fostering technological innovation and excellence for the benefit...
TRANSCRIPT
THE FEBRUARY 2009 IEEE NEW HAMPSHIRE SECTION NEWSLETTERhttp://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/newsletters.html
Chairman's ThoughtsBy Jim [email protected]
2010 Elections Last month I told you that we would be starting earlier next time. How is this for an early start?
I have been informed that the the web based process next year will
be designed such that each person will receive a single customized ballot that will cover the vote for Section Officers and for the Chapter / Group Officers for the chapters and groups to which you belong. This should go along way to improving the process.
Digital TV TransitionThank you to all those who volunteered to help man the phone bank at NHPTV on Jan. 16th. The phones started ringing off the hook as soon as the phone
number was posted on the screen a little after 5:30 and they did not slow down until about 8:45!I think that I can speak for all of us when I say we had a great time and that we talked to hundreds
of the nicest people in NH. The phone bank received 1,203 calls!
Thanks again to Kenric Nelson and Jim Isaak, who spearheaded this project, and to Madeleine Lowe, Stoney Worster, Jake Karrfalt, Eric Whitney, Andrew Glowik, and Tom Schmidt, a friend of Jim Isaak.
Madeleine, Eric, Jim A., Jake, Stoney, Jim I., and Tom getting ready for the start of the
program. The rest were in a different area.
Paul Krell Receives AwardPaul Krell was not able to attend the Awards Banquet in November, therefore he received his award at the January Ex Com Meeting. Paul was recognized for his many years of service as the Chair of our Power Engineering and now Power and Energy Chapter. While the venue was not as formal as the banquet, our appreciation for his service was not diminished. Congratulations Paul!
Paul Krell receiving Certificate of Appreciation
Thank You Mimi Tam! Senior Member, Mimi Tam, has recently volunteered to set up our Corporate Liaison Committee. Please welcome Mimi to the Ex Com.Stay tuned for more information about Mimi next month.
FeedbackContact me if you have any comments about, or suggestions for, the newsletter or the Section.
1 February 2009 Issue
Fostering technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.
In This IssueChairman's Thoughts
This month I report on the Section's 2010 Election plans, the IEEE's 125th
anniversary Sweepstakes, the NHPTV Digital TV Transition phone bank, Paul Krell's award, and I
thank Mimi Tam who volunteered to set up our Corporate Liaison Committee. (Page 1)
125th Anniversary SweepstakesIn honor of IEEE's 125 years of engineering the future, on 13 May
(the founding date), IEEE is giving $100 Visa Gift Cards to 125 renewing members.Make sure you have renewed your membership so that you are eligible for the drawing.
Engineers Week Awards Banquet and Exhibition
The event will be on 19 Feb. at the Radisson Hotel, The Center of New Hampshire inManchester at 5:00 PM. For details go to:
http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-EW1.pdf The registration deadline is 12 Feb. Go to: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-EW2.pdf for the registration form.
Please support us by posting the notice at work or school.
Local IEEE Meetings & Reports
Computer Society ChapterBarbara Bancroft announces a meeting on Tues. Feb. 17 at 7 PM. Mike Paciello of
The Paciello Group will speak on The New Section 508 & 255: Modeling, Usability, Interoperability and Harmonization. The meeting will be held at Southern New Hampshire University Manchester Campus, Walker Auditorium, Robert Frost Hall, 2500 North River Rd. See the detailed announcement at:http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-CS1.pdf
Please support us by posting the notice at work or school.
Barbara reports on the January talk on Dynamic Software Development presented by Christopher Allen of Creative Logistics. The report is at:http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-CS2.pdf
Save the EveningOn Tuesday April 14th the Section and Computer Society Chapter will host a "Job Futures Fair" and panel, from 5PM to 9PM at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. (Page 5)
Next Generation Storage Networking Beyond Conventional SAN and NASBob Eldridge, of Cambridge Computer, reports on the January 22 talk at: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-CS3.pdf
The Joint Com-Sig Society ChapterWith the Computer Society Chapter
Kenric Nelson, Ravi Subrahmanyan, and Barbara Bancroft announce a joint meeting on Tuesday April 28th at 6 PM at the Nashua Public Library. The speaker is David Martinez, Head of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems at MIT Lincoln Lab. He will be speaking on "High-Performance Embedded Computing." More information will be available next month.
Life Members GroupWe have just been informed by IEEE headquarters that the formation of the group has been officially
approved by IEEE.
Joint Reliability Society Chapter
Ramon Dela Cruz announces a presentation on Revitalizing your Job Search, Mind over Market
by Leslie Gabriele from Gabriele & Company, at RSA, the Security Division of EMC, Bedford MA on Wed. February 11. Register by Monday February 9 at: http://www.ieee.org/bostonrel. See the detailed announcement at:http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-RS1.pdf
Please support us by posting the notice at work or school.
