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The following individuals are Sections Congress 2008 Speakers for the Blue Track - Membership.
Blue Track - Membership
W Cleon Anderson
The Benefits of Membership (Retention Strategies
Consultant, Anderson Associates
Past President and Life Fellow of the IEEE
W. Cleon Anderson was the 2005 President of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) worldwide and recently retired member of the technical staff at L-3 Communications in Salt Lake City, Utah. IEEE is the world's largest scientific, educational and professional society with over 365,000 members in approximately 170 countries. Through its members, the IEEE is a leading authority in areas ranging from aerospace, computers and telecommunications to biomedicine, electric power and consumer electronics.
Mr. Anderson received his BSEE (Magna Cum Laude) and MBA (Dean’s Scholar) from the University of Utah where he subsequently taught undergraduate and graduate courses in solid-state circuits and control systems. He was elected to 4 scholastic honor societies and named a Distinguished Alumnus of electrical and computer engineering.
Anderson is a licensed Professional Engineer. He has over 40 years experience in the electronics industry with Sperry, Univac, Unisys, Loral, Lockheed Martin and L-3 Communications. As a design engineer, program manager and engineering department head he directed the development of sophisticated data link communication systems. He has received three patents.
Always active in professional organizations, Anderson served IEEE in leadership positions locally, regionally, and worldwide for over 25 years, most recently for 7-years on its Board of Directors as Chairman of the Board, President, Vice President Regional Activities and Region‑6 Director. He also served a 5-year Governor's appointment to the Utah State Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board, the last three years as Board Chairman. He has chaired the Utah Engineers Council 2-years, been secretary of the Utah Society of Professional Engineers, and served for 5-years on the Professionalism and Ethics Committee of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying.
Active in both his church and community, Cleon is a former scoutmaster and a sustaining-member of the Boy Scouts of America with rank of Eagle. He and Dixie, his wife of 49 years, are the parents of 6 happily married children and have 27 grandchildren.
Marc Apter
Developing a 360 Degree View of the Member: Member Segmentation
Mr. Apter received the BSEE (Electronics) Degree from The Pennsylvania State University (1964). He served in the U.S. Navy for five years as Electronic Material Officer (EMO) aboard the USS BROOKE (DEG-1) and as EMO and Instructor at the Fleet Training Center, Mayport, Florida. He then worked for the Naval Ship Systems Command and its successor, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), for 11 years, with the responsibility for installation of various electronic and other systems. Then he worked for the Chief of Naval Material for five years, developing Electronic Maintenance Policy and auditing Maintenance Planning for new systems. For the 15 years until he retired, he worked at NAVSEA again, first managing its Metrology and Calibration Program, then managing the Navy's Maintenance and Configuration Management Programs, and finally as the Command Information Systems Security Manager and Head of the Information Technology Operations and Maintenance Branch. He is currently a Senior Information Assurance Specialist for EG&G Technical Services, developing security documentation for Classified and Sensitive but Unclassified Government computer and web based systems and applications.
IEEE Activities -- (S'63-M'65-SM'82) COMMITTEES/BOARDS: IEEE Board of Directors, 2001-2002; Member IEEE Ethics Member Conduct Committee, 2003; Regional Activities Board, Vice-Chair Member Activities 2003, Region Director 2001-2002; and IEEE-USA Board of Directors, 2001-2002; Member Admission and Advancement Committee, 1990-94; IEEE-USA Liaison Representative to the IEEE Ethics Committee, 1997-98; TAB/USAB U.S. Technology Policy, Chair 1992-93, Member 1988-93, 1982-85, USAB Employment Assistance, 1987-89; USAB Environmental Quality, Chair 1984, 1978-85; USAB Ethics, Chair 1994, 1989-95. REGIONS: Region 2: Past-Director, 2003; Director, 2001-2002; Director-Elect, 1999-2000; Treasurer, 1994-98; National Capital Area Council: Chair, 1990-91. SECTIONS: Northern Virginia, Chair, 1987-88. SOCIETIES: Social Implications of Technology: Treasurer, 1985-93; AdCom, 1982-93; Chapters, Chair, 1982-85; Professional Activities, Chair, 1982-85; Northern Virginia/Baltimore/Washington Chapter, Founding Chair, 1982-84. STUDENT BRANCHES: Penn State University, 1982-84. CONFERENCES: U.S. Technology Policy Conference, Finance, Chair, 1984; Session Coordinator, 1989; AAES Government Affairs Conference, IEEE Sessions Chair, 1991-93. REPRESENTATIVE: AAES Coordinating Committee on Environment, 1984. AWARDS: IEEE Millennium Medal, 2000; and IEEE Centennial Award, 1984.
Tom Cain
Member Recognition through the Life Cycle - Grade and Elevations
J.T. (Tom) Cain was born on 2 May 1942 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA. He received the BSEE, MSEE and PhD degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964, 1966 and 1970 respectively.
