Please respond to ronald_aloysius@ieee.org if you are planning to attend this meeting. Also, let me know if you will be joining us afterwards at Ruby Tuesdays for dinner so I can make reservations. Only the speaker’s dinner is paid for. The rest of us need to pay our own way.

Abstract:

Complex-valued signals arise frequently in applications as diverse as communications, radar, and biomedicine. The complex domain is the natural home for the processing of these signals; however, it also poses a number of challenges in the derivation and analysis of algorithms. As a result, most algorithms developed for the complex domain take shortcuts that limit the usefulness of the algorithms. In this dissertation, we introduce a framework based on Wirtinger calculus that enables working completely in the complex domain for the derivation and analysis of signal processing algorithms. Using this framework, we can perform algorithm derivation and analysis completely in the complex domain in a straightforward and efficient manner. Beyond offering simple convenience, this approach makes many signal processing tools developed for the real-valued domain readily available for complex-valued signal processing and eliminates the need to make simplifying assumptions in the derivations and analyses that have become common place for many signal processing algorithms.

Using Wirtinger calculus, we establish the fundamental relationships for optimization between the real and the complex domains, thus showing how many real-valued optimization algorithms can be equivalently derived for the complex domain, such as the gradient-based and Newton update algorithms. We provide a number of key examples to demonstrate the application of the framework to complex-valued adaptive signal processing such that the true processing power of the complex domain can be realized. The first example is the design of a multilayer perceptron (MLP) filter and the derivation of the gradient update (back-propagation) rule. Compared to previous work on complex MLP, our framework allows the derivation of the complex back-propagation rule in a very straightforward manner.

Then, we study complex independent component analysis (ICA) using our framework. ICA has emerged as a powerful and attractive statistical tool for revealing hidden factors for many types of signals. Two of the most important guiding principles for performing ICA are maximum likelihood and maximization of non-Gaussianity. Following the principle of maximization of non-Gaussianity, we derive a class of effective complex ICA algorithms that provide reliable performance for a wide range of input source distributions. Stability analysis is provided to show its superior convergence rate. We also derive a class of complex ICA algorithms based on maximum likelihood estimation. We perform local stability analysis of maximum likelihood ICA algorithms and show that the complex ICA problem is more difficult to solve with non-circular sources. We also show that the stability conditions are easier to be satisfied when the mixtures are whitened and unitary constraints are imposed. Simulation results further demonstrate these observations with generalized Gaussian distributed sources.

Biography:

Dr. Hualiang Li is a postdoctoral researcher at the Machine Learning for Signal Processing Laboratory and an adjunct faculty in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He received his Ph.D. in 2008 and is currently pursuing research with Prof. Tulay Adali on complex-valued signal processing theory and applications. His research interests also include non-negative matrix factorization variations, biomedical signal and image processing, statistical signal processing and machine learning.

2. Communications Society Meeting

Title:

Parametric Stochastic Barrier

Speaker:

Dr. Stojan Radic

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

9500 Gilman Drive

University of California San Diego

La Jolla, CA 92093-0407

Date:

Tuesday, February 3

Time:

5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Location:

National Electronics Museum

1745 W. Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 21090

410-765-0230

http://www.nationalelectronicsmuseum.org

Abstract:

High efficiency parametric fiber devices are used for frequency generation, band-invariant amplification and general signal processing. Present generation of high-confinement fibers used for mixer design posses transverse variation control measured in silica molecular diameters, a critical feature for long-scale phase matching. With nanometer-scale radial precision maintained over kilometers, high-confinement fibers stand among the most precisely fabricated structures in modern engineering. Unfortunately, these fluctuations pose a basic barrier: an arbitrary-wide mixer cannot be constructed from randomly fluctuating waveguide. Rather than insisting on unphysical waveguides (requiring sub-molecular radial control), an alternative approach is possible: map the nanoscale fluctuations exactly and then use the information to synthesize arbitrary mixer response. To accomplish this, we introduce new energy delivery method based localized four-photon mixing. The technique improves the sensitivity of existing dispersion mapping methods by orders of magnitude and is applicable to arbitrary waveguide type. We describe the effort that has led to the ability to sense molecular-scale geometry variations along km-long fiber for the first time. Implications of the new technique will be illustrated on general mixer applications.

