NEWSLETTER
A
House Journal of
IEEE
Kerala Section
Volume
14 Number 1
January
- March 2005
Contents
Chairman's Message
Dairy of Events
Fourthcoming Events
Section Activities
Students Activities
Report for the year 2004
Digital Preservation
Editorial
Office Bearers 2005
Global News- News Around IEEE
i-Sec 2005
Dear Fellow Professionals :
By the time this newsletter reaches your hand almost a third of the year 2005 would have literally flown by. We started the year on an excellent note. During January our National Seminar on Bio-informatics was superbly organized. The IEEE President Mr. Cleon Anderson himself inaugurated the Seminar. He also attended our Annual General Body Meeting and witnessed the proceedings. He was all praise for the wide range of our activities. Our efforts to stimulate IEEE activities in and around Kochi region have yielded results. In fact our Section membership during 2004 doubled. So also the number of student branches went from nine to eighteen. I would be failing in my duty if I do not mention the superb teamwork and cooperation extended to me by all the members of the outgoing executive committee. All of them are very busy professionals in their respective workplaces. Still they volunteered their services wholeheartedly to the various programs of the Section. Philip John and Satish Kumar as the co-chairs for the national seminar rendered yeoman service, ably supported by Subodh, the convener of the organizing committee. Gopakumar as the student activity chair for the fourth year in succession was singularly responsible for maintaining a vibrant interface with the young upcoming professionals. Sasi and Meera did an excellent job as the Secretary and Treasurer respectively, despite personal responsibilities and heavy commitment to their parent organizations. After a period of intense activity all these colleagues have made way for inducting many new faces in the executive committee. I personally wish to acknowledge the great contribution made by each one of them.
Often I am asked, why should one become a member of IEEE when all the technical material produced by IEEE is freely available in a library or even over the Internet. In this short letter I may not be able to give an exhaustive answer. I would like to simply state that one does not become a member of IEEE merely to gain access to the vast technical literature. Becoming a member of IEEE, you become a member of the vast IEEE community, a community that facilitates collaborative learning, learning that helps you to stay on the top of our profession. The process being collaborative in character, what one gains is proportional to what one is willing to contribute. To gain the full benefit of membership one needs to become an active member! Better still to become an IEEE volunteer.
Write and let me know your view.
EE. Rajakumar
Congratulations Hearty Congratulations to G.Vijayaraghavan for his appointment as Planning Board Member, Govt. of Kerala. It is certainly a recognition to your contribution in the area of Engineering Profession. It is indeed a proud moment for all of us especially in IEEE to have one of our fellow professionals as Planning Board Member. We wish you all the Success in the new endeavour. (IEEE, Kerala Section) |
Join IEEE IEEE Membership opens the World of Technology As an IEEE Member, you are part of the world’s largest technical professional society, giving you access to the industry’s most essential technical information, networking opportunities, career development tools and many other exclusive benefits. Join today! For more details visit www.ieee.org/memberservices or contact IEEE Kerala Section |
Officials of IEEE Societies & Student Branches Attention please! While forwarding news/reports, the officials are expected to prepare a short report on their activities. Sending brochure of the activity will suffice only to include the programme in the Diary of Events column. Confirm the receipt of report by acknowledgement from the Editor to avoid complaints. Note the mail-id for sending the reports: kgnairs@rediffmail.com Editor |
| 05-01-2005 | Executive meeting of IEEE Kerala Section at Harmonieee at 18.30 Hrs. |
| 05-01-2005 |
“Microsilica for Super Concrete”, talk by Kshemendra Nath. P, Deputy Managing Director, Elkem India Private Limited, Mumbai. |
| 17-01-2005 |
Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2004 of IEEE Kerala at Mascot Hotel, Thiruvananthapuram at 18.30 Hrs. Chief Guest: Cleon Anderson, IEEE President. |
| 17,18-01-2005 |
National Seminar on “Bioinformatics” organized by IEEE Kerala Section at Hotel Mascot, Thiruvananthapuram. Visit of Cleon Anderson, IEEE President. |
| 18-01-2005 |
Meeting of LINK – representatives of all Student Branches of Kerala Section at College of Engineering, Chengannur. Inauguration of “Centre of Excellence”. Chief Guest: Cleon Anderson. |
| 29-01-2005 | ‘Free and Open Source Software’, seminar and workshop organised by IEEE Student Branch NIT Calicut, CSI Calicut and Linux Users Group Calicut at NIT, Calicut. |
| 31-01-2005 |
Talk by N.T Nair on “Bioinformatics” on All India Radio,Thiruvananthapuram at 19.25 Hrs in Malayalam under Yuvavani’s Sastralokam feature. |
| 05-02-2005 |
First Executive Committee Meeting of Office Bearers of 2005 IEEE Kerala Section at Harmonieee at 18.30 Hrs. |
| 01-03-2005 |
Talk by G. Abhilash, Assistant Professor, Department of ECE, NIT, Calicut on “Wavelets” at 16.35 Hrs at NIT Calicut organized by IA & IE Society of IEEE Kerala Section with IE(India) Calicut Local Centre. |
| 12-03-2005 | ‘ComSem 2005’ - A technical event organized at Kochi by Communication Chapter, Computer Society of IEEE Kerala Section, and CSI Kochi Chapter at Hotel International. |
| 19-03-2005 | Second Executive Committee Meeting of IEEE Kerala Section at Harmonieee at 18.30 Hrs. |
| 22-03-2005 |
A program for students organized by WIE, Kerala Section at Amphi Theatre, CDAC, Thiruvananthapuram. |
|
|
Quantum Electro Dynamics
On 01-12-2004 Tirtha Pratim Das, Scientist, VSSC gave a talk on “Quantum Electro Dynamics! Amazing Consequences”. One of the most fundamental realizations of mankind is the wave-particle duality in nature. The development of Quantum Mechanics shook the world of Physics in the first few decades of the 20th century. Quantum Electro Dynamics, and amazing way to look at the Nature, may revolutionize the technology of future in a manner unthinkable today. One may be able to send some object over a large distance almost instantaneously; carry out huge amount of calculations in nanoseconds which today’s computers require one century to complete; send information over a large distance at infinite velocity; break the most robust password. Some of these have already been realized at the laboratory level.
