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INDEX About the Section Calendar of Events Recent Events SRT Program Sparks Newsletter Newsletter Archive ExCon Meeting Minutes Employment Opportunity Students Branch Links IEEE Privacy Policy Daytona IEEE Section April 2012 Dinner/Meeting On April 24th the Daytona IEEE Section held a Dinner/Meeting at the Halifax River Yacht Club on Beech Street in Daytona Beach, Florida. The speakers for the evening were the student teams from ERAU and BCU who presented their experiences at the hardware robotic competition held during the recent SoutheastCon 2012 conference. During the presentation each team explained the concepts that they used to develop their autonomous robots. In addition they discussed the lessons learned from this years expericence and some of the approaches that they intend to employ on next years competitive robots. Also we have invited to the meeting the IEEE special award winners at the Tomaka Science Fair. ERAU and Bethune-Cookman University Robotic Teams at IEEE Section Meeting For a more complete description of this presentation and dinner, go to the Calendar of Events section of this website. Tomoka Science and Engineering Fair Of February 11th, the Daytona Section participated in the annual Tomoka Science and Engineering Fair held at Atlantic High School in Port Orange. Two IEEE special awards were given out by the Section. The senior division winner was Ms Allison White from Spruce Creek High School, while the junior division winner was Ms. Kaitlyn Thompson. The winners received a check and a plaque. Both winners and their families will be our section's guest for the April dinner meeting. Dr. Jianha Liu, Tracy Wichmann, Dr. Ilteris Demirkian and Dr. Thomas Yang participated as judges in the science fair. Senior Division Winner Ms Allison White Junior Division Winner Ms Kaitlyn Thompson Student Volunteer Meeting at Bethune-Cookman University February a meeting was held at BCU in recognition of student volunteers who helped at the Electrical Safety Workshop (ESW) earlier in the month. Beside the presentation of certificates of appreciation to the volunteers Mr. Roger Grubic and Mr. Ron Gedney made an inspiring presentation on the benefits of joining a professional society on engineers' career advancement. From their personal experiences, we learned much about how one can benefit both personally and professionally from being an IEEE member throughout their entire career. Computer Society Chapter of the IEEE Daytona Section For information on the Computer Society Chapter of the IEEE Daytona Section, contact Dr. Keith Garfield at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (386) 226-7081. You can also reach him by email at k.garfield@erau.edu Changes in the Distribution of the SPARKs Newsletter Effective November 2011 After a review of expenditures we found the cost of mailing the Daytona Sections Sparks Newsletter was a major Section expense. Looking at Post Office regulations for bulk mail and the high cost of mailing the hard copy version , it was determined, that the primary distribution of SPARKS in the future will be by email and on our web site. As a reminder, it's important to update your email address with the IEEE to make sure you continue to receive your Sparks Newsletter. Please go to www.ieee.org and update your profile. We expect to mail copies to those that do not have email addresses on file, but ask that you remedy this to help the section finances. Newsletter Available on Line On this website the current copy of the "Sparks" newsletter will be provided by clicking on Sparks Newsletter at the top of this page. Copies of the newsletter for the past several years are available by clicking on the Newsletter Archives at the top of this page, and then selecting the appropriate newsletter from the archives by date. Internet Address Shortcut At the suggestion of several members of the Section the web master requested an alias web site address from IEEE Headquarters. For people with short memories we can now be reached on our old web address http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r3/daytona or our new alias address: http://www.ieee.org/go/daytona IEEE-USA . Calendar of Events September 27, 2012 IEEE Section Dinner Meeting Daytona,Florida October 25, 2012 IEEE Section Dinner Meeting Daytona,Florida November 29, 2012 IEEE Section Dinner Meeting Daytona,Florida	Welcome to the Daytona Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Life Member Committee International Speedway Tour On Tuesday January 31st the Life Member Committee attended a Behind-the-Scenes Guided Tour of International Speedway. The Daytona International Speedway is probably best known for hosting the Daytona 500 NASCAR race. The oval track is 2.5 miles long and is surrounded on three sides by stadiums that seat 168,000. Tunnels under the track provide access to the infield