By now you should have seen the story on "Branding" in the September Institute. It didn't give you a lot of concrete information - I'll try and fill in some blanks. In November, the Board of Directors will be asked to consider this motion:
The contention is with the third part of the recommendation: that the logo be optional and clearly subordinate.
There is a lot of history associated with the IEEE logo - but research indicates that many, particularly younger members and potential members, don't recognize the logo or understand the symbology behind it. What they do recognize is the initials: IEEE. So, is it time to change? Out with the old, in with the new?
In 1998, IEEE hired a respected firm of consultants to conduct a study on IEEE corporate branding. After surveying hundreds of individuals and interviewing dozens of others, the consultants presented a proposal to consolidate the IEEE image into a corporate brand - a clear, consistent and cohesive identity for the organization that becomes recognized and associated with the qualities that the visual design conveys. The consultants' recommendations were to get rid of the corporate logos and the various Society logos, get rid of the words "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers" and consolidate around an image based on what people recognize best: the initials IEEE.
However, the Board of Directors, dominated as they are by older engineers who understanding symbology and the history behind the IEEE diamond logo, did not welcome the change with open arms. They put together an ad hoc Branding Committee to study the proposal and come back in November 1999 with recommendations. The Committee's goal is to recommend a clear, consistent brand that strengthens the IEEE's culture and image among members, prospective members, opinion leaders and the public by reinforcing the organization's high quality and global reach.
The IEEE logo - the diamond and arrows - was developed in the 1960s when the AIEE (American Institute of Electrical Engineers) and the IRE (Institute of Radio Engineers) merged to form IEEE. It's based on the logos of those parent organizations and can trace its roots back more than 100 years to an AIEE committee chaired by Alexander Graham Bell.
The diamond shape comes from the AIEE and represents Benjamin Franklin's kite. The gold line inside the kite was originally a gold wire representing the electrical engineering profession. The arrows come from the IRE and represent the relationship between electricity and magnetism - the right-hand rule.
But does history make a good image for an organization whose members work on the forefront of technology? The consultants and the ad hoc committee decided "No." Now, the Board of Directors will have to consider the question in November.
If you would like to express an opinion, contact Signals Editor (j.eason@ieee.org) or go directly to the guy who will have a vote: Region Director George Dean (g.dean@ieee.org). For more information, see www.ieee.org/organizations/committee/branding/index.htm.
These Lockheed engineers found that giving up a holiday weekend to attend the IEEE-USA Professional Development Conference was well worth it.
Emily Truc Dang
".. I really enjoyed this year's conference, particularly the tutorial Sharpening Your Professional Communication Skills. This class was so helpful to a College Student like me... I have more confidence to start a letter or report. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to improve my essential professional skills."
Alan Fletcher
"The PDC offered a great opportunity to recreate myself as an engineer...The diverse programs offered at the conference opened my eyes to the personal and interpersonal aspects of my career. The real benefit was in the opportunity to apply the material presented to real work issues with my peers."
Michael F. Siok
"Networking opportunities abounded throughout the conference. Session speakers were interesting as well as informed - many "take-aways." The conference was, in my opinion, a resounding success and I am glad to have had the opportunity to participate."
Ed Safford
"The recent IEEE Professional Development Conference was more than worth giving up a labor day weekend to attend. I attended primarily the management track and one tutorial, and came away with at least one good idea out of every session. ... I was anxious to get back to work Tuesday to see if I could implement some of the things I learned."
John Sookma
"Attending the 1999 IEEE Professional Development Conference in Dallas over the Labor Day holiday weekend was and will continue to be beneficial to me. In my current position, I will be able to directly apply many concepts that were explored in the Conference, such as the challenges of a cross-functional work team, the art of delegation, presentation skills, and conflict management. One topic I found very useful, Career Management, ... gave me some much needed insight into career goal-setting and planning."
COMMUNICATIONS SOCIETY ANNOUNCES GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER CONTEST - The Fort Worth Chapter of the IEEE Communications Society is sponsoring a Graduate Student Paper Contest this fall. The first place will be $300, second place $200 and third place $100. Papers should be current materials developed within the last year. Topics should be taken from the ComSoc technical activities including communications switching, software, theory, networking and radio. The deadline for paper submittal will be November 29, 1999. Winners will be required to present their papers at the December 8, 1999 ComSoc meeting. For further information contact Thomas Sears, 817-245-6488, thomas.sears@ieee.org.
4TH ANNUAL TCU ENGINEERING LECTURE - Engineering Professor and author, Dr. Henry Petroski of Duke University will be the featured speaker at the TCU annual engineering lecture at 7:30 pm, Wed, Nov. 17. Professor Petroski is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the author of several books, including: To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (1985), The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (1990), The Evolution of Useful Things (1992), Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering (1994), Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and The Spanning of America (1995), and Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing (1996).
IEEE-USA RELEASES FOURTH ANNUAL CONSULTANTS DIRECTORY - The Fourth Annual IEEE-USA Directory of Electrotechnology and Information Technology Consult ants is now available free in hard copy from the IEEE-USA office. Prospective clients can also access the database of consultants on the Web www.ieeeusa-consultants.org. The Directory, the only one of its kind published with a national scope, includes a listing of hundreds of electrical, electronics, software and management consultants and their services alphabetically, by state and by category -- with a listing of specialties. Contact Marnie Clark at 202-785-0017, m.clark@ieee.org. Consultants who wish to be added to the Web database for the remainder of the year can submit a form at www.ieeeusa-consultants.org/submissions/submit.html. The fee for a par! ! tial -year listing is $40 for IEEE members.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FORUM ON-LINE - Recorded at the Professional Development Conference, Sept. 5, 1999, IEEE-USA presents IEEE and IEEE-USA Presidential Candidates outlining their views and platforms for office. See www.ieeeusa.org/prodevcon/live/default.asp.
