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The Region 5 Community Connector

Newsletter Promoting activities, information, and news to the membership

January 2024

    Membership Contacts:

Hunter J Boudreaux – East Area Chair

Prasenjit Shil– North Area Chair

Joe Redfield– South Area Chair

Faye Kann– West Area Chair

R5 EXCOM Roster can be viewed here: https://rosters.ieee.org/home.html

    R5 2023 EXCOM Meetings 

  • IEEE Region 5 2023 Winter EXCOM Meeting and Audit Committee Meetings: The meeting was held on Friday Jan 27 – Sunday Jan 29, 2023 at Courtyard Marriott Springfield Airport, 3527 W Kearney Street, Springfield, Missouri, United States, 65803.ExCOM recommended Christopher Sanderson and Kenneth Rice for the R5 Director-Elect Candidates. There could still be a petition candidate, thus, this is not the final candidates slate for the Director-Elect position.
  • 2023 Region 5 Annual Meeting and Student Competitions was held on Friday April 21,22 & 23 at the Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center, 13200 E. 14th, Aurora, CO 80011. More meeting details and highlight coming soon.
  • Region 5 Fall ExCom Meeting: Region 5 held their annual fall Executive Committee meeting in San Antonio, TX from October 13-15, 2023, in partnership with Southwest Research Institute and Lone Star Section. The group met to review 2023 activities and strategic planning for 2024-25 activities.  The student branch members from the University of Texas at San Antonio presented during the lunch hour about their 2023-24 activities. Garrett Hall who is the student advisor was in attendance. 

    San Antonio Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia provided very timely remarks on STEM activities for youth and job growth in her district which adjoins Southwest Research Institute. IEEE was pleased to have her join us on Friday and share future strategies.

Starting from the left is Bill Wylie, Larry Larson, John Reinert, Clif Denny, Walt Downing, R5 Director 2022-2023 Bob Becnel, San Antonio Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, Nils Smith, Jose Navarro, R5 Director 2024-25 Matt Francis, Kai Wong, Don Dunn, Faye Kann, Jim Sipes and with Hunter Bordeaux and Case Kirk in front.

    R5 2023 Committee 

2023 Audit Committee
  1. Treasurer: Paul Cassingham / William L Wylie
  2. Audit Committee Chair, 4th Year: William Wylie (North) Billwylie@ieee.org
  3. Audit Committee, 3rd Year: Silke Spiesshoefer (East) Silke_Spiesshoefer@ieee.org
  4. Audit Committee, 2nd Year: Ernest X Njouondo (South) njouondo@ieee.org
  5. Audit Committee, 1st Year: Patterson, Tristan Hunter (West) tristanpatterson10@hotmail.com
   Spotlights

Fort Worth Section: The University of North Texas Student Branch @ the 2023 IEEE-HKN Joint Engineering Workshop

Students at the University of North Texas improved the curb appeal of the IEEE and IEEE-HKN Joint Engineering Workshop, a space to work on and showcase activities and competitions for the IEEE UNT Student Branch.

Pictured L to R: Kevin Pham, Matt Rao, Ben Hand, Nicholas Esponda, and Art Depoian

Contributor: Colleen Bailey cpbailey@ieee.org

Fort Worth Section: December 2023, Life Member Affinity Group’s Meeting in Picture

Contributor: David Sandhu dsandhu@eversourcewa.com

   Community Outreach

Project Self-Sufficiency (PSS)

Project Self-Sufficiency (PSS) evolved from the efforts of a countywide task force in 1985 to coordinate and expand services for low-income, single-parent families.  One of the most promising pathways out of poverty includes access to higher education. Today, our local programs are offered to 105 families concurrently. PSS breaks new ground with single-parent families to access their self-power.  PSS provides educational and career empowerment through 1:1 coaching, goal reinforcement, and significant support helping single parents cut through the stress and barriers to their success to self-power their completely new life.

PSS receives donated laptops & computers from banks, hospitals, and local commercial businesses.  We refurbish those donations for participants’ academic use by installing current Windows operating systems, and applications and performing performance testing.

Volunteering at PSS is an excellent way to give back to your local community. For Members and Student Members, the commitment would be about 4 hours a week,

Right now, there is an immediate need in the Weld and Larimer County area of Northern Colorado, but there may also be a need in your immediate area.

If you live in the Northern Colorado area and are interested in volunteering,

please contact: Diane Glessner, Project Self Sufficiency, IT volunteer dianelee.glessner@gmail.com

    Membership Development

Ian MacMillan  The New Region 5 Membership Development Chair

I wanted to introduce myself as the new R5 Membership Development Chair taking over from Joe Redfield’s capable hands.  As you’ve most likely heard, the IEEE now has over 451,000 members so we hopefully will remain on an upward membership trajectory.

