NEWSLETTER
A
House Journal of
IEEE
Kerala Section
Volume
13 Number 1
January
- Marh 2004
Contents
Chairman's Message
Dairy of Events
Fourthcoming Events
Students Activities
Women in Engineering
Digital Cinema
Electronic Design - GOLD
AGM Report
Office Bearers
Editorial
Section Activities
Global News
Jyothi Abroad
Dear Esteemed Members:
You are aware that, I assumed office as your Chairman for 2004 during the AGM held during January 2004. My colleagues in the executive committee and I have set before us a single point agenda. And that is to bring value to our IEEE membership. To help us understand your aspirations and needs we in the executive committee must have much more interaction with all of you than exists at present. As a first step the Section website has been revamped. Please do visit www.ieee.org/kerala regularly. In a world of fast paced changes, we have less and less time to assimilate more and more information. IEEE being the world’s largest producer of technical information, our challenge and goal is how to personalize services to the best advantage of individual members. With more and more value being added to the IEEE membership, the Section can also rightfully anticipate to increase from strength to strength.
The Executive committee met in Kochi during March to interact with IEEE members in that area. As a follow up this meeting, a core team resident in Kochi has been set up as an extended arm of the Section Executive committee. The purpose is to stimulate and sustain IEEE activities in and around Kochi, so that formation of a new sub-Section would become viable in due course.
Looking ahead for a fruitful interaction with all of you.
EE Rajakumar
[ee_rajakumar@vssc.org]
| 02-01-2004 | “KW Range Domestic Windmill Generator Set”, Avinash Shirode, former Chairman, ARDB & past Council Member IE (I), Nashik. |
| 07-01-2004 | “Enabling Malayalam in Computers”, K.G. Sulochana, Deputy Director, HDC, CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 10-01-2004 | Annual General Meeting of IEEE Kerala Section at 18.30 Hrs at Hotel Horizon, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 13-01-2004 | Printed Circuit Board Designing – an awareness programme organized by IEEE Student Branch at College of Engineering, Chengannur. |
| 14-01-2004 | A meeting of WIE and Student Branch of College of Engineering,Chengannur to elect Executive Committee Members to organize WIE Student Branch. affinity group. |
| 14-01-2004 | “Radio Frequency Identification – An emerging Technology”, N.T Nair,. Vice President(R&D), CMS Computers Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 19-01-2004 | “Parents Don’t Understand Teenage Problems”, a debate organized by IEEE Student Branch in collaboration with WIE at College of Engineering, Chengannur. |
| 26-01-2004 | Executive meeting of IEEE Kerala Section, at 18.30 Hrs at Harmonieee, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 28-01-2004 | “Network Security”, a seminar organized by IEEE Student Branch at College of Engineering, Chengannur. |
| 04-02-2004 | “Economics of Rain Water Harvesting”, N.P Govindankutty, Retired Chief Engineer, Kerala Water Authority, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 5,7-02-2004 | IAISC-04 IEEE All India Students Congress organized at Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi in association with the IEEE Madras Section. |
| 07-02-2004 | IEEE Awareness Program organized by LINK and IEEE Kerala Section at College of Engineering, Chengannur. |
| 07-02-2004 | Inuaguration of IEEE-WIE Student Branch Affinity Group at College of Engineering, Chengannur. |
| 07-02-2004 | A workshop on Management Training for Office Bearers organized by LINK in collaboration with IEEE GOLD. |
| 09-02-2004 | “What Ails Enterprise in Kerala”, a discussion on the issues organized by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), TIE Kerala, KMA, TMA, IEEE Kerala Section and CSI at Hotel Mascot, Thiruvananthapuram at 17.00 Hrs. |
| 11-02-2004 | “Acoustics of Speech and Hearing”, V.B Panicker, Principal, KMCT College of Engineering, Calicut. |
| 19-02-2004 | Release of Cyber Forensics Tools and Manual for Investigation by CDAC at Hotel Residency Towers, Thiruvananthapuram at 16.45 Hrs. |
| 20-02-2004 | Career Guidance Programme organized by GOLD at College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 20-02-2004 | “Cyber Forensics”, one day workshop organized by CDAC, at Hotel Residency Towers, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 25-02-2004 | “Appropriate Technologies for Micro Enterprises”, T.K Jose, Executive Director, Kudumbasree. |
| 03-03-2004 | “Mobile Phones in Hospitals”, V.S.S Iyer, Consultant, Indian Medical Association. |
| 17-03-2004 | “Clean Kerala – a Dream”, R. Ajayakumar Varma, Director, Clean Kerala Mission, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 21-03-2004 | Executive meeting of IEEE Kerala Section, at 15.00 Hrs at Hotel Woods Mannor, M.G Road, Ernakulam – followed by a meeting with the IEEE members in and around Ernakulam. |
| 22-03-2004 | “Water and Disaster”, a panel discussion organized by IE(I), Kerala Centre in connection with World Water Day. |
| 24-03-2004 | “TV to Homes - The Emerging Delivery Technologies”, N. T. Nair, Vice President(R&D), CMS Computers Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 27-03-2004 | Executive meeting of IEEE Kerala Section, at 15.00 Hrs at Harmonieee, Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 31-03-2004 | “Fluid – Structure Interaction problems in Ocean Engineering”, Santhosh Sathyapal”, Asst Exe Director, Kerala Water Authority, Thiruvananthapuram. |
|
PCB Design
The IEEE student branch of CEC conducted a class on Printed Circuit Board Designing on 13 th January 2003 mainly intended for the first year student members. The class was handled by Noby, an S3 Electronics student. During the session, the various theoretical and technical aspects of PCB fabrication were dealt with in detail including the materials used and the manufacturing process. Sample circuit diagrams were also given to the participants to redraw them keeping in mind the circuit designing techniques and conventions explained to them.
Methods of etching and designing a PCB manually were also described. The speaker demonstrated with sample circuits and circuit boards prepared by him. The session was extremely useful to the participants in acquiring a basic knowledge on electronic circuit designing and implementation. They expressed their desire to attend similar classes in future.
LINK news…
Management Training for Office Bearers –
A Workshop
Local Integrated Network of students of Kerala - LINK in collaboration with IEEE GOLD organized a management program on 7 th February 2004 at College of Engineering, Chengannur. The program was focused on various Student Branch office bearers under the LINK. Representatives from the various student branches of FISAT Engg College Angamali, TKM Engg College Kollam, College of Engineering Adoor, College of Engineering Chengannur participated in the event.
The program was flagged off by a very informative talk on Human Behavior. The talk turned out to be a session to boost up the moral of the participants and asked them to be at ease and succeeded in passing the message that one can be a leader only if he or she is ready to accept his own limitations, take the ideas from every person with prime importance.
Further the session continued, the participants were asked to fill in an evaluation form, to evaluate the ones qualities. The test helped in bringing out the idea that no person is perfect in every work, and every person has his own capabilities that makes him to outwit the other. This part of the session concluded imparting the idea, that the qualities are always dispersed only way to access every slot of it is by TEAM WORK.