Engineering curriculum
Ashok Rao, Head, Network Project, CEDT, IISC, Bangalore, presented a talk on “India’s need: A progressive Engineering curriculum” on 15-12-2004. Formal engineering education was started in India about 100 years ago. Since Independence it is our endeavour to design an engineering curriculum that suits our country’s needs in the best way. Engineering opportunities have abounded in the last one decade. An Engineer with his knowledge of mathematical and natural sciences must have the ability to apply to apply with judgement his expertise to develop the Quality of Life (QOL) of the people and environment. In the practice of professional engineering, the Engineer must become an innovator and facilitator to propel or empower the common man in order to neutralize or bridge the inadequacies in his quest for improved QOL The process in the formulation of a progressive engineering curriculum including practicality must result in a combination of course content suited for both rural reconstruction and urban life, enhancing the QOL.
Communication through ages
K.N. Ramachandran, Canada delivered a talk on 22-12-2004 on “Evolution of Communication through ages”. Communication is one of the primary needs of all living beings. Over the millennia, the means and modes of communication have had phenomenal change. Cave inscriptions testify to man’s attempt to communicate in those ancient times. Fire, smoke signal, flag, shouting, drumming, bugle, runners, or horse messengers were used. Invention and use of papyrus, printing and later on the rail road and steam ship helped in further development. The 19th century witnessed the impact of Telegraph, Telephone and also wireless telegraphy. The special global situations in the 20th century pushed human enterprise further and enabled the modern scientist to develop Radio, TV and Satellite Communication. The march is on with Mobile Video Phone, Blue Tooth, 2G, 3G, GSM, GPS, etc.
Electronic Meter
“Electronic Meter – Problems and Solution” was the topic presented by K.K. VASU on 29-12-2004. He pointed out that ‘it is recognized that the Mechanical meter used for measuring electrical energy is subject to many losses’. These meters could be physically tampered. Harmonics – caused energy wastage is not read by the mechanical meter. In the case of Electronic meter, it has Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Use of standard quality electronic meters which are installed by properly trained technical personnel will solve many problems. Further, the consumer can himself test the meter – reading by observing the consumption for a specific time for an incandescent bulb of known wattage.
Microsilica Concrete
On 05-01-2005 Kshemendra Nath P., Deputy Managing Director, ELKEM (India) Pvt. Ltd delivered a talk on “High Performance Microsilica Concrete”. In order to solve the problem of deterioration of concrete structures and consequent cost of repairs and rehabilitation, efforts are being taken to make “high performance” concrete rather than “high strength” concrete. Longer healthy life of a structure is cost – advantageous. Microsilica is pozzolanic mineral additive for cement. Microsilica is composed of ultra fine amorphous glassy spheres of silicon dioxide, produced during the manufacture of silicon or ferrosilicon. The average particle size is less than 0.5 micron. These fill the gaps between the cement grains. Being a pozzolana, it reacts with the calcium hydroxide given off by the cement hydration and form more of the calcium. Silica hydrates that bind concrete together. Proper mix design of concrete done using microsilica as an additive can achieve the strength, permeability, abrasion resistance and durability characteristics of high performance concrete as desired.
Electricity Sector
On 12-01-2005 N.T. Nair presented the topic “Electricity Sector-Emerging Technical Trends”. The power reliability required for lighting and motor loads is only for 99.9% of the time. The quality of power to be supplied and maintained for Digital Economy requirements is of the order of 99.9999%. The total installed capacity in India as on June 2004 is 1, 12, 582 MW which consists of Hydro – 29,500; Thermal – 78,492; Nuclear – 2720 and Wind – 1,870 MW. World wide, there is a search for methods of eco-friendly power generation. One of such concepts is solar power from space. Electricity produced in giant arrays of photo-voltaic cells carried by geo-stationary satellites orbiting the earth/moon will be converted to micro waves, sent to earth, collected by rectifier – antennas which will reconvert to electricity. The estimated cost is about 15 times the conventional rates.
