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:

Data-driven analysis methods such as independent component analysis (ICA) and blind source separation (BSS) have been applied to the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data and produced useful results. In contrast to classical methods based on the general linear model (GLM), ICA and BSS methods do not require pre-specified hemodynamic response predictors and can reveal a broader range of spatial and temporal features in the fMRI data. At the same time, the generation of fMRI data involves a series of physical and computational processes, each of which contributes to the statistical properties of the fMRI data. Therefore, a direct application of the ICA/BSS methods to the fMRI data might not produce the optimal estimation results if the properties of fMRI data are not considered.

Most of the characteristics of fMRI data can be measured efficiently by second-order statistics in the spatial, temporal, and multi-subject group domains. In this presentation, we introduce schemes to characterize spatial, temporal, and group features of fMRI data by second-order statistics and incorporate these statistics into the estimation of brain activations from fMRI experiments. Specifically, we introduce (i) a scheme based on fMRI spatial autocorrelation to remove the sample dependence in the spatial or temporal domain and improve ICA model order selection for fMRI dataset; (ii) a least-squares projection scheme for iterative-type ICA algorithms, to enhance the predicted sample space features of brain source estimates; and (iii) a joint BSS scheme based on multi-set canonical correlation analysis (M-CCA) to analyze group fMRI data, which complements existing group fMRI analysis methods. The three schemes, each from a different perspective, incorporate second-order statistics into data-driven fMRI analysis so that the estimation of brain activation is significantly improved. Therefore, data-driven methods are promising tools for investigating brain function.

As future work, we propose to study the link between data-driven methods and GLM on fMRI data analysis, and combination of second-order methods and higher-order methods in group fMRI data analysis.

Biography:

Yiou Li received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering in 1998 from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and received his Ph.D. degree in May 2009 from University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, US. He worked as a field application engineer at Conexant Systems Inc. from 2000 to 2002 and a software engineer at Vifast Communication Technologies Ltd. from 1998 to 2000. Yiou Li’s research interests include statistical signal processing and multivariate statistical analysis, with applications to fMRI data. He is also interested in teaching fundamentals in electrical engineering. He is the author and co-author of sixteen refereed articles.

2. Communications Society Meeting for May

Title:

Optical Networks - A View into the Future

Speaker:

R. C. Alferness

Chief Scientist

Bell Labs

Alcatel-Lucent

Date:

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Time:

Food: 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Presentation: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Location:

National Electronics Museum

1745 W. Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 21090

410-765-0230

http://www.nationalelectronicsmuseum.org

Please reply to g_tartanian@ieee.org if you are planning to attend, so that we can get a rough headcount.

Abstract:

The last 10 years have seen phenomenal advances and growth in optical systems/networks. Commercial transmission systems today have per fiber capacities roughly 100 times those of 10 years ago with resulting substantial reduction in per unit bandwidth cost. As importantly, wavelength routed networks, hardly more than a dream in most people’s minds in 1998, are being deployed aggressively in metro areas, especially in the U.S.; national wavelength routed networks have existed for several years. Fiber-to-the-home is becoming a reality. Indeed, high-capacity, cost effective optical communication systems, by enabling the worldwide internet, have fundamentally changed people’s lives. All indications are that society will continue to expect more – much more. In the talk, we first provide a snapshot of the current status of optical communication networks. We then look at the challenges as well as the research advances and directions to address the 100 fold network capacity increase that we expect will be needed again in the next decade, as broadband services including ubiquitous high quality video, drive network demand.

Biography:

Rod C. Alferness is currently the Chief Scientist, Bell Laboratories, Alcatel-Lucent. Prior to this position, Rod was the Senior Vice President Research at Bell Laboratories. He has held several positions throughout his career at AT&T and Lucent, including Chief Technical Officer for the Optical Networking Business. Rod joined Bell Labs in 1976 after receiving a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Michigan. His early research at Bell Labs included the demonstration of novel waveguide electro-optic devices and circuits including the first wavelength based reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) and their applications in high capacity lightwave transmission and switching systems. This research led to the early development of titanium diffused lithium niobate waveguide modulators that are now deployed in fiber optic transmission systems around the world. In the mid-90’s, he was an originator and the Bell Labs Program Manager for the DARPA funded MONET project which demonstrated the feasibility of wavelength routed optical networks that are now being implemented for both backbone and metro networks. Dr. Alferness has authored over 100 papers, holds 32 patents and has authored five book chapters. Rod is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA) and the IEEE Lasers and Electro-optics Society (LEOS). Dr. Alferness received the 2005 IEEE Photonics Award. Rod was President of the Optical Society of America in 2008 and of the IEEE LEOS in 1997.