The workshop turned more interesting in the final session in which the entire participants were divided into small teams. Every team was given exposure to handle many sub-committees of an All India Business Program conducted at IIM Hyderabad and asked to elaborate their idea of working to be a part of the big program.
The workshop turned into a sure success in giving guidelines to the office bearers for their working. The feed back was strong and the opinion to have similar programs in every year.
Teenage Problems and Parents – A debate
On 19 th January 2004, IEEE Student Branch of CEC together with WIE of CEC hosted a debate on the topic “Parents Don’t Understand Teenage Problems”. Sajan Jose was the moderator for the program in which sixteen student members participated. The discussion led to excellent ideas from all the participants. Ideas like “generation gap” came into a serious discussion, where both teams had lots to justify. The discussion was hot enough to keep the moderator often busy.
Other ideas that was put forward were “intimate discussion to parents”, which pointed out all problems rise due to the lack of a cordial relation with the parents. After the hot debate sessions, the members focused on how we can change our life and change the problems faced with parents. Most of them accepted that a major problem in their personal life is due to the lack of open mind they have. Some said they feel restricted to talk many things to their parents like sex and other related matters.
The debate followed by the discussion turned out to let the members feel actually relaxed from all the technical stuff they come across every now and then. Everyone left the hall with a smiling faces. Healthy discussions of similar matters shall prove to be successful in future. The motto behind the program was ‘l ost is always lost, so don’t loose the capability to think’ . IEEE student branch together with WIE is planning to bring up discussions and debates once in every week on similar non-technical programs to ‘uphold the ability to think and express’ among its members.
A Seminar on Network Security
- A report
A seminar was conducted on the topic “Network Security” by Amal Krishnan a student member of the College of Engineering, Chengannur on 28 th January 2004. The seminar was open for the IEEE members as well as non members.
It was a very informative talk in which he gave an overview into the general terminology used in networking. He outlined the different types of attacks that internet users are prone to and described the threats faced by everyone in the field of networking. He gave a brief introduction about the different types of protocols used in networking like TCP/IP etc. He also gave a general discussion on the basic applications used in networking like Telnet, FTP, and Ping etc. He also equipped the audience with the basic preventive measures against security threats. Various preventive measures like firewalls were discussed. The seminar was concluded with an interactive session in which the audience could clear their queries. The program had a positive response from the audience.
IEEE Awareness Program
With the help and aid of IEEE Kerala Section, LINK organized an awareness program on 7 th February 2004 at College of Engineering, Chengannur. This program was focused on various new Colleges within the geographical limits of Kollam to Ernakulam. The awareness program was headed by the leadership of Aju Thomas, Chairman IEEE GOLD. Nine new colleges such as St. Joseph COE, Amal Jyothi COE, Mangalam COE, RIT Pampady, Karunagapally COE, TOCH Ernakulam, Gurukulam COE and Marian COE attended the program.
The awareness program triggered off by 1PM and covered all the aspects of IEEE. It included the organization hierarchy, types of membership, membership fees, awards, facilities and publications. Aju was capable to beautifully present the different aspects of “Why becomes an IEEE Member?” and stress on the benefits of becoming a member.
The program included a talk by Sajan Joseph, an IEEE member of CEC. He was able to elaborate the exposure that a person access through IEEE membership. He pointed out how IEEE has benefited to him and the College. The session concluded with an open forum, which was an interactive session. Doubts raised from participants were cleared by the session and concluded by 3:30 pm with a display of the various journals and transactions. The program turned out to be a very effective session.
Follow up activities
As the follow up of the awareness program, four students from CEC visited St. Joseph COE, Palai and gave more explanation about IEEE and its benefits. The program also turned out to add one more College to start a student branch. Currently the LINK is helping to setup student branches at St. Joseph COE, Palai, Gurukulam COE, Ernakulam, RIT Papady and Amal Jyothi COE.
IAISC 2004
IEEE All India Students' Congress '04
The All India Students Congress 2004 of IEEE was held at Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi from 5th to 7th February in association with the IEEE Madras Section. The total number of registered participants for the event was around three hundred. Ten students from College of Engineering, Chengannur and St.Xaviers College represented the Kerala section.
The programs for the first day, 5th February was started at 10.00 a.m. with the welcome address by A.C.R. Djugash, Principal, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, followed by the inauguration by M.N. Chandrasekaran, Managing Director, Esix Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Chennai. Then the presidential address by Suresh Chander Pal, Chairman, IEEE Madras Section and the branch report was presented by S. Balakrishnan, Branch Counselor, IEEE Student Branch. This was followed by a Plenary Session by Bijumon P. Jacob, Head HR, Verizon Data Services Pvt. Ltd., Chennai. The afternoon session included the Nisus-et-Victorie Prelims (paper presentation), the Quaestio Pinnaculum Prelims (quiz). Nearly 750 students responded to the paper presentation of which 120 were invited after great deliberation.
The morning of the second day, 6th Feb. started with a plenary session by T.S. Rangaragan, Principal Consultant & Group Manger, TCS, Chennai at 9.00 followed by the finals of the paper presentation (parts I and II). The afternoon session consisted of a plenary session by S. Sridharan, GM, HP, Banglore, and the quiz finals.
The final day, 7th February began with a plenary session by S. Gopakumar, Head, Computer Department, VSSC, ISRO, Thiruvananthapuram. This was followed by the Pot- Pourri, included 4 events of which any one could be joined by the delegates. Formula Fun - Lan Party: The closest one could get to driving really fast cars. Racing Circuit - Circuit Design: A simple race against time for designing an electronic circuit. Quick Fix Pit-Stop - Code Debugging: A simple but ultra fast test of nerves where program codes are debugged. Chequered Flag- Beat the Heat: A round of noetic tests where the mind comes first. All the Pot-Pourri events included cash prizes for the winners.
The afternoon session included a plenary session m\by K. Ramanathan, Consultant & Quality Head, TCS, Chennai, and the Valedictory Address by R. Muralidharan, TATA Electric Company & Chairman, IEEE India Council.
During the Congress there was also an informal meeting of all the Executive Committee members of different Student Branches with the Madras Section Chairman and the India Council Chairman. Different issues were discussed regarding the better functioning of the Student Branches and how to integrate and coordinate them together. The IAISC, besides exposing the participants to advanced technology, gave them details on how to manage technology.
CAREER GUIDANCE PROGRAMME – A Report
The first activity organized for all batches by WIE, CEC is the career guidance programme. The statistics of the interests and ideas of our students were collected focusing the 6 th semester students. And on the basis of the survey a discussion was held at the seminar hall leading by the respected principal, Devasya , on 20 th February (Friday).
The discussion was graced by the presence of Jyothiraj, H.O.D of EC, & Smithadharan, H.O.D of CS, and the senior staffs, Nisha Kuruvila, Gopakumar, Deepu Mukundan and Renu. The survey report was presented by Seenu Chrispin, chairperson of WIE. Principal analyzed the report and he shared his experiences with the students. Some significant points of the discussion were:
The one who selected Engineering Profession should know “what is Engineering” first. And that knowledge should increase the interest in studies. Engineering is meant for the welfare of the society. Even at the level of graduation students are not confident to make independent decisions, they seek help from others.
