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Vol 9 No 4 December 2006 Student drive?...... p9

In this issue... Feature articles...... 7, 12 Region news...... 1–4 Student news...... 8–11 Section and Branch news...... 5–7 Conference calendar...... 12 Directors celebrate Tesla 150 In honour of the sesqui- centennial of the birth of (1856-1943), the IEEE Board of Directors passed a special citation celebrating the work of the Milestone unveiled for Callan electrical pioneer. A special plaque was cast, and pre- Reverend Nicholas Cal- cantly to the understanding called a ‘repeater’. He was electromagnets of his time, sented to the Tesla Museum lan (1799-1864) has been of electrical induction in the the first to establish the link including a giant battery of in Belgrade, Serbia. officially acknowledged for 19th century. between rate-of-change of 577 cells, and patented a On the 150th anniver- his remarkable contributions He developed the first current and electromagnetic method for protecting iron sary of his birth, the IEEE to the field of engineering induction coil in 1836, induction, and discovered the from rust, an early form of is pleased to recognise the with the dedication of an then went on to build the principle of the self-exciting galvanization. seminal work of Nikola Tesla IEEE Historic Milestone in first successful mechanical dynamo. Callan also built the In the year 2000, Callan in the field of electrical en- his honour. current breaker, which he most powerful batteries and was one of several scientists gineering. Among his many The plaque unveiling cer- and engineers to be celebrat- accomplishments, those that emony took place on 5 Sep- ed in a series of Irish postage stand out are his innovative tember at the National Uni- stamps on the theme of ‘dis- contributions to the applica- versity of Ireland, Maynooth, covery’, alongside the likes of tions of polyphase current to 25km west of Dublin. The Galileo, Einstein, Marie Curie electric power systems, his event was hosted by Frank and . pioneering work with elec- Devitt and John Hughes from Callan died at Maynooth tromagnetic waves, and his NUI Maynooth, with IEEE on 10 January 1864. Many experiments with very high president Michael Lightner of his induction coils, bat- voltages. The Tesla Museum (second left in the photo teries and magnets are on in Belgrade is to be com- above), education and sci- permanent display in the mended for its successful ence minister Mary Hanafin National Science Museum efforts to preserve artifacts and Royal Irish Academian at Maynooth (www.nuim.ie/ and documents related to Jim Selvin in attendance. Callan’s giant coil (1837) consists of three secondary coils museum). Tesla and to make them ac- Callan had been profes- connected in series on an iron core. Each coil contains Financial sponsorship cessible to scholars through- sor of Natural Philosophy at about 10 miles of very fine wire insulated with a mixture of of the Milestone was gener- out the world. Saint Patrick’s College May- beeswax and gutta-percha. In 1837 this apparatus was able ously donated by Intel Cor- Special Tesla ceremonies nooth and contributed signifi- to produce sparks some 15 inches long. poration. and dedications were held in Zagreb, (where Tesla was born) and Belgrade. Region 8 wins grants from IEEE Foundation www.tesla-museum.org Each year, the IEEE Foun- and innovative projects that tional, historical preserva- Student Study Tour to dation raises and distributes seek to improve the world- tion, and peer recognition Finland, and millions of dollars for philan- wide technological literacy program of IEEE Units. Denmark – US$1,000 thropic programs that further of society from childhood During the course of IEEE Student Branch the scientific and educational through adulthood. 2006, the IEEE Foundation Eindhoven purposes of the IEEE. Secondly, it serves as the proudly awarded grants to the This grant will partially sup- The IEEE Foundation ful- fund administrator for over following programs of or ben- port a three-week study tour fills its mission in two ways. 100 restricted funds that efiting members from IEEE for 24 IEEE student members First, it awards grants to new support a variety of educa- Region 8: continued on page 2 see also page 12