which houses the racing garages, drivers meeting room, supplier facilities and much more. The Daytona Speedway has what is believed to be the second largest outdoor lighting system in North America. Our tour began at the front of the Main Ticket and Tour building (near the Dale Earnhardt Sr. statue). We boarded special trams for a tour around the high banked track. From there our tourologist took us to the infield of the Speedway where we got a behind the scenes look at the Drivers Meeting Room, Gatorade Victory Lane, The NASCAR Sprint Cup Garages, and the Tech Inspection area. Once we completed the tour of the infield we proceeded to the the France Family Suite, in the Sprint Tower, where Sammy Wiggins of Economy Electric talked to us about the electrical systems here at the World Center of Racing while we enjoy the view!. Ron Gedney and Al Jusko enjoy the Daytona Speedway Life Member Tour IEEE Section Polo Shirts We are pleased to offer Datona Section polo shirts for our Section members. Shirt's are embroidered with the IEEE logo and Daytona Section on the left and your name and grade, if desired, on the right. For additional size, contact and price information please see the article in the April Sparks Newsletter. Small Radio Telescope Project The objective of the Small Radio Telescope Program was to acquire and operate a small radio telescope in support of a comprehensive educational and research program. This program was directed at increasing the understanding of science and electrical engineering in the local schools and universities of the greater Daytona Area. In early 2007 a grant application was submitted by the Daytona IEEE Section to the IEEE Life Member Committee (LMC) to provide funding for a Small Radio Telescope (SRT) Program. The purpose of the SRT Program was to acquire, assemble and calibrate a small radio telescope to be used for teaching radio astronomy, electronics, communications, antenna theory, and data processing. The device will be used to support the teaching of these technologies at the University Level, High School and Middle School Level, and provide workshops to home schooled students. In February the Small Radio Telescope (SRT) Program, funded by the IEEE Life Member Committee, placed the initial purchase orders necessary to obtain a commercial small radio telescope instrument. In November 2008 the components for the Small Radio Telescope were delivered to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where the mechanical portion of the system was assembled and tested. In early January of 2009 the SRT was moved from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to a private aircraft hanger in Spruce Creek Fly-In. At the hanger the microwave portion of the system was tested and initial tracking and calibration tests were performed. In late February 2009 the completed SRT system was delivered to the Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS). On 21 February the system was demonstrated to the Life Members Committee (LMC) as part of their Orlando Florida meeting agenda. After the Life Members meeting the 7.5 foot parabolic dish was replaced with a 10 foot dish to dramatically improve the systems sensitivity. In early April 2009 the antenna system was mounted on a 20 foot mast at the Museum of Arts and Sciences and integrated into the planetarium's control console position. With the antenna installed in the museum's planetarium a series of detailed tests were run prior to integrating it into the planetarium program. During November 2009 a small team of engineers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University started looking at the existing SRT software interfaces to make it more user friendly and more meaningful to the potential users. We want to thank Dr. Hugh Ward, Dr. Billy Barott, Jeanette Barott, Jonathan Marolf, Logan Meers and Nick Bartolotta for there help and support. In early 2010 permission was given by the Daytona Section Executive Committee to install the hardware and software to permit remote operation of the SRT for research and educational purposes. The hardware has been successfully installed and remote operation of the SRT is currently available to a limited number of researchers. A new website http://www.daytonaSRT.org is under construction to permit a general gateway to the SRT for research and educational purposes. Detailed photos and a description of the development and testing of the SRT can be found on the SRT Program section of this website On March 19, 2011 a paper "Development of a Small Radio Telescope for Engineering Education" was presented at SoutheastCon. The paper was authored by Charles Husbands, Dr. William Barott, and Jeanette Barott. Copies of this paper can be obtained for personal use by contacting the authors. The authors all appear on the Section Officers Page of this website.

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