Membership Development is more than just the numbers however.  It’s also about the value that you get from being a member which helps you make that decision to join or renew.  However, without volunteers it’s impossible for the MGA Chapters / Affinity Groups / Sections / Subsections / Region 5 to engage with you in ways to contribute to the value you receive from your membership.

This is a potentially virtuous circle with valuable engagement encouraging more members and volunteers.  However it can be a declining spiral when engagement / value drops.

Since the pandemic is hopefully behind us, I’d like to explore the ways we can engage with our members and volunteers to identify what works and what doesn’t.  The membership numbers ultimately guide us on whether we’re succeeding or not.

“And now for a message from our sponsors”:

Have you renewed your IEEE membership for 2024?

It is easy to forget and easy to put off.  If you haven’t renewed your IEEE membership, or don’t know if you have, go to your IEEE account NOW.  Go to www.ieee.org, Sign in, select your name, and then select Membership and Subscription Information OR call 800 678-4333.  As a note, although Life Members have no dues, you do need to confirm your membership annually.

OR just renew now to avoid loss of any of your IEEE benefits at www.ieee.org/renew .

If you have already renewed, thank you for being part of the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional association. We have a lot planned for you in 2024

IEEE Member Benefits

Have you looked at all the benefits you receive as an IEEE member?

IEEE has specific benefits tailored to your specific carrier phase.  Are you taking advantage of all that IEEE has to offer for you?  If you’re like me, you probably know of a few benefits and are taking advantage of them but are possibly missing out on others.

The latest IEEE member Benefits Bulletin is available.  Go to:

IEEE Member Benefits for the latest on

  • authoring through IEEE Collabratech,
  • member discounts on insurance, UPS shipping, computer purchases, and Wiley-IEEE Press,
  • Continuing educational opportunities through online learning and eBbooks.  IEEE members have access to over 380 eBooks at no charge.  See the current offering at https://www.ieee.org/publications/books/ebookclassics.html

Did you know about IEEE – IEEE Collabratec

IEEE has created an online tool to assist IEEE Members AND non-members in career development.

The IEEE Collabratec™ online community offers a suite of productivity tools and is available to technology professionals around the world with exclusive features for IEEE members. Plus sign up is free to everyone.

IEEE Collabratec™ can help you:

  • Connect with global technology professionals by location and
  • Access robust networking, collaboration, and authoring tools dedicated to technology professionals
  • Establish a professional identity to showcase key accomplishments

Go to Collabratec NOW

You do NOT have to be an IEEE member to join IEEE Collabratech.

For more information, please contact: Ian MacMillan / Region 5 Membership Development Chair / i.d.macmillan@ieee.org

    R5 Conferences, Webinars and Professional Activities

IEEE International Conference on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems May 12-14 2024

The conference, scheduled to take place on May 12-14, 2024 in St. Louis: https://icps2024.ieee-ies.org/,  which will bring together experts and researchers from academia and industry to exchange ideas and discuss the latest advancements in Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems.

Primary contact Dr. Fang, Huazhen: fang@ku.edu
Region 5 Conference – ICC 2024 (Denver) June 9-13, 2024

The IEEE Denver Section is hosting the International Conference on Communications (ICC) which for 2024 which will take place in Denver Colorado (June 9-13, 2024).  ICC is one of the two IEEE ComSoc flagship conferences attracting a large number of contributors and attendants.  This year’s conference hosted 2000 attendees in Rome at ICC 2023

 

We invite you to submit a business, paper, workshop, tutorial proposal for consideration. See the attached Call for Papers (CFP) document. CFPs for symposium, workshops and tutorials require technical papers that will be published in IEEE xPlore digital library.  Industry presentations, panels and workshops (not requiring publishing papers) will be solicited in the weeks ahead.