Another concept is to produce electricity with Fuel cells-an electro chemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity which leave water and heat as by products. A new Nuclear Initiative is the Pebble – Bed Modular Reactor. In his method, compact units are fuelled by thousand of ceramic encased orbs of uranium which heat a chamber of helium to spin the generators. Crystallized natural gas, methane in the form of methane hydrate deposits under the sea is being studied as a potential source of energy. Tidal energy based on wind mill concept is also a concept under consideration.
A new emerging trend in the Electricity Sector by the power utilities is the putting to use of the existing Transmission grids and Distribution network for Broad band Internet Delivery (BPL) using power line modem.
Tales from the CPWD
S.S. Kaimal, on 19-01-2005 gave a talk on “Tales from the CPWD”. There existed a spirit of commitment and adventure in the young engineers engaged in nation-building activities when India was on the path of planned national development with Jawaharlal Nehru as the leader. We need to be on the guard against contemporary evils of greed and competitive consumerism.
Aircraft Accident Investigation
N. Jayachandran delivered a talk on ‘Tales from the CPWD’ on 09-02-2005. Flying is one of the safest mode of transportation. In the United States, flying is 22 times safer than travelling in a car, according to a 1993-95 study US National Safety Council. In India, flying will be over 50% safer than travelling in a car, because of the high rate of fatal road accidents that happen in India. In the year 2000, the worlds commercial jet airliners, carried approximately, 1.09 billion people on 18 million flights, which suffering only 20 fatal accidents. Air Accidents still do happen.
Air Craft Accident Investigation is a very long process, taking sometimes several years to finally conclude on the cause of the crash. The Black Box fitted inside the aircraft is the most important instrument in any aircraft accident investigation, since it gives all the details of the flight up to 24 hours before impact. The black box consists of a Flight Data Recorder (FDR) records all the parameters of the flight while the Cockpit Voice Recorder, (CVR) records the cockpit conversation of the flight crew and also all the noises originating from the cockpit. The data collected from the FDR is made into an animation movie, and the data collected from the CVR is superimposed on this animation film to create what really had happened during the last couple of minutes before the crash. This movie is played several times by the investigating team consisting of several specialists in Airframe, Power Plant, Undercarriage, Avionics, Radar, Instruments, Autopilot, air traffic control, meterology, flying representatives from manufacturer of the aircraft and psychologists. Eye witness are also examined, and the parts of the aircraft, recovered from the crash site, are thoroughly examined and analysed, before making conclusion on the exact cause of the crashes.
The cause of the crash is immediately communicated to all the manufactures, airlines and all connected with flying, and in case it is technical problem, the manufactures are immediately alerted to make changes in the design, selection of material etc, and in case of pilot error, special training procedures are introduced to manage such a crisis. In short, an air crash investigation data gives very valuable information, which is helps in improving Flight Safety.
Student Chapter REPORTS
NIT Calicut Chapter
FREE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
IEEE Student Branch NIT Calicut, Computer Society of India Calicut and Linux Users Group Calicut together organized a seminar and workshop on ‘Free and Open Source Software’ at NIT Calicut on 29th Jan 2005. The Seminar was formally inaugurated by S S Gokhale, Director and K P Mohandas, Student Branch Counsellor, welcomed the audience. V Dilip of Linux Users Group proposed a vote of thanks.
The morning session was on a Workshop on PYTHON a language used on open source Linux platform. Swaroop C H of Yahoo! India and Pradeep Kishore Gowda of ZeOmega Infotech gave a live demonstration of the advantages and capabilities of this language which is simple, easy to understand and modify in addition to being as capable as some of the existing high level languages in use like C and Perl. Abraham T Mathew, President CSI Calicut moderated the proceedings.
The first session in the afternoon was on BSD (Berkeley Standard Distributions) a special operating system kernel used in Linux developed by University of California Berkeley. This has many advantages which UNIX operating system has and many added features. It is an open source operating system. Shankar Balan of Yahoo! India was the speaker. A Rajaopal, Secretary CSI was the moderator.
The second session was on the concept philosophy and scope of open source software presented by Atul Chitnis of Exocore Technologis Bangalore. He developed the need for the development of the concept of open source software which develops in the hands of the user as they are free to use modify and add additional features to the software. The licensed software like MS Windows do not allow this as the source code is not available and it takes months to correct the mistakes (bugs) in the software. Moreover these licensed software are at risk by virus and worms which are very few in open source software. Many open source software have been developed by student groups all over the world and are in a process of continuous evolution by dynamic addition and removal of bugs, if any, on a continuous process. It was a very good exposition of what Open Source Software means and what are its capabilities.
There was a surprise visitor Sarath Laxman, a tenth class student, who developed an operating system called SLYNUX which was demonstrated by him. Arun Singh Secretary IEEE Student Branch proposed a vote of thanks. The seminar was attended by more than 200 delegates from all over the northern part of Kerala including students and faculty members from other institutes.