When we think of our higher studies, we should make a choice according to our own interest, not on the basis of the social status and not entirely on job opportunities. Another thing to consider is job satisfaction. And if we plan to go for higher studies after working for 1 or 2 years, our decision must be solid because we may be not able to concentrate in studies after working phase. Though there are so much opportunities for electronics & computer students, they are getting job mainly in the software field which is mainly DBMS oriented. Any graduates who are trained by the company are efficient to do this work. And the main reason of attraction to these jobs is the high salary paid.
Today, as the competition is very much, the first thing we should possess is the right and strong ‘will’. We must have an aim and a well determined planning for our future. He appreciated those who have a specific aim. Jyothiraj gave the details of higher studies in the field of space research for the students.The WIE (Women in Engineering), an affinity group of IEEE was decided to form in the college to encourage the interests of women IEEE members, and to provide them a platform to work aside from the other programs of IEEE. A meeting was held on the 14 th of January 2004, to elect the Executive Committee for the group. The committee comprises of
Nisha Kuruvilla - Student Counsellor
Seenu Chrispin - Chairperson
Sonia Thomas - Vice Chairperson
Deepa Jacob - Secretary
Beena - Treasurer
Future plans are as follows:
Compiled by: N .T. Nair, Editor, IEEE India Bulletin
In this digital era the invasion of digital technology into most of the areas of human activity is visible all around. Photography is one such field, with digital cameras edging out their film-based counterparts from among hobbyists mostly and professional photographers progressively. Home entertainment market is another segment where this transition to digital domain is phenomenal. Yet another area, slowly but steadily, ushering in bits and bytes is cinema.
Celluloid film has been used to shoot, distribute and screen movies for more than 100 years. Now, the movie industry is at the threshold of the biggest change in its history: the transition from film to digital.Digital cinema encompasses every aspect of the movie making process, from production and post-production to distribution and projection.
In digital cinema, the basic idea is to digitally record, transmit and replay images, rather than using chemicals on film. The main advantage of digital technology is that it can store, transmit and retrieve a huge amount of information exactly as it was originally recorded. Tapes using analog technology lose information in transmission, and generally degrade with each viewing. Digital information is a lot more flexible than analog information. While a computer can manipulate bytes of data very easily, it can't do much with a streaming analog signal.
Digital cinema affects three major areas of movie-making: Production - how the movie is actually made, Distribution - how the movie gets from the production company to movie theaters and Projection - how the theater presents the movie
When you see a movie digitally, you see that movie the way its creators intended you to see it: with incredible clarity and detail, in a range of up to 35 trillion colors. And whether you're catching that movie on opening night or months later, it will always look its best, because digital movies are immune to the scratches, fading, pops and jitter that film is prone to with repeated screenings. That's why directors love digital cinema: it ensures that their creation will be reproduced with total fidelity at every screening.
A digitally produced or digitally converted movie can be distributed to theaters via satellite, optical discs, or fiber optic networks. The digitized movie is stored by a computer/server which "serves" it to a digital projector for each screening of the movie.
Production
With a digital camcorder, a stack of tapes, a computer and some video-editing software, a digital movie could be made. But there are a couple of problems with this approach. First, the image resolution won't be that great on a big movie screen. Second, the movie will look like news footage, not a normal theatrical film.
Film and video differ a lot in image clarity, depth of focus and color range, but the biggest contrast is frame rate. Film cameras normally shoot at 24 frames per second, while most television video cameras shoot at 30 frames per second. In order to mimic the characteristic look of film, movie-makers use digital camcorders that shoot like film cameras. For example, George Lucas shot "Attack of the Clones" with Sony HDW-F900 HDCAM camcorders outfitted with high-end Pan Vision lenses. The camera also has a similar light range and depth of field to film cameras.
These professional digital camcorders use charge-coupled devices (Cads) to convert the incoming light from a scene into an electronic signal, and an analog-to-digital converter to turn this signal into a stream of 1s and 0s.
Apart from image quality, there are two huge differences between film and digital video in cost and flexibility.
Cost
Film is hundreds of times more expensive than digital video. The raw video is extremely cheap, and there is virtually no processing involved before the editing stage. In an interview, Rick McCallum, one of the producers of "Attack of the Clones," said they spent $16,000 on 220 hours of digital tape, and they would have spent about $1.8 million on 220 hours of film.
Flexibility
For the filmmaker, the most exciting aspect of digital technology is how easy it is to use. Most filmmakers have already switched to digital editing systems because they make it so much simpler to put a movie together. In the current process, filmmakers actually convert the film footage to a digital format for post-production and then back to film again for its theatrical release. The conversion process is costly, it ends up degrading the image quality somewhat, and it takes time.
Digital video doesn't have to go through this conversion process. As soon as they shoot digital footage, filmmakers can immediately play it back and start editing it. With film, they have to send the footage off for processing before they know what they have. A director might spend all day shooting only to discover the lighting was off and the footage is totally unusable. Additionally, the crew doesn't have to make repeated takes in case something looks wrong. They know right away if there were any problems.
Distribution
For the business side of the movie industry, the most compelling aspect of digital cinema is distribution. In today's system, production companies spend a lot of money making film prints of their movies. Then, working with distribution companies, they spend even more money shipping the heavy reels of film to theatres all over the world, only to collect them again when the movie finishes its run.
Because the distribution costs of film are so high, production companies have to be extremely cautious about where they play their movies. Digital movies are basically big computer files, which could be written into a DVD-ROM and sent through broadband cable or transmitted via satellite. There are virtually no shipping costs, and it doesn't cost the production company much more to show the movie in 100 theatres than in one theatre. With this distribution system, production companies could easily open movies in theatres all over the world on the same day.
The digital distribution system also helps out the individual theatres. If a movie sells out, a theatre could decide to show it on additional screens on the spur of the moment. They simply connect to the digital signal. Theatres could also show live sporting events and other digital programming.
Projection
To the audience, the most important aspect of digital cinema is the projection system. This is the final piece of technology that controls how the movie actually looks at the end of the line.
Everybody will agree that a good film projector loaded with a pristine film print produces a fantastic, vibrant picture. The problem is, every time you play the movie, the film quality drops a little. When you go to a movie that's been playing for a few weeks, you'll probably see hundreds of scratches and bits of dirt. But a digital movie looks the same every time you show it.
Today, there are two major digital cinema projector technologies: Micro-mirror projectors and LCD projectors.
Micro-mirror projectors, like Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing (DLP) line, form images with an array of microscopic mirrors. In this system, a high-power lamp shines light through a prism. The prism splits the light into the component colors red, green and blue. Each color beam hits a different Digital Micro-mirror Device (DMD) – a semiconductor chip that is covered in more than a million hinged mirrors.
Based on the information encoded in the video signal, the DMD turns over the tiny mirrors to reflect the colored light. Collectively, the tiny dots of reflected light form a monochromatic image. Each micro-mirror chip reflects the monochromatic image back to the prism, which recombines the colors. The red, green and blue rejoin to form a full color image, which is projected on the screen.
