IEEE Blogs

What sort of things did Claude Shannon think about when he developed digital logic (and the idea of a binary digit or “bit”) and his theory of communication? Was he just interested in serious science and understanding? Well maybe, but he also liked to ride unicycles, juggle and once built a portable device to help him win at roulette tables. These are some of the insights from the full-length movie about Claude Shannon, sponsored by the IEEE Foundation, called The Bit Player. The movie was partly based upon an IEEE oral history done with the famous scientist in the mid-1980’s and also included family videos showing Shannon’s amusements as well as his accomplishments.

Like most of you I am staying at home with my family. I am work remotely on various projects although it looks like business is slowing down for me, as for many folks. Most IEEE local meetings, and conferences in general, are being cancelled or going virtual. I am keeping busy fixing things around the house and doing whatever I can to protect my family from COVID-19—
lots of hand washing and wiping things off with disinfectants. I started a new IEEE SSIT chapter in the Santa Clara Valley at the beginning of the year and we were able to have one in-person meeting before the “shelter at home” orders were made. We are planning what will be a virtual webinar meeting in early May.

It is approaching 2 months of sheltering-in-place here in California. I haven’t traveling outside of my local area for about that time as well. A big outing for the week is going to stand in line (about 6 feet between each masked person) outside of CostCo waiting for when the over 60 hours start. Last time I went I scored a bale of toilet paper and some sanitizer wipes as well as
some fresh fruit! All of our kids are back from college and staying with us, so we have a busy house. Today my wife cut my hair to get it off my ears, using my beard trimmer.

More than ever before in the history of our species, people from all over the world and from every possible background, sex and experience can interact and have an impact on each other. Technology has made this possible. In addition, something invented or manufactured in one country is generally available all over the world, enriching and enabling the lives and livelihoods  of people everywhere.

The IEEE-USA Awards Fund supports the annual IEEE-USA Awards and Recognition, which recognize professional leadership, public service, technical achievement and literary/journalistic contributions to the advancement of engineering. IEEE-USA also welcomes inquires related to targeted funding support for specific IEEE-USA Awards and Recognition.

The California legislature recently passed a bill called AB-5. This bill is part of a growing national movement to reconcile 20th century labor laws and norms with the 21st century economy. America’s rules for how employers must treat employees assume a standard labor relationship: employers hire employees who work regular, predictable hours at a common location in exchange for wages and benefits.

Recent national and international protests against police violence (sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis) and non-uniform justice for black people, has highlighted problems with institutional racism. The IEEE President, President-Elect and Past President made a short statement about their opposition to hatred and discrimination: “ IEEE is, and remains, strongly committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and we see no place for hatred and discrimination in our communities.”

IEEE US Regions have been losing members for decades, generally by a percent of two each year. As the chart below indicates higher grade membership in the US has declined over 25% between 2000 and 2018. There has been almost a 10% decline in higher grade membership since 2014. The termination of non-renewing members from 2018 was completed in late February 2019. IEEE US higher grade membership has declined 2.0% from 2017 to 2018 (or just over 3,000 members).

Frankly, humanity needs all the help it can get. The daunting problems facing us in the near future, as well as the enormous opportunities, require our best efforts and diverse perspectives. Technology will be an important element in solving these problems and also seizing these opportunities. But we will only achieve the best results if we can harness the insights, creativity and energies of all the members in the diverse community of technologists.

Technologists from many disciplines were involved in the Apollo and earlier Gemini and Mercury US space programs. Many IEEE members contributed to the US space program and the lunar landing.

I intend to write a few pieces over the course of this year. First of all, I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve as President of IEEE-USA for 2019. A year isn’t a long time and there is much to do. I ran on a campaign that we needed to increase awareness of the value of what IEEE-USA does and the value of IEEE membership for the technical professional.

In my June blog I discussed the current issues with inclusion and diversity in Engineering and the technology professions in general. I also described the need for IEEE members to work on improving diversity and inclusion within our profession. In this blog I was able to get statements from several IEEE volunteers on what they have personally done to help improve diversity and inclusion.

A lot of US IEEE members work in industry. In fact, the 2016 IEEE Members Segmentation Survey shows that 62% of IEEE members in Regions 1-6 work in industry, are entrepreneurs or consultants. These members may work directly for companies, be consultants doing projects with companies, are entrepreneurs starting their own companies or even be professors who do work with or start companies. IEEE has a number of offerings of value to IEEE members in
industry, as well as companies. Connecting and creating greater value for IEEE members working in industry as well as for companies themselves should be a key element in increasing our connections with IEEE members and improving IEEE member recruitment and retention.

I recently chaired an Ad hoc subcommittee for the IEEE Board of Directors that attempted to look at whether lower basic IEEE dues would increase IEEE membership and if any increased IEEE membership would pay for the revenue loss from decreased dues. I wanted to talk about what our subcommittee determined based upon data and discussions and then thank you all for letting me be your IEEE-USA president this year and wish you a great holiday season and a
great 2020.

Influencing government policies that impact U.S. IEEE members is a primary function of IEEE-USA. But, many IEEE members don’t understand what IEEE-USA government relations does. This article is meant to give some insight into our government relations activities and to invite you to participate.

The advanced electronic technologies that many of us helped develop enable people to do many things and to connect to each other more often and in more ways. But for many people these technologies have reduced face to face interactions and sometimes they connect people to the darker sides of human nature, eroding trust and hope and even leading some to antisocial acts.