In December of 2007 Tom retired from the University of Pittsburgh where he had been a faculty member for 41 years. He is now a professor emeritus in electrical and computer engineering. Tom also has industry experience either full time or as a consultant with Bell of PA: Bell Telephone Laboratories, Westinghouse Electric and General Electric
Tom has extensive experience as a volunteer in a variety of professional organizations. Within the Institute, Tom has served in over four dozen positions including serving as president in 1995. He has also served in key positions in the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB), the Accreditation Board for Applied Sciences, Computing, Engineering and Technology (ABET), and the Instituto de Calidad en Acreditación de las Carreras de Ingeniería y Tecnología (ICACIT).
Tom is a Fellow of the IEEE and of CSAB. His honors include:
IEEE Educational Activities Board Meritorious Achievement Award in Accreditation Activities for "Outstanding Contributions to Computer Engineering Accreditation"
IEEE Millennium Medal for “Continuous and Outstanding Service to the Profession”
Computer Society Award for the "Development of the Model Curricula in Computer Science and Engineering"
Computer Society Taylor L. Booth Award, for "Contributions to Computer Science and Engineering Education"
Computer Society Richard E. Merwin Award for "Outstanding Sustained Contributions and Leadership in Education and the Computer Profession"
Computing Sciences Accreditation Board Citation for “Distinguished Contributions Towards Ensuring Quality Education in the Computing Sciences and Dedicated Service to the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board"
John Day
Resources and Tools in Support of Membership Development
John Day is a business and product development professional with 15 years experience in product management, marketing, and sales. John joined the MGA staff in February 2004, and has directed the product launches of myIEEE, IEEE.tv, and IEEE memberNet. Presently, John directs strategy development and execution for membership development and affinity group management, enabling the collaborative effort of membership development Staff and Volunteers worldwide. John joined the IEEE Staff in 1999 as a product manager in the Standards division, and holds an MA in Public Administration from the University of Maine.
Ray Findlay
Career Management through the Member Lifecycle
Ray Findlay (Ph.D. Toronto, 1968) is a professional engineer (P.Eng., Ontario) and Vice-President of JDRF Electromag Engineering Research, Inc., a Canadian company involved in the area of electromagnetic, power devices and equipment, energy systems, and development of new electromagnetic drives and separators. The company's principle mandate is research and development.
Ray is an emeritus professor at McMaster University, where he taught electrical machines at both the graduate and undergraduate level for 24 years 39 research graduate students including 12 Ph.D. students). Ray was also Assistant Dean, 1984-6, and Director of Engineering and Management, 1991-4.
Ray's technical interests include the subject of low frequency electromagnetic fields and losses in electrical power devices. He has more than 200 technical papers in the area, and 15 technical reports. He also holds 4 patents in the area. Ray was project leader in 1972-73 with GE in Peterborough, Canada. He spent 1979-80 at the University of Southampton, (UK) and during 1988 worked at CSIRO, Sydney, Australia, and the Katholieke Universiteit, Belgium. He has also held several consulting positions with various companies, and was contracted as a Science Advisor by Revenue Canada for various companies, 1994-2007.
He has held several positions within IEEE from the Section, Chapter and Society levels to VP Regional Activities (1996-7) and President (2002). Ray was the first President of IEEE Canada (1995). He has given 115 talks, speeches and workshops on leadership, professional development, etc., to engineers, student professional awareness conferences, and at IEEE meetings around the world.
Ray is a Fellow of both IEEE and the Engineering Institute of Canada. He is the recipient of an IEEE Millennium Medal, the Canadian Region Merit Award, the Canadian Pacific Railway Engineering Medal from the Engineering Institute of Canada, and the IEEE Canada McNaughton Medal for his work on induction machines.
Thomas Habetler
Increasing Society Membership through Chapter Engagement
Gerhard Hancke
Developing a 360 Degree View of the Member: Member Segmentation
Gerhard P Hancke is a Vice Chair of the Member and Geographic Activities Board (for Member Development) and a Candidate for Region 8 Director-Elect for 2009/2010.He has been active in the Region 8 Committee since 1998, predominantly focusing on member development and conferences. As a result he was the 2007 Recipient of the prestigious Larry K. Wilson Transnational Award for “outstanding contributions made to numerous IEEE activities and carrying forward the goals and objectives of the Regional Activities Board”.He has been active in technical activities as well and is a Senior AdCom Member and Secretary of the Industrial Electronics Society.
Gerhard Hancke is the Programme Coordinator for Computer Engineering at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and played a major role in developing this programme. He is the Head of the Distributed Sensor Networks Group, a joint initiative of the Meraka Institute, CSIR and the University of Pretoria, and is collaborating in research projects internationally. His association with and contribution to industry were acknowledged in 2007 when he received the THRIP Technology Award for SMME Development from the South African Minister of Trade and Industry.
