 2002
11. Enhanced Skills for Engineers: Setting Yourself Apart with Soft Skills

IEEE ELECTIONS - PICK YOUR CANDIDATES
Ballots due 1 November 2002
www.ieee.org/organizations/corporate/candidates.htm

1. ELECTRONIC VISION MADE POSSIBLE WITH SILICON RETINA
Researchers unveiled a silicon retina that works like "electronic vision" at the 15th IEEE International ASIC/SoC Conference in Rochester, NY, USA in September. The technology described integrates a CMOS image sensor with a neural network simulator to perform image correction algorithms and motion detection without the use of external processors. Learn more: www.eet.com/semi/news/OEG20020927S0037

2. SSCS MEMBERS GIVE SOCIETY HIGH MARKS
Ninety-five percent of IEEE Solid State Circuit Society (SSCS) members are satisfied with their membership, according to a recent membership satisfaction survey conducted by SSCS from November 2001 through March 2002. Ninety-five percent of respondents were either satisfied or highly satisfied with their membership. Ninety-eight percent respond they definitely or probably will renew. Ninety-six percent definitely or probably will recommend membership to a colleague. Read more results from the survey at: www.ieee.org/organizations/pubs/newsletters/sscs/oct02/members.html

3. NEW INTEGRATED CIRCUITS RELEASE AVAILABLE
The proceedings of the 2002 International Symposium on Physical and Failure Analysis of Integrated Circuits are now available from the IEEE Online Catalog & Store. This new release comes from the ninth edition of this international event, which is sponsored by the IEEE Electron Devices, IEEE Reliability, and the IEEE Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology societies. Order the proceedings at: shop.ieee.org/store/product.asp?prodno=TH8614
***What's New Special - Use Code WNI for 15% Off - order instructions below***

4. A BETTER BALLOT BOX? - AN IEEE SPECTRUM SPECIAL REPORT
Some $2 to $4 billion will be spent in the United States and Canada during the next decade to update voting systems. But are computerized methods for ballot casting and tabulation really better than the punch-card devices that caused chaos during the last U.S. presidential election? Maybe, but maybe not. IEEE Spectrum looks at new technologies for voting, including Internet voting, and discusses the problems inherent in making systems trustworthy and private. Read more: www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/oct02/evot.html

5. IEDM TO FEATURE PHOTONIC BAND GAP DESIGNS AND SUB-100NM TECHNOLOGY
The 2002 edition of the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) will feature two short courses addressing "The Future of Semiconductor Manufacturing" and "RF Device Technologies for Communication Systems." Registration is open for IEDM in San Francisco, CA, USA, 8 to 11 December. Abstracts of the 212 selected papers for the conference are featured on their Web site. Early registration rates are available until 16 November. www.his.com/~iedm/

6. ORGANIC AND MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS STANDARDS WORKING GROUP FORMED
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has formed a new P1620(TM) working group designed to formulate a standard for evaluating organic transistors or organic field effect transistors (OFET). This technology promises to deliver economical circuitry for high-volume applications not viable in silicon. Find out more at: standards.ieee.org/announcements/p1620wg.html

7. IEEE MEMBERSHIP OFFERS NEW OPTIONS FOR 2003
New options are now available to IEEE members when they renew their memberships for 2003. Members can join the new IEEE Neural Networks Society and subscribe to new journals like IEEE Power Electronic Letters and IEEE Security & Privacy magazine. In addition, IEEE members can subscribe to the IEEE Member Digital Library, which offers exclusive access to IEEE journals, magazines, transactions, letters, or conference papers published today or in the last five years. IEEE members renewing online by 15 November 2002 will be eligible to win a Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop computer. Find out about all of these new options more when you visit: www.ieee.org/renewal

8. SEARCH IEEE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS FOR FIVE HOTTEST PATENT TECHNOLOGIES
A recent issue of MIT Technology Review magazine featured five hot new patents that could change the landscape of modern business and technology. Cutting-edge research related to all of these patents can be found in IEEE conference proceedings, and IEEE members can search IEEE Xplore® to find a multitude of IEEE conference papers related to these leading-edge technologies. From creation of the world's smallest circuits to increasing capacity of hard drives to antenna architecture that boosts wireless data transfer, IEEE conference papers can be used to trace each technology's beginnings to the latest developments. For more information, visit: www.ieee.org/products/onlinepubs/0902_01.html

IEEE members can search IEEE Xplore® for these technologies now at: ieeexplore.ieee.org

9. NEW MOTOROLA RADIO PRODUCT STEPS BACK TO ANALOG
Motorola is taking two steps back to take one forward in radio. The semiconductor giant is rolling out a new product: Symphony, a digital radio chip set created to improve tuning, filtering and audio processing of traditional analog AM/FM broadcast transmissions. The company claims the difference in sound quality from analog radio to Symphony is comparable to that of cassettes versus CDs. www.eet.com/semi/news/OEG20020930S0034

10. IEEE MEMBERS RECEIVE DISCOUNTS TO COMDEX FALL 2002
IEEE Spectrum, in partnership with the COMDEX Fall trade show, will present the "Crystal Ball: Technology Infusions" educational sessions, Tuesday and Wednesday, 19 and 20 November, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Editors from IEEE Spectrum will explore five IT-impacting technologies that are likely to make headlines in the next five years, based on their September cover feature, "They Might Be Giants." IEEE members are eligible for US$200 off the Business Technology Conference (featuring the "Crystal Ball" track), the Plus Pass (access to two conferences) and the Flex Pass (access to all COMDEX education offerings, excluding IT Professional Certifications). Enter priority code EEPT and coupon code 972 to receive this discount. For details and registration details, visit: www.comdex.com/fall/about/index.php?s=register

11. ENHANCED SKILLS FOR ENGINEERS: SETTING YOURSELF APART WITH SOFT SKILLS
If soft skills are the characteristics that distinguish you from your engineering colleagues and boost your value to your organization, you ought to know what they are. This installment of Ted Hissey's series on enhanced skills for engineers covers several "soft" skills that corporate executives and managers look for when hiring and evaluating employees. Some are easier to develop than others, but all deserve the attention of today's engineers: www.todaysengineer.org/Sept02/skills3.htm

***WHAT'S NEW SPECIAL – 15% OFF SELECT IEEE PRODUCTS LISTING IN THIS ISSUE!***
As a thank you to our WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE for POWER 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 and 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 and 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 and 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 POWER 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 l.smith@ieee.org

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