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

1. Treasurer: William L WylieBillwylie@ieee.org
2. Audit Committee Chair, 4th Year: Silke Spiesshoefer (East) Silke_Spiesshoefer@ieee.org
3. Audit Committee, 3rd Year: Ernest X Njouondo (South) njouondo@ieee.org
4. Audit Committee, 2nd Year: Patterson, Tristan Hunter (West) tristanpatterson10@hotmail.com
5. Audit Committee, 1st Year: Bett, Italo (North) Italo.bett@ieee.org

Forth Worth Section’s Member, David Sandhu shared a wealth of knowledge for the IEEE-USA webinar: “Engineering Your Wealth”. 

Whether you’re just starting your engineering career or a few years from retirement, this webinar provides a strategic blueprint to help you maximize your wealth potential. From optimizing income streams and tax strategies to leveraging investments and retirement planning, he covered essential steps to engineer your financial success. Here is the link to watch the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdfA1q_-JdQ

David Sandhu formerly worked for SpaceX, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin as an engineer before he transitioned to the financial services industry. After his father passed away, David helped his mom through some tough financial questions, and that gave him the spark to pursue a career in financial planning. David is passionate about serving others and lives by Zig Ziglar’s famous saying, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”  He knows first-hand that true happiness is experienced when helping others. 

Denver Section Life Member Affinity Group Event

On August 6, 2024, the Denver Section Life Member Affinity Group sponsored a tour of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Boulder, Colorado. The tour was arranged by the Denver LMAG; however, neighboring groups from the Pikes Peak and High Plains sections were also invited to co-host, and representatives from both groups attended the event.

Led by NOAA Affiliate Carolyn Szoke, the tour included the Space Weather Prediction Center, the Global Monitoring Laboratory—where they discussed the global monitoring of greenhouse gases and ozone—the local forecasting office of the National Weather Service, and the Science on a Sphere theater. Our tour guide, Carolyn Szoke, was very knowledgeable about the varied missions of NOAA, but her presentation was unexpectedly taken over at the Space Weather Prediction Center.

We were looking through the window into the center where multiple images of the sun (all at different wavelengths) were being observed. The Space Weather Scientist on duty at that time, Rob Steenburgh, happened to turn around and notice our group. Something about us piqued his interest because he exited the center and appeared before us. Carolyn explained that we were a group of engineers. “What kind of engineers?” he asked. “Electrical Engineers,” we replied. His eyes opened wide, and his grin broadened. “Any HAM radio operators in this group?” he asked expectantly. A half dozen hands went up. “These are my people!” he exclaimed; fists raised in the air. From that point on, it was a rapid-fire exchange of questions and answers, along with more than a few “war stories.” We likely would have spent the entire tour time right there had Carolyn not interceded to get us back on schedule. On the whole, it was a very successful outing—enlightening and entertaining.

El Paso’s Section Event

IEEE Region 5 – El Paso’s Section along El Paso Community College’s Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity and the Education Pathway National Center (EPNC) hosted the distinguished two-day Binational Border Cybersecurity Summit at the Valle Verde Campus in El Paso Texas from May 16 to 17, 2024.

The goal of the summit was to bring cybersecurity leaders to the El Paso region, i.e., El Paso Texas, Las Cruces New Mexico, and Cd. Juarez Mexico, and from around the globe and identify credentials valuable within the region that can enhance cybersecurity opportunities, addressing the needs of regional educational institutions, industries, and private sector partners.

The summit commenced with featured speakers from El Paso ISD, Ysleta ISD, and Socorro ISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Leadership Departments, who discussed the regional growth of CTE. Other notable speakers included representatives from Microsoft, the Artificial Intelligence Center of Cd. Juarez, UTEP, New Mexico State, EPCC, Borderplex Alliance, U.S. Army, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

The importance of industry and academic partnerships are essential in the cybersecurity community, since these span from large to small Independent School Districts (ISDs), and with nearly 40 Early College High Schools and Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH), they are pushing the envelope of Career Technical Education (CTE). The summit plays a significant role in this progress with local universities, businesses, and industries.

This year, EPCC was especially excited to highlight contributions from RING (Regions Investing in the Next Generation). RING, an innovative online cybersecurity course designed for high school students, focuses on providing rich, engaging content for those without access to existing cybersecurity programs. Their mission is to educate and mentor students on their journey toward a cybersecurity career, emphasizing ethics and pride in their work. RING represents a vital step forward, crafting tools that will empower the next wave of cybersecurity professionals. Jennifer Marden, Research Scientist / RING Training, provided a demonstration for the RING curriculum to ISDs leaders.

The Education Pathway National Center (EPNC) acts as the national resource and coordinator for education pathways leading to cybersecurity careers. Furthermore, the EPNC leverages and focuses on the implementation of the RING initiative and collaborates to support faculty development initiatives. Directors Jiri Jirik and Dr. Kristine Christensen played a crucial role in bringing this opportunity to Region V, particularly within the El Paso Section.

