Technological Innovation Driving Economic Prosperity

Impact Outlook • ‘IEEE members are at the leading edge of the technologies that can harness raw data and turn it into useful knowledge to advance technology for humanity’

• ‘We are interacting extensively and diversely with industry to bring forth products and services of value and importance to technical professionals in industry’

Technological innovation driving economic prosperity

Members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) are involved in cutting- edge technology developments all over the world. 2016 IEEE President and CEO Barry L Shoop offers some insights into the Institute’s efforts to support advances throughout the electrical and electronic engineering fields

In your opinion, what are the key challenges that research in the solve the problems. In the early stages, the emergence of the area of technology sector globally is currently facing, and how can these cyber was primarily technological but as the field has matured, other be addressed? dimensions including legal, policy, social and ethical have become equally important. A similar trend has emerged for robotics, where Too much data – too much raw information – too little knowledge. One again these interdisciplinary dimensions have come to the forefront. of the challenges facing the research and development community is Another recent example is Smart Cities, an effort that spans multiple in the area of big data and big data analytics. Application areas such as IEEE technical Societies and addresses concerns as diverse as energy healthcare, remote sensing, genomics, business informatics, and others generation and sensor technologies. As world urbanisation continues to are generating exabytes (1018) of data each day – as of 2012, 2.5 exabytes grow with the total population expected to double by 2050, there exists (2.5×1018) of data were created every day. The world is awash in raw data an increased demand for intelligent, sustainable environments. that we need to make sense of and turn into knowledge. IEEE members are at the leading edge of the technologies that can harness raw data I believe the IEEE Future Directions Committee’s initiatives are some and turn it into useful knowledge to advance technology for humanity. of the best places to find IEEE members working on technologies with The knowledge they are gleaning from these efforts is propelling the capacity to change our world for the better. From big data and cloud advances across the spectrum of IEEE’s fields of interest, as well as in computing to smart grid, cybersecurity, and our Brain Initiative, IEEE countless other disciplines. members are working across diverse disciplines, pursuing varied and pioneering research avenues, and helping to shape the world we will With more than 420,000 members in over 160 countries, IEEE soon be living in. represents a large number of the world’s engineers and scientists. What are some of the world-changing technologies your members are Can you talk a little about the work IEEE is involved with in regard to involved in? developing industry standards across a number of sectors?

The shorter list might be what IEEE’s members are not working on. The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) develops global standards in IEEE members are currently involved in the life sciences and biomedical a broad range of industries, including power and energy, biomedical and engineering, robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, healthcare, IT and robotics, telecommunication and home automation, photonics, computers, software, hardware and chip design, microwave transportation, nanotechnology, and information assurance. Standards theory, aeronautics, biomedical engineering, the Internet of Things, provide the framework for a globally level playing field for innovation. If cellular communications, remote sensing, cybersecurity. If cutting-edge innovation is the catalyst for technological advancement, standards are work is going on in technology somewhere in the world, there is an the catalysts that enable innovation. excellent chance that a member of IEEE’s international community is involved in or leading that work. One of the best examples might be the high voltage direct current (HVDC) standards development efforts IEEE recently led. These Additional growth is in the areas of technology and engineering standards are already playing a crucial role in the transmission of convergence – those problems facing society and humanity that are electricity. In some instances, these HVDC standards are making more truly multidisciplinary. We are in an era where the most important and efficient national electricity grids. In other instances, such as several pressing problems require teams from multiple disciplines working to transnational power grids within Europe, they are bringing together

24 www.impact.pub BARRY L. SHOOP is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Optical Society of America (OSA), and the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE). He holds a patent on photonic analog-to-digital conversion and has authored over 150 archival publications as well as eight books and book chapters.

electricity generation from renewable and other energy sources, and industry, identify needs, and develop strategies to best serve industry enabling the sharing of that generated electricity across borders. professionals. The information we have gleaned from these interactions is playing a crucial role in the ongoing and evolving strategic What do you see as being the emerging trends for technology efforts of IEEE. We acquired GlobalSpec and its Engineering360 sector research? platform, a leading source of news, data and analytics for the global engineering and technical community. In May, IEEE launched the There are quite a few potential disruptive technologies on the horizon. International Roadmap for Devices and Systems, an extension of the Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are two fields of research International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors that will build a that will only gain in importance in the next few years. Biomedical comprehensive end-to-end view of the computing ecosystem, including engineering is another field that, while already robust, will only get more devices, components, systems, architecture and software. vibrant in the near future. IEEE has also expanded its global presence and engagement with The important topics of the future will, most likely, lie at the offices in key geographic locations around the world. Belgium, China, convergences of technologies. Take biomedical engineering and India, Japan and Singapore all host an IEEE presence. This year, IEEE cybersecurity, for example. The greatest technological advancements opened a second office in China due to growth in the country and to be that can be used in a healthcare environment mean nothing if they closer to Shenzhen, China’s Silicon Valley, and better support engineers can be disabled or commandeered by a hacker with a keyboard and in that area. We are also currently working on opening an IEEE office in an agenda. I foresee quite a bit of research in areas like this, where Vienna, Austria. the stakes are high and the security of an innovation has to be just as important as the innovation itself. I believe that Africa holds great promise for the future of IEEE. We are making progress there because we realise it’s not just about We need to be vigilant in areas at the boundaries of our traditional humanitarian efforts and philanthropy, it’s also about public-private core competencies – advances in life sciences, materials science and partnerships and business opportunities. alternative energy – because it is at these boundaries that innovation and progress occur.

Can you describe IEEE’s ongoing efforts to work more closely with industry, and the geographic regions you would like to see IEEE focus on in the coming years. What do you see as being the long-term benefit of these efforts with industry, and these particular geographic regions? Contact details: The IEEE Ad Hoc Committee on Industry Engagement, led by the IEEE Board of Directors, has demonstrated vision and dedication Barry L. Shoop, Ph.D., P.E. 2016 President and CEO of the Institute of in their efforts during the past two years to move IEEE forward. Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) We are interacting extensively and diversely with industry to bring forth products and services of value and importance to technical T: 732-562-3928 professionals in industry. E: [email protected] W: www.ieee.org In 2015, IEEE senior leaders met with more than 175 industry leaders from 45 companies in China, Germany, Japan and Silicon Valley. This year, we met with 250 leaders from 47 companies in Canada, China, India, Israel, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Our goal was to collect feedback on IEEE’s current offerings to