|
| |
From the Editor
Dr Suresh Vadhva
Welcome to the IEEE Sacramento section
newsletter for October 2004.
Please note that the 2004 IEEE Annual Election ballots have been
mailed. This is your opportunity to
provide input to determine who will serve on the IEEE. The ongoing
elections will end on October 30th 2004. We have two candidates for the
2005-2006 Region 6 Director-Elect position.
Please click here for more details about the candidates.
For the first time,
members may cast their ballots either by mail or access their ballot
materials electronically. Instructions and codes to access electronically
are provided in the election ballot materials that have been mailed.
Useful links for the IEEE elections:
I hope you find this
Newsletter to be a valuable
resource and I welcome any comments or
suggestions contact me at:
sacieee@gaia.csus.edu
IEEE:
PO Box 381,
Rancho Cordova, CA - 95741
____________________________________________
Contents:
| Editors
Comments.............................................................. |
1 |
| Sacramento
Events............................................................. |
1 |
| Cartoons --
Teamwork......................................................... |
2 |
| IEEE LEOS
Chapter........................................................... |
2 |
| Globalization Danger .......................................................... |
3 |
|
Abstract............................................................................. |
4 |
| About the
presenter............................................................ |
4 |
|
|
|
Sacramento Events
IEEE Region 6
Central Area Conference California State University, Sacramento.
Local Host: IEEE CSUS Student Branch.
Date: Friday, October 9th, 2004
Time: 8:00 AM to 4:45 PM
Venue: California State
University, Sacramento
Please click here for complete details
*********************************************************
IEEE Computer Society:
Flash
Failure Analysis skills and its importance in Manufacturing.
By : Eric Baer, Flash Products Group,
Intel Corporation.
Date: Friday, October 22nd, 2004
Time: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Venue: Auburn Room, University Union, California State
University, Sacramento
Complete abstract on Flash Failure Analysis
Click here for complete
details of the presenter.
Parking permits and driving directions to CSUS
**********************************************************
IEEE LEOS Sacramento Chapter:
Control System Architecture and Implementation for Remotely-Operated
Underwater Vehicles.
By: Aaron Needles, Schilling Robotics
Organized by : Dr. S. K.
Ramesh, IEEE LEOS Chapter Chair, Sacramento Valley Section.
Date: Friday, November 5, 2004
Time: 1:45 PM to 4:00 PM
Venue: Schilling Robotics,
Please click here for directions
NOTE: This event is limited to a
maximum of 20 persons. The first 20 persons who RSVP will be contacted to
confirm their participation. Later sign ups may be accommodated on a space
available basis. Please e-mail Dr. Ramesh at
s.ramesh@ieee.org with your name,
affiliation, and contact information (e-mail/telephone numbers)
Deadline for RSVP’s: Friday, October 22, 2004
Complete details of the Tour of Schilling
Robotics
|
| |
Cartoons
ATTITUDE
|
|
About
IEEE LEOS Chapter: Tour of Schilling Robotics
The next event of IEEE LEOS chapter
is scheduled
for Friday, November 5th, 2004 and is a tour of Schilling Robotics and a
talk by Aaron Needles
Abstract:
Remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) have been used for several decades to
support a variety of underwater applications, including construction,
inspection, and maintenance of underwater equipment. An ROV system is
typically installed on a ship and includes an operator control room which is
connected to the ROV through an umbilical cable up to 5000m long. These
systems are used in oceans around the world, and the extreme environmental
conditions add significantly to the design challenge. Recently, Schilling
Robotics identified a range of possible improvements that could be applied
to existing ROV technology, and the company embarked on a multi-year program
to design a new class of ROV system. The presentation will describe ROV
systems with a focus on control systems, electrical power distribution and
communication systems.
Agenda:
-
1:45 PM - 2:00PM Arrive at Schilling Robotics.
Receptionist will forward you to the conference room.
-
2:00 PM - Technical Presentation: Control System
Architecture and Implementation for Remotely Operated Underwater
Vehicles.
-
3:00 PM - Tour with Q&A
-
4:00 PM - Adjourn
No formal sign-in is needed at the front desk, but
people should stop there first and the receptionist will forward them to the
conference room. The tour will probably require about 1/2 hour and then we
can meet again for any further questions in the conference room.