December 2006  region news IEEE Foundation grants Region 8’s History Advisory continued from page 1 through Finland, Sweden and share. The program focused Denmark. During the tour, on promoting these improve- Council shifts into gear the students will visit many ments for scientists and technology corporations and engineers in Africa and the The new Region 8 History cultural sites enhancing both Middle East. Advisory Council (HAC) has their technical knowledge the goal of strengthening any and cultural awareness. You and the Future – history of engineering, com- A Working Retirement: puting activities in our region. ICL2006 IEEE Student Fulfilling Quality Lives There are many diverse ac- Track – US$4,000 for an Aging Population tivities already happening but IEEE Education Society – US$20,000 little is known about them. This project provided a track IEEE Sweden Section Did you know, for exam- for students from around the This grant supported a work- ple, that IEEE Russia NW globe to share ideas on how shop to discuss improving the section held a successful education in the computer quality of life for the elderly conference last year on the technology and engineering and finding engineering solu- 110th anniversary of radio fields benefits society at the tions to address the difficul- invention? Or that Region 8 For example, you can by ensuring a professional Interactive Computer Learn- ties faced by the elderly when has two representatives on learn about the IEEE Unit- result with quality necessary ing Conference. The student they are still active, but feel the IEEE History Committee ed Kingdom & Republic of for historical archive; and by track attendees had the op- neglected by society. The (Hans Schmitt and Michael Ireland Section’s initiative setting up a central website portunity to interact with workshop was held 13–14 Psalides)? Or indeed that on Oral Histories by read- for R8 History activities and 300 professionals from over October 2006 in Sweden most of our technical con- ing transcripts of interviews communicating the result 50 countries and allow for and will welcome speakers ferences have no ‘historical conducted by Peter Hill and to all educational establish- further exchange of informa- and panels from around the record’ content? Charles Turner with a range ments in our region. tion between students and world. The HAC purpose is to of notable UK engineers This is not the only objec- professionals on an interna- encourage IEEE R8 mem- such as Cyril Hilsum, Ramsay tive of the HAC. We also plan tional level. The conference The IEEE Foundation is bers’ history projects and to Shearman, Kenneth Slater to organise a 2008 History was held on 27–29 Septem- excited about the activities spread knowledge about our and Ralph Benjamin. Conference in Strasbourg, ber in Villach, Austria. it has funded within IEEE profession’s achievements, Through the R8 HAC, the get involved with the IEEE Region 8. As the President archive historical records; Oral Histories’ stated objec- Life Member scheme, and Tesla – Neverending of the IEEE Foundation, I and provide funding for tive – to preserve, research, actively work in coordination Story – US$9,500 encourage the members and projects of a high standard. and promote the history of in- with national and other engi- IEEE Serbia and Montenegro units of Region 8 to consider We are setting up a website formation and electrical tech- neering societies. Section submitting grant propos- www.ieee.org/go/r8history to nologies – will be extended So watch this space and The IEEE Belgrade Student als for new and innovative reflect our activities, and we through Region 8. our website! You can contact Branch, along with a consor- projects that help people of invite participation from all How? By making the tech- us with your suggestions at tium of partners, organised all ages to understand how members. nique more widely known; [email protected]. an essay contest and confer- technology is created and im- ence for undergraduate and pacts society. The types of graduate students to cel- programs we expect to sup- ebrate the 150th birthday of port will improve primary and IEEE Fellow nomination changes Nikola Tesla. The authors of secondary maths and science IEEE Fellow grade mem- The IEEE Bylaws were These nomination forms the best 40 essays based on learning, increase active in- bership is bestowed by the amended to clarify the eli- can be submitted electroni- a Tesla theme were chosen terest in engineering and Board of Directors upon gibility of Application engi- cally. See the IEEE Web site by a group of judges and science, preserve the history IEEE Senior Members who neers and Practitioners, and at www.ieee.org/fellow. invited to the Tesla – Never- of IEEE associated technolo- have built up an extraordi- to establish the realisation Although electronic sub­ ending Story conference in gies, or tap the technological nary record of accomplish- of the significant value to mittal of Fellow nominations Belgrade on 8–16 July 2006 expertise of IEEE members. ment in any IEEE field of society standard for evalu- is to be highly recommend- where they shared their ideas To apply for a grant, visit our interest. The accomplish- ating