Qiana Harder
Resources and Tools in Support of Membership Development
Qiana N. Harder is membership development manager for IEEE’s Member and Geographic Activities Department. Qiana joined IEEE in 2006 and is responsible for supporting membership sales and retention in collaboration with IEEE volunteers as well as identifying new tactics to support grassroots efforts. She has over ten years experience in organizational marketing, communications and membership sales.
Qiana holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, with a major in Marketing and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. She is currently earning her Lean Six Sigma certification from Villanova University.
Juan Hernandez
Career Management through the Member Lifecycle
Dr. Juan Hernández received a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Havana University in 1965 and a PhD at the Moscow University of Telecommunication and Informatics (MTUCI) in 1985. He was the Director of the Cuban research Telecommunication organization and lector at ”CUJAE” University, Havana. From 1977 to 1991 he was representing Cuban Telecommunication and other related organizations in the Soviet Union and from 1985 to 1991 Western Telecommunication, Electronics, Radar and Computer companies in Russia. He was from 1993 with Ericsson Radio Systems AB, Ericsson Russia and Ericsson Georgia, where he was engaged in the development of the Mobile NMT and GSM Market. Also he developed a Rural Telecommunication system based on the NMT Mobile Standard. Since 2000 he has been with Financial Engineering Sv AB, where he made operational an IP PoP in Stockholm. He also investigated the development of FTTH in low population density areas. He participated in the European Union research program FISTERA, where he presented “Society Bridge” – an innovative social concept. Retired from 1999 he is currently interested in development Telecom systems and very active in IEEE Sweden, where he has been promoting the DLT “Long Term Plan” in the Baltic, Scandinavian and Northern Russia. He was the Chairman of the organizing board of “You and the Future” IEEE workshop for dealing with solutions for the Aging phenomenon. IEEE Senior member and during the last three years he is the Chairman of the joint VT/COM Sweden Chapter and member of IEEE Sweden Section Board.
Charles Hickman
Member Recognition through the Life Cycle - Grade and Elevations
Charles E. Hickman received BSEE, MSEE and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1957, 1960 and 1966, respectively. His professional career includes both academic and industrial experience. Academic experience involved teaching, research and administration, including serving as the director of a research center of excellence in electric power and as the interim dean of engineering at Tennessee Technological University. Responsibilities of both positions included providing technical leadership and ensuring professional growth of all staff. The Alabama Section and the Engineering Council of Birmingham honored Hickman as its Engineer of the Year in 1986. He maintains an inactive status as a Professional Engineer in Tennessee. A summary of IEEE activities follows.
Institute Boards and Committees
- Awards Board: Chair, Finance Committee; Member, Publicity and Presentation Committee; Member-at-Large
- Educational Activities Board: Member, Strategic Planning Committee; Chair, Section Outreach Committee; Treasurer
- IEEE-USA: Member, Awards and Recognition Committee; Member, Career Services Committee
- Member and Geographic Activities Board: Vice-Chair of Student Activities Committee; Member and Chair of Awards and Recognition Committee; Member of N&A Committee
- Ethics and Member Conduct Committee: Member (2005-06); appointed as Chair in 2008
- Admission an Advancement Committee: Chair (2008)
- Finance Committee: EAB Treasurer (2001-02); Awards Board Treasurer (2003-05)
- Employee Benefits Committee (2007-2008)
Region 3/Section
- Region 3: Student Activities Chair (1991-95); Awards and Recognition Committee Chair (1996-97); Treasurer (1998-Present)
- Alabama Section: Progressed through the executive office positions to chair
Other
- IEEE representative on ABET accreditation teams (1983-99)
James Isaak
IEEE Section Value and Communications through Web 2.0
Candidate for Computer Society
President Home Vision Challenges
30 Years in industry (Digital, Data General, IBM, Intel and a few small companies), in academia 2001-2008.)
Division VIII Director 2003-2004 (IEEE Board), TAB Management Committee, TAB
Strategic Planning Committee, IEEE Strategic Planning Committee
IEEE Information Technology Strategy Committee (which I helped to establish in 2003.) -- member 2004-5, Chair 2006-2008
IEEE roles include: 20+ years in standards leadership (POSIX, Web Best Practices), Computer Society: Board of Governors, VP for Standards, VP for Technical Activities, Standards Association and Society for the Social Implications of Technology, Board of Governors, IEEE-USA Committee on Communications and Computer Policy, Alternate member of the Computer Science Accreditation Board (CSAB) and CSAB liaison to the IEEE Committee on Engineering Accreditation Activities (CEAA)
Past roles include Convener of ISO POSIX (UNIX) Standards working group & SA, Standards Board; Liaison to Internet Society Advisory Committee US Patent 6,622,247: "Method for certifying the authenticity of digital objects by an authentication authority and for certifying their compliance by at testing authority." [2003]
Awards: Hans Karlsson Award: for "Outstanding Leadership and achievement though cooperation", IEEE Millennium Award, Outstanding Contribution Awards, and Computer Society Golden Core.