Biography:

Stojan Radic graduated from The Institute of Optics in 1995 and has subsequently served in Corning and Bell Laboratories. He is presently a Professor and is heading the Photonics System Laboratory at University of California San Diego. Dr. Radic is a fellow of the Optical Society of America and serves as associate editor with IEEE Photonics Technology Letters and Optics Express journals. He chairs Parametric Processing LEOS Conference and has founded COTA conference.

3. IEEE Power & Energy Society

The following is a note from Alan Pressman, chair of the IEEE Power & Energy Society - Baltimore Chapter.

"Dear Members and Professionals:

The Baltimore Chapter of the Power & Energy Society is once again inviting you to attend the Annual Engineers Week Dinner Meeting to be held during National Engineers Week. This year’s dinner meeting will be held on Thursday, February 19, 2009 from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM at the National Electronics Museum located at 1745 West Nursery Road in Linthicum, Maryland.

Directions to the National Electronics Museum:

http://www.nationalelectronicsmuseum.org

The purpose of this annual event is to build on exposing high school and college students to the engineering field and to help provide professional mentorship and scholarship opportunities. Students will have an opportunity to network with professional engineers and learn of career building opportunities. Arrive at 5:30 for refreshments, door prizes, demonstrations and a tour of the museum. A dynamic and influential guest speaker will present the keynote speech on a current topic in engineering. We will also honor our 2008 Outstanding Engineer of the Year Award recipient. An elegant dinner will be served at 6:30.

We invite you to join us for this wonderful event. While the event is free for our student attendees, we are asking that members and professionals pay a charge of $35 to help defray the cost of the event. You may also assist by sponsoring a student at the same charge. Space is limited and we ask that you RSVP as soon as possible and no later than Friday, February 6th. You may RSVP via email by responding to:

baltimorepes@ieee.org

Please visit our website at:

http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r2/baltimore/baltimorepes/

for more information about the IEEE Power & Energy Society.

Sincerely,

Alan Pressman

Chair

IEEE Power & Energy Society - Baltimore Chapter

http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r2/baltimore/baltimorepes/

4. IEEE Power & Energy Society Book Award

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Book Award is funded through donations and fundraising events held in the local Baltimore area by members of the Industry Applications Society. The award is given annually to the graduating high school senior from the greater Baltimore area who best demonstrates their academic ability and desire to pursue excellence in the electrical engineering community. This is a cash gift of $1,000 per year for up to four years, and is intended to provide cash assistance for books, materials, IT equipment or other necessary items to complete their college education. Students, once awarded, are required to maintain active full time enrollment in an undergraduate electrical engineering or related curriculum. Annually, students must submit proof of enrollment at an accredited engineering academic institution and proof of student membership in IEEE.

Application Deadline:

April 30, 2009

Notification Date:

May 31, 200

For more information, contact:

Robert A. Banas, Scholarship Chairman

IEES/IAS Baltimore Chapter

c/o Leach Wallace Associates, Inc.

6522 Meadowridge Road

Elkridge, Maryland 21075

(410) 579-8100

rbanas@leachwallace.com

5. IEEE GOLD

Subject: Green Technology Sponsors Needed.

As you might be aware, Green technology includes not just the computer but also the practice of using computing resources efficiently. Also the burning of fossil fuels that generate the majority of our nation's electricity also emits pollutants such as sulfur and carbon dioxide into the air. Those pollutants are known to cause respiratory disease, smog, acid rain as well as global climate change [1]. Now more than ever, more people are considering different ways to reduce both individual carbon foot prints as well as overall energy consumption.