nominations. ed, and is in fact the pre- covering all fields of electrical website at www.ieeefounda- ments honoured shall have ferred method of submittal, engineering with other future tion.org and click on Grants Fellow candidates are contributed significantly to the forms and instructions engineers. – Apply Report. now classified in one of the the advancement of engi- are also available as hard Note that the amount of following categories: neering, science and tech- copy. To request these, Mainstreaming Engineers money the IEEE Foundation • Application Engineer / nology, bringing the realisa- please email fellow@ieee. in Africa and the Middle has available to award grants Practitioner tion of significant value to org. East – US$20,000 is directly dependent upon • Research Engineer / society. The Class of 2007 Fel- IEEE Boston Section the charitable contributions Scientist The IEEE Fellow nomi- low nomination cycle ends This grant funded a program it receives. Thus, if you be- • Technical Leader nation process has changed on 1 March 2007. to help develop underserved lieve in the work of the IEEE • Educator since 2003 in an effort All questions on the IEEE sections by providing Foundation, please consider to generate more Fellow Another important step Fellow nomination process them with the technology to making a contribution to the nominations from industry. in modernising the Fellow or indeed any general ques- receive Distinguished Lec- IEEE Foundation through our Here’s a reminder of those nomination process is that tions about the IEEE Fellow turer Program presentations website at www.ieeefounda- changes that came into ef- the nomination forms and scheme can be directed to from all over the world in tion.org or via your IEEE mem­ fect last year (Fellow class instructions are now avail- the IEEE Fellow staff by real-time and to allow them ber renewal. of 2005). able on the IEEE Web site. email at [email protected]. to create their own distance Richard Gowen learning presentations to IEEE Foundation President

 December 2006 406-Ql-sixth_gift_4c 8/15/06 13:05 Page 1 region news

Membership development – Give the gift that matters. help and advice from the chair Give the gift of knowledge. A number of volunteers have first time we can expect to Membership been asking us for a concise have more than 60,000 mem- Development Workshop Contribute to the following IEEE guide that introduces them to bers in Region 8 by the end of This event was held on 8–10 funds through your dues renewal: the membership development the year! September in Zagreb, Croatia. • IEEE Foundation General Fund processes and tools that are Attended by MD officers from available from IEEE. Member-Get-A-Member 10 Sections, it was a signifi- • IEEE History Center Fund Now at last we have one! programme is upgraded cant success. A Section De- • IEEE Life Members Fund The is an essential If every member of IEEE recruit- MD Manual velopment Meeting was held • IEEE-USA Fund overview of MD Community and ed just one new member this on Malta at the beginning of • IEEE General Fund can be accessed online at: year, we would double our size October. www.ieeecommunities.org/ by 2007! But let’s be realistic • IEEE Canadian Foundation ieee.md.net – we think it’s perfectly possi- Volunteer Training • IEEE Region 8 Fund ble to increase our membership Workshop (Europe, Middle East, Africa) New Senior Member by around 5–10%. Remember, Another very successful event, • IEEE Region 9 Fund Initiative without Membership Develop- this was held in St Petersburg, All the instructions you need for ment, we can’t build the IEEE Russia, on 5–8 October. It was (Latin America) this scheme can be found at: of tomorrow. attended by volunteers from www.ieee.org/nsmi all the three Russian Sections, www.ieeefoundation.org Membership and , Lithuania, Belarus IEEE Region 8 Section Development and Ukraine. The next Volun- Membership Statistics Workshop teer Training Workshop will be According to membership sta- This was held on 9–11 June in organised in Capetown, South tistics, by 30 September 2006 Tallinn, Estonia, and attended Africa, in November. our Region had 56,287 mem- by 24 participants from Esto- bers. Compared to Septem- nia, Latvia, Lithuania and Rus- To get more members is ber 2005, that’s an increase sia NW. After signing the peti- everyone’s business! of 2,945 members (a rise of tion, Estonia became the 50th Aleksandar Szabo, IEEE 5.52%). This means for the Section in Region 8. Region 8 MD Chair DID YOU KNOW? IRSC gets closer to industry Professional activities Region 8’s Industrial Rela- Jozef Modelski tions Sub-Committee (IRSC) (left), Vice-Chair of exists to strengthen relation- Technical Activities, enhance career skills ship between IEEE