The major sponsor for the seminar was M/s Tata Consultancy Services, Thiruvananthapuram. The Computer Engineering Association, NIT Calicut and IBM ACE Centre , NIT Campus were cosponsors of the event
Reported by Secretary
College of Engineering Chengannur Chapter
Inauguration of COE
The IEEE Student Branch (60451) of College of Engineering, Chengannur was awarded the “IEEE Centre of Excellence” on 26th March 2003. The Student Branch was declared as Centre of Excellence on the basis of a project proposal submitted for setting up an advanced electronics lab, computer lab and robotics lab, in addition to an IEEE online reference library.
The Student Branch conducted the inauguration of the Centre at Mascot Hotel, Thiruvananthapuram on 18th January 2005. The chief guest for the function was IEEE President Cleon Anderson, who also inaugurated the centre. The function was presided by the IHRD Director, who delivered the presidential address. The other distinguished dignitaries on the dais were E. E. Rajakumar (Chairman, IEEE Kerala Section), S.Gopakumar (Student Activities Chairperson, IEEE Kerala Section), V.P. Devasia (Principal, College of Engineering Chengannur). Felicitations were also given by R. Narayanan (Vice President, TCS).
The session was also attended by Nisha Kuruvilla (Student Branch Counsellor), Prijoe Philips Komattu (Student Representative, IEEE Kerala Section, Chairman Student Branch CEC). Nearly 50 –60 students from the college attended the function and even few representatives from other colleges.
INTERNET FAMILIARISATION
IEEE-WIE pulled the trigger of 2005 as a part of IEEE-STAR (Student Teacher Activities Research Engineer/Scientist) by conducting an awareness program on 5th February. The aim of the program was to familiarize a local school with the internet. For this we selected the eighth standard students of St Anne’s girls high school, Chengannur. A full day class was organized in the college. A group of 20 students attended the class.
The program consisted of two sessions. The first session was a theory class which started at 10:00 am. This session ran at a span of two and half hours. At the start of the session, computer fundamentals were brushed through. This was followed by basic network ideas, history of internet and internet applications. They were also given some puzzles to solve. The classes were taken by Sonia Thankam Thomas, Aparna .C, Anu Mariam John and Kanmoni Ravi.
The second session was in the afternoon which was a two hour practical lab. In the lab each student was made to create their own email id after some instructions. They were taught how to use search engines, chat etc The session was carried out under the guidance of George Mathew of the computer department. The session winded up at 3:30 pm.
Report for Year 2004
IEEE KERALA SECTION REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2004
A.1 Executive Summary
The activities of IEEE Kerala Section, for the year 2004, commenced with the
Annual General Meeting held on 10th January 2004 at Hotel Horizon, Thiruvananthapuram.
During the meeting, the following members were unanimously elected as office bearers for
the year 2004.
E E Rajakumar : Chairman
Philip John : Vice-Chairman
P M Sasi : Secretary
S Meera : Treasurer
A.2 Section Committee Officers
The Executive Committee, as nominated by the office bearers for the year 2004 are:
|
Chairman/ Charge |
Secretary |
|
|
|
Computer Society Chapter |
Satish Babu |
Unni Sankar |
IE&IA Societies Joint Chapter |
A.K.Unnikrishnan |
R.Sreerama Kumar |
Power Engineering Society Chapter |
Simon P. Varghese |
S Ashok |
GOLD |
Aju Thomas Abraham |
Prasanth Ullathil |
Women in Engineering |
Fathima K A |
Deepa R S |
Student Activities |
S Gopakumar |
|
Awards |
R.Narayanan |
|
Membership development |
Jyothi Ramaswamy |
|
Professional Activities |
K.G.Satheesh Kumar |
|
IEEE and Society/ Governmental interaction |
G Vijayaraghavan |
|
Inter Society Relations |
Amarnath Raja |
|
Conference Activities |
Subodh P S |
|
Educational Activities |
Hemachandran |
|
Newsletter Editor |
K. Gopalan Nair |
|
Web Support |
T S AjayGhosh |
|
Student Representative |
Prijoe Philips |
|
The section embarked on a membership campaign by visiting VSSC, CDAC and engineering colleges, during the year. Section officers attended activities of Student Branches to promote IEEE Membership.
The Membership position as on January 2005 is as follows:
Member Category |
Membership as on Jan 2005 |
Membership as on Jan 2004 |
A (Associate Members) |
223 |
56 |
AF (Affiliates Members) |
9 |
4 |
LM (Life Members) |
1 |
1 |
LS (Senior Life Members) |
3 |
3 |
M (Members) |
602 |
338 |
S (Students) |
2065 |
706 |
SM (Senior Members) |
37 |
28 |
TOTAL |
2940 |
1136 |
IEEE Kerala section organised various seminars during 2004. The major seminars were:
Trends 2004 – Recent trends in computing: Event organised in Cochin. The topics covered included ‘Recent Trends in Computing’ by Satish Babu (Chair, Computer Society), ‘Free and Open Source Computing’ by Amarnath Raja (IEEE Kerala), ‘Mobile Computing’ by Prem Kumar (Reliance Infocomm) and ‘Wireless Computing’ by Poulose Jacob (Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and Technology).