LCD projectors, work on a slightly different system. These projectors reflect high-intensity light off of a stationary mirror covered with a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). Based on the digital signal, the projector directs some of the liquid crystals to let reflected light through and others to block it. In this way, the LCD modifies the high-intensity light beam to create an image.
There is a flip-side to digital projector technology. In both projector designs, individual pixels may break from time to time. When this happens, it degrades the image quality of every single movie shown on that projector. In contrast, if a film print gets scratched, it's only that particular movie that's damaged -- the next print looks fine.
Looking at the trends, it is reasonable to assume at some point, digital cinema will replace the old film system. The question is when and how.
Digital cinema makes a lot of economical sense on the distribution front, but it would involve huge changes in the industry. For one thing, distribution companies wouldn't have nearly as much work to do, leading to a cut in their workforce considerably.
The other obstacle is piracy. Making a good copy of a conventional film illegally is not easy. But a copy of digital movie could be easily made if one could get access to the data stream, and also get over encryption, if any.
While the production and distribution companies will save millions by switching over to digital process, the theatres will be conducting business as earlier only. They will have to invest around $150,000 to convert a film theatre to a digital auditorium.
If production companies and theatres fully explore the scope of the new technology, digital cinema may be the biggest thing to happen to movies since the talkies.
Digital Theatres- The ScenarioThe heart of a digital theatre is the computer server. The digitization company puts the film onto a hard disc or CD. The server is then hooked to the projector, which is where the quality of digital screening comes up. While very high picture quality digital projectors cost around Rs 40 lakh or more, there are low-end ones in the range of Rs 3 lakh and above. It costs Rs 1 –3 lakh to convert a film to digital, depending on the quality of conversion.
Another way of distribution is through satellite broadcasting. An uplink centre beams the film up at a satellite, which then sends it down to a large number of theatres equipped to receive the content using a dish antenna and associated equipment. This installation may cost around Rs 30,000 – 40,000 per theatre. The satellite uplink would cost Rs 20 Lakh a month. Around the world, today India leads with 130 digital theatres, followed by US with 78 and China with 50. By March 2005, it is estimated that India will have over 2000 digital theatres.
Introduction to Electronic Design Automation – A Report
A seminar on “Introduction to Electronic Design Automation” (EDA) was organized by IEEE GOLD (Graduates Of Last Decade) on 06 February 2004 at the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Kerala, India, Region 10. The speaker was Mr. Regi of the Visionics Company of Technopark, Trivandrum, Kerala. The IEEE-GOLD Seminar on Introduction to Electronic Design Automation College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
There were a total of 15 participants who were non members. They were the faculty of the departments of Electronics and Electrical Engineering. The program began 12:30 p.m. with Mr. Aju Thomas Abraham, Chairman of the GOLD Affinity Group, Kerala Section welcoming the audience and the speakers. Then Ms. Mary Gomes of the Visionics Company introduced the basic concepts of EDA. After this Mr. Praveen Kumar gave an overview about EDA and the prevalent EDA tools that are available in the market. He then gave a detailed methodology on how Printed Circuit Boards are designed using EDA tools. The feedback received was quite good. The EDA and tool concepts were well received by the faculty of both the Electronics and the Electrical Departments.
SECTION SUMMARY
Executive Summary
The IEEE Kerala Section traces its beginnings to its formation as a sub-section in 1975. It was elevated to the status of a Section in 1983. The Section regularly conducts a number of events addressing the professional and educational needs of its members and the society at large. The annual conferences of the Section receive excellent report and are always well attended.
In the Annual General Meeting held on 11th January 2003 at Hotel Horizon, Thiruvananthapuram, the following members were unanimously elected as office bearers for the year 2003.
R Narayanan : Chairman
E E Rajakumar : Vice-Chairman
P M Sasi : Secretary
S Meera : Treasurer
The Executive Committee, nominated other office bearers.
Highlights of Activities
1. Annual Seminar, WiNGS 2003 on “Wireless networks” with world-renowned speakers and high delegate participation.
2. Eleven technical seminars under the auspices of PES (4), Computer Society (3) chapters and GOLD (4) affinity group.
3. Twelve professional talks/ visits/ social meetings under the auspices of GOLD (5) and WIE (7) affinity groups.
4. Two workshops under the auspices of Computer Society
5. 44 Technical talks by eminent professionals as weekly events jointly with sister professional bodies.
6. Support to the Engineering student community in Kerala through technical talks and workshops.
7. Advice to Government of Kerala in IT initiatives.
8. High quality quarterly News Letters
ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Membership Development Programs
IEEE Awareness programs were conducted in many organizations including Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Technopark, and many engineering colleges. The membership position as on January 2004 is as follows:
Member Category Membership as on Jan 2004 Membership as on Jan 2003
A (Associate Members) 56 103
AF (Affiliates Members) 4 7
LM (Life Members) 1 1
LS (Senior Life Members) 3 3
M (Members) 338 214
S (Students) 706 876
SM (Senior Members) 28 30
TOTAL 1136 1234
It may be noted that the number of members have increased by about 58% and many of the Associate members have been upgraded, thanks to the efforts of the membership development team.
GOLD Activity
The GOLD group has been very active during 2003. Some of the activities conducted are:
1. February 09, 2003: PUSH “Personal Understanding and Self-Heightening” a program conducted at Tata Consultancy Services, Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Speaker: T. K. Rajiv, Trainers Estate and Computer Systems Co., Bangalore.
2. March 08, 2003: Talk on “IEEE GOLD” at the IEEE All Kerala Students’ Congress conducted at N.S.S College of Engineering, Palghat, Kerala, India. More than 150 students from different engineering colleges in the state attended the talk.
3. April 05, 2003: Workshop on “Pragmatic Project Management” conducted at CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Speaker: C Brajesh of NeST, Thiruvananthapuram. 55 professionals from premier organizations in the State attended the workshop.
4. June 06, 2003: Organized a visit to various Technopark Companies for a group of thirty physically challenged students of National Institute of Speech and Hearing, Kerala, India.
5. October 02, 2003: “IEEE Awareness Program” at Institution of Engineers Hall, Thiruvananthapuram, India. 92 participants, including faculty members and students from different engineering colleges in the state participated. Rane, former Chairman of IEEE Kerala Section, donated a large collection of engineering books to IEEE Student Branches.
6. October 11, 2003: Workshop on Group Discussions and Interviews at College of Engineering, Chengannur, Kerala, India, for final year B.Tech students from different disciplines.
7. November 04, 2003: Talk on How to Face Corporate Interviews at University Institute of Technology, Neyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India by Aju Thomas Abraham, Chairman of the GOLD Affinity Group, Kerala Section.
8. November 22, 2003: Workshop - Software System Testing - A Statistical Approach held at CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Speakers were Deepa Thampy and Unni Shankar, from NeST, Technopark, Thiruvanantha- puram.
9. December 18, 2003: Seminar on EDA Tool as a bridge between Technical Colleges and Industry at CDAC, Vellayambalam, Thiruvananthapuram, India. The speaker was Roman Knoll, Head, R&D, Visionics Group of Companies, Sweden.
