IEEE Blogs

IEEE-USA President and Past President Blogs

Creativity and Fun in Science and Technology

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.

How IEEE Can Help You During the Current COVID-19 Crisis

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.

Working@Home

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.

Diversity is More than Skin Deep

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.

Consider Giving to the IEEE-USA Funds

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.

AB-5 and IEEE Consultants

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.

Bias and Diversity in Engineering

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.”

Bring them Back

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).

Diversity and Inclusion in the IEEE

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.

The Eagle Has Landed

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.

IEEE-USA Blog January 22, 2019

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.

How You Can Help Improve Diversity and Inclusion in Engineering

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.

Let’s Get Industrious

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.

Price Versus Value: A Perspective On IEEE Membership

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.

Speaking to Power

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.

Trust, Hope and Loneliness

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.

IEEE USA President Campaign Blogs

Motivation is More Important than Knowledge

On Sunday March 19 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View the IEEE Engineering Milestone for “The Mother of All Demos” was unveiled.

Being a Member

Why should you be a member of the IEEE and what can the IEEE do to provide more value to you?

Region 6 Directors Blogs (2015-2016)

1% Membership Growth in IEEE Region 6 in 2016

That is our prime imperative this year.

Capturing the Best

Have you ever missed an interesting technical chapter meeting in your IEEE section because you weren’t in town?

How to Find Things In the IEEE

The IEEE is a very large organization with 100’s of employees working for many different operational units. Finding the right person to answer particular inquiries can be hard.

IEEE Corporate Value

How can we increase the value of IEEE membership to Region 6 employers and thus increase their support of IEEE membership?

It's Going to Cost You

At a recent IEEE Board of Directors meeting an increase of the member assessment for Region 6 members was approved.

Let’s Get our Members Back and Recruit New Ones

This year we are looking for volunteers to help us repeat and expand our 1% membership growth plan for Region 6 in 2016.

Local IEEE Public Visibility

On May 20-22, 2016, IEEE Region 6, the Santa Clara Valley Section and the Consultants Network of Silicon Valley had a sponsored exhibit at the San Mateo, California Maker Faire in the Maker to Market exhibition.

Making the Future - Part 1

IEEE Region 6, the Santa Clara Valley Section and the Consultants Network of Silicon Valley (CNSV) are sponsoring a branded IEEE booth at the 2016 Maker Faire May 20-22, 2016 in the Make to Market Pavilion in San Mateo.

Making the Future - Part 2

Like many engineers I was inspired to get into technology partly due to the Science Fiction books I read when I was young.

New Types of IEEE Events

I just returned from the IEEE Panel of Conference Organizers (POCO) Conference to find out about IEEE conference services offered by the IEEE and also to find out tips and hints from the various conference organizers at the event.

No Limits

There are limits to physical resources. There are limits to time and space (regardless of how many universes there are). But to the prepared mind, there are no limits to knowledge and imagination.

Everyone Likes to be Recognized

Everyone likes to be recognized! Recognition by peers can be an important motivator to members and volunteers.

Recognizing Our Members and Chapter Recording

One of the best ways to retain IEEE members is to recognize them for their service to society and the profession.

Thanks for all the Fish

I was going to call this blog “So long, and thanks for all the fish,” referring to Douglas Adam’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books, but a funny thing happened at the IEEE meeting series in November.

The Value of Time

Time is the great motivator of action, but time can be the enemy of success.

We Need Everyone!

The 2015 Women in Engineering International Leadership Conference (WIE ILC) was held April 23 to April 25 in San Jose, CA with a special hackathon on Sunday April 26, 2015.

What May Become of Us?

In a recent email chain between members of the Santa Clara Valley Consultants Network (an IEEE Consultants Network) there was an interesting analysis of the decline in total number of electrical engineers and computer hardware engineers in the US over several years.

Region 6 Director Candidate Blogs from 2012

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

This is a piece about employment: work, earning an income, bringing home the bacon (of course it is your choice on whether you will eat that bacon).

Geek is Chic

Let’s talk about education: yours, your family’s and society at large.

I Can Do That

In this article we will look at what members can do to enhance a passive IEEE membership with a more active and participatory membership.

One IEEE

With over 400,000 members worldwide the IEEE is the largest technical organization in the world. The IEEE has three broad divisions of activities: Technical Activities (TA), Members and Geographical Activities (MGA), and a well respected Standards group.

Will Life Be Better for Our Children?

In a previous blog (Geek is Chic) I discussed some general reasons why we need to educate more engineers and why being an engineer is one of the most respected professions to be in. In this piece I will explore who we can use technology to
control the skyrocketing costs of higher education.

What is the ROI for IEEE Membership?

More than ever before we need to look at the Rate of Return (ROI) for an IEEE membership, because our members will be looking at what they get for their money.