Following this trend, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) USA will be holding a conference at the Marriott City Center in Salt Lake City, Utah from February 26, 2009 until March 1, 2009. The theme is "Engineering the Alternative Energy Debate". Experts from industries across the country have been lined up to address technologies such as nuclear, solar, smart grid, and even wind power.

The full program can be seen at:

http://www.ieeeusa.com/calendar/conferences/2009annualmeeting/program/default.asp

If you know of any company that would be interested in becoming a sponsor for this yearly gathering of Electrical Engineers from all across the U.S, please send an email to Michael Pearse (michaelpearse@ieee.org) for an official sponsor request. There are different sponsor packages available.

Visit the GOLD event website to find out more about the conference.

[1] http://ecenter.colorado.edu/energy/projects/green_computing.html

6. Call for Robot Challenge Judges

The Robot Challenge event will be held this year on Saturday morning, April 18, and Sunday afternoon, April 19. We have over 50% more teams registered this year than last year, so we expect a good turnout. This will provide the opportunity for IEEE members to get involved who have not previously participated, and we'd really like all of last year's judges to sign up again as well. Signing up is easy - just send an e-mail to Nevilleed@aol.com, with subject "Judges", and enter your name and home phone number, and the day or days you'll be able to participate. No commitment at this stage, but this will enable us to contact you nearer the event. Judges are needed for 3 activities: The Written Reports (April 13), the Track Event and the Oral Presentations (April 18, 19). Previous judging experience is required for the Written Reports, but no experience is needed for the Track and Oral Presentation judges - just arrive half an hour early and we'll have training sessions for you. If you have a preference for the type of judging you'd like to do, please note this in your e-mail. This is a great opportunity for experienced engineers to contribute something very positive to the upcoming generation of High School students, and it really is a WIN-WIN situation for everybody involved. Get your office companions to sign up as well, even if they're not EE. We also have non-technical openings for such activities as photographers and data auditors. We're looking for about 80 people, so please send us your e-mail today.

7. Major changes to the Historical Electronics Museum for 2009

The following is a note from Mike Simons, director of the National Electronics Museum.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors and the staff at the Historical Electronics Museum, we are proud to announce the unveiling of a new name and new corporate logo for the museum. As of January 1, 2009 the Historical Electronics Museum is named the National Electronics Museum. Our new name and logo reflect a change in our strategic vision. However, our day-to-day operations will remain the same, along with being registered as a non-profit organization with the same funding sources.

We are positioning ourselves to be the premier electronics museum in the country with a focus on electronics systems, defense electronics and cutting-edge technologies while still maintaining our prior commitment to the history of the electronics industry. Our expanding commitment will be to promote science and technology that includes reaching out to the students at all grade levels. The name change is the just first step in our transformation. Look for more news in 2009.

Our Web site is changing also. Please visit our new URL at:

http://www.nationalelectronicsmuseum.org.

8. February Fourier Talks at the University of Maryland

Registration is now open for the 2009 February Fourier Talks at the University of Maryland, taking place February 19 - 20, 2009. The conference addresses a diverse audience of academic, government, and industry participants.

http://www.norbertwiener.umd.edu/FFT/FFT09/

Further information is below:

EVENTS

In addition to scientific talks throughout the day on Thursday and Friday, the evening on Thursday will feature a keynote address by renowned mathematics author Barry Cipra, followed by light dinner and drinks in the mathematics building rotunda. Friday afternoon features the Norbert Wiener Lecture, delivered by Professor Robert Fefferman, of the University of Chicago.

This year's conference also features a student poster session in the afternoon on Thursday. Preliminary submissions are now being accepted from graduate students. Further details are available at:

http://www.norbertwiener.umd.edu/FFT/FFT09/posters.html.

SPEAKERS

You may view the list of speakers, as well as the available titles and abstracts, at http://www.norbertwiener.umd.edu/FFT/FFT09/speakers.html.

REGISTRATION

Registration is now open at:

http://www.norbertwiener.umd.edu/FFT/FFT09/Register

Registration is free for students and government employees. Government employees are encouraged to register early so that they may be accommodated. For all others, the fee is $45 on or before January 8, 2009, and $60 thereafter. All fees are payable via a secure online system.