Aju Thomas Abraham and Koshy P Vaidyan of GOLD affinity group received GOLD Leadership recognition award from Regional Activities Board of IEEE.
Professional and Continuing Education Activities
Conferences
The theme of the annual seminar was “Wireless networks”. The seminar christened WiNGS 2003 was held at Hotel Residency Towers, on 23 August 2003. Dr. David Koilpillai, Professor of Electrical Engineering, IIT, Madras, delivered the keynote address. Experts in the field from India and abroad presented papers on WiFi, Blue tooth, CDMA/ OFDM, 3G in Indian context, CorDECT and Non Line-of-sight wireless technologies. There was also a session devoted to Wireless success stories in India.
The Seminar was a great success in terms of attendance, sponsorship and speaker line up. 137 delegates attended the conference. The average rating of the seminar, as rated by the delegates was more than 70 in a scale of 0 to 100. The seminar generated a surplus of about Rs 87000. The slides of the presentations were published in our website.
IEEE Kerala section co-sponsored a one-day day workshop on ITES and a one-day seminar on IT Futures organised by Department of Future Studies, University of Kerala. The workshop and seminar were conducted on 28th and 29th of March 2003 at University Senate Chamber.
Technical events
The chapters of IEEE Kerala section organised various technical seminars, workshops and talks as detailed separately.
IEEE Kerala section, in association with other Professional bodies at Thiruvananthapuram, viz., Institution of Engineers (India)- Kerala State Centre, Computer Society of India- Thiruvananthapuram Chapter, Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers- Thiruvananthapuram Centre and Aeronautical Society of India conducted 44 Technical talks on various topics of current interest. Some of the talks were:
| Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|
Advances In Automotive Electronics |
K N Ramachandran |
|
N T Nair |
Cyber Crimes, Cyber Terrorism and Cyber Security |
V K Bhadran |
Voice over Internet Protocol |
KN Sabu |
Agile Process Methodologies |
Satish Babu |
|
Hemachandran |
|
Z V Lakkaparambil |
CISCO Remote Access Networks |
Anish Philipose |
From e-commerce to e-business by Emerging Contours of the New Economy |
Satish Babu |
Grid Computing Follows Grind Electricity |
N T Nair |
Bio Informatics |
Amarnath Raja |
Application of BioInformatics in Monitoring and Maintenance of Public Health |
V. Thanka moni |
|
Chandra Mohan Nair |
|
P S Subodh |
|
N T Nair |
Process Model For Software Engineering |
Manu Balachandran |
Vehicle tracking system |
Ravikumar |
Software Intellectual Property Rights |
Amarnath Raja |
|
N T Nair |
Wireless Data Application & e-commerce |
Abraham Paul |
Recognized educational programs
Technical talks were arranged at the following engineering colleges
· Mohandas College, Anad, Thiruvananthapuram
· Engineering College, Kidangoor
· Engineering College, Karunagappalli
· NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad
· NI College of Engineering, Kumarcoil
· St Xavier’s Catholic Engg Chungamkadai, Nagercoil
· College of Engineering, Chengannur
Students Activities
1. New branches
Student branch in St Xavier’s Catholic Engg Chungamkadai, Nagercoil was got approved and inaugurated. This branch is currently listed in Madras Section. Petition has been submitted for transfer to Kerala section.
2. Branch formation applications forwarded for the following branches:
MES Engineering College, Kuttippuram, Federal Institute of Science and Technology (FISAT), Angamali, Dep. Computer Science, Univ. of Kerala, Kariavattom
3. Activities
· 8 March 2003 - Kerala Students Congress at NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad: 8 student branches participated
· 02 October 2003 - IEEE Awareness program at Thiruvananthapuram: 25 new engineering colleges participated
4. Seminars and talks organized by all student branches. Some of the activities are:
College of Engineering, Chengannur:
1st March 2003: Organized Students Technical Awareness Congress (STAC) HQ confirmed Centre of Excellence for robotics lab at College of Engineering Chengannur, coordinated the efforts for networking all the student branches in the locality, organized various seminars/ talks in association with GOLD and WIE affinity groups of IEEE Kerala.
TKM College of Engineering, Kollam:
Conducted one day seminar on creative goal setting, conducted a technical quiz, organized one day visit to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, conducted an aptitude test for students.
National Institute of Technology, Calicut:
Organized a talk on Fuzzy Logic and modeling - 20 March 2003, organized a talk on energy conservation measures - 27 March 2003.
EMAIL AND NEWSLETTER ACTIVITIES
Home page
Newsletter
Four quarterly issues of the IEEE Kerala Newsletter were published during the year. The newsletter carried details of activities of the section, chapters and student branches, apart from technical papers. Notifications about the forthcoming events were also published.
IEEE Kerala Homepage, http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r10/kerala <http://ww.ewh.ieee.org/r10/kerala> has been maintained effectively. The WEB site is updated to include current news and events of the Section with links to other IEEE resources. The mail group of members, “ieeekerala@egroups.com <mailto:ieeekerala@egroups.com>”, has been very effective in communicating with the members.
A new web page for WIE chapter has been developed and will be hosted shortly.
(will be continued…)
IEEE KERALA SECTION OFFICE BEARERS - YEAR 2004
| Affiliation | Phone(O) | Phone (R) | Fax & Email | |
Chairman: E E Rajakumar |
VSSC | 2565506 2564048 |
2448363 | 2706412 |
Vice-Chairman: Philip John |
Ushus Technologies Pvt Ltd
|
2527654 | 2433594 | 2527651 |
Secretary: P M Sasi |
CDAC | 2720883 | 2310978 | 2722230 |
Treasurer:S Meera |
TCS | 2700671 | 2475851 | 2700682 |
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE |
||||
Membership Development Jyothy Ramaswamy |
TCS | 2700671 | 2345355 | 2700682 |
Professional ActivitiesK.G.Satheesh Kumar |
VMA | 2430959 | 2360017 | 2430960 k.g.kumar@ieee.org |
Educational Activities Hemachandran |
IISU / ISRO | 2364790 | 2540488 | |
Student ActivitiesS Gopakumar |
VSSC | 2565889 | 2357194 | 2415212 s.gopakumar@ieee.org |
Conference ActivitiesSubhodh PS |
CDAC | 2723333 | 2361424 | 2722230 subodh@erdcitvm.org |
| Awards R.Narayanan |
TCS | 2700691 | 2361137 | 2700682 narayanan@tvm.tcs.co.in |
Inter Society Relations Amarnath Raja |
InAPP | 2527270 | 2552637 | 2527370 amar@inapp.com |
IEEE and Society / Governmental Interaction G Vijayaraghavan |
V M A | 2430959 | 2331959 | 2430960
|
GOLD Chairman Aju Thomas Abraham |
TCS | 2700671 | 2541798 | 2700682 |
Secretary Prasanth Ullattil |
NeST | 2449198 | 9847140777 | 2442858 prasanth@nestec.net
|
| WIE Chairperson Fathima KA |
CDAC | 2723226 | 2361134 | 2722230 |
Secretary: Sunanda C Prasad |
NeST | 2527441 | 597482 | 2442858 |
Computer Society Chairman: Satish Babu |
InAPP | 2527270 | 2352379 | 2527370 |
Secretary: Unni Sankar |
NeST | 2449198 | 2550429 | 2442858
|
Power Engineering Society Chairman: Simon P Varghese |
ALIND | 2379704 | 2317899 | 2362760 simon_pv@hotmail.com
|
Secretary S.Ashok |
NIT-Calicut | 0495 286305 | 0495 742632 | |
IA & IE Chairman, Secretary to be decided |
||||
Newsletter Editor K Gopalan Nair |
MACE, Venjaramood |
0472 2870787 |
2437449 | 0472 2870986 |
Web Support T S Ajayghosh |
CDAC | 2723333 | 2434259 | 2722230 t.s.ajayghosh@ieee.org |
Student Representative Prajoe |
College of Engineering, Chengannur | |||
| MEMBERS AT LARGE |
|
|---|---|
| D.S.Rane | dsrane@hotmail.com |
| Gomathy K Muraleedharan | drkam@tinfo.net |
| N.T.Nair | del@vsnl.com |
| V.K.Damodaran | |
| V.P.Kulkarni | vijaykul@md2.vsnl.net.in |
| Koruthu P Varughese | koruthu@sctimst.ker.nic.in |
| G.Vijaya Raghavan | |
| N.A.P.Thampy | |
| S.Gopakumar | s.gopakumar@ieee.org |
| J.Muraleemohan Lal | |
| K.G.Satheesh Kumar | k.g.kumar@ieee.org |
| R.Narayanan | |
“God proposes; man disposes”
In Kerala, the God’s own country, how it would be a reality!