3. Robot Challenge

The following is a note from Neville:

“The Robot Challenge went off very well - 67 teams participated, and we had excellent support from our IEEE members. Our thanks to all our volunteers who put in their time and encouragement to our students.

Please go to our web-site, http://www.robotchallenge.com, click on 2009 Results and Pictures, and click on Acknowledgments, for a listing of all who contributed to this project.

Thank you all very much. We hope you will help us out again next year!

Again many thanks,

Neville”

4. IEEE / NEM Joint Meeting on the Hindenburg

To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the IEEE, the IEEE Baltimore Section is co-sponsoring a meeting with the National Electronics Museum (NEM) on the Hindenburg.

Title:

Hindenburg Remembered

Speaker:

Bill Skillman

Date:

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Time:

Doors Open: 6:30 PM

Dessert Served: 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Talk Begins: 7:00 PM

Location:

National Electronics Museum

1745 W. Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 21090

410-765-0230

http://www.nationalelectronicsmuseum.org

Cost:

IEEE and NEM Members: $ 7.00

Non-members: $10.00

For more information, contact:

Anne Mech

anne.mech@ngc.com

410-765-0230

To register on-line:

specialevents.nem@gmail.com

Abstract and Biography:

http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r2/baltimore/WattsNew/NEM_Meeting_2009_05_Hindenburg.pdf

5. IEEE / NEM Joint Meeting on the Hubble Space Telescope

To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the IEEE, the IEEE Baltimore Section is co-sponsoring a meeting with the National Electronics Museum (NEM) on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Title:

The Hubble Space Telescope:

An Idea That Would Not Die

Speaker:

Robert Zimmerman

Date:

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Time:

Doors Open: 5:30 PM

Dinner: 6:00 PM

Talk: Follows Dinner

Location:

National Electronics Museum

1745 W. Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 21090

410-765-0230

http://www.nationalelectronicsmuseum.org

Cost:

IEEE and NEM Members: $30.00

Non-members: $35.00

For more information, contact:

Anne Mech

anne.mech@ngc.com

410-765-0230

To register on-line:

specialevents.nem@gmail.com

Abstract and Biography:

http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r2/baltimore/WattsNew/NEM_Meeting_2009_05_Hubble.pdf

6. Career Survival for Engineers and Scientists

For information on this one-day seminar, go to:

http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r2/baltimore/WattsNew/CWPC_NOVA_2009_05.pdf

7. News from the IEEE

**IEEE MEDIA EVENT MARKS KICKOFF OF 125TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION**

On Tuesday 10 March, IEEE kicked off its 125th Anniversary celebration with an IEEE Media roundtable at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City. 2008 IEEE President Lew Terman served as the event's host, and Steve Lohr, technology writer for the New York Times, and Susan Hassler, editor of IEEE Spectrum, served as the program's facilitators.

A panel of top minds in human-technology interactions discussed how emerging technologies in biomedical engineering, biometrics, computing, robotics, telecommunications, wireless power and others have the potential to change the world. Review the list of panelists and access the full Web cast at http://www.ieee125.org/engineering-the-future/media-roundtable.html. Individual video clips of each presentation can be viewed on ieee.tv (http://www.ieee.org/ieeetv), under IEEE 125th Anniversary Media Event.

Over 60 reporters from such prominent media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, EE Times,NBC, and Forbes registered for the event. Of the 263 registrants for the webcast, 135 watched live. Live updates were also reported on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.

Over 250 media outlets have picked up the news story to date. These include AOL Money, Reuters, The Arizona Republic, The Miami Herald, Yahoo! UK and Ireland, The Houston Business Journal, The San Francisco Business Times, and Medinhandbuch (Germany), with additional stories in Scientific American, Popular Mechanics and Sina.com (China). View highlights at:

http://www.ieee125.org/newsroom/media-coverage.html.

