SCOOP - February 2008

SCOOP, February 2008

For IEEE Section, Council, Subsection, and Area Chairs, Treasurers, Newsletter Editors, and Webmasters

1) VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED TO SIGN PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS CONDUCT COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE

2) IEEE.TV LAUNCHES NEW SERIES ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

3) 2008 IEEE MEDALS, RECOGNITIONS, AND TECHNICAL FIELD AWARDS

4) IEEE MISSION AND VISION UPDATED AS PART OF IEEE ENVISIONED FUTURE

5) IEEE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES BOARD – CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

6) FINAL REMINDER FOR THE CLASS OF 2009 FELLOW NOMINATIONS

7) REMINDER - ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

8) IEEE SECTIONS CONGRESS 2008

Reminder: All previous reference to IEEE Regional Activities should now be referenced as IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA). Please remember to update your web page and other documentation.

1) VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED TO SIGN PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS CONDUCT COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE

In November 2007, the IEEE Board of Directors adopted the IEEE Principles of Business Conduct (PoBC), which requires that a compliance certificate be submitted each year by all volunteers and staff with decision-making authority. A signed form is also required from non-members and others who do business with, or on behalf of, IEEE.

Details about the PoBC and the certification form are provided at http://www.ieee.org/go/pobc. Everyone who is required to complete the IEEE Conflict of Interest Disclosure (COI) Statement form must also complete the PoBC form, annually.

The PoBC certification form and COI statement have been included in the annual Geographic Unit Financial report so all Geographic Unit Chairs and Treasurers are required to complete these items when they submit the annual financial report for their unit. The annual financial report for geographic units must be submitted by 31 March 2008.

The establishment of IEEE’s Principles of Business Conduct is consistent with both nonprofit and for-profit best governance practices. With submission of the certificate, individuals confirm that they have read these Principles and will adhere to the standards described therein. Non-compliance with this reporting requirement could subject individuals to disciplinary action that could result in removal from their volunteer position or termination from their staff position.

For more information contact the IEEE Corporate Integrity Officer at corp-integrity@ieee.org.

2) IEEE.TV LAUNCHES NEW SERIES ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

IEEE.tv has produced an “Energy Innovations” series of programs that explore how solar, renewable and coal energy are being implemented to meet growing energy needs. All three videos in the Energy Innovations series will be available free to the viewing public. The first program, “The Hydrogen House,” profiles Mike Stritzki, an engineer who designed and built a house run entirely by solar energy. “The Hydrogen House” can currently be viewed at http://www.ieee.org/ieeetv. The other programs, “Solar Goes Small” and “Schwartze Pump: Re-imagining Coal Power” will be added at a later date.

Full descriptions of the upcoming programs appear below:

“Solar Goes Small” – profiles an American group building a solar panel manufacturing plant in Cardiff, Wales. This plant will be the first facility that makes renewable energy products using only renewable energy. In addition to generating power from “traditional” solar sources, the panels made in the Cardiff facility will also generate power from indoor lighting and moonlight.
“Schwartze Pumpe: Re-imagining Coal Power” – outlines the anticipated coal depletion and the steps being taken to maximize the current reserves. Located near the Polish/Czech border in former East Germany, the Schwartze Pump is a massive power plant with boilers over 160 meters high. A new plant is under construction which will generate efficient, nearly clean power from coal, the first power plant to attempt such a feat.

3) 2008 IEEE MEDALS, RECOGNITIONS, AND TECHNICAL FIELD AWARDS

The 2008 Institute-level recipients have been announced on the IEEE Awards Website. A list of IEEE Medals and Recognitions recipients can be found <http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/pr/2008medalrecips.html> and IEEE Technical Field Awards <http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/pr/2008_TFArecips.html>

The list includes the names of recipients, business affiliations and their accompanying citations. The IEEE Awards staff is currently working with each of the recipients to schedule an appropriate venue for the primary presentation of their award. We also encourage you to recognize these individuals at other appropriate IEEE Section/Region/Society functions and to provide coverage of these important awards in IEEE publications. For additional information, contact IEEE Awards at "MailTo:awards@ieee.org".