Education: MSEE-Computer Engineering: Stanford University
Tarek Lahdhiri
The Benefits of Membership (Retention Strategies)
Dr. Lahdhiri received his BS, MS, and Ph.D degrees in Electrical Engineering with emphasis in nonlinear control systems. From 1995 to 1996, Dr. Lahdhiri held the position of Research Associate at the Center for Electric Power, Tennessee Technological University, USA, where he was a team leader conducting research on the data fusion/target-tracking problem. From 1997 to 1998, he held the position of Research Associate and Team Leader at the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Centre, University of Windsor, Canada, where he was the project manager for a research team working on the implementation of robust intelligent integrated robotic system for the assembly of auto-body parts. In 1998, Dr. Lahdhiri joined General Motors Corporation in Warren, Michigan, where he is currently holding the position of Project Manager and Team Leader at the Advanced Development and Validation Group, Global Systems Engineering Department. He is currently in charge of the real-time simulation and testing of vehicle control systems and subsystems. Dr. Lahdhiri is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Michigan.
Dr. Lahdhiri authored and co-authored over 15 journal papers and 30 conference papers and his areas of interest include systems engineering, robust linear and nonlinear control systems, modeling and validation of nonlinear complex systems, real-time hardware-in-the-loop systems, and engineering management.
Dr. Lahdhiri has been an active member within the IEEE organization over the last 12 years. Currently, he is the Region 4 Membership Development Chair, Member of the IEEE-USA Employment & Career Service (ECS) Committee, and Co-chair of the IEEE-USA Career Workforce Policy committee (CWPC).
Wanda Reder
Increasing Society Membership Through Chapter Engagement
Aleksander Szabo
Membership Development-Creating Leads and Follow Through
Aleksandar Szabo is a member of IEEE since 1976. From the very beginning of his membership he was active in promoting IEEE. He has been the Membership Development Officer in his Section for years attaining a steady membership growth. In IEEE Region 8 he was very successfully working in the Membership Development Subcommittee as the Chair in 2005 and 2006, and as its member in 2007 and 2008. In 2007 he was a voting member of the IEEE Membership Development Committee. Although his main efforts and activities have always been in the field of Membership Development, he has been also active as a member of IEEE Region 8 Subcommittees for Educational Activities, Professional Activities, Conference Coordination and Nomination & Appointment. He was the IEEE Croatia Section Chair 1992-2004. In his Section he was very active in organizing conferences, workshops and technical presentations.
Aleksandar Szabo received his degrees from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. He started his professional career in the industry. He was working on the design, production and testing of electronic equipment for industry applications. Later he joined the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, where he was teaching analog and digital electronic circuits. He participated in in many technical projects, especially in the field of microelectronic circuits. He is author of several textbooks, many articles and conference papers
Robert Vestal
The Benefits of Membership (Retention Strategies)
Robert Vestal has been a member of IEEE for 23 years. He has been a member in Region 3 (Alabama Section), Region 4 (Iowa-Illinois Section) and Region 5 (Shreveport Section). He has served on the Individual Benefits and Services Committee since 2003 and as its Chair since 2007.
A 1987 graduate from Louisiana Tech University with a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology, he is currently the Engineering Services Manager for Caliber Chemical Technologies located in Newnan, Georgia. In the past, Mr. Vestal has worked as an electrician, design engineer, field engineer, and controls group leader. He has done electrical and control design work for the paper, chemical and rubber industries using standard PLC and DCS control packages and has created unique systems combining C# with SQL and OPC servers.
Robert has been trained as an EMT and served on a volunteer fire department and has been a member of Kiwanis, Adopt-a-School, the ISA and other volunteer work. He currently lives in North Louisiana with his family.
Lawrence Whitby
Membership Development-Creating Leads and Follow Through
Mr. Whitby earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and a Masters of Business Administration specializing in Engineering Technology Management from City University in Bellevue, WA. Mr. Whitby’s career began in Calgary with startups writing software, developing products, and other engineering work. He worked on projects involving smart pipeline pig development and down hole tool prototyping. After that he began teaching and has focused his efforts on the teaching enterprise ever since. He has chaired three programs (Electronics Engineering Technology, Electronics Engineering Technician, and Night School Program) and he was involved in development and implementation phases of a corporate ERP. He currently teaches senior level courses. Mr. Whitby volunteers with IEEE and ISA in various capacities. He likes to play golf and he studies jazz music while playing tenor and soprano saxophones.
IEEE Sections Congress
IEEE Center for Leadership Excellence (CLE)