Man disposes - is ok, fine. But what about the proposals? The fact is that we refuse to respond to God’s proposal. Naturally, man has a plethora of social opportunities around him. All these opportunities are within his reach. He has to search for and to find out new and exciting possibilities which are capable to form a source of joy to him and the society . The development of the society is always tuned with the attitude, devotion and dedication to the work policy of the individual.
The technological advances of our State are astonishing and not losing credibility. Availability of s urplus employable workforce with widest range of skill-sets is not a propagating false statement. It is, prima facie, established that the favours available in the State had uplifted it as the best destination in the country to set up ventures in software industry. It inspires and continues to intrigue every man in the God’s own country. It is most obvious that favourable environment coupled with salubrious climate is a major factor guiding exponential growth of organizations. With regards to power sector reforms, technological advancements in communication and quality human resources in abundance will never become fallacious.
However, “The man can become what he aspires for” is a popular statement which plays a dominant role in the life of every human being. Even though the talented youth, expertise, facilities and services are plenty in our State, if we come across the above statement, we could realize that the aspirations of man are nothing but nightmare.
What is the ailment behind it?
In this context, it is worthwhile to examine the article by Vijaya Raghavan, a leading professional and management expert as well as an official of IEEE Kerala State, who expressed his feelings and experiences on this ailment in his article “ How a tiny minority robs the majority of its tomorrow – How we are losing lakhs of job opportunities. ” He also emphasized his thoughts, not only his, rather the feelings of all professionals, in a letter recently sent to Chief Minister, leading politicians, social leaders, media and professional bodies. The article is available at http://business.vsnl.com/vma/gvr.doc. He urges the current economic scenario of the State as “it is sinking in debt because it has to feed a vast number of white elephants. For most politicians, the interests of the organized groups which pander to their requirements far outweigh those of the unemployed and the unorganized or even the overall well-being of the State. … One of the primary reasons for the booming BPO activities in Kerala is the Hartals which are occurring in the State more often and with more severity …”
Realistically speaking, in national level we are ‘shining’ quite a bit in the IT industry, IT enabled services, Business Process Outsourcing, pharmaceuticals, telecom, etc. Moreover, currently the State has enormous opportunities to flourish through immense potential in BPO and Health Tourism sectors. This is the reason why we have a window of opportunity to acquire a huge chunk of employment possibilities in the information age. Also, various studies show that Kerala among other major Indian States as a favourable destination choice, especially Kochi - one of the key business hubs in Kerala as the second most attractive destination, for ITES/BPO in India.
The effective utilization of the natural advantages became primary impetus to growth by nurturing the economy of the State. Along with this, the NRI’s contributions will also accelerate the phenomenon. All these, in turn, result in new and exciting possibilities for the transformation in growth and prosperity in the State. Concurrently, narrow self-interests are dominated not only among common men but also among politicians and their parties which will never be a compromise to this aspect. F ragmenting relentlessly along regional, religious, caste and other parochial lines are the motto of the politicians to catch the fish out of water. The principle of equality of every human being is upheld at every level, at every opportunity, but in their democratic performance the politicians become egotistic and narcissistic. Political opportunism plays a vital role in every sphere. The solid phalanx of raucous politicians is the main cause in creating ruinous situation everywhere negating development in every walk of our life.
It is no surprise then that the effulgence of the undemocratic trend in the political behaviour is the root cause against industrial growth in our State. The impact of this trend is immediate, personal and very unrewarding. Shade needs light but light is not depending on shade. The entrepreneurs especially those among the global offshore services market and health tourism are not attracted even though tremendous cost advantages are available in different locations. Most of these sectors are seeking sites not only outside the State but in some other developing countries also. It is appropriate to mention about a curse which is the cause behind this ignorance as mentioned earlier - the Bandh/Hartal. Vijaya Raghavan’s appeal is against this menace and he is pointing out some means to overcome it to a possible extent.
Bandh today became an integral part of our life. Generally the term refers to the deeds to dissent or protest against some unfavourable incidents or policies. Once it was considered as the final weapon to gain genuine demands. But presently the genuineness of the demand turns insignificant. The political party, whether big or small, a regional group or even a person, can declare a Bandh or Harthal on any date to win their short term narrow self-interests. On a fine morning a student leader decides and declares a strike to get rid of class test or lab work in the school or college and thereby he finds time to roam in parks or cinema houses. No difference in the case of political groups as well which create stand stillness in the public life. Time and date is no bar. It may be for a span of six to twelve hours or even for twenty four hours, resulting in ‘closure’ of the whole State. Sharpened as well as implacable personal hatreds among the leaders may be the reason for it. The dangerous and multifarious political discords may be some other reasons.
Of course, this is the picture of the environment or work culture of our State. The result of this menace is awful. “When the State is paralyzed by a call of Bandh, Hartal or general strike, the damage it does and the signals it sends out are horrendous”, Vijaya Raghavan laments. This may pave way to discard the ITES/BPO activities in the State. The only panacea he suggests is to use the weapon, the power of ballot, against the candidate who opposes this uncivilized act of protest that inflict upon us. The practicability of this suggestion is unpredictable. Of course, immediate attention is required to this ‘work interruption’ – the uncivilized act of protest. In the hurly burly of politics, how far it will succeed and get positive result? Who will candidly confess?