More information about the conference’s agenda can be found at:  https://sites.google.com/view/bordercybersummit

In June, the MOVE 1 (aka M1) truck was deployed by the American Red Cross to support the fires in New Mexico.  The truck left DFW, and was stationed at a shelter set up outside of Ruidoso, New Mexico, in support of the South Fork fire evacuations.

After the two week deployment to NM, M1 was taken to Raleigh, NC for some low level maintenance.  The truck was returned to DFW, was parked for two days, before it was again called for disaster service.  A team deployed with M1 to assist Houston with recovery from Hurricane Beryl.  M1 deployed to several locations within the Houston area, bringing power and communications connections to impacted people.  While M1 was in Houston, Region 5 Director Elect, Christopher Sanderson, came by for a familiarization tour.

During the time in Houston, M1 had a hard generator failure.  The truck was again returned to Raleigh for maintenance work.  M1 will return to DFW as soon as the generator is repaired, stalled for parts, and when the new 5G equipment is installed and tested.  Expected return is the end of September.

During July an operations class was conducted.  Several members from DFW participated.  Following the class, a driver training weekend was conducted in Raleigh.  With both trucks being in Raleigh at the same time, drivers learned both trucks, how to drive and how to operate.  Five new drivers were certified during this training weekend, to include the first in the DFW area, Morgan Kiani, a professor at TCU.

In the mean time, we are still looking for volunteers, especially in the DFW area.  As we are in an expansion phase in region 5, we are primarily seeking candidates for crew members and drivers. There are also committee positions available which do not require extensive travel.  Many of these can be done from home.  You do not have to live near a truck to help!

We’d love to learn about your passions, skills, interests, and volunteer time to explore how we can work together to find a good fit for you in our program. If interested, please visit  MOVE-SIGNUP  to complete our MOVE volunteer form.

If you are at all interested, please contact me.  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.

https://move.ieeeusa.org 

You can receive updates on the deployment on Facebook

Want to help? IEEE MOVE Community Outreach program is made possible through the generosity of members and philanthropic partners. MOVE does not get yearly funding and in order for MOVE to continue our efforts to assist at disasters, it is necessary for us to raise funds.

Donate: MOVE is funded by donations like yours. Your support is greatly appreciated.  Please consider a donation today to assist your fellow IEEE Volunteers as they respond to the needs of those in need. Any amount helps, but we suggest a monthly donation of $14 for the 14,000 structures that were destroyed. Donate Now

Volunteer: The MOVE program is always looking for IEEE volunteers of all grades who have a deep passion for humanitarian work and the expertise, wisdom and time to commit in support of the program. Volunteer Form

Thank you for your support of IEEE-USA MOVE!

Matt Francis IEEE R5 Director / Gerry Ourada Region 5 MOVE Coordinator

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

MetroCon 2024: Fort Worth Section Annual Conference November 14^th, 2024 Hurst, Texas

The IEEE Fort Worth Section is proud to continue the tradition with MetroCon 2024, our 36th annual conference, set to take place on November 14th at the Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, Texas. This one-day event brings together professionals, researchers, and students from many engineering and technology disciplines to explore the latest developments and innovations shaping our future.

MetroCon 2024 offers a comprehensive program with nine specialized tracks. The conference also features two general sessions, with presentations from IEEE ITSS Fellow Swaroop Darbha, Ph.D. and  Julian Bleecker, Ph.D., an author and futurist.

Track Offerings

• Internet of Things
• Software and Systems Engineering
• Developing and Deploying Secure Systems
• Power & Energy Systems
• Computational Intelligence
• Autonomous and Vehicle Systems
• Photonics
• Biotechnologies
• Financial Management and Future Tools

In addition to the technical sessions, MetroCon 2024 will host a student poster competition, providing an opportunity for the next generation of engineers to showcase their research and ideas.  The competition is for both graduate and undergraduate students and offers six cash prizes.

For more information and to register, please visit [MetroCon 2024’s official website](https://www.metrocon.org/2024/).

Don’t miss this opportunity to network, learn, and gain valuable insights into the future of engineering and technology!

Conference Chair  Mike Bishop  mike@msgmonline.net or bishopm@acm.org

IEEE Fort Worth Meet and Greet Event on September 26^th, 2024

Mark your calendars for a fun evening of networking and socializing! The IEEE Fort Worth section is hosting a Meet & Greet at Three Wide Brewing on Thursday, September 26 at 6:00 PM. More information available on vTools Events https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/433214

IEEE Region 5 Women in Engineering Upcoming Speakers

Moriah Bisewski – Moving from Electrical Engineering into Patent Law Friday, September 27th at noon CDT (1pm EDT, 11am MDT)

Moriah holds a BS of Electrical Engineering (’17) from the University of Houston and a Juris Doctor (JD) (’24) from the University of Houston Law Center. She is an active Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) member and has previously served as vice-chair of the IEEE Houston Section, among other volunteer roles with IEEE. She regularly presents to non-profit groups about intellectual property and mentors young engineers in their early careers.