**GLOBAL SERIES OF ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS START IN APRIL**

The global series of eight IEEE 125th anniversary celebrations launches on 27 April at the Technical University of Munich, with a program of keynotes and a reception hosted by the IEEE Germany Section. On 30 April in Austin, Texas, the Central Texas Section has teamed up with the Austin Chamber of Commerce for a party for the entire local technology community that will honor the IEEE anniversary. Find information about these and other anniversary activities at http://www.ieee125.org.

**MEMBER AND GEOGRAPHIC ACTIVITIES APPROVES NEW UNITS**

The IEEE MGA Board recently approved the formation of the following units:

• IEEE Southwest Missouri Section in Region 5

• IEEE Medellin Subsection of the Colombia Section in Region 9

• IEEE Shandong Subsection of the Beijing Section in Region 10

• IEEE Tasmania Subsection of the Victorian Section in Region 10

There are currently 330 Sections and 38 Subsections.

**IEEE-USA CALL FOR NOMINATIONS**

The IEEE-USA Nominations and Appointments (N&A) Committee is accepting nominations for the following: IEEE-USA President-Elect (2011); IEEE-USA Member-at-Large (2011-2012); IEEE-USA Secretary/Treasurer (2010); IEEE-USA Vice President - Career & Member Services (2010); IEEE-USA Vice President – Communications & Public Awareness; IEEE-USA Vice President - Professional Activities (2010); and IEEE-USA Vice President – Government Relations (2010).

The board positions will direct IEEE-USA’s day-to-day operations, provide leadership for volunteer committees, oversee financial performance and promote new activities. Nominees for these board positions must be senior or higher-grade members from IEEE Regions 1-6.

Nominations are also being accepted for the IEEE-USA N&A Committee (2010-2011). Eligible nominees include former IEEE-USA vice presidents, IEEE-USA secretary-treasurers, U.S. region directors who have completed their terms or who are serving in their second year of that term, or members who have had experience as an IEEE-USA committee chair.

To nominate candidates visit the nominations page at:

http://www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/elections/onlineform_new.html.

The deadline is 30 May 2009.

**myIEEE UNVEILS NEW LOOK**

myIEEE, the personalized web portal for IEEE members, has undergone a recent redesign which incorporates new features. myIEEE 1.7 now incorporates streamlined alerts, member spotlights, access to Scitopia, IEEE-USA’s Today’s Engineer, and IEEE.tv gadgets across the Web site. The newly added “Who’s Online” feature shows a list of all IEEE members currently logged in to myIEEE. Log in at http://www.ieee.org/myieee.

**SECOND LIFE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY NOW INCLUDES IEEE PRESENCE**

Second Life®, an online 3-D virtual world where residents are able to establish identities (avatars), explore, create and communicate, now includes an IEEE presence. Referred to as "inworld" by its residents, this interactive environment is designed to encourage social networking, collaboration and learning. IEEE has created a virtual infrastructure and presence to support its staff, volunteer and member needs within Second Life. This presence is spread across two islands and serves as a gateway for people to explore and participate in IEEE activities. Volunteers and members are encouraged to provide input and further develop the islands. To view the IEEE in the Virtual World visit: http://www.ieee.org/go/secondlife. For more information, contact secondlife@ieee.org.

**CALL FOR 2009 IEEE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES BOARD (EAB) AWARD NOMINATIONS**

The IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) is seeking nominations to recognize and honor individuals, companies and IEEE Sections for their contributions to engineering and technical education. The deadline for the 2009 nominations is 30 April 2009. For a full listing and links to nomination forms, visit:

http://www.ieee.org/web/education/awards/index.html.

IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS) Becomes IEEE Photonics Society

The IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society (LEOS), a leading global society in the field of photonics, lasers, and electro-optics, has officially changed its name to the IEEE Photonics Society. The new name reflects the expanding applications associated with the Society’s field of interest and better represents its vision, mission and scope.

Photonics has become widely used to describe the broad field of research and applications relating to the generation, control and detection of light, including optical fiber communications, lasers, CDs, DVDs, supermarket scanners and digital cameras.

Read the full press release at:

http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/news/2009/9april.html.

