Ada Byron Lovelace (collaborated with Charles Babbage, the Englishman credited with inventing the forerunner of the modern computer) wrote a scientific paper in 1843 that anticipated the development of computer software (including the term "software"), artificial intelligence, and computer music. The DoD computer language, ADA, is named for her.
Amanda Theodosia Jones invented the vacuum method of food canning, a process that completely changed the entire food processing industry. In a move typical of women inventors of the 19th century, Jones denied the idea came from her inventiveness, but rather from instructions received from her late brother from beyond the grave.
Ellen Swallow Richards pioneered the field of environmental engineering with her groundbreaking research into water contamination. In 1870, she helped conduct the first analysis of Massachussetts' water supply and led the research on two subsequent testings. The work set the standard for the United States and the world. She showed incredible foresight with her insistence that the earth's environment be examined as a whole, rather than in "bits and pieces." She also urged tighter controls over solid waste disposal and air, food, and water purity.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Mary Engle Pennington revolutionized food delivery with her invention of an insulated train car cooled with ice beds, allowing for the first time the long distance transportation of perishable food.
After Mary Anderson noticed that streetcar drivers had to open the windows of their cars when it rained, she invented the windshield wiper in 1903. By 1916, they were standard equipment on all American cars.
In the 1920s and 30s, Beulah Louise Henry was known as "the lady Edison" for the many inventions she patented, including a bobbinless lockstitch sewing machine, a doll with bendable arms, a vacuum ice cream freezer, a doll with a radio inside, and a typewriter that made multiple copies without carbon paper. One of the most outstanding features of her career was the way Henry capitalized on her inventions, founding manufacturing companies to produce her creations and making an enormous fortune in the process.
Hedy Lamarr - the 1940s actress known for her line "Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid" - invented a sophisticated and unique anti-jamming device for use against Nazi radar. While the US War Department rejected her design, years after her patent had expired Sylvania adapted the design for a device that today speeds satellite communications around the world.
Grace Murray Hopper, a Rear Admiral in the US Navy, developed the first computer compiler in 1952 and originated the concept that computer programs could be written in English. She once remarked, "No one thought of that earlier because they weren't as lazy as I was." Hopper is also the person who, upon discovering a moth that had jammed the works of an early computer, popularized the term "bug." In 1991, Hopper became the first woman, as an individual, to receive the National Medal of Technology.
Stephanie Kwolek's discovery of a polymade solvent in 1966 led to the production of "Kevlar," the crucial component used in canoe hulls, auto bodies, and - perhaps most importantly - bulletproof vests.
Ruth Handler, best known as the inventor of the Barbie doll, also created the first prosthesis for mastectomy patients.
Bonnie J. Dunbar, worked at Rockwell International in the late 1970s as a senior research engineer, helping to develop the ceramic tiles that enable the space shuttle to survive reentry. In 1985, she had an opportunity to test those tiles first hand, as an astronaut aboard the shuttle.
[For more information, see the National Engineers Website at www.eweek.org.]
The Fort Worth Section hosted the IEEE Region 5 Conference and TechCon'98 at the Worthington Hotel earlier this year. The Region 5 Conference is an annual event that takes place within the 12 mid-south states comprising Region 5. It includes numerous IEEE administrative meetings, officer training, and student activities. This year's conference included an expanded technical program, TechCon, which was merged for this year with our very own MetroCon.
The conference turned out to be one of the most successful in the Region's history. The beautiful setting of the Worthington Hotel, the hard work of over 20 volunteers, and patronage from Lockheed Martin, Ericsson, Motorola, TU Electric, and DeVry combined to ensure a very successful conference. Over 500 professionals attended the weekend long activities. TechCon was one of the highlights of the conference, drawing 260 professionals to hear distinguished speakers such as local CEOs and IEEE Fellows. Some sessions exceeded room capacity, including two talks on Java, W-CDMA, and Gigabit Ethernet.
The student activities included a new Fire Fighting Home Robot contest which attracted quite a bit of attention (including the local TV stations). The students from the University of Missouri Rolla had the best robot, but the narrowly beaten students from Texas Tech vowed to return faster and fitter next year.