These efforts, among others, were celebrated when she was awarded the 2018 IEEE Region 5 Outstanding Young Professional award. Moriah’s community involvement continued through law school. While at UHLC, she volunteered as a student attorney in the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic (ECDC), as president of the Intellectual Property Student Organization (IPSO), and as co-host of the UH STEMinist podcast. These efforts, among others, were celebrated when she was awarded a 2024 State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property (IP) Section Diversity Scholarship Award.

Talk Moriah Bisewski is a patent agent at Fletcher Yoder Intellectual Property Law Firm, with seven years of -experience in helping engineers protect their ideas with patents. After years of getting negative feedback from engineers about others’ presentations, she decided it was time for a disruption in what is typically presented in a patent law presentation. Today, she helps professionals contextualize patent prosecution through presenting examples of pitfalls and best practices from her experience in the industry to better understand whether they should “do-it-yourself.” This and other interesting information to be covered during her presentation should help audience members with building conversational skills around patents within the larger space of intellectual property rights. Registration Link: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/425682

Upcoming additions:

Thursday, September 12th at 7pm CDT Courtney Wright – (topic in discussion) Courtney is a mechanical engineer who moved into Systems Engineering and now works as a Project Manager for INCOSE (the Systems Engineering version of IEEE who also manages professional certifications) heading the certification, academic equivalency, and training programs. Her path to engineering and experiences during her career have been challenging, including having and caring for micro-preemie twins.

Tuesday, October 1st  at 7pm CDT Rachel Bayes – Building and managing a small woman-owned business Rachel is founder and CEO of Illuminate Video, specializing in making B2B safety videos. She is also an engineering student, initially studying Mechanical Engineering Technology, but shifting into Engineering Management due to the growth in her business. She’ll talk about starting her business, becoming designated a WOSB, and the challenge of running a business while trying to earn an engineering degree.Reached out but have not connect to schedule talk:

Point of Contact michelle krueger mpatrick@ieee.org

Region 5 Upcoming Conference List Now Available

Have you ever wondered what IEEE technical conferences are coming to your local vicinity? Have you ever wanted to get engaged as a volunteer with an IEEE technical conference in your local vicinity? Well, we now may have an easy way for you to find the answer. The Region 5 website now has a page listing upcoming conferences across Region 5. It also provides links to the conference websites where you can get further information about the conference and contact information if you are interested in getting involved with the conference organizing committee or work as a volunteer during the conference. The conferences being held within the Region 5 geographical area are listed at https://r5.ieee.org/upcoming/. There is also a link on the page to a downloadable Excel file listing the conferences that you can access and filter and sort to your heart’s content.

Region 5 IEEE-USA President-Elect Candidates Forum

Shape the future of IEEE-USA by joining us for a live Q&A session with the candidates for the top position! This is your chance to ask burning questions, hear their visions, and make your voice heard. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to influence the direction of IEEE-USA. Register today for the IEEE-USA Candidates Forum, happening Monday, September 16, 2024, at 7 PM Central Time. 

With IEEE elections closing on October 1, your vote is crucial. Make a difference and learn more about the candidates by visiting https://ieeeusa.org/volunteers/elections/.
https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/433211

Set sail with IEEE-USA to Alaska – 9-16 September 2024!

After the tremendous success of the inaugural 2023 Cruise, IEEE-USA is thrilled to announce we’ll be setting sail for a second time 9-16 September 2024. This time guests can expect to enjoy brisk, clean air and breathtaking scenery alongside the incredible line-up of speakers and networking opportunities while journeying to the Alaskan Frontier!

IEEE-USA will be hosting a 7-night Alaska Cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas. We will disembark from Seattle, WA, with stops at four beautiful ports along the way and two days at sea. Plus, if you’ve never seen the Northern Lights, this may well be your chance as we are cruising during “Aurora Season”.

With stops in Alaskan towns Sitka, Skagway and Juneau, guests can get a front-row seat to snow-capped mountains and awe-inspiring glaciers, while also taking in the history, cuisine, indigenous culture, and wildlife that this region has to offer. The last stop will be in Victoria, British Columbia – Conde Nast’s #1 City in the World – one last chance to collect memories of whistling orcas, treasured totems, maritime sights and histories.

Book your stateroom now: https://cruise.ieeeusa.org

For more information please contact: Leah Laird IEEE-USA Sr Marketing & Communications Specialist P: 202.785.0017 x8328

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.

The IEEE-USA MOVE program is looking for qualified volunteers who not only have a deep passion for humanitarian work but also the expertise, wisdom and time to commit in support of our program. As we are in an expansion phase in region 5, we are primarily seeking candidates for crew members and drivers. There are also committee positions available which do not require extensive travel.  Many of these can be done from home.  You do not have to live near a truck to help!

We’d love to learn about your passions, skills, interests, and volunteer time to explore how we can work together to find a good fit for you in our program. If interested, please visit  MOVE-SIGNUP  to complete our MOVE volunteer form.

If you are at all interested, please contact me.  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.

https://move.ieeeusa.org

The Newsletter is sent to all current members in Region 5

Newsletter Editor: Ademola Peter Adejokun

newsletter@ieeer5.org