and local congratulates In IEEE parlance, ‘profes- the business world, as well as industries. The committee R8 Director-Elect sional activities’ are those economics-related topics. members met for the first (and previous R8 that involve non-technical Note too that Division VI in Vilnius in April, followed IRSC Chair) Jean- skills at work. They can in- (Engineering and Human So- by another in Paris in Sep- Gabriel Remy clude any matters of interest ciety) comprises a number of tember, in conjunction with to IEEE members regarding societies with non-technical the annual Region 8 Indus- career advancement and remits, such as the Education trial Relations Officers I( ROs) day-to-day skills in the work- Society, Engineering Man- meeting. dated to include more infor- for all R8 IROs (Jean- place. agement Society, Product IRSC has modified the mation for the general public Michel Le Roux) The Region 8 Profes- Safety Engineering Society, IRO guide to include: as well as for R8 IROs. Also, • Provide guidance to mem- sional Activities Sub-Com- Professional Communication • Guidance to establish an two group mailing lists have bers of Student Branches mittee takes care of all top- Society, Reliability Society, industry leaders’ advisory been established to make Industry Relations pro- ics related to professional and the Society on Social group communication between gramme (Ferhan Ozkan) activities in the Region. As Implications of Technology. • Guidance to carry out IRSC and IRO members • Expand R8 IRSC members well as ensuring that profes- These groups offer con- analyses of IEEE industry easier: R8IRO@yahoogroups. to include members from sional activities are promoted tent relevant to members’ requirements com and R8IRSC@yahoog- Industrial Applications adequately at Region level, professional interests. The • National societies’ collabo- roups.com. Society (IAS) Inter-Society the sub-committee encour- Region 8 Professional Ac- ration agreements Several programmes have Cooperation Committee ages Section-level interest in tivities Sub-Committee is • Awards to industry been assigned to ‘champions’ and Standards Sub-Com- this important aspect of IEEE currently investigating how • Job site info for implementation: mittee (Rami Al-Mushcab) members’ lives. The activi- these societies and other • Template for logging infor- • Establish Distinguished In- • Develop criteria for corpo- ties led by the sub-committe related chapters might be mation about local industry dustry lecturers programme rate accreditation Awards includes soft skills training integrated further into the contacts (Nihal Sinnadurai (Nihal Sinnadurai) and studies of psychological professional activities pro- The IRSC website (www. • Form a centralised data Rami Al-Mushcab and sociological issues within gramme of IEEE. ieee.org/r8irc) has been up- bank of industrial contacts R8 IRSC Chair

December 2006  editorial 20 issues – thanks Vol 9 No 4 December 2006 Region 8 News is published quarterly by the Region 8 committee of the Institute of Elec- trical and Electronics Engineers, and distributed free with IEEE Spectrum, to more than to you all 50,000 IEEE members. Read past issues online at www.ieee.org/go/r8news. Opinions expressed in IEEE R8 News are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent the Dear colleagues Elections in Region 8 policies of their employers or IEEE Board or R8 Committee. This issue celebrates my fifth At its autumn meeting at Bel- year as Editor of IEEE Region grade, Serbia, the IEEE Re- REGION 8 OPERATING COMMITTEE 8 News – that’s 20 issues! In gion 8 Committee proposed Bylaws and descriptions of the committee offices — refer towww.ieee.org/r8 the year 2000 I retired from two candidates for Director- 40 years’ working in the com- Elect 2008: Jozef Modelski EMAIL ADDRESSES OF REGION 8 COMMITTEE OFFICERS 2006 puter business, so organising (Poland Section) and Jaafar Officers and Vice Chairs Appointed Members and publishing the newslet- Al-Ibrahim (Saudia Arabia ter is now my main personal Section). You can vote for Director Awards & Recognitions GOLD Coordinator volunteer activity throughout your choice in November Baldomir Zajc Kurt Richter Rolf Remshardt the year. 2007. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] News articles are gath- Also the committee Director-Elect Conference Coordinator Industry Relations ered from many volunteer elected George Paunovic to Jean-Gabriel Remy Peter Farkas Rami Al Mushcab members who are active in be Vice Chair Technical Ac- [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] our 50+ Sections, in Mem- tivities, and Marko Delimar bership Development, Con- as Vice Chair Membership Past Director Chapter Coordinator Membership Development ferences, and in History of Activities for 2007/8. Tony Davies (Acting) Aleksandar Szabo Engineering. [email protected] Jozef Modelski [email protected] [email protected] Regular contributors in- Big numbers Secretary Standards Coordinator clude Tayfun Akgul (cartoon Our Region should pass Christian Borgert Editors, Region 8 News Yang Yang drawings), Levent Sevgi (Sci- 60,000 members by the [email protected] Roland Saam [email protected] entificL iteracy Quiz), and our time you read this. Congratu- [email protected] Treasurer Voluntary Contributions Region 8 Committee. lations to all for making our Bas¸ak Yüksel Brian Harrington Fund Coordinator Assistant editor Bas¸ak institute the top attraction for [email protected] Yüksel contributes her knowl- engineering professionals in [email protected] Vlatko Stoilkov Educational & Accredita- edge of regional students’ all our specialties. V/C Membership Activities [email protected] tion Activities topics, producing a Student Jaafar Al-Ibrahim Student Representative Victor Fouad Hanna News section which makes Talk to us! [email protected] Ricardo Varela Iglesias up half of every issue. I would like to hear from [email protected] V/C Student Activities [email protected] You, our readers and con- readers with suggestions Marko Delimar Electronic Communica- tributors, send us more than for future issues. Share your [email protected] tions Coordinator 100 articles and emails with views, opinions, knowledge Jeremy Newberry Information helpdesk words, photos and web- refer- and achievements with us V/C Technical Activities [email protected] [email protected] ences which we edit down to by writing an article for pub- Jozef Modelski Life Member Coordinator the issue you look at now. lication. Read the guidelines [email protected] Jacob Baal-Schem Thank you to everyone at www.ieee.org/go/r8news [email protected] for making this publication – click Tips for contributors. possible. Roland Saam, Editor The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New York 10016, USA

Swansea Science City News & articles Delivery problems Please notify all problems regarding member- [email protected] ship, publications delivery and change of address directly to IEEE member services. See website www.ieee.org and email member- Student News email . head wins recognition [email protected] [email protected] Extra copies if you would like extra copies of Region 8 News Prof Jaafar Elmirghani, Airport) which promises to Advertising For rates and deadlines, contact the editor. for distribution at your IEEE events, please email a request to Head of the Institute of Ad- imrpove airport and flight the editor before the deadlines below, specifying quantity and vanced Telecommunications experience using intelligent IEEE Region 8 website delivery address. Please put R8 News Extra Copies in your email www.ieee.org/r8 (IAT) at Swansea University, wired-wireless networked subject line. has won an outstanding con- systems. Editors Submitting articles we welcome news, articles and letters from tribution award in recognition Roland J. Saam [email protected] any member of the IEEE. Please send these to the editor as plain of his achievements in secur- text by email to , remembering to put Bas¸ak Yüksel [email protected] Region 8 ing large-scale research. News in your email subject line. If sending photos or graphics, [email protected] Elmirghani’s research for please make sure they are high-resolution files. Read our full guide the Engineering and Physical Editorial production to writing and submitting articles at www.ieee.org/go/r8news. Alistair Dabbs Sciences Research Council www.dabbsnet.com Deadlines for upcoming issues (EPSRC), the Department for Printing & mailing March 2007 issue...... Trade and Industry (DTI) and deadline: 1 January 2007 IEEE Publications Dept. June 2007 issue...... deadline: 1 April 2007 the EU exceeded £2.5m over Director: Bob Smrek September 2007 issue...... deadline: 1 July 2007 the past year. The EPSRC [email protected] December 2007 issue...... deadline: 1 October 2007 funded TINA (The Intelligent