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The presentation materials from last month's Joint Reliability Society Chapter meeting on Practical Reliability Engineering for Semiconductor Equipment by Dan Weidman can be seen at: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-RS2.pdf
Other Contact Information (Page 5)
Pre-University Activities
Belmont High Robotics TeamMadeleine Lowe reports on the teams activities and the demonstration that two team members gave at the January Ex Com Meeting. Her report is at:http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-PU1.pdf
Hollis First Lego League TeamGregory Hovagim gives a final report about the teams performance at the NH State FLL Tournament with pictures. The report is at:
http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-PU2.pdf
FIRST Robotics21 NH high school students have been invited to unveil their robots at Nashua High School North on Thur. Feb. 12. The BAE Systems
Granite State Regional competition will be on Sat.-Sun. Feb. 27-28, at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. See more information at: http://www.baesystemsfirst.org/regional/index.htm
Learn about the Academy for Science and Design, NH’s first Math, Science and Technology charter school for grades 7-12. Join us at our 1 hour “Spotlight on Learning” coffees the third Friday of every month: 2/20, 3/20, 4/17, 5/15 at 9am, or our Open House for prospective students on 2/17 at 6:30pm.
ASD welcomes businesses, organizations, and individuals interested in hosting a student intern or field trip, teaching a short seminar in their area(s) of expertise, or supporting the school as a community educational sponsor. For more information see: http://asdnh.org
Teen Safety on the InternetDon Sherwood [email protected] is working with Wayne Pauley [email protected] to schedule presentations on Internet teen safety. The presentation is at:
http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-PU3.pdf
New England ThinkFEST 2009is a science & engineering fair for 6th through 8th grade with music, prizes and refreshments Saturday March
14. There is a catapult contest for 11th & 12th grade to win a 4 year scholarship. See: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-PU4.pdf and http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-PU5.pdf for more details. Catapult Design Registration Deadline: Thursday, February 13.
Moody's Mega Math ChallengeThis is a 14 hour research paper contest for high school student teams. The winning teams will receive from $2,500 to $20,000 prizes. The registration closes Monday,
March 2, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. Campbell High School, Litchfield, Mascenic Regional High School, New Ipswich (two teams) were the only 2008 NH teams. For more info go to: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-PU6.pdf.
InvenTeam HS Invention Grants
InvenTeams are teams of high school students, teachers, and mentors that receive grants up to $10,000 each to invent technological solutions to real-world problems. Each InvenTeam chooses its own problem to solve. The early feedback deadline is March 20. For more info go to: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-PU7.pdf.
Student Activities
Interns WantedThe company isheadquartered in Londonderry, NH and is actively searching for
software, systems, mechanical and optical interns for 2009. You will be part of a small engineering team in a challenging, fast-paced company where designs become production reality. Details are at: https://www.vscyberhosting.com/insight/Careers.aspx. You can also submit your resume to Nita Patel at: [email protected].
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Other Articles
Network Your Way to Your Next JobDoug Fowler has an interesting article on the importance of networking and the skills that you need to network in 2009. His article is at:
http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-CS4.pdf
The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior As engineers, we pride ourselves on making rational decisions. However, we are all pulled by several, subtle, deep-seated forces to behave irrationally. See Nita Patel's article at:
http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-IB.pdf
Membership ActivitiesJason Hui reminds us to renew our membership as part of IEEE's 125th anniversary if we have not done so already and he outlines the process to
become a Senior Member. His article is at:http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-MA.pdf.
Member Get a Member IncentivesIEEE announced that 20 members earned $210 or more in the 2008 program by sharing their IEEE experience with their friends and colleagues. For details about the 2009 program go to: http://www.ieee.org/web/volunteers/membership_dev/mgm.html
Career Fly-InRuss Harrison invites us to come to Washington DC on March 23-24 for a day
of training before we discuss high-skill immigration with our members of Congress. His article is at: http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/new_hampshire/Docs/2009-02-CF.pdf
Brain Teaser ChallengeButch is back. He got snowed under with year end work. He gives us the answer to December's inverter load question and this month he challenges us with a question about the deflection of positively charged particles from
the sun. (Page 5)
What's Up in Boston?With the dissolution of CNEC, we are working with the Boston Section and providing links to
the pertinent meetings, courses, conferences, and special events that are detailed on their website. (Page 6)
Other Meetings of Interest (Page 6)
WANTED (Page 9)
Questions and Answers (Page 9)
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Local IEEE Meetings & ReportsSave the EveningBy Jim [email protected]
On Tuesday April 14th the Section and Computer Society Chapter will host a "Job Futures Fair" and panel, from 5PM to 9PM at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. We will have companies with 'booths' set up to provide you with insight on current and future job needs -
openings, intern-ships and the skills employers are looking for in the next few years.
