R5 January Newsletter
|
The Region 5 Community Connector Newsletter Promoting activities, information, and news to the membership |
January 2025
|
Membership Contacts: |
Paul Minor – 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 Director’s Corner |
Dear IEEE Region 5 Members,
Happy New Year! 2024 was an action-packed year for IEEE in the US Southwest, and December proved a busy month, with several initiatives wrapped up and laying the groundwork for a great 2025.
In early December, I had the unique opportunity to serve as a judge, along with IEEE Region 6 Kathy Hayashi, for the Pixar Renderman Art Challenge. IEEE was proud to be this year’s theme sponsor with Pixar, and Region 5 and 6 collaborated on promotion of the challenge and creation of the “SciTech” theme. The Art Challenge is “A unique and exciting opportunity for creatives around the world to showcase their talents using Pixar’s RenderMan software.” Renderman was a 2023 IEEE Milestone, and is the software that made Pixar – and it’s amazing films – possible.
The competition was coordinated by Pixar’s Leif Pedersen, who explained Renderman to our Region 5 and 6 IEEE members earlier this fall. As part of the judging, we had the unique opportunity to visit Pixar, and had a fantastic tour with Leif and his team. We were amazed to learn that Pixar has as many scientists and engineers as artists and animators. Films like Toy Story, Cars and Inside Out would not be possible without rendering technology, and all of the compute hardware that drives them.
Directors Francis and Hayashi at Pixar in Emeryville, CA.
This year’s competition had a record 190 Challengers of which we selected 3 Winning Entries (1st 2nd, 3rd – shown below) and 10 Honorable Mentions.
Left to Right: 1st Margot Brun, the Robot Artist, 2nd Furkan Avci, I Got You,m Buddy, 3rd Noémie Layre, The Robotanist – https://renderman.pixar.com/news/renderman-scitech-art-challenge-final-results
The competition was a fantastic reminder of what technology can enable, from science to the arts, and what’s possible when we work together to advance technology for humanity.
Finally, we closed out our last event of 2024 with the IEEE-USA Innovation Workforce and Research Conference Series (IWRC) with IWRC Aerospace and Defense in Huntsville, AL. This event brought together industry, government and academia in the South East and made a great close to our 2025 activities around microelectronics, packaging and the CHIPS+ Act.
IEEE-USA President-elect Tim Lee (left) and Microelectronics Commons Technical Director Tim Morgan (Right) presenting at IWRC in Huntsville.
Looking forward to 2025, we have many exciting activities coming up! On the conferences front, GreenTech will be in Wichita Kansas (March 26-28th) and papers are still being accepted through January 6th! Students can register for their intent to compete in our annual Region 5 Student Competitions, March 29th, and our annual meeting, volunteer leadership congress and awards ceremonies will be on March 29th-30th.
Finally, a friendly reminder – many of our Sections, Chapters and Affinity groups are closing out their election cycles. Our volunteer leadership is the key to making impact in the profession locally, which takes both volunteers to lead, and members to vote. Please continue to watch your emails for opportunities to vote! Elections should be finished no later than January 1.
The breadth of IEEE is truly amazing – from technology to policy, and anything that our volunteers imagine. As always, thank you all for being part of our IEEE community, and doing your part to advance technology for humanity.
Matt Francis, PhD IEEE Director, Region 5
|
R5 2025 Audit Committee |
- Treasurer: William L WylieBillwylie@ieee.org
- East Area: Hunter J Boudreaux hunter.boudreaux@ieee.org
- South Area: Ernest X Njouondo njouondo@ieee.org
- West Area: Patterson, Tristan Hunter tristanpatterson10@hotmail.com
- North Area: Italo David Bett Quea Italo.bett@ieee.org
| GreenTech Conference / Student Competitions / R5 Business Meetings |
On behalf of IEEE Region 5, the Wichita Section invites everyone to the 2025 IEEE Green Technologies conference. The 2025 edition of the conference will be held in Wichita from March 26 – 28, 2025. Recent technological advancements have expanded the horizon beyond energy and include industry 4.0, green computing, transportation, agriculture, et cetera. In line with these advancements, IEEE GreenTech 2025 intends to bring experts from diverse areas to share their experience.
Industry experts are encouraged to submit their work to the industry short paper track. Industry short paper track is dedicated for industry to share their latest advancements and technological challenges. The maximum page limit for industry short papers is two (2) pages and ideal for shorter contributions, tech transfer stories, challenges, experience reports, or visionary ideas. Papers need to be submitted to the appropriate tracks. All accepted papers must comply with the IEEE conference template. Deadline to submit the papers has been extended until January 6th! Registration is open.
The 2nd Annual GreenTech Industry Day will be held on March 27, the second day of the conference. The day will focus on Industry presentations, workshops, continuing education, and an evening summit. If you are interested in hosting a workshop, please contact the Technical Program Committee Chair, Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan, visvakumar.aravinthan@wichita.edu by Dec. 31, 2024.