To accomplish great deeds we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe and start thinking in this way. But ‘thought without action is abortion and action without thought is folly’. There is a way in doing right thing and avoiding wrong motive. Look forward with creativity and hope. Moreover, let us together think and act against this petulant and reprehensible behaviour. No wonder it is not too late to voice against this menace.
Wireless Data Application and e-Business
On 26-11-2003 P.Abraham Paul gave a talk on “Wireless Data Application and e-Business”. As an introduction he presented an overview of the development in communication area. He continued that on past few years witnessed much hype and over projections of the business potential of Voice over Internet Protocol (IP), 3 G Telecom and growth of Internet dependent e-Commerce and e-business. Network operators/ Internet Service Provider realized that most of these high tech prepositions, though conceptually attractive, require more time, huge investment and coordinated efforts to convert these to market friendly and revenue earning products.
There will be tremendous demand for Application and content servers as accessibility improves and higher data rates are available at cheaper rates. The vast amount of Application and Business support Systems needed in the area of Packet Data Network are highly diverse, dynamic and widely distributed across the whole Internet Protocol world. The revenue potential moves from Network Operators/Internet Service provides to Service Providers and e-Business units. The need arises for Payment Broker Systems which manage the accounting of payments, apportioning of it and sharing the revenue generated between the stake-holders.
The transactions involve High volume of Low Value payments and these cannot be done by direct payments or handled economically by banks and regular credit card companies. Also these payments can neither be handled by the Network Operators/Internet Service Provides nor by the Service Provides / e-Business units because the value of the transaction is known only the e-Business/Service provider who finally sells or provides the service. By the introduction of the concept of Payment Gateways in Packet Data Network for apportioning of the revenue, these issues can be addressed.
The Network Operators have only limited control on tariff, rating, charging and billing of “external client” based services. The end users will have the option to choose and use different Network Operators/Service Providers. The advent of telecom evolution is great business for vendors only if their customers are willing to invest for inducting these technologies. Telecom and Data oriented services are to be mutually supportive for overall growth in Information Communication.
Energy Efficient Motors
S.Mahadevan, Consultant, International Copper Promotion Council (India), on 17-12-2003 presented the topic, “Energy Efficient Motors”. User of energy efficient motors results in energy savings and environmental benefits. Energy efficient motors benefit the user industry through superior performance, less burnouts, less need for rewinding which lead to better savings and profits.
The 4-pole motors are categorized into three energy ratings, highest efficiency being efficiency-1 and lowest efficiency-3. it is expected that by 2006 the European Union will ban Eff-3 motors. In the draft revision of IS 12615, the philosophy is to categorize two levels of efficiency, 1 and 2. those satisfying the minimum norm of eff-2 will be defined as energy efficient.
In the life-time cost of an electric motor, the purchase cost represents only 2 % and the operating cost of electricity, nearly 98 %. Higher efficiency is built into the motor. Power Factor is improved externally at the system level. Power Factor is improved externally at the system level. Suitable selection of Copper conductors with proper cross section of maximum active material for the stator, low-watt-loss material and thinner laminations for the core, optimum design of fan, and optimum design of slot geometry with minimum overhand length are factors which make the motors energy-efficient.
KW Range Domestic Windmill Generator Set
Avinash Shirode, Nashik, gave a talk on “KW Range Domestic Windmill Generator Set” on 02-01-2004. A windmill electric generator consisting of propeller blades, Tail vane, Alternator, supporting tower, storage batteries and inverter were fabricated, assembled and installed for domestic use. In this proto-type, appropriate technology was built into it to take care of the variations in direction and speed of the wind.
Radio Frequency Identification an Emerging Technology
N.T.Nair, Vice President, CMS Computers on 14-01-2004 presented the topic “Radio Frequency Identification an Emerging Technology”. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is the combination of radio broadcast technology and RADAR utilizing advanced electronic technologies like microchips and antenna to create RFID tags for very many applications such as prevention of theft within shops & theft of automobiles, collecting tolls without stopping the vehicles, managing traffic, automating parking, dispensing goods, tracking books in the library, anti-counterfeiting bank notes and identification of animals.
An RFID tag, about 0.3 mm thick, is a transponder, similar to the bar-code, and carries data and responds to requests from the ‘reader’ (interrogator). Transponder is microchip based and the communication between the RFID tag and the reader is wireless. However this is costlier than bar code label printing. Personal privacy could be intruded into through RFID tags on dress, etc.
– News Around IEEEE
Global News – News around IEEE
1. Upgrade Makes IEEE Xplore Easier to Explore IEEE Xplore, the document delivery system for all of IEEE's journals,magazines, and conference proceedings, is now bigger and better than ever, thanks to its latest release. Read more about the improvements at <http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp/ 2w.newsxploremr.xml>
2. African Web Site Focuses on Standards If developing standards requires nothing else, it demands excellent communications within business communities. This is no easy task with Africa's diversity and often poor communications and transportation systems, but it's being attempted by the IEEE with its new StandardsAfrica Web site. Learn more about the site at <http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/2w.newsstandards.xml>
3. Marketplace: The Mother of Invention This past holiday season, dog lovers could finally discover what their dogs were saying with a US$100 gadget called Bowlingual, a device that translates a dog's barks into words. Although inventions such as this may seem unnecessary and frivolous, they're often based on serious science. For example, Bowlingual uses voiceprint technology to create digital representations of sounds. What inventions, whether serious or silly, would you like to see in the next 10 years? Weigh in at <http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp/feb04/2w.marketplace.xml>
4. Power Engineering SocietyProceedings Released The proceedings on the 2003 IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting are now available through the IEEE Online Catalog & Store. Topics covered included asset management, risk management, developments in power-engineering technologies, and more. For more information, or to purchase the proceeding, visit <http://shop.ieee.org/store/product.asp?prodno=CH37491>
5. XtremeSpectrum Motorola is delivering its second generation, ultra wideband chipset - XtremeSpectrum - to drive wireless high speed video and audio applications. With a first-to-market solution that drives 114 Mbps of data and consumes less than 200 mw of power, this technologically superior, direct sequence approach assures non-interference and high performance. The unique combination of broader spectrum, lower power and pulsed data means less interference than narrowband radio solutions. http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;7197475;8714004;p?http://www.motorola.com/uwb
6. IEEE Fellow Focuses on Engineering Education As the first tenured female professor in the electrical engineering department at Texas Tech University, in Lubbock, USA, 20 years ago, Karan Watson stood almost alone. The few young female engineering student there would often seek her out for perspective, advice, and mentoring. That experience led her to focus her energies on getting more women and underrepresented groups into the field. Read more about Watson at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?/inst2004/ feb04/2w.profile.xml
7. IEEE Asks, Why Choose Engineering? Two surveys, one sponsored by IEEE Educational Activities and the other by IEEE Spectrum and IEEE-USA, report similar reasons why engineers decide to enter the field, and that is because they like to find out how things work. Read about the rest of the surveys' results and also how you can participate in a continuing Educational Activities survey at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?inst2004 /feb04/2w.featuresurvey.xml