SPONSORSHIP

Corporate and technical sponsorship are also invited for this year's event. Information, including available sponsorship packages, past sponsors, and current sponsors, is available at http://www.norbertwiener.umd.edu/FFT/sponsorship.html.

If you have any questions about the FFT, please contact Christopher Shaw, at schris@umd.edu. Questions specific to posters may be directed to Radu Balan, at rvbalan@math.umd.edu.

FFT 2009 Organizing Committee

Radu Balan

John Benedetto

Wojciech Czaja

Kasso Okoudjou

9. IEEE Fund Raiser

The Engineering Societies in Baltimore (including the IEEE) are holding a fund raiser to support our activities to make students aware of opportunities in engineering careers during Engineers’ Week, in February.

We are looking for sponsors of prizes at the fund raiser which is a Trivia Night being held at the Engineers club in Baltimore on 6 Feb at 6 PM.

Please consider asking your employer to be a sponsor for this activity.

Also please consider attending this activity. It should be a fun evening. For more information go to http://esb.org or http://www.engineersclubofbaltimore.org/ and click on the lower left corner.

10. IEEE-USA's 2009 Career Fly-In

IEEE-USA will be holding its 5th annual Washington Career Fly-In on March 23 and 24. All IEEE members in the United States are invited to join us on Capitol Hill to discuss high-skill immigration with your members of Congress.

For nearly a decade, IEEE-USA has been the strongest voice in Washington pushing for reforms to our skill-based immigration system. Over the past two years the debate about high-skill immigration reform shifted dramatically in our favor. But now we face a new Congress with an unusually large number of new members. These new members have probably never heard of an H-1B visa, never given any thought to high-skill immigration and likely don’t know what IEEE is. This is your opportunity to tell them.

In 2009, IEEE-USA will be trying to convince Congress to adopt our “Green cards not Guest workers” program by expanding access to green cards for immigrants who earn a masters or PhD from an American university. Our goal is to shift the focus of American immigration policy away from short-term work visas towards permanent green cards, especially for international students.

All IEEE members in the United States are welcome and encouraged to attend. Students, retired members and even IEEE members who are not American citizens are needed.

Fly-In participants will meet on the afternoon of March 23rd for a complete briefing on skill-based immigration policy and to learn how to meet with members of Congress (hint: it is easy). On March 24th, participants will spend the day on Capitol Hill meeting with their legislators. IEEE-USA will arrange all meetings. All you have to do is hold them.

More information on IEEE-USA immigration proposals can be found here:

http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/issues/immigration/

To learn more about the IEEE-USA Career Fly-In and to register for the event, visit us at http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/careerflyin.

11. Baltimore Region Conferences

The following conferences are planned for Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia during the next year. This list can be used for planning purposes and also represents potential volunteering opportunities. With the current state of the economy, these local conferences are a good way to stay abreast of recent advances in our field.

2009 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition - APEC 2009

15 Feb - 19 Feb 2009

Marriott Wardman Park Hotel

Washington, DC, USA

http://www.apec-conf.org

2009 43rd Annual Conference on Information Sciences and Systems (CISS)

18 Mar - 20 Mar 2009

The Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD, USA

http://ciss.jhu.edu

2009 5th International Conf. on Testbeds and Research Infrastructures for the Development of Networks & Communities (TridentCom)

06 Apr - 08 Apr 2009

TBD

Washington, DC, USA

http://www.tridentcom.org/

2009 IEEE/NIH Life Science Systems and Applications Workshop (LiSSA) Formerly known as LSSA and LISA

09 Apr - 10 Apr 2009

NIH Campus, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Bethesda, MD, USA

http://lissa.wustl.edu

2009 IEEE Electric Ship Technologies Symposium (ESTS 2009)

20 Apr - 22 Apr 2009

Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel

Baltimore, MD, USA

http://ewh.ieee.org/conf/ests09/

2009 Integrated Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Conference (ICNS)

13 May - 15 May 2009

TBD

Crystal City, VA, USA

http://i-cns.org/

2009 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO)