 December 2006 section news Workshop studies new technology standards Ingo Rüsch, the past R8 nary presentation underlined SDOs, like IEC, ISO, JTC1 in brief Standards Coordinator, de- the importance of standardi- and ITU. Conference report: livered a presentation con- sation as a market opener for It also offers different Madrid cerning standardisation for new technologies for the ben- market-driven processes for The Seventh World the Morocco Section on 10 efit of manufactures, users developing standards and Conference of Thermo- June 2006 in Tangier. and the society at large. specifications and is at the photovoltaic Generation This took place on the Once more it was stated edge of using electronic tools of Electricity (TPV 7) occasion of the First Work- that the IEEE Standards As- for standards development. was held in El Escorial, shop on New Technologies sociation (IEEE-SA) is one The presentation con- Madrid (Spain) on 25–27 of Information and Commu- of the leading multinational cluded with the appeal to September. nication at the University of standards developing organi- participate actively in the The event was a Abdelmalek Essaadi. Some sation (SDO) and their stand- standardisation work to get top international forum 100 attendees took part in ards are world wide used. In results which reflect also Re- where researchers from the one-day workshop. Ques- Ingo Rüsch leads a session addition IEEE-SA is cooper- gion 8 interests. countries from different tions at the end of the ple- on global standardisation ating with all international Mohamed Essaaidi fields (emitters, filters,

cartoon © Tayfun Akgul semiconductors materi- als, cell technologies, Trans-Europe modelling, systems and thermoelectric) had the events look opportunity for dialogue, at industry information exchange and discussing the latest de- The recent Region 8 velopments. Trans-European Industry The conference count- Applications Chapters´ Joint ed on 45 attendees and Workshop was a four-stop 38 scheduled oral pres- touring event taking place in entations, divided into Madrid (see page 6), Helsinki, seven technical sessions St Petersburg and Moscow. and three invited talks. Each event was led by the distinguished IAS lecturer, Dr Conference report: K S Rajashekara, who spoke PRIME, Otranto on hybrid electric and fuel More than 150 PhD cell vehicle architectures. students gathered at the Other speakers included second PhD Research Prof Jozef Modelski (R-8 Vice in Microelectronics and Chair for Technical Activities), Electronics (PRIME) con- Nadezhda Dvurechenskaya ference in Otranto, Italy, (Vice Chair of the Russia in June to share their re- Siberia Section), H Landis SoRuCom measures the search experiences in the Floyd II (IAS President) and field of Microelectronics Dr Peter Magyar (IAS Chap- and Electronics. ters R8 Area Chair). legacy of Soviet computing The event, co-organ- Each of the four host ised by the Microelec- Chapters organised their Petrozavodsk State Uni- Prof John tronics Group at the Uni- workshops to suit local pref- versity hosted an IFIP Inter- Impagliazzo versity of Lecce and the erences. The Madrid event, national Conference entitled chaired a Integrated Microsystems for example, was followed Perspectives on Soviet and round table on Laboratory of the Uni- by a detailed discussion of Russian Computing (SoRu- the different versity of Pavia, included the topics raised. Uniquely, Com) on 3–7 July. approaches to 127 oral presentations the Helsinki seminar was de- The first-ever academic professional and a company fair at- signed to tie in with a Chap- event of its kind, the con- training in the tended by thirteen lead- ter-creation meeting: this ference drew over 170 par- East and West ing multinational employ- newly created chapter looks ticipants from eight countries ers in the sector. very promising. (Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, PRIME is a flagship Attendees at all the USA, France, , Cuba field; and the approaches to had achieved intellectual graduate student confer- events also took the oppor- and Mexico), representing ac- teaching the information and and technological success ence of the IEEE Circuits tunity to tour local industrial ademic institutions, leading telecommunication sciences compared to that of leading and Systems Society, Re- and academic institutions. universities and communities at universities. Representa- industrial nations (many of gion 8. This year, it was In Helsinki, attendees vis- in the sphere of information tives from IBM, Microsoft, the systems designed at that also supported by the ited the Power Electronics and telecommunication tech- and CISCO shared their vi- time are still in use today) IEEE SSCS, Italian Chap- Laboratory of the University nologies. sion of the future develop- and resolved to introduce a ter, and the IEEE IES. of Technology, and in St Pe- Plenary papers covered ment and cooperation with regular course on the history PRIME 2007 will tersburg, the IEEE delegation the issues of how Soviet universities. of computing into academic take place in Bordeaux, went to see the assembly of computing emerged, devel- The conference attend- curricula. France, in June 2007. turbo-generators in the com- oped and evolved; the con- ees arrived at the conclu- For more information, go www.ieeeprime.org pany Electrosila. temporary problems in this sion that Soviet computing to http://sorucom.karelia.ru.