Big thanks are due to Brian Adams, Jeff Carrell, Diane Collier, Jean Eason, Bob Geisel, Claude Gomez, Bob Hayes, Lee Johnson, Theresa Maldonado, John Oberkrom, Ed Safford, Alan Triggs, and Laura Wietholther. Thanks also to the students from DeVry, UNT, UTA, and UTD, who helped out over the weekend.
INVITATION TO CONSULTANTS - The Fort Worth Consultants' Network is disbanding. The Dallas Network has extended an invitation to local FW consultants. Members who would like to join the Dallas Network can do so by downloading a membership application at www.pcn-pros.com/cn and sending it with payment to the Dallas CN treasurer. The website also contains information about the Dallas Network, as well as current issues of their newsletter and online directory. The officers of the Dallas network realize how important visibility is in this line of work and encourage the members of the Fort Worth Network to join the Dallas network to maintain that visibility.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES INCREASING - New statistics from Challenger, Gray and Christmas, an international outplacement firm, show that high-technology industries in 1998 have cut four times as many jobs nationally as last year, creating more layoffs than almost every other sector of the economy. The electronics, computer and telecommunications industries alone logged 143,000 layoffs and constituted three of the top five industries in total 1998 job-cut announcements.
In addition, third-quarter data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that electrical-engineering unemployment jumped to 3.4% - more than an eight-fold increase since the beginning of 1998 and the highest rate since the record-high levels of 1994.
MORE ENGINEERS EMPLOYED OUTSIDE ENGINEERING - Nearly twice as many people with degrees in science and engineering (S&E) fields were employed in non-S&E occupations as were employed in S&E jobs in 1995, according to data collected by the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Science Resources Studies (SRS). Their data show that the S&E workforce reached nearly 3.2 million in 1995 - of which 83%, or 2.6 million people, had received their highest degrees in an S&E field. At the same time, however, about 4.7 million people whose highest degrees were in S&E fields were working in non-S&E occupations. More than half were in fields such as management/administration, sales and marketing, and non-S&E-related teaching. About two thirds of this group said that their work was at least somewhat related to their degree. See: www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/databrf/sdb/98325.htm.
TEMPORARY VISAS REPLACE PERMANENT IMMIGRATION - While temporary admissions of foreign engineers and computer scientists have skyrocketed, permanent admissions of high-tech professionals have significantly declined in recent years, according to data IEEE-USA released on Sept. 23. Temporary workers are supplanting the permanent high-tech workforce - both native and foreign-born. From 1992 to 1996, immigrant admissions of foreign engineers and computer scientists declined 21% from 19,036 annually to 15,029, while guest-worker admissions in those occupations rose 87% from 42,500 to 79,400.
"As access to lower-paid, indentured guest-workers increases, employers have less incentive to sponsor permanent immigrants - who have the freedom to negotiate a fair market value for their labor," said IEEE-USA President John R. Reinert. "There are now 40,000 unused slots annually for admissions of skilled foreign professionals, and that number will undoubtedly increase (with the expansion of the H-1B program). . . The United States is destroying not only lifelong careers for its permanent residents, but also the engine of innovation that has produced the greatest high-tech industry in the world." IEEE-USA compiled the data from information in the INS Statistical Yearbook covering a period from shortly after the inception of the H-1B program through the last year for which statistics are available.
CAPITOL HILL INSIDERS PRAISE IEEE-USA ACTIONS - Although Congress defeated the IEEE-USA-backed amendment that would have established domestic recruitment and retention requirements for all employers who plan to hire H-1B temporary workers, the organization's efforts have been noticed by those in the know. Capitol Hill observers credited IEEE-USA's "major role" and last-minute grass-roots legislative blitz with forcing Congress to cut a deal that provides more money for training U.S. workers, some improvements in enforcement, and a shorter duration of increased visa levels.