IEEE Computer Society organized a one day program, the first part of a lecture series titled ‘Frontiers in Computing Practice’. The topics covered includes ‘Programming in Python’ by Venkatesh Chopella (Associate Professor, IIITM-K and Application Security by Satish Babu (Chair, IEEE Computer Society).
IEEE distinguished lecture programme on ‘Power Quality’ was organised at Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram. The lecture was delivered by Thallam Rao, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
Technical events
The chapters of IEEE Kerala section organised various technical seminars, workshops
and talks which is 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 40 Technical talks
on various topics of current interest. The list of the talks were
Sl. No. |
Date |
Topic |
Speaker |
No. of Participants |
1 |
7-Jan-2004 |
Enabling Malayalam in Computers |
K.Sulochana, CDAC |
|
2 |
14-Jan-2004 |
Radio Frequency Identification – An Emerging Technology |
N.T.Nair, CMS Computers |
|
3 |
4-Feb-2004 |
Economics of Rainwater Harvesting |
N.P.Govindan Kutty |
|
4 |
24-Feb-2004 |
Appropriate Technologies for Micro Enterprises |
T.K.Jose, Kudumbasree |
|
5 |
3-Mar-2004 |
Mobile Phones in Hospitals |
V.S.S.Nair, Consultant |
|
6 |
10-Mar-2004 |
Earth Retaining Structures – Options |
T.S.Ramanatha Iyer |
|
7 |
17-Mar-2004 |
Clean Kerala – A Dream |
R.Ajayakumar Varma |
|
8 |
24-Mar-2004 |
TV To Homes – The Emerging Delivery Technologies |
N.T.Nair, CMS Computers |
|
9 |
31-Mar-2004 |
Fluid Structure Interaction – Problems in Ocean Engineering |
Santhosh Sathyapal |
|
10 |
7-Apr-2004 |
Vaimanika Sasthram |
D.K.Hari |
39 |
11 |
21-Apr-2004 |
IXE VDO: A New Standard for High Speed Wide-Area Mobile Networking |
Gopal Harikumar |
29 |
12 |
28-Apr-2004 |
RRLT-NC Driers For Rural Applications |
P.P.Thomas |
19 |
13 |
5-May-2004 |
Business, Information Technology & Academics |
Aju Thomas Abraham, TCS |
12 |
14 |
12-May-2004 |
Indian Space Programme - Yesterday Today & Tomorrow |
S.S.Anand, VSSC |
11 |
15 |
19-May-2004 |
Roads, Cars & Technologies-Global & Indian Scenarios |
N.T.Nair, CMS computers |
24 |
16 |
26-May-2004 |
Sleep & Health |
V.S.S.Nair |
32 |
17 |
2-Jun-2004 |
Air Disaster - How Safe Are We In Our Skies |
N.Jayachandran, Imtope |
24 |
18 |
16-Jun-2004 |
Hospital Kiosks - A Case Study of Service Deliveries In Local Self Governments |
P.V.Unnikrishnan, IKM |
34 |
19 |
23-Jun-2004 |
Alcohol & Health |
V.S.S.Nair |
22 |
20 |
30-Jun-2004 |
Data Warehousing - Concepts and Tools |
V.S.Raghunathan |
34 |
21 |
7-Jul-2004 |
Paleo Astronomy in India |
Satish Babu, InApp |
24 |
22 |
14-Jul-2004 |
Hearing Technology for the Handicapped |
K.N.Pavithran |
24 |
23 |
21-Jul-2004 |
New Media Initiatives of CDIT |
Achuth Sankar S Nair, CDIT |
38 |
24 |
28-Jul-2004 |
Transit of Venus |
V.Rajasekhar |
39 |
25 |
4-Aug-2004 |
Tyre Design and Reduction in Gasoline (Petrol) Consumption |
Padmanabha S Pillai |
18 |
26 |
11-Aug-2004 |
How to Obtain and Maintain A Patent In India |
R.S.Praveenraj |
27 |
27 |
18-Aug-2004 |
Engineering Career in Transition |
T.R.Gopalakirshnan Nair |
22 |
28 |
8-Sep-2004 |
Ethics for Engineers |
M.Somasekharan, TCS |
20 |
29 |
22-Sep-2004 |
Malayalam Text To Speech System |
Jose Stephen, CDAC |
27 |
30 |
29-Sep-2004 |
Project Performance Based On Earned Value Management |
C.Brajesh, NeST |
31 |
31 |
6-Oct-2004 |
Electronics Content Management - RSS & Wiki |
Amarnath Raja, InApp |
33 |
32 |
13-Oct-2004 |
Stephen Hawking: The LivingLegend in Theoretical Physics |
A.K.Ashraff |
21 |
33 |
20-Oct-2004 |
Getting Started with Extended Programming |
Abbas K Sutarwala |
28 |
34 |
27-Oct-2004 |
Bio-Energy-Technologies and Relevance |
P.Valsaraj |
13 |
35 |
3-Nov-2004 |
Identity Theft |
P.Ravikumar, CDAC |
26 |
36 |
10-Nov-2004 |
e-Learning |
Aju Thomas, TCS |
27 |
37 |
1-Dec-2004 |
Quantum Electro Dynamics |
Tirtha Pratim Das, VSSC |
27 |
38 |
15-Dec-2004 |
India's Need A Progressive Engineering Curriculum |
Ashok Rao, IISC |
18 |
39 |
22-Dec-2004 |
Evolution of Communications Through The Ages |
KN Ramachandraan, Canada |
22 |
40 |
29-Dec-2004 |
Electronic Meter Problems and Solutions |
K.K.Vasu |
18 |
B.3 Students Activities
B.4 Publications
Newsletter
Four quarterly issues of the IEEE Kerala Newsletter have been published in 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.ieee.org/kerala has been redesigned to give a new
look and has been maintained effectively. The WEB site is updated to include current news
and events of the Section. The e-group of IEEE Kerala members “ieeekerala@yahoogroups.com”, has been very effective in communicating with the members.