IEEE-USA ISSUES FIVE LEGISLATIVE ALERTS - With Congress returning to Washington on Sept. 8, IEEE-USA has released five legislative alerts and is urging IEEE US members to contact their Senators and Representative on the following priority issues: (see Legislative Action Center: congress.nw.dc.us/ieee/)
IEEE-USA has also issued a legislative bulletin on the emerging problem of Cash Balance Pension Plan Conversions, which may threaten the retirement benefits for long tenured workers in companies that are making the conversion. They are considering development of a formal position on cash balance pension plans and invite member input.
OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
OPPORTUNITY FOR FELLOWSHIP AT FCC - IEEE-USA is seeking applications from US members interested in spending a year (May 2000-June 2001) as an IEEE-USA Executive Fellow in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Fellow would be assigned to the FCC's Office of Engineering to help FCC assess and chart it's future in Internet/ networking and/or wireless technologies. Candidates should be IEEE US members in good standing with strong technical knowledge in the area of wireless and/or Internet/network architectures and technologies and demonstrated interest in public policy and/or the regulatory process. To avoid the potential for conflict of interest, Fellowship candidates may not presently be employed or possess a significant interest in companies that are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. Applications due by Dec. 3. See www.ieeeusa.org/forum/govfel/fcc.html.
STUDY SOLICITS INPUT FROM IT PROFESSIONALS - The National Research Council's Computer Science and Telecommunications Board are inviting input directly from IT professionals through an on-line questionnaire as part of a study mandated by Congress as part of last year's legislation that increased the cap on H-1B visas for temporary high-tech guest workers. The study was intended to provide Congress with a better understanding of the high-tech workforce and whether continuing demand for IT workers justified an extension or further expansion of the H-1B visa caps when the measure expires in 2002.
For more information on the Workforce Needs in Information Technology study, consult: www4.nationalacademies.org/cpsma/itwpublic2.nsf. To provide input directly to the IT Workforce Project, go to: www4.nas.edu/cpsma/cstb_itw_survey.nsf/DataInput?OpenForm.
"YES, YOU CAN: A Guide for Establishing Mentoring Programs to Prepare Youth for College" offers practical information that employers, college students, senior citizens, community-based organizations, and others can use to create and run mentoring programs. From the US Department of Education, the booklet includes tips and suggestions on program planning, assessing needs and potential resources, developing program goals and objectives, recruiting and selecting mentors, training mentors and matching them with students, working with parents, keeping mentors in the program, evaluating the program, and more. See www.ed.gov/pubs/YesYouCan/.
IEEE PUBLISHES ALL-INCLUSIVE COMPENDIUM ON RADAR TECHNOLOGY - Radar Essentials is a compendium of the most current and most classic articles and papers on radar technology. The articles and papers address topics: History of radar, Recent advances in radar technology, New and proposed radar systems, Radar simulation and modeling, New radar components, Insight into select foreign radar systems, and more! $49.95 for members, product number SR109-QVE. Contact, customer-service@ieee.org; 800-678-IEEE.
IEEE TRAVEL SERVICES ONLINE has added four new information sections to its site to help users with vacation planning (www.ieee.org/travelonline).
ONLINE CONFERENCE SERVICE - The IEEE Spectrum Conference Companion at www.spectrum.ieee.org/companion can bring you nearer to the action of selected IEEE conferences. From a preview of the conference program, through on-site reports, and finally a post-conference live chat, this service will extend the value of selected IEEE conferences. This service is designed to serve those attending the conference as well as those that couldn't attend but are interested in the conference content, and those who may be considering attending future IEEE conferences.
By now, everyone should have received their ballots to vote on various officer positions within IEEE and IEEE-USA.
Let me draw attention to our own Jean Eason, running for Director-Elect Region 5. Please vote for Jean. Jean gives a lot of her time to IEEE at many different levels, from Section to IEEE galactic. Jean's primary concern is that of the members. So please vote for Jean by returning your ballots by the deadline.
The IEEE-USA Professional Development Conference was held over this past labor day weekend, and what a great conference it was. Most notable to me was the Candidates Forum with the IEEE President Candidates and the IEEE-USA President Candidates...if you missed the live multicast of these debates, you can replay the debates on your PC at: www.ieeeusa.org/prodevcon/live/default.asp.
Sections Congress 1999 will be October 8-11, 1999, in Minneapolis. I will be attending SC'99 as the Primary Delegate on behalf of the FTW Section. SC is held every three years. Many changes were made due to input from SC'96, notably electronic communications was *significantly* improved as a result of input from many folks.
Sections Congress has Three Main Goals:
This is an opportunity for all of us to voice recommendations that make a difference in IEEE. If you have any suggestions or comments you'd like me to voice on your behalf at SC'99, email them to ftw_chair@ieee.org.
Jeff Carrell
Recognizing our Section members for their long-time commitment to the profession on the anniversary of their joining IEEE.
45 yrs
40 yrs
30 yrs
25 yrs
20 yrs
How many people do you need to have in a group to be 50 percent sure that at least two of them have the same birthday? Don't worry about birthdays on Feb 29.
Answer to last month's Brainbuster:
Assume that the births of daughters are independent events, each having a probability of 0.5. The probability of having five consecutive daughters is then
(0.5)5 = 0.031.
Jean Eason, Editor