02 Jun - 04 Jun 2009

Baltimore Convention Center

Baltimore, MD, USA

http://www.i-leos.org

2009 International Quantum Electronics Conference (IQEC)

June 2-4, 2009

Baltimore Convention Center

Baltimore, MD, USA

http://www.i-leos.org

2009 IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (PPC)

28 Jun - 02 Jul 2009

Renaissance Mayflower Hotel

Washington, DC, USA

http://web.ece.missouri.edu/ppc2009

2009 IEEE Workshop on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Enterprise: Economics Measures and Indicators (STEM Measures)

15 Sep - 18 Sep 2009

TBD

Washington, DC, USA

2011 IEEE AUTOTESTCON

September 19-22, 2011

Baltimore Convention Center

Baltimore, MD, USA

http://www.autotestcon.com

2009 IEEE 59th Annual Broadcast Symposium (BTS)

14 Oct - 16 Oct 2009

The Westin Hotel

Alexandria, VA, USA

http://www.ieee.org/bts/symposium

2009 IEEE Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena - (CEIDP 2009)

18 Oct - 21 Oct 2009

Virginia Beach Resort Hotel

Virginia Beach, VA, USA

http://ewh.ieee.org/soc/dei/ceidp/

2009 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM)

07 Dec - 09 Dec 2009

Hilton Baltimore

Baltimore, MD, USA

http://www.ieee-iedm.org

2010 11th Joint Magnetism and Magnetic Materials - INTERMAG Conference

17 Jan - 21 Jan 2010

Washington Marriott

Washington, DC, USA

http://www.magnetism.org

12. Continuing EE Education

We are re-running this request for interest in a continuing education program. This program will be in the format of seminars focused on a particular topic of interest. The seminars may run either during the week after work hours or possibly on Saturday. The idea for the program is described below.

Name of project: Continuing EE Education (“CEEE”)

Goal: A section-level program aimed at:

Updating the IEEE members on new developments in the EE field.

Familiarizing engineers with basic new tools, products and techniques as well as giving them the initial knowledge and skills to use them.

Inviting representatives from different vendors to present leading novel products.

Giving tutorials in new areas.

Helping IEEE fellow members become more competitive, especially in times of uncertain jobs, off-shoring and salary stagnation.

Facilitating networking.

Broadening the horizon of each IEEE member.

Fostering collaboration between members of different societies as well as generation of new ideas (“cross-pollination” element).

The program should be open to all IEEE members, including students. It is meant to be a cross-societies initiative, i.e. should not be limited to narrow topics serving the interests of a single chapter only. Emphasis should be placed on meeting with experienced experts from different fields. Critical comparisons between different solutions of EE problems are expected to be made, and trends should be discussed.

Potential topics of interest could include, but are not limited to:

Software tools:

Programming languages

Compilers

Real-Time Operating systems

Debuggers

Emulators

Hardware tools:

Novel electronic components

Single-Board Computers (SBC)

Embedded solutions

FPGAs

Printed circuit board design (schematics capture, layout)

Circuit simulation (PSPICE)

Portable devices

Signal and image processing (examples, tools, help)

Wireless devices:

Theory

Standards

Available OEM products

Trends

Internet-based methods and devices:

Standards

Available tools

Web Page Design

Contemporary design tools (like AutoCad and Solid Works)

Reliability and Compliance issues

We plan to invite qualified speakers from academia, industry and governmental institutions. The speakers will be professionals who can give first-hand information and share front-line experience on the technology, methods and tools being presented.

We plan to organize 2-4 meetings annually. Each meeting is planned to last for 2 hours or more. We could meet on weekdays, or on Saturdays.

Please send us your suggestions and preferences regarding topics, time and place of meetings, the name/acronym of the program etc.

Boris Gramatikov

Baltimore Section

Bgramat@jhmi.edu