8. Job Site Receives Top Honors From Job Seekers Web Guide The publishers of "Weddle's 2004 Job Seeker's Guide to Employment Web Sites" chose the IEEE Job Site as one of the top 30 out of an estimated total of 40 000 online recruitment sites. Learn why the site received this honor at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/2w.prodjobsite.xml
9. Board Approves Limited E-Mail Voting IEEE units such as societies, technical councils, and committees can now vote by e-mail on a limited number of actions affecting their organizations, such as formal motions proposed by members. The Board of Directors approved this bylaw change at its November meeting. Read more at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/2w.newsboard.xml
10. Faraday Lecture Deals with Technology for Music The annual Faraday Lecture, titled "SOUNDFX -- Making Music with Technology," takes place on 4 February. The lecture is broadcast via satellite at no charge to high schools that ask for it. The presentation is geared to appeal to students aged 12 to 18, although anyone can view it.For lecture details, visit http://www.ieee.org/organizations/eab/precollege/faraday
11. One-Millionth Document Posted to Xplore The IEEE recently posted its millionth full-text document to Xplore, the online delivery system for IEEE publications. The paper that achieved this milestone looks at circuits for liquid-crystal-on-silicon microdisplays and can be read without charge at <http://www.ieee.org/products/onlinepubs/news/0104_04.html>
12. Discount Offered for the Intel Developer Forum IEEE members in the communications and computing industries can attend the Intel Developer Forum on 17 to 19 February in San Francisco at a discount. Save US$500 off the onsite fee ($1695) when you register before 23 January or save $300 when you register between 24 January and 17 February. Use the promotional code MDTNEP. For more information on the conference, visit <http://www.intel.com/idf/us/spr2004/index.htm>
13. IEEE Spectrum Gets a Facelift at 40 For some folks, turning 40 is the time for a midlife crisis. But IEEE Spectrum celebrates 40 years of publication this month with a modern new look. The redesign includes a new logo, more illustrations, and new type faces that make the magazine easier to navigate and read. The magazine unveiled its new look in the January 2004 issue, ?Winners, Losers, and Holy Grails.? Read more at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/ portal/1w.newsspectrum.xml
14. Conference Shows How Nanotechnology is Growing Like any newborn, nanotechnology has prompted many predictions for its future. Just how the field has grown will be on display at the 2004 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, to be held on 7 to 11 March in Boston, USA. Learn more at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/1w.conference.xml. Research on molecular electronics, inorganic nanowires, and quantum dots were just some of the technologies unveiled at last year's conference in August. Proceedings are available through the IEEE Online Catalog & Store at <http://shop.ieee.org>
15. Nominate a Colleague for an Education Award The IEEE Educational Activities Board is accepting nominations of IEEE members for its annual awards. The deadline is 30 April. For more information on nominations and to find out who won the awards in 2003, visit http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/1w.education.xml IEL Contributes to China's High-Tech Success IBM Corp.'s decision last month to hire thousands of programmers in China is but one reward the country is reaping from its investment in technology education. Not least among the resources that Chinese universities rely on is access to the IEEE/IEE Electronic Library, better known as the IEL. Learn more at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/1w.featurechina.xml
16. Learn How Engineers Communicate If you spend half your workday communicating with colleagues about your project and have face-to-face meetings to get the information you need, then you're typical of most engineers, according to a new book from Wiley-IEEE Press. Find out more at <http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org /1w.prodserv.xml>
17. Marketplace: What Did the Dot-Com Bubble Teach Us? It's been several years since the dot-com bubble burst, and high-tech companies are now making a comeback. Was the technology crash part of a cycle that will keep repeating itself or a one-time fluke? What lessons were learned from the highs and lows of the last five years? Weigh in at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/1w.marketplace.xml
18. Awards Board Seeks New Blood Just about every position on the IEEE Awards Board Nominations and Appointments Committee is open and waiting to be filled for 2005. So, if you've ever thought you'd like to help the IEEE seek out and recommend candidates for awards, find out how to apply at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/1w.deadlinesawards.xml
19. Stay Updated on Benefits with e-FAP Newsletter Keeping up with the latest products and services offered by the IEEE Financial Advantage Program has gotten easier, thanks to an e-mail newsletter devoted to updates to its insurance, financial, home, and business services. Read more at http://www.theinstitute. ieee.org/1w.fap.xml
US Visit - An Experience Abroad
Jyothi Ramaswamy, Tata Consultancy Services
Dear Friends,
I had been fortunate in having a trip to US and a value adding experience while participating in the WIE Committee meeting. Thanks to all the senior members in IEEE in facilitating this representation of Kerala, or I think I have to say India.
The travel to and back from Savannah was an exciting one. The experience at US immigration on being photographed and going through getting me finger printed was slightly strange. Savannah is a beautiful tourist spot and is famous because of the Savannah River. The hotel in which I was staying, Westin Savannah Resort, was located on the rivers of the river and there was a Ferry service between the hotel and the main Trade Centre known as River View Street. The ferry service was free for all the guests in the hotels around the river Westin, Hyatt, Marriot etc; otherwise they were charging US$ 1 for a round trip. The river was only around 250m to 500m wide, but it seems it was dredged so deep as to accommodate Cargo Ships. The sight of huge Ships cruising through the RIVER was an unforgettable experience. The Resort was a 17 storied one with a Golf Course, Spa etc. along with the Pool and other usual facilities. Because the River View Street was surrounded by all top class hotels, the items in all the shops were very expensive. Most of the shops had antiques, hats (!!!) etc. to sell. The place is famous for candies and the chefs prepare candies in front of the visitors. They had pamphlets saying that they will send their candies on order to all parts of the world(!!).
There were walking maps available and one specialty of Savannah is that all the streets are parallel and there are cross streets intersecting these streets exactly at 90degrees. The main street is called the Bull Street and all others are on the East or West of Bull Street. Every third cross on the Bull Street was a Square, with some monuments, small parks and benches for the visitors to relax. The vehicles will stop at each of the crossings for the people walking to cross the road and then only proceed. Savannah is famous for the Ghost stories, I didn't meet any though during my 3 day stay there.
The group of IEEE members at the 2004 BoD Series meeting were from all different countries and consisted of the cream of the various engineering fields. The only other Indian born participant represented Florida. All the IEEE family members were very accommodative. I could meet the current President elect and a few past presidents and many of the group heads. They were all more excited than me about the fact that one of the participant of the meeting had traveled all the way from India that too just for attending the meeting.
The Women in Engineering Committee meeting was on Feb 14, 2004. It was a whole day long meeting. Deepa (of WIE, Kerala) and me, with the help of Deepthi (of TCS) had prepared a report on the survey which WIE Kerala had conducted among the engineering graduates hailing from the different states of India. All these graduates were in the initial stages of their career in Corporate Companies. The survey report was very much appreciated. The same is attached here for your reference. They were insisting that the study has to published as a paper.
The meeting adjourned with a plan to have the next face to face meeting of the committee during September in Stockholm along with the IEEE Region 8 Annual Conference.
Regards,
Jyothi