More information can be found at https://ieeegreentech.org/. Please contact the General Chair, Dr. John Watkins, at john.watkins@wichita.edu for any additional information or inquiries
IEEE Region 5 (R5) is excited to invite all members, students, and professionals to participate in our upcoming meetings and student competitions. Whether you are a seasoned IEEE member or a newcomer, these events provide a great opportunity to connect with peers, share ideas, and showcase your skills in the fields of engineering, technology, and innovation. The 2025 IEEE R5 Annual Business Meeting and Student Competitions will be held in Wichita, Kansas between 28th-30th of March 2025. On Friday, March 28, there will be a reception from 6 PM onwards.
The student competitions are one of the highlights of IEEE R5! This year, we host a series of technical and design challenges where students can demonstrate their creativity, problem-solving skills, and technical expertise. Competitions include circuit design, ethics, robotics, presentation, cyber challenge, and 3-minute thesis (3MT). Slots available in competitions are:
Undergraduate student competitions
1. Circuit Design – three (3)
2. Ethics – three (3)
3. Robotics – one (1)
4. Presentation – no limit; one-page abstract due extended to January 6th, 2025
5. Cyber Challenge (capture the flag) – 13
Graduate student competition
1. 3MT – two (2)
For more details: https://r5conferences.org/student-activities/
Learn more at: https://r5conferences.org/.
Benefits to Attend the IEEE R5 Meetings and Student Competitions include, but not limited:
Networking: Meet and interact with fellow IEEE members, students, and professionals.
Skill Development: Participate in competitions that help you hone your technical and leadership abilities.
Career Opportunities: Showcase your skills to potential employers and mentors.
Fun and Inspiration: Get inspired by groundbreaking ideas and innovations from your peers.
Registration is open now!
We look forward to seeing you at the 2025 IEEE R5 Annual Business Meeting and Student Competitions in Wichita, Kansas between 28th-30th of March 2025!
Contacts for students competition:s
John Watkins, IEEE R5 General Chair, john.watkins@wichita.edu Abu Asaduzzaman, IEEE R5 Co-chair, abu.asaduzzaman@wichita.edu Arun-Kaarthick Manoharan, IEEE R5 Student Competition Chair, arun.manoharan@wichita.edu
| Spotlights |
AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENTS!
Life members Affinity Group, Lone Star Section
IEEE REGION 5 Lone Star Section LMAG achieves outstanding results in 2024.
At the beginning of 2024 at our officers Monthly planning meeting, Warren Conner, Chair; Curtis Cryer, Vice Chair; John Lyons, Secretary; Scott Atkinson, Treasurer; Clif Denny, webmaster; and Garrett Polhamus, past chair and advisor; met to layout our schedule of activities for the year.
One of our first items to address was the number of meetings we wanted to achieve in 2024. We originally planned to host or co-host 4 meetings that an Affinity Group could reasonably achieve per month or 48. Little did we know that due to our efforts we would end up completing 75 meetings that included the following breakdown:
*List of meetings individual and co-hosted recorded in vTools, listed as follows showing number of meetings and total attendance.
:
LMAG: 31 – 238
JT AES + LMAG: 1 – 20
JT COMPUTER + LMAG: 7 – 101
JT ROBOTICS + LMAG: 2 – 42
JT EMB + LMAG: 10 – 215
JT COM/SP + LMAG 20 – 320:
JT TEMS/IE + LMAG: 1 – 5
JT PES + LMAG: 10 – 42
In summary: 75 meetings recorded in vtools with 983 individuals in attendance.
*Initiated and coordinated a Silver Sponsorship for the first ever IEEE Life Members Conference in Austin. This sponsorship fee was $5,000 and the State of Texas Life Members donated over $6,000.
*Provided ongoing volunteer work helping the San Antonio Science and Technology Museum (SAMSAT) set up displays, restore old equipment into working condition and setting up the Armstrong Radio Technology Exhibit provided by the IEEE History Committee.
*Hosting our annual volunteer appreciation Dinner at the Barn Door with 26 attending, including life members and their guests.
*Four (4) Life Members serving on the Section ExCom: Garrett Polhamus (government Relations Chair), Scott Atkinson (Past Treasurer), Ernest Franke (Secretary) and Walt Downing (Section Chair).
| Membership Development |
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 Collabratech
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
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 |
The International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology, sponsored by IEEE AESS and the Lone Star Section (LSS)
International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology is one of the longest-running international technical symposia. This conference has a broad scope and invites papers on advanced security technologies including physical, cyber, and electronic security research, development, systems engineering, testing, evaluation, case studies and new research lines to face current and future challenges. More details below:
IEEE Humanitarian Activities and Climate Change
This online forum will highlight recent developments in IEEE technologies and solutions that promote climate stability. It will provide interesting and relevant keynote talks on technology. There will be over 16 talks over 8 days with “on demand” viewing possible after the forum.
|
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.
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.
|
MGA News |
|
Frequent Links |