Upcoming events: We are planning to organize a tour and talk at the Center
for Biophotonics in December. Stay tuned for more information in the next
issue of the newsletter. Our October kickoff event at Sure West
Communications on Fiber to the Home (FTTH) was very well attended with over
30 participants. If you would like to see more events like these please
consider volunteering and/or serving for your local LEOS Chapter. Contact
Dr. Ramesh at s.ramesh@ieee.org for more information. |
| |
Globalization Danger
© Cici Mattiuzzi, Director, Career Services
Office,
College of Engineering & Computer Science, CSUS
From time to time, the sky appears to be falling.
The economy seems stalled, jobs are scarce and a general malaise sets
in. If you are trying to make a decision about what to do with your
future, the pervasive sense of uncertainty can be paralyzing. It is hard
to decide which way to go.
The last time the demand for technical professionals was this weak was
in the early 90’s, just after the Soviet Union fell. The US went through
a very painful recession that threw tons of engineers out of work and
into the unemployment lines. That was really the first time that
white-collar (professional level) workers had experienced such extreme
unemployment, along with blue-collar (factory workers). Manufacturing
workers suffered additionally because their jobs were being shipped to
lower cost markets in Mexico, Latin America, and Asia. The forces that
conspired in that recession to cause such high unemployment were
demilitarization and global competition.
American ingenuity fueled a recovery and resulted in a remarkable
economic boom in the mid to late 90’s. The emergence of computerization
and automation technology allowed American companies to reclaim
dominance and to bring high paying jobs and profits back to the US.
But once again in 2004, America finds itself unable to create jobs for
enough of the people who are seeking work. The current recession is much
more worrisome than the recession of the early 90’s. Globalization, a
movement that should produce many benefits, has instead created extreme
challenges with respect to ability of American workers to compete.
Currently, white-collar jobs are being shipped to India and blue-collar
jobs are being shipped to China, where work can be done for a small
fraction of what it costs to produce products and services in America. The web enables information and technology to fly across the globe,
allowing work to be done in the most remote locations. And as a result,
fewer American workers are needed. |
|
America may never recover from the
latest round of job losses. Economists have always held that in the long
run, the American economy will benefit from globalization. But according
to Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Samuelson, America is now
threatened with the loss of technological dominance. Samuelson, the
professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, objects
to claims that off shoring jobs to other cheaper labor markets will
benefit the U.S. in the long run - deeming them an "untruth" and
simplistic.
The ability to innovate with new technology has always given America the
upper edge. But the decline in US job has caused enrollments in high
technology majors to decline significantly. America turns out far fewer
engineers and scientists than India and China. And there are no
incentives for Americans to pursue PhD’s in science and technology. How
can you possibly innovate without the innovators?
My gut feeling is that someone is going to wake up and say we need to
push the envelope again, rather than sealing it. I believe you will see
a political push, not for protectionism, but for policies that encourage
American technology. The future security of America depends on it.
Back to your decision. I received a call from a CS Alum at 7:00 this
morning. He is trying to decide if he should pursue a PhD in computer
science. My answer was “definitely!” America is depending on you! In the
next five years - the length of time it will take you him to finish his
degree - we will have a staggering demand for high-tech college
professors. We cannot just cede the future to India and China. We need
to continue to generate engineers and scientists here in the USA!
|
| |
Abstract:
Flash Failure Analysis skills
and its importance in Manufacturing.
By : Eric Baer, Flash Products Group, Intel
Corporation.
Date: Friday, October 22nd, 2004
Time: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Venue: California State
University, Sacramento
In this presentation we will talk about the skill set and tools required to
perform Failure Analysis on Flash Memory Devices and drive Corrective
Action. We will be covering: What is Failure Analysis? and Why is Failure
Analysis such a vital part of any manufacturing environment? As a
manufacture of Flash Memory Devices we want to control the quality and
reliability of our products we sell to customers, but we also want high
manufacturing yield margins for increase profitability.
About the Presenter
Eric Baer received his AS in Electronic Engineering
from Butte Community College in 1983. For one year he worked for Xicor
Corporation as a Q&R tech on SRAM and EEPROMS. After one year he joined
Intel Corporation as a Q&R tech working on EEPROMS, EPROMS, and later Flash
memory. As a Q&R tech Eric is responsible for performing reliability
stressing on new memory products and packages validating they are healthy
enough for production release. This includes performing Failure Analysis
(FA) to determine root cause for failure. Eric has also worked as one of the
design team members for the first 16M Flash device. Today he works in the
Flash SCSP Q&R team qualifying new stack products. Eric has worked as a Q&R
tech at Intel for the past 20 years. |
|
|
|
October 2004