B.5 Chapter Activities
The Section has three Society Chapters and two affinity groups.
Chapters
Affinity Groups
B.5.1 Computer Society chapter
The Kerala chapter of IEEE Computer Society organized a number of programmes in 2004
for the benefit of the professional community in the region.
B.5.2 Power Engineering Society (PES) chapter
The PES Chapter of IEEE Kerala Section is celebrating its 6th Anniversary and it has established good network with other professional bodies. Joint programs were conducted in Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut and Cochin, in association with these organizations.
will be continued in next issue
Compiled by: N.T.Nair, Editor, IEEE India Bulletin
The digital era has dawned. All around, digitization activities are taking place in top gear. Government after government are in the process of converting their legacy records from the analogue form to digital records; libraries too are in a similar digitization drive to arrest decay of traditional materials and to restore books and documents that have deteriorated to such an extent that their longevity and usability are threatened.
There is a general perception that digitization is a panacea for all the problems associated with preservation of documents for decades of use. Unfortunately it is not that simple. Digital preservation poses several challenges to the activists, to list a few:
Paper and microfilm, though have their limitations, do have excellent long-term preservation characteristics. High quality acid-neutral paper can last a century or longer while archival-quality microfilm is projected to last for over 300 years. They also have the additional advantage of requiring no special hardware or software for retrieval or viewing, thereby overcoming the problem of obsolescence. Preservation of digital information in the simplest possible digital format is a possible strategy to minimize the dependence on original hardware and software, to some extent. Digital information can be transferred across successive generations of technology in a “software independent” format as ASCII text files or as flat files with simple, uniform structures. However, there is a limitation. While retention for long periods is ensured, display, indexing, computational characteristics etc can not be handled elegantly, as is needed in many applications.
The scientific community is slowly waking up, seeing preservation in digital domain as a ticking time-bomb, likely to burst, if integration of digital preservation into overall planning and resource allocation are not done right at the beginning. Many of the archivists, perhaps, are not aware of the catastrophic implications, which would surface only after several years, by which time they may not be in seat to face them. Some who have the wisdom to foresee the writing on the wall, may keep the matter of preservation as a minor matter to escape from handling this unpleasant activity which may not add any lustre to the digitization project.
A timely initiative, Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) launched in UK in 2002, however, gives hope that this much-wanted activity is drawing attention from some serious players in the digitization field. At present there are 26 members including British Library, BBC Information & Archives, Natural History Museum, National Archives, some overseas members etc.
It is high time that the planners and digital protagonists in India too take digital preservation seriously and ensure its incorporation in every plan for digitization of valuable records for long-term, hassle-free use.
First of all, I would like to thank the IEEE Kerala for extending the offer to continue my tenure as Editor of the Section Newsletter. The cherished experience gained in the past years as editor, has encouraged me to undertake this position without any trepidation.
Considering the career opportunities of our youth, one among the fastest emerging fields is Bioengineering. Other related fields are Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Biomedical Engineering, etc. In our State, the popularity of these areas is very less similar to the conventional development of other fields of modern technology in the past years. We have seen the diminutive demand of Biotechnology branch that has started recently in our Engineering Colleges. Comparing to the other branches like Electronics and Communication engineering, this area of study has got almost negative response from students and their parents. The trend has to be changed gradually and more emphasis is needed as the growth of the medical-biotech industrial sector and the creation of entry-level jobs in this industry is enormously elevated. The demand can also be attributed by bioengineering's broad interest in the full spectrum of science and technology. Also the study in this area has relevance in the fields to human and social issues discovering new knowledge about the natural world.
Some of the most obvious solutions in Bioengineering include genetic and tissue engineering, improved drug delivery systems, replacement of damaged organs and diseased tissues. Other solutions include biosensors to monitor physiological processes, imaging devices, minimizing invasiveness of surgery and other medical proceeds, complex biological phenomena on the molecular systems levels through a combination of modelling, theory, computation, etc.
It is very exciting time to accentuate more and gain much more on the biological sciences. Now the traditional type of experiments and researches for which the results are self-explanatory have been totally changed. Whereas, at present the researchers have their fingertips - an arsenal of tools and techniques that could revolutionize biology in modern way. The scale of change is really amazing and astounding. Things that used to take years can now be done in days in a wonderful way. Also the scholars can not go further alone. The problems have become increasingly interdisciplinary and cost-wise skyrocketed. This has lead to the collaboration of different disciplines together to become more critical.