December 2006  section news Bejczy honoured at mini symposium At the meeting of the Sen- Hungarian Academy of En- adaptation of robot technol- ate of Budapest Tech during gineers, at which those who ogy in space research. Within the opening of the academic received the honour delivered this wide topic, the opportu- year, Dr Antal K Bejczy was inaugural lectures in Buda- nities for robot adaptation awarded the title Civitate pest Tech’s new building. concerning space shuttles at Enjoying tapas in Spain (left to right): Dr Rajashekara (Raja) Honoris Causa. Dr Bejczy’s lecture was Earth-near orbits and space and his wife, Ken Slaven from ADEX, Dr Fraile-Ardanuy and A mini symposium was entitled New Technologies stations were presented. The his wife, and Dr Martín Sánchez. organised by IEEE Hungary in Space Research, giving a lecture reported on new sen- Section, Budapest Tech and professional overview of the sor systems, and about the relevant elements of control IAS Madrid meets software. A second lecture by Dr Pál Michelberger on Indus- with great success try, Science and Education looked at the connection be- Recently the Spanish rently launching a new tech- tween basic and applied re- Industry Applications (IAS) nology that could change the searches and the interaction and Control Systems (CSS) way companies manage their of science and practice since joint chapter hosted a tech- industrial processes. the industrial revolution. nical workshop. It began Finally, Dr Juan Manuel Péter Nagy with a presentation by IAS Martin-Sánchez give a pres- [email protected] President H Landis Floyd II, entation on adaptive predic- and a talk by Dr Kaushik Ra- tive expert control. jashekara on hybrid electric The Spanish IAS Chapter and fuel cells, hybrid vehicle was founded in 2001 and is Czech Section sponsors events architectures, and SOFCS for an active chapter, having IEEE Czechoslovakia three student conferences so in August, and the MTT/AP/ on-board power generation. hosted several conferences, Section currently enjoys a far this year. A GOLD meeting ED joint chapter was extend- From the industrial par- seminars and workshops. Its membership of 481, includ- was arranged in May. ed in July. ticipation perspective, Ken current president is Dr Juan ing five Fellows, 33 Senior The Section continues Activities for this autumn Slaven, General Manager for Manuel Martín-Sánchez, the Members and 82 Student to collaborate actively with include a Best Diploma The- ADEX, an industrial process Vice-President is Pedro Bal- Members. This year, the Sec­ the Radioengineering Soci- sis award (MTT/AP/ED/EMC control software company sa, the Treasurer is Dr Jesús tion has technically spon- ety (RS) to publish Radio- Chapter), the Vršov 2006 based in Madrid, spoke about Fraile-Ardanuy, and the Sec- sored three conferences and Engineering journal (www. Student Workshop at the how his company was cur- retary is Dr José Rodellar. financially supported another radioeng.cz), and also with Technical University of Brno, the Czech Centre at the In- and a General Assembly of stitution of Engineering and the Section and Chapters. Technology (IET). A new For further information, AFRICON 2007 EMB Chapter was approved visit www.ieee.cz. www.africon2007.co.za 26–28 September 2007 Update from Ukraine Section Windhoek, Namibia Between January and The Section also contin- September this year, IEEE ues to collaborate actively Organised by IEEE Ukraine Section has held 36 with the Ukrainian Union of South Africa Section technical meetings and been Power Engineering Special- in partnership with the involved in seven internation- ists and the Ukrainian Union Polytechnic of Namibia al conferences. of Engineers. Stockholm workshop to consider the price of living longer The traditional indus- for many hi-tech companies