Volume 1, Issue 3 February, 2007 I E E E S T. L O U I S S E C T I O N 2007 LEADERSHIP Jim Bornholdt, Chair Dr. H.S. Malik, Vice Chair Tyria Riley, Treasurer Scott Smith, Secretary Welcome from the 2007 St. L o u i s s e c t i o n c h a i r, J i m B o r n h o l d t We are looking forward to a variety of activities in the section this year. Planned activities span scientific, social, academic and even legislative realms. During January, I urge our Missouri members to Take Action on a political level by emailing their state legislators and encouraging them to support a new electrical engineering program at Missouri State University. Details of this legislative action are contained in a companion article. In February the St. Louis Section will be participating in Engineers Week events including student paper and robotics competitions, helping out with St. Louis Junior Academy of Science and attending a luncheon at the Missouri Athletic Club. In April and November we are planning plant tours as part of our membership development initiative. These tours are new and will enable section members to network and get insiders views of engineering facilities within our section area. As in past years, we will host our Summer Social and Christmas Social at the Lake St. Louis Clubhouse. These socials provide opportunity for us to recognize achievements within the section and have great food in an elegant setting. Great food is always popular with engineers. The Antenna Measurement and Techniques Association Conference will be held in Saint Louis in November 2007. Conference organizers are hoping to get local IEEE members involved in the event. There is special interest in getting participation from engineering students within the section. AMTA would very much like to take advantage of the IEEE university and student branches. This would be a good opportunity for students. AMTA wants to fund some awards for winning student papers, and would like to invite students to the conference. INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Section Schedule 2 2006 Christmas Social 2 On a slightly different note, many thanks to our outgoing section chair, Ken Owens. Ken is a hard act to follow. He has been a driving force for our section for several years and was especially noteworthy as the superhero who (against all odds) convinced Globecom to hold their prestigious conference in St. Louis in 2005. His quiet but enthusiastic and persistent leadership has really helped enliven our section. I look forward to Ken s continued participation in our section. Society Updates 4 Legislation Alert 5 C l o s i n g T h o u g h t s f r o m t h e 2 0 0 6 S t. L o u i s S e c t i o n C h a i r, K e n O w e n s The St. Louis section completed a great year focusing on a membership development initiative, creating a newsletter, and redesigning our section web page. The Summer and Christmas Social s and Awards Banquet were another great success this year. I want to thank Bob Menzel for his hard work as the social chair. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all the current and past officers and thank them for their dedication over the last year and wish them and you a very successful 2007! Warmest Regards, Ken Owens,
Page 2 2 0 0 7 S e c t i o n S c h e d u l e Section Planning Meetings Thursday, January 25th, 2007 Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 (Tentative Date) Thursday, May 24th, 2007 Thursday, July 26th, 2007 Thursday, Sept 27th, 2007 Thursday, Oct 25th, 2007 Socials Summer Social: August 18 th, 2007 Christmas Social: December 1st, 2007 Plant Tours Spring: April 2007 Fall: November 2007 Engineers Week Activities Luncheon at Missouri Athletic Club, Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The 2006 Christmas Social was a resounding success. This year 45 adults and 6 children attended the social. Ken Owens presented the awards. The award winners are: 2 0 0 6 C h r i s t m a s s o c i a l r e c a p 2006 Outstanding Young Engineer Award, Ms. Tyria Riley, The Boeing Company 2006 Outstanding Educator Award, Bill Hanna 2006 Outstanding Student Branch Award, Southern Illinois University Carbondale 2006 Outstanding Company, The Boeing Company 2006 Outstanding Student Member, Shawn Muir, SIUC 2006 Outstanding Student Member, Anil Mehta, SIUC 2006 Outstanding Student Member, Mike Welling, SIUC 2006 Outstanding Section Member, Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy, UM-R 2006 Outstanding Branch Counselor Award, Roobik Gharabagi, Saint Louis University 2006 Special Member Award, Bill Osborne, SIUC Due to the inclimate weather a few of the awards recipients were not in attendance. Even though Santa Claus (Bob Leavene) was snowed in this year, the kids still had presents to open!