The tremendous opportunity for innovation in science and technology today is the researches going ahead at the intersection of biology, chemistry, engineering and computer science. If extraordinary talent is cultivated, that will lead towards tomorrow’s scientific enterprise. The biomedical engineer uses his traditional expertise to analyze and solve problems in biology and medicine. Its fields are also wide including bioinstrumentation, biomaterials, biomechanics, cellular, tissue and genetic engineering, medical imaging, systems physiology, etc. Specific growth in interdisciplinary areas cited above have much to do with the overall job growth in future. The awareness on these areas will guide both the parents and children in choosing subjects for their professional studies.
However, the national seminar on Bioinformatics ('Bios-2005') organized in January 2005 by IEEE Kerala section is a remarkable event that brought distinguished scholars of interdisciplinary nature under one roof and made excellent impact on the participants. The event was very success and promoted awareness on powerful and sophisticated computational tools wide open to professional community. To keep up this tempo and to do more by the aspirants, a fast track transition to these emerging fields is obligatory. For this the IEEE fraternity can organize a forum of Bioengineering and Biomedical professionals under our Section. It is hard time to think on this way to form a society to work as well as propagate and provide efficient solutions involved in the interdisciplinary experiments and researches related to biology and medicine. The achievements through the proposed society may adorn the crown of the profound activities of IEEE Kerala Section with additional quill.
IEEE KERALA SECTION – YEAR 2005
OFFICE BEARERS
Position Name Member (Number) |
Affiliation |
Phone (O) |
Phone (R) |
Email |
Chairman
E.E Rajakumar (7321631) |
VSSC |
2565506 2564048 |
2448363 |
ee_rajakumar@vssc.org eer@vsnl.net |
Vice-Chairman
A.K. Unnikrishnan (2960169) |
CDAC |
2720532 |
2352762 |
unnikrishnan@ieee.org |
Secretary Aju Thomas Abraham |
TCS |
2700671 |
2541798 |
ajuthomas@ieee.org |
Treasurer
Unni Sankar (41481981) |
NEST |
2449198 |
2550429 |
unni@nestec.net |
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE |
|
|
|
|
Professional ActivitiesR. Narayanan (40298899) |
TCS |
2700691 |
2361137 |
r.narayanan@tcs.com |
Membership Development S. Gopakumar (1758028) |
VSSC |
2566269 |
2357194 |
s.gopakumar@ieee.org |
Student Activities Gomathy K. Muraleedharan (7352040) |
Tandem |
2326039 |
2326440 |
|
Student Activities Board Secretary Koshy Vaidyan (41237660) |
TCS |
2700671 |
2312551 |
|
Conference activitiesAmarnath Raja (41431378) |
InAPP |
2527270 |
2559314 |
amar@inapp.com |
AwardsSasi Pilacheri Meethal (40293392) |
CDAC |
2720882 |
2310978 |
sasipm@ieee.org |
Inter Society Relations Koruthu P Varghese (3976115) |
SCTIMST |
2449600 |
2524411 |
koruthu@sctimst.ker.nic.in |
IEEE and Society / Governmental Interaction G. Vijayaraghavan (01699214) |
VMA |
2331959 |
2430959 |
|
GOLD
Chairman : Subodh P. S. (41448453)
Secretary : Prasanth Ullattil (41475679) |
CDAC
NEST |
2723333
2527441 |
2361424
3098376 |
prasanth@nestec.net |
Computer Society Chairman : Satish Babu (41569372)
Secretary : Prageeth. K.S. (41472816) |
InAPP Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd
Nest |
2527270
2449198 |
2352379
9847202151 |
sbabu@ieee.org
|
Power Engineering Society Chairman : Simon P Varghese (40066057)
Secretary : Sunil K. Nair (41429103) |
The Aluminium Industries Ltd.
KSEB |
2379503 |
2317899
0485 -2812400 |
|
Communication Society Chairman : Premkumar (41364316)
Secretary : Kurian Thomas (40283653)
|
Reliance Infocom Ltd., Ernakulam
XTEND Technologies (P) Ltd., Ernakulam |
0484 -3031010
0484 -2378008
|
0484 -3031178
0484 -2357070 |
knpremkumar@ieee.org
ieee.kurian@xtendmail.com
|
Newsletter Editor K. Gopalan Nair (1224104) |
Muslim Association College of Engineering, Trivandrum |
2870786 |
2437449 |
kgnairs@hotmail.com |
Web Support
T S Ajayghosh (2390003) |
CDAC |
2434259 |
2723333 |
t.s.ajayghosh@ieee.org |
Student Representative Prijoe Philips (41529859) |
College of Engineering, Chengannur |
0469 -2661078 |
|
prijoephilips@ieee.org |
D. S. Rane (LS01387794)
dsrane@hotmail.com
2360865
N. T. Nair (SM06925275)
del@vsnl.com
2361316
V. K. Damodaran (SM04119145)
vkd@ieee.org
+86 571 870 70070
V. P. Kulkarni (SM01735406)
vijaykul@md2.vsnl.net.in
Koruthu P Varghese (SM3976115)
koruthu@sctimst.ker.nic.in
N. A. P. Thampy (SM0872887)
napthampy@eth.net
J. Muraleemohan Lal (SM04134722)
j.m.lal@ieee.org
K G Satheesh Kumar (SM1699321)
k.g.kumar@ieee.org
1. Message from IEEE President
Dear Section Leaders,
IEEE members around the world are deeply saddened to learn of the devastation and loss of so many lives in South Asia as a result of the recent earthquake and tsunami. We are concerned about you, your loved ones, the entire IEEE community in the region, and all others who may have been impacted by this terrible tragedy.