Given the convergence of computing and communication in our industry, we hope you will consider this opportunity and spread the word to your colleagues. Access conference Weblinks: Symposium     Workshops    Tutorials

For any question, please contact Tim Weil – General Co-Chair – ICC 2024 (Denver)720.656.9572 (m) | 240.337-1305 (f)

Professional Activities
Region 5 makes funds available for the support of professional activities in IEEE R5 Sections, Chapters, and Student Branches. The funds are managed and distributed through the Region. To obtain funding, a Section, Chapter, or Student Branch must complete a Project Plan and Financing Request form, obtain supporting signatures, and file the form with the Region 5 PACE Coordinator. For R5 PACE Form (includes program details) and project ideas, https://r5.ieee.org/member-opportunities/professional-activities-pace/.
POC: Diane Collier pacechair@ieeer5.org.
    R5 Sections and Formation Date
Section Date
1 Arkansas River Valley June 20, 1994
2 Arkansas April 23, 1947
3 Baton Rouge February 5, 1955
4 Beaumont June 27, 1945
5 Central Texas May 23, 1930
6 Corpus Christi October 25, 1951
7 Dallas March 18, 1928
8 Denver May 18, 1915
9 El Paso March 7, 1940
10 Fort Worth January 5, 1956
11 Galveston Bay January 1, 1980
12 High Plains February 13, 2010
13 Houston August 7, 1928
14 Kansas City April 4, 1916
15 Lafayette November 11, 1970
16 Lone Star November 23, 2019
17 New Orleans December 8, 1933
18 Oklahoma City February 16, 1922
19 Ozark April 20, 1966
20 Panhandle June 12, 1947
21 Pikes Peak May 22, 1978
22 Saint Louis January 14, 1903
23 Shreveport January 14, 1903
24 South Plains May 4, 1955
25 Southwest Missouri February 14, 2009
26 Tulsa October 1, 1937
27 Wichita September 16, 1937

    IEEE USA News

Wanted:  Licensed volunteers to help with IEEE-USA and Region 5 Pilot for a PE Refresher

Region 5 is going to pilot a PE Refresher Pilot for IEEE-USA .  We have the opportunity to design and implement an exciting new and promising pilot for a program that IEEE-USA (Career and Professional Development ) and the MGA YP Committee are jointly creating.

As part of the pilot, a few subjects will be introduced to members that sign up.  These subjects are, tentatively, DC/AC Circuit Analysis, Mathematics, Ethics, Economics and Power.  At this time, we have an open call for an instructor in these areas to help with preparing a 2 hour webex on one of the preferred topics by creating some summary material and problems on the topic.  The instructor will present the material on one evening and then be available to answer questions on the problems.  We are looking to recruit the team in September and start enrolling in October.  I will have an informational session in mid September with those that respond to this call.  Instructors should not be concurrently supporting NCEES on any exam writing efforts.  Instructors should be licensed within the US.

In addition we would be looking for a project manager that is passionate about licensing to help manage the project and expand it beyond the pilot.

This is a pilot, so the purpose is to fine tune the program and collect feedback.  The informational session will help clarify format a little bit more.  However you may call me at 314-941-7641 or email at bob.becnel@ieee.org.

IEEE-USA MOVE Vehicle

We are very short on drivers right now. We have had to turn down some deployments due to the lack of qualified/certified drivers. If you are at all interested, please contact me. Region 5 is anticipating an IEEE-USA MOVE Vehicle to be stationed within the Region in the near future. https://move.ieeeusa.org To prepare for the truck, R5 is working with the larger MOVE team to train volunteers to operate and drive the trucks. Two trucks already exist, stationed in San Diego and Raleigh. The trucks are primarily focused on supporting disasters across the US in coordination with the American Red Cross. The trucks are also used for various STEM events. There are many opportunities to volunteer, truck drivers/operators, radio team, truck maintenance team, weather team, STEM volunteer, media coordination, etc. If you are interested, take a look at the MOVE web site, click on “volunteer” and enter your information. Or, contact Gerry Ourada, gourada@ieee.org for assistance or questions.
Check out IEEE-USA Insight’s New Look IEEE USA have launched version 3.0 of our flagship publication IEEE-USA InSight, which covers career and public policy issues that are important to technology professionals.

    Opportunities

Air Force Research Lab Opportunity -> Closes On December 14, 2023

Radio-Frequency Bioeffects Engineer,  San Antonio, TX

Join the 711 Human Performance Wing (HPW), to advance human performance in air, space, and cyberspace through research, education, and consultation. The 711 HPW supports the most critical Air Force resource – the operational military forces!

For details please visit: https://airforcestem.recsolu.com/jobs/DdR9qnJHzDTNBLPR9rUONA?job_board_id=g193rQ-SUdupijEbTiPUvw

Posting closes on Dec. 14, 2023″

Contributor : James Mercier jmercier@ie

    Frequent Links

The Full ExCom Roster can be viewed here: https://rosters.ieee.org/home.html
IEEE Region 5 https://r5.ieee.org/

The Newsletter is sent to all current members in Region 5

Newsletter Editor: Ademola Peter Adejokun

newsletter@ieeer5.org