Page 3 S a i n t L o u i s U n i v e r s i t y Engineer s Week Activities F e b r u a r y 1 8 t h 2 4 t h, 2 0 0 7 Monday, February 19 th The Parks Enquirer You be the paparazzi! Submit your best tabloid worthy picture featuring a Parks College faculty or staff member. Submit your photo to matistic@slu.edu. Become Parks College s Top SLeUth! Accepting submissions from February 12-19. Beginning Monday, February 19th, students will have until Friday, February 22nd to vote for their favorite picture. Student Organization Displays Throughout the week (Formula SAE Racing Car Display, SAE Aero Design Team Display, etc.) Tuesday, February 20 th Shadow Day 8:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. High school students will have the opportunity to shadow an engineering student for the morning followed by a group lunch. Interested in hosting a shadow student and enjoying a free lunch? Contact Jessica Matistic, Academic Services Coordinator for details. Engineering ASSESS Test 1:00 p.m. High school students can take this test to determine their level of preparation for studying engineering. Wednesday, February 21 st Parks College Mock Interviews Career Services has invited representatives from four major employers to conduct practice interviews with Parks College students and provide immediate feedback and helpful advice. (Companies include Anheuser Busch engineering unit, Monstercommerce, JetCorp, and Boeing!) Contact Wendy LaBenne, 977-2831, to schedule an mock interview. Thursday, February 22 nd Parks College Open House 8:30 a.m. Noon Local high school students, parents, and teachers are invited to explore Parks College programs through interactive activities in an open fair throughout McDonnell Douglas Hall. Engineering ASSESS Test High school students can take this test to determine their level of preparation for studying engineering. Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day Still seeking student volunteers to host this event for local girls in the afternoon! If your group is interested, contact Jessica Matistic, Academic Services Coordinator. Pinewood Derby Sponsored by APCS Friday, February 23 rd The Parks Enquirer Winner announced! If your group wants to hold an event for Engineers Week 2007, contact Jessica Matistic by email at matistic@slu.edu, by phone at 977-8225, or in person at MDH 1002.
Page 4 I E E E S t. L o u i s s e c t i o n e d u c a t i o n s o c i e t y u p d a t e We are now concluding our first full year in existence as a chapter. We have accomplished some goals of the society and laid the groundwork to deploy more programs. Here are some of the year s highlights and status of ongoing projects. Our first meeting was held jointly with the section planning meeting in January at SLU. The technical speaker was Professor Steve Watkins of UMR speaking on "Understanding the K-6 Classroom." Professor Watkins has years of experience as a school board member and as leading teams of engineering students involved in service learning projects for grade schools. He presented some fascinating projects. Our second meeting, held at Wash. U. in May, was a daylong workshop focused on improving senior design classes throughout the section. Participants were engineering students, professors, and engineers in industry from Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. It was a very productive day. One activity launched at the May workshop was a proposal for a Thematic Undergraduate Design Project Competition in the areas of energy conservation and alternative energy sources. The proposal s first draft was written by Professors at SEMO and then further developed with input from a panel discussion including input from outside of our section at the 38th North American Power Symposium at SIUC in September 2006. Calls for support for this initiative were made at a few IEEE forums, and the chapter is looking for collaborators from the power engineering chapter to sign on before submitting the proposal. Our third technical meeting was held in October at SLU, where Director of Entrepreneurial Programs Gary H. Brandenburger of Wash. U. spoke on his research on "Intellectual Property Issues Surrounding Student Projects Involving Industries." He explored the issues surrounding the effects of IP on senior design capstone courses, and examined results from a survey of engineering schools. Our fourth meeting was at the IEEE St. Louis Section Christmas Social and Annual Awards Dinner. We were very pleased to acknowledge our chapter s first IEEE Fellow, Professor and Dean, William P. Osborne of SIUC. The Fellow award is given to no more than one tenth of one percent of the IEEE membership in any one year. Dean Osborne received citations for his extraordinary contributions to Engineering Education and Communications, for his unique integration of his many roles as professor, dean, R&D engineer, industry leader and academic leader. Notably, he founded the first telecommunications engineering degree program in the United States and was dean of the fastest growing engineering program in the country during the 1990 s. We are planning terrific programs, and need your support. So, please, remember to join the Education Society when you renew your IEEE membership this year. Happiest of holidays to all! http://ewh.ieee.org/r5/stlouis/education/ Chair: Fran Harackiewicz, Professor ECE, SIUC, Vice Chair: Ken Surendran, Interim Chair CS, SEMO IEEE St. Louis section Power E n g i n e e r i n g S o c i e t y U p d a t e This year, the St Louis chapter of the Power Engineering Society was awarded third place for the 2005 High Performing Chapter Award by PES International. In 2006, we held 4 meetings including 2 Distinguished Lectures, 1 Plant Tour and 1 technical Lecture. The Plant tour attracted 31 attendees, including 8 students from UM-Rolla. The Lectures averaged 85 attendees. Our meetings for the year provided 11 PDHs to our members. Our membership increased throughout the year by 3.5%. In addition, the Rolla subsection had 2 technical lectures. In 2007, we plan to hold another 4 meetings, including 1 plant tour and 3 technical lectures, and anticipate higher attendance than in 2006.
Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 5 Legislation Alert M i s s o u r i U n i v e r s i t i e s T r y i n g t o F o u n d New Engineering Program In August, leaders from the University of Missouri Rolla and Missouri State University agreed to create two new degree programs: one in civil engineering and another in electrical engineering. The programs will be offered by UM- Rolla to students at MSU. The programs will broaden the options for Missouri students and allow the two schools to share some faculty and other resources. More details can be found here: Http://news.umr.edu/news/2006/umrmsuengineering0806.html This decision is supported by the St. Louis Section of IEEE (containing the city of Rolla) and the Kansas City Section (containing the city of Springfield). Engineering plays a crucial role in innovation. As our economy becomes more global, it will be our ability to innovate that keeps us competitive. These programs will help train the next generation of engineers who will drive that innovation, making the Missouri economy more competitive and therefore more vibrant. The proposal is now dependent upon the Missouri state government agreeing to pay for part of the new program. Specifically, funds are needed for a market study, an on-line learning system and lab renovations. According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, Missouri had a small surplus in 2005 of about $300 million, most of which was placed into a stabilization fund. (See http:// www.nasbo.org/publications/pdfs/fiscalsurveyjune06.pdf). A slightly larger surplus is expected in 2006. This means the state does have some funds available for this project. The Missouri legislature usually meets only during the first half of the year, January through May, about average for a state government. This gives interested Missouri residents a limited amount of time to express their opinions on the proposal. Legislators will face many requests for funds in 2007. The programs that are funded will be those that can demonstrate public support. The best way to establish this support is for individual citizens to write e-mail to their state legislators asking the legislators to fund the program. Instructions: Missouri residents are urged to contact their state Representatives and Senators and ask them to support the creation of a new civil engineering program and a new electrical engineering program at the University of Missouri - Rolla. These communications should be received by the legislators by early (January) 2007 to be most effective. Action Needed: Missouri residents who would like to express their opinion on the proposal to create two new engineering programs should click on the Take Action link on the IEEE-USA Legislative Action Center site www.ieeeusa.org/policy/lac to send their legislators an e-mail. If you have questions about this Action Alert or the IEEE-USA Legislative Action Center, please contact Russ Harrison at r.t.harrison@ieee.org.
Page 6 I E E E S t. L o u i s s e c t i o n A d d i t i o n a l A n n o u n c e m e n t s Rotary Club Luncheon February 22nd, 2007, 12:00pm 1:00pm Robotics Paper Competition February 24th, 2007 1:00pm 3:00pm Papers are due February 16th, 2007 Judges Needed! IEEE IT Event March 20th, 2007, 5:30pm 7:00pm Section Planning Meeting will be held prior at 5:00pm. Refreshments will be served. Boeing Campus, Building 110 For more questions about the above announcements and events, please contact St. Louis Section Chair, Jim Bornholdt, at james.m.bornholdt@boeing.com
HTTP://EWH.IEEE.ORG/ R5/STLOUIS/ I E E E S T. L O U I S S E C T I O N Visit our website at http://ewh.ieee.org/r5/stlouis/ Greetings IEEE membership! We would like to thank you for reading our third issue of the. It is our hope that this newsletter will serve as a medium in disseminating information to all membership demographics within our Section. With much hard work and dedication, we believe that this newsletter will be expanded with every edition and will serve as the pulse of communications. If your chapter has any events that you would like highlighted in future releases of the newsletter or if you have any feedback pertaining to this newsletter, please send information to Scott Smith. The St. Louis Section recently celebrated its 100 year anniversary. The section encompasses a large territory stretching from Hannibal, MO to Carbondale, IL, to the Missouri boot heel, to Rolla, to Columbia, and a small stretch along I-70 to the Indiana border. There are over 2,600 IEEE members in the Section. The officers of the St. Louis section meet once a month to plan upcoming activities and accept reports of current events. All members of IEEE are welcome to attend these meetings. For more information about the St. Louis IEEE Section, you may contact Jim Bornholdt at james.m.bornholdt@boeing.com. M o r e I n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e S t. L o u i s S e c t i o n The vision of the St. Louis section is that it shall be an organization that all electrotechnology professionals feel they should be a participating member and that all industries, government agencies, and academia want their technical professionals to join. 2. Develop and implement processes and materials for initiating and maintaining activities in Chapters and Branches for member, life members, student members, and Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD), 6. Provide leadership and management training to Section ExCom and Branch Leaders. The mission of the St. Louis Section is to provide motivation, communication channels, and programs to the members, student members, industry and government agencies, and academic institution partners within the Section. Some of the goals of the Section are: 1. Improve the electronic communications within the Section 3. Develop a process for the section to provide funding to chapters and student branches, 4. Develop tools to identify member career development needs, and to collect and distribute best practices across the Section. 5. Conduct Branch and Chapter Training.