One of our participants, Doug Fowler of Alexander Technology Group, has an article in this month's newsletter on "Networking" the type all profession-als need to know, not the 802 type. Connecting with other professionals is a key benefit of IEEE's activities in both technical and regional areas.
If your company might be interested in participat-ing, please have them contact me.
Other Contact Information
Microwave Theory and Techniques SocietyBy Don Sherwood
If you have any suggestions for meeting topics, speakers, or other activities; or if you would like to become active in the Chapter please contact me at: [email protected]
PACE CommitteeBy Madeleine Lowe
If you have any suggestions for meeting topics, speakers, or other activities; or if
you would like to become active in the Group please contact me at: [email protected]
Power & Energy Society ChapterBy Dean Bacon If you have any suggestions for
meeting topics, speakers, or other activities; or if you would like to become active in the Chapter please contact me at: [email protected]
Joint WIE-GOLD GroupBy Jennifer Schelly
If you have any suggestions for meeting topics, speakers, or other activities; or if you would like to become active in the group please contact me at: [email protected]
OTHER ARTICLES
Brain Teaser Challenge
Last Month's Challenge
Last time I was discussing a hair drying emergency I saw on a reality TV show. It involved running a hair dryer on a battery power inverter. “This inverter
produced a 60 Hz sine wave at 120 vrms, 15A max. The instructions said that it will not handle loads with a PF less than 0.9. If the hair dryer
says that it draws 1000W or 1200 VA, will the inverter carry the load? For extra credit what is the angle between the current and voltage waveforms on this appliance?”
First, in the phasor diagram the VA value forms the hypotenuse of a right triangle and the watts is the adjacent side of the phase angle. So PF = watts/(VA) = cos(phase angle). So the power factor is 1000/1200 which is 0.83, and the arccosine of 0.83 is 33.6 degrees. I guess the girls had to let their hair dry the old fashioned way. But I bet you already knew that.
This Month's Challenge
When I was a kid I used to dream about being one the first humans on Mars. I figured the moon would have been done before I was ready to go up. It seems that I am quickly getting too old for the Mars trip too at this point. Oh well, I can still imagine what it would have been like. Traveling to Mars poses so many difficult problems, not the least of which is shielding the passengers aboard the spaceship from solar radiation. If there should be a major solar flare in the direction of the ship while we were in interplanetary space the crew could easily be exposed to a lethal dose of radiation.
So just in case NASA calls me to design a radiation shield for the interplanetary vehicle, I thought I would do a few calculations. We know that the earth is protected from the solar wind (charged particles from the sun) by the earth’s magnetic field. Over most of the planet, these magnetic lines of force (the B field) run roughly parallel to the surface of the planet north to south, except at the magnetic poles where the lines of force originate and terminate. If a positively charged particle approached the earth from the sun,
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would it tend to be deflected to the east or the west? Maybe we could put a big bar magnet in our space craft to help protect the occupants. Reply to Butch Shadwell at [email protected] (email), 904-223-4510 (fax), 904-223-4465 (v), 3308 Queen Palm Dr., Jacksonville, FL 32250-2328. (http://www.shadtechserv.com) The names of correct respondents may be mentioned in the solution column.
What's Up in Boston?
With the dissolution of CNEC, we are working with the Boston Section and providing links to the pertinent meetings, courses, conferences, and special events that are detailed on their website.
They are listing their January events at: http://www.ieeeboston.org/calendar_articles.htm and their February events at: http://www.ieeeboston.org/calendar_articles.htm#second_month. They are listing their future conferences and special events at: http://www.ieeeboston.org/conferences.htm
Other Meetings of InterestPlease let me know if you are aware of other meetings that might be of interest to our mem-bers. We each belong to different societies, read different publications, work in different indus-tries, and surf different web sites. So if you see any interesting meetings or conferences please
send me the notice or the URL.
To keep the list manageable I have limited it to meetings in North America during the next six months.