8. 2009 International Symposium on Collaborative Technologies and Systems

May 18-22, 2009

The Westin Baltimore Washington International Airport Hotel

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

http://cisedu.us/cis/cts/09/main/callForPapers.jsp

INVITATION:

You are cordially invited to participate in and attend the International Symposium on Collaborative Technologies and Systems to be held May 18-22, 2009 at the Westin Baltimore Washington International Airport Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The symposium is to address, explore and exchange information on the state-of-the-art in collaborative enterprises, their modeling and simulation, design and use, and their impact. Participation is extended to researchers, designers, educators and interested parties in all CTS disciplines and specialties.

PURPOSE:

The symposium will include invited presentations from experts from academia, industry, and government as well as contributed paper presentations describing original work on the current state of research in collaborative technologies, collaborative systems and all related issues. There will also be tutorial sessions, workshops, special sessions, demos, panel discussions, posters, and exhibits. Conference sponsorships are welcomed.

9. Humanitarian Technology Challenge

1 - 2 June 2009, Washington, D.C.

We would like to provide you with a unique opportunity to join leading minds in technology and humanitarian causes to discuss the development of solutions for some of the world’s most pressing problems during the Humanitarian Technology Challenge Conference, which will be held June 1-2 2009 in Washington, D.C. Below are some specifics on the program:

What is the Humanitarian Technology Challenge?

The Humanitarian Technology Challenge is a partnership between IEEE and the United Nations Foundation, designed to bring together technical professionals and humanitarians to develop technological solutions for pressing challenges facing humanity.

What are these challenges and who came up with them?

The following initial challenges were identified by focus groups composed of representatives from ten humanitarian organizations:

* Reliable Electricity – Availability of power for electronic devices

* Data Connectivity of Rural District Health Offices -- Capability of exchanging data among remote field offices and central health facilities.

* Patient ID Tied to Health Records – Maintain consistent patient records, including when patients visit different clinics and when they relocate.

A small number of IEEE members and humanitarian volunteers have worked to document detailed definitions of these three challenges, and a process to develop solutions will be launched at this conference.

What is the format of the conference?

The program will begin the afternoon of June 1 with a keynote speaker, followed by a panel discussion among select humanitarians and technologists. A networking reception will be held in the evening.

June 2 will be a full-day working session for those who will be active participants in the solution development process for the identified challenges.

What exactly will be discussed?

This is the first of a series of meetings (in-person as well as online) where participants will be engaged in the solution development process. The initial meeting will place an emphasis on defining and launching the formal process that will be followed. Topics may include:

* the solution process time line

* interim milestones and deliverables,

* utilization of a web-based collaboration tool for worldwide participation,

* issues such as the handling of proprietary information.

We also expect attendees to begin to map out the format that solutions will be presented in.

How can I participate in the HTC if I cannot attend the conference?

Attendance at this conference is limited, due to the size of the venue as well as constraints on the financial resources available to sponsor it. There is no registration fee. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate all who would like to attend. We will accept your request for attendance, but please also provide us with a brief explanation of your professional background, your experience in the humanitarian space, and your specific interest in attending the conference.

We will strive to accommodate all that we can. For those who cannot attend, please be assured there will be many opportunities to participate in this project going forward. This conference marks the launch of the solutions process, not its end.

For more information, visit:

http://www.ieee.org/go/htc

or contact Harold Tepper at: htc@ieee.org

To register for the conference visit:

https://icm3.ieee.org/eventmanager/onlineregistration.asp?eventcode=p4n

10. Student Chapter Mentors

The Baltimore Section has student chapters at six local colleges. We are looking for mentors to work with each of the student chapters. A mentor interacts with the chapter to determine how the section can help them, for example helping find speakers for student events, presenting information about life after college and the role that the IEEE plays in their careers, representing their requests to the section, and what ever else the mentor can thing of to help the students. This can take as much or little time as you desire We would like to have at least one mentor for each college, it does not matter if you are an alumni or not, but alumni has ties that would be great to build on.

The student chapters are at Johns Hopkins, Morgan State, UMBC, UMES, USNA and BCCC. We would like to organize additional student chapters at other local colleges which have EE or Information Technology programs such as Towson, suggestions are welcome.

Please let Jeff Friedhoffer (jafried@ieee.org) know if you are willing to consider taking on this role which can bring back fond memories of your college days while helping the next generation of engineers.

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 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