Although this disaster is centered in the Indian Ocean area, the impact is felt worldwide. On behalf of the IEEE Board of Directors and our members in over 150 nations, please accept our heartfelt condolences for your losses. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families, your colleagues and your country at this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Arthur W. Winston,
2004 IEEE President
2. MIT Professional Institute – Summer Session 2005
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is currently accepting registrations for more than 40 intensive, week-long programs designed especially for professionals. Courses taught on campus by MIT faculty from June through August. Offerings include biotechnology, chemical engineering, energy, IT, mechanical engineering, MEMS, nanotechnology, physics, technology policy, system architecture, telecommunications, and other topics of vital interest to today's engineers and scientists.
Please visit our website http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/mit8t/01224104
3. IEEE Personalizes Membership Web Site
Finding out what the IEEE offers members just got easier. A new Web site, called the member portal, brings the benefits of membership together into one place for all to see. The portal also includes a new area called myIEEE, where members can find everything they want to know about their membership data and affiliations. MyIEEE will display personal information such as membership grade, subscriptions, and section and society. Find out more at http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/membweb8u/01224104
4. Consultant's Advice Is on the Money
As a member of the IEEE Consultants Network, Senior Member Sai Chiang has considerable experience that makes him an authority on how to collect consulting fees. Chiang gives other members who work as consultants some tips on preventing and handling payment problems. Read his advice at
http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/consult8v/01224104
5. Local Kids Benefit From IEEE Group
With the help of the IEEE Northern Virginia Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) group, youngsters from the Parkview Community Center in Washington, D.C., built a small oscillator composed of transistors, flashing light-emitting diodes, and a speaker that clicked or beeped to the time constant of the circuit. This is just one of several community outreach activities this GOLD group has been involved with. This is just for a guidance to the GOLD members of other sections. Read more at http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/kids8w/01224104
6. Web Sites Need Not Be Lost in Translation
An estimated 30 percent of IEEE members do not speak English as a first language, leaving a large population who may be facing difficulties, as the majority of IEEE publications and Web sites are in English. But some IEEE regions and societies are not content to assume members are fluent in English and, therefore, are translating Web sites and publications into other languages. Find out more at
http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/english8y/01224104
7. Sections Congress Makes Good Leaders Better
Section leaders usually have a good sense of what individuals want from their IEEE membership, but a little extra guidance never hurts. That's where the triennial Sections Congress comes in, providing these volunteer leaders the training and guidance they need to give the members of their sections more information about what the IEEE has to offer. Read more about this year's congress, to be held 14-17 Oct. in Tampa, Fla. at http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/sections8z/01224104
8. Grant Applications Go Online
Applying for grants from the IEEE Foundation is simplified now that applications can be filled out and submitted online. Grants can range into the tens of thousands of dollars for projects that meet the foundation's goals of developing educational and public information programs that support historical research services and subsidizing workshops that facilitate electronic information exchange. Find out more at http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/grant8_/01224104
9. Region 10 Tops in Membership
While the IEEE ended 2004 with a 1.2-percent membership increase to 365 483 members, perhaps the more interesting news is that the IEEE region with the most members is no longer in the United States. Last year saw Region 10 (Asia and Pacific) become the largest region, with 63 548 members, beating out Region 6 (Western United States), which ended the year with 61 540. Read more about 2004 membership numbers at http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/region8./01224104
10. IEEE Member Benefit
IEEE Members access the world of technology. Search more than 1,100,000 documents in IEEE Xplore. Subscribe to IEEE Society publications at low, member-only rates. Purchase papers online for just $13 each -- or save even more when you subscribe to the IEEE Member Digital Library. Get the most from your IEEE membership -- find out how today: http://boldfish.ieee.org/u/market8+/01224104
11. IEEE Job Site
IEEE Kerala Section
Organizes
Annual Seminar 2005 on Information Security
“i - Sec – 2005 ”
on 2,3 rd September 2005 at Thiruvananthapuram
Topics included:
Network Security Internet
Desktop Security Encryption
Application Digital Signature
Cyber Forensic Cyber Laws
Etc …
For more details contact:
Unnikrishnan unnikrishnan@ieee.org ( Chairman )
Amarnatha Raja amar@inapp.com (Co-Chair)
Unnisankar unni@nestec.net ( Convener)
Organising Committee i-Sec 2005