Jim Anderson [email protected]
February 5, 2009IEEE Industry DayPiscataway, NJ, adjacent to IEEE HQhttp://ewh.ieee.org/r1/princeton-centraljersey/ieee_industry_day.htm
March 3 - 4, 2009Unmanned Aircraft Systems WestSheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina http://www.ttcus.com/view-conference.cfm?id=97
March 10 - 13, 2009Power Systems Conf. PSC09Clemson University, Clemson, SC http://www.ces.clemson.edu/powsys2009
March 12 - 13, 2009Cyber Security Conf. PSC09Washington, DC http://www.ttcus.com/view-conference.cfm?id=95
March 15 - 18, 2009PES Power Systems Conf. and Expo. Seattle, Washingtonhttp://www.pscexpo.com/2009/
March 19 - 20, 2009Airborne Networks Conf.Las Vegas, NV http://www.ttcus.com/view-conference.cfm?id=94
March 23 - 26, 2009IEEE International Systems Conf. Vancouver, Canadahttp://sysconf09.ieeesystemscouncil.org/
March 26 - 27, 2009Maritime Security & Domain Awareness Conf.Washington, D. C.www.ttcus.com/mda
March 30 – April 1, 2009IEEE Sarnoff Symposium 2009 Nassau Inn in Princeton, NJ, http://www.sarnoffsymposium.org
March 30 – April 2, 2009Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers College Station, Texas http://engineering.tamu.edu April 3 - 4, 2009ASEE Spring 2009 Northeast Conf.University of Bridgeporthttp://www.asee2009online.org
April 16 - 17, 2009IEEE Green Technology Conf.Holiday Inn Hotel Towers in Lubbock, Tx http://www.ieeegreentech.org/
April 20 – 22, 2009The Electric Ship Technologies Symp.Sheraton Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MDhttp://ewh.ieee.org/conf/ests09/
April 24 – 26, 2009TCF IT Professional Conference andThe Trenton Computer Festival The College of New Jersey http://www.tcf-nj.org
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April 27 – 28, 20092009 International IEEE Conference on RFID Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort Orlando http://www.ieee-rfid.org/2009/
May 3 - 6, 2009 Canadian 22nd Conf. On Electrical and Computer Engineering.St. John's Newfoundland & Labrador, http://www.ccece09.org/
May 3 - 9, 2009 IEEE International Electric Machines & Drives Conf.Miami, FL http://www.iemdc2009.org/
May 6, 2009Portable Energy 2009Orlando, FLhttp://www.knowledgefoundation.com/viewevents.php?event_id=185&act=evt
May 7 – 8, 2009Small Fuel Cells 2009http://www.knowledgefoundation.com/viewevents.php?event_id=97&act=evt
May 11 – 13, 2009IEEE Homeland Security ConferenceWESTIN HOTEL - WALTHAM, MA http://www.ieeehomelandsecurityconference.org/
June 1 - 3, 2009 2009 ELECTRICAL INSULATION CONF.Hilton Montreal Bonaventure, Quebec, Canadahttp://ewh.ieee.org/conf/eic/
June 1 - 5, 2009 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI National Radio Science MeetingEmbassy Suites Convention Center Charleston, SCwww.apsursi2009.org
June 7 - 12, 2009 International Microwave SymposiumBoston, MAURL TBD
June 24 - 26, 2009 Power Electronics and Machines in Wind Applications University of Nebraska-Lincolnhttp://www.ieee.org/organizations/pels/pemwa/call_for_papers.pdf
July 10 - 13, 20097th International Conference on Computing, Communications and Control Technologies Orlando, Floridahttp://www.2009iiisconferences.org/CCCT
July 10 - 13, 2009The 2nd International Multi-Conf. on Engineering and Technological Innovation Orlando, Florida http://www.2009iiisconferences.org/IMETI
July 10 - 13, 2009The 3rd International Symposium on Bio- and Medical Informatics and Cybernetics Orlando, Florida http://www.2009iiisconferences.org/BMIC
July 10 - 13, 20093rd International Conf. on Knowledge Generation, Communication and Management: Orlando, Floridahttp://www.iiis2009.org/wmsci/website/default.asp?vc=18
July 26 - 30, 2009PES General MeetingCalgary TELUS Convention Centre, Alberta, Canadahttp://ewh.ieee.org/cmte/PESGM09/
Wanted
Wanted – Additional Photographers
Ravi Subrahmanyan has volunteered to be our photographer but his schedule will not allow him to cover all our events. Therefore, we need one or more additional volunteers to take photo-graphs at our Section events and meetings. If you are interested to help out, please email the Editor, Jim Anderson, at [email protected]
Wanted – Articles on “How I became interested in engineering.” Was it because you were always interested in taking things apart and putting them back together (with “extra pieces”)? Was it by chance? Was it because you come from generations of engineers and this was your destiny? What was it? Please send me, Jim Anderson ([email protected]), your story on how you became interested in Engineering and chose this profession. Every month, we will try to feature an article in the newsletter.
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Questions and Answers
Q: How can I be removed from the mailing list or update my email address for section news?
A: Send email to the NH Section Administrative Assistant, Donna Davis, at [email protected]
Q: How do I start a new society chapter?
A: Please refer to this site for details on eligibili-ty and requirements: http://www.ieee.org/por-tal/pages/tab/cha/newchap.html
Q: Why doesn’t the URL http://www.ieee.org/nh_section work?
A: The URL is case sensitive and you must use http://www.ieee.org/NH_Section.
Copyright (c) 2009 IEEE New Hampshire Section.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed, as well as the technical accuracy of authors published in this newsletter, are the responsibility of the individual authors. Therefore, no endorsement by the IEEE, its officers, or its members is made or implied.
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