4) IEEE MISSION AND VISION UPDATED AS PART OF IEEE ENVISIONED FUTURE

As part of the “IEEE Envisioned Future”, a synopsis of the new enterprise-wide, long-range strategic plan that was approved by the IEEE Board of Directors in June 2007, the IEEE mission and vision have been updated. The “IEEE Envisioned Future” is based on the balance between the timeless principles of IEEE and what IEEE seeks to become within 10 to 30 years.

The updated IEEE mission and vision, as well as more details about the IEEE Envisioned Future can be viewed at http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/visionmission.html. Any Web sites/pages that currently state the IEEE mission and vision should be updated with the new link. For more information on the IEEE Envisioned Future, contact John Keaton or Providence More, Corporate Strategy and Communications at j.c.keaton@ieee.org or p.more@ieee.org.

5) IEEE Educational Activities Board Awards – Call for Nominations

The IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) is once again seeking nominations to recognize and honor individuals, companies and IEEE Sections for their contributions to engineering and technical education. The deadline for the 2008 nominations is 30 April 2008.

There are eight (8) awards open for nominations. They are:

IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Accreditation Activities
IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education
IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Informal Education
IEEE EAB Major Educational Innovation Award
IEEE EAB Pre-University Educator Award
IEEE EAB Meritorious Service Citation
IEEE EAB Employer Professional Development Award
IEEE EAB Section Professional Development Award.

For complete award descriptions, honorarium details, access to nomination packets and to read about the 2007 EAB Award Recipients, visit us on-line at http://www.ieee.org/eab-awards. Questions? Please send an email to eab-awards@ieee.org.

6) FINAL REMINDER FOR THE CLASS OF 2009 FELLOW NOMINATIONS

The deadline to submit nominations for the Class of 2009 Fellows is 1 March. Eligible Senior members can be nominated in one of four categories: application engineer/practitioner, educator, research engineer/scientist, or technical leader. Nominee eligibility requirements, nomination instructions and forms may be found on the Fellow Web site at http://www.ieee.org/fellows.

7) REMINDER - ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

In order to maintain viability and to ensure that all geographic units are meeting the needs of their members, each unit is required to submit annual reports of the following items:

Meeting activity – The minimum meeting requirements are 5 meetings for Sections and Subsections; 2 technical meetings for Chapters; 2 meetings for Affinity Groups. This information can be submitted online via the electronic L31 meeting report form http://www.ieee.org/L31
Current officers – Please use the online officer report form to report your new officers within your geographic unit. The form is available at: http://ewh.ieee.org/forms/scs/interactofficer.php.

For questions regarding officer reporting, please contact scs-officer-report@ieee.org

Financial activity – Each Region, Section and Geographic Council Treasurer is responsible for submitting both the bank account disclosure form and the 2007 financial report for their unit and any subunits (Subsection, Chapters and/or Affinity Groups) to IEEE as soon as possible.

The 2007 Geographic Unit Financial Report and instructions are available online:

http://www.ieee.org/web/geo_activities/rab/scs/Required_Reporting/L50forms_instruc.html

8) IEEE SECTIONS CONGRESS 2008

As a reminder, IEEE Sections Congress 2008 will be held 19 – 22 September at the Quebec City Convention Center in Quebec City, Canada. The theme of the event is "Celebrating Volunteer Achievements Worldwide." The three program tracks are: Membership; Section Management; and Section/Chapter Activities. The registration web site for SC08 will be available by 1 March 2008. All Section Chairs will be receiving notification when the registration web site is available. If you are planning on attending, please ensure that you have the appropriate travel documents. Contact sc-coordinator@ieee.org or visit www.ieee.org/sc2008 for more information.

Reminder: NATIONAL SOCIETIES IN YOUR COUNTRY:

IEEE Section leaders in Regions 7-10 are encouraged to work together with National Societies in their respective country. Areas of cooperation can include technical and social meetings, conferences and exhibitions, distinguished lecturers, joint awards and seminars. To find out more, visit http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/agreements/idea.htm