In a House Science Committee staff newsletter, a Democratic legislative director cites "a major role has been played by IEEE in ground-breaking work of an S&E (science and engineering) professional society to get in the middle of a major controversial legislation. Action alerts sent in August have resulted in a flood of mail opposed to lifting the caps and the pulling of the bill off the schedule is partially in response to the release of an IEEE-USA poll done by Lou Harris showing 82% of the public opposed. Regardless of your views on this issue, the IEEE activity is certainly something to be studied as setting new thresholds for policy involvement by an S&E professional society."
BILL PROMOTING WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CLEARS CONGRESS - In response to a 1996 NSF report on women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering, HR 3007 establishes a commission to identify and address the problems associated with their recruitment, retention and advancement. The Commission will consist of seven representatives from U.S. businesses and four individuals appointed from the ranks of U.S. education or academic institutions in the fields of life science, physical science or engineering. They will recommend policies to help breakdown barriers that face women, minorities and people with disabilities pursuing a career in the sciences.
CALL FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PAPERS - IEEE-USA's Professional Development Conference has issued a Call for Papers for its 1999 meeting in Dallas, "Entering the New Millennium." They are seeking papers on a variety of topics including Career Planning, Entreprenurial Skills, Mentorship, Strategic Planning, Ethics, Diversity and Public Policy. See www.ieeeusa.org/usab/PRODEVCON/.
ENGINEERS AND EDUCATORS COLLABORATE - One hundred engineers and educators gathered in October as part of the Technological Literacy Counts! (TLC) workshop to collaborate and reach solutions for the enhancements of technological literacy for primary- and secondary-level students worldwide. The TLC workshop is designed to serve as a forerunner for future events related to the issue of technological literacy. For more information on how to become involved in promoting technological literacy among pre-college students, please contact Barbara Coburn, IEEE Educational Activities, 732-562-5498, b.coburn@ieee.org.
IEEE APPROVES GIGABIT ETHERNET STANDARD - The long-awaited 802.3z Gigabit Ethernet standard was unanimously approved in June by the IEEE Standards Association Standards Board. The Gigabit Ethernet capability moves network traffic at one billion bits-per-second, a tenfold increase in speed. A core objective in the development of Gigabit Ethernet was to maintain compatibility with the vast installed base of 10 and 100 Mb/s Ethernet networks and systems. For the majority of network users, this compatibility means the transition to gigabit networks can be made with a minimal investment and without the need for retraining support staff and users. It also minimizes time-to-market for Gigabit Ethernet products. To obtain a copy, contact e-product@ieee.org (PDF), or IEEE Customer Service, 800-678-4333, customer-service@ ieee.org.
COMSOC VIDEO AVAILABLE ON WEB - The keynote address from the International Communications Conference in Atlanta is available via the Internet at www.comsoc.org/video/index.html (click on Keynote). At their conference last June, the IEEE Communications Society broadcast several technical sessions as well as the banquet presentation by Bob Lucky, a past IEEE ComSoc president who is currently working at Bell Communications Research. Feedback is appreciated. Users may need to upload the real video viewer.
It's time again for the Annual TCU Engineering Lecture, co-sponsored by the IEEE Fort Worth Section. The event is now in its third year and seems to get bigger and better with each year. With a significant number of members employed in the aerospace industry, this month's talk on "America's Aerospace Heritage and the Foreign Connection" should be of particular interest. See the calendar section for further details.
As I mentioned last month, MetroCon will move to a weekday in April for 1999. The date is set for Thursday, April 22nd at the Arlington Convention Center, next to the Ballpark. I am delighted to announce that this year's keynote speaker will be Dr. Richard Smalley, Director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) at Rice University and the 1996 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry. Dr. Smalley will present a fascinating insight into the world of nanotechnology. Technical tracks this year will include Telecommunications, Microelectonics/ Nanotechnology, and Internet Software. Look for further details in an upcoming issue of Signals.
Finally, it has come to my attention that a number of industry libraries do not receive Signals (since libraries are not registered as members of the local section). If your company library does not have Signals, why not ask your librarian to send a quick email to our editor and we can easily remedy this.
- Alan Triggs
Recognizing our Section members for their long-time commitment to the profession on the anniversary of their joining IEEE.
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Jean Eason, Editor