trial world faces a drastic and agencies in Europe al- aging of her population, and ready finding it hard to recruit politicians are asking: “Who qualified personnel, not least will pay the pensions?” This engineers. will be the topic for a Life This hampers growth Cycle Scenario Workshop and threatens their welfare. entitled You and the Future, If nothing is done the em- organised by IEEE Sweden the public economy in order. ment is a waste of life-long view, it makes sense to take ployment and production Section, due to be held on But there are also social con- investment. Just like artists advantage of the qualifica- will move elsewhere unless 20–21 April in Stockholm. sequences of living longer: and politicians, engineers tions and experiences of more people keep involved Some countries such as the acceptance of older peo- and scientists can be profes- older people, who themselves in a productive life. Germany, the UK and Den- ple playing an active part in sionally active well into their need their longer lifespans to For more details, visit mark wat to raise the official society, issues of healthcare eighties. be meaningful and produc- www.rart.com/you-and-the- retirement age just to keep and so on. Forced early retire- From a society point of tive. This is especially true future.

 December 2006 section news feature articles A rich year for Siberia Test your scientific This year has been rich in events for the IEEE Russia numeric literacy by Levent��������������������� Sevgi of Dogus U�niversity,������������������� Istanbul Siberia Section. The most ([email protected]) significant of these was the visit to the Section by Region A group of students is required to predict the 8 Nominations and Appoint- received power of a transmitter at a given frequency and a distance ments Committee members d. The transmit power P , the trans- mit antenna gain t on 3–10 August. It was a Gt, the signal wavelengthλ , and great pleasure to receive Members of the N&A Committee visiting Novosibirsk the distance d are going to be measured and the Region 8 Director Prof Bal- Nadezhda Dvurechenskaya Siberia Corp. Both chapters received power is going to be calculated from domir Zajc, Director-Elect (Vice-Chair) and Associate have held elections, devel- 2 Prof Jean-Gabriel Remy, Prof Alexander Gridchin (Sec- oped plans for the near future PtGtλ Pr = [W] Past Director Prof Anthony retary/Treasurer). The main and started to work actively. (4πd )2 Davies and other N&A Com- aim of new team is expan- Back in May, we ap- mittee members Prof Marian sion of student activities, in- pointed an Industry Rela- After a series of conducted measurements, the transmit power Kazmierkowski and Gordon dustry relations, professional tions Committee. In June, Pt is found to be 120 kW with 1% accuracy. The wavelength is found to be Dodds to Novosibirsk. Local and technical activities, and Nadezhda Dvurechenskaya λ = 1.5 meetings with IEEE members external relations and repre- represented the Section at ± 0.02 cm. The transmit antenna gain is given to at Novosibirsk State Techni- sentation. the 1st IEEE R8 Trans-Euro- be Gt = 13 dB with a relative measurement error cal University (NSTU), two Two new Chapters were pean Industry Applications of –20 dB. Finally, the measurement results for the research Institutes of the established in 2006. The Chapters’ Joint Workshop in distance in kilometres, after 15 trials, are {7.54, Russian Academy of Sci- first EMB-S Chapter in Rus- Helsinki, St Petersburg and 7.12, 7.09, 7.37, 7.86, 7.43, 7.03, 6.97, 8.04, ences and Tomsk Polytech- sia was established on 21 Moscow. 7.96, 7.61, 7.52, 7.80, 7.16, 7.77}. nic University were organised July in Novosibirsk, chaired Close ties with the IAS a) What is the average distance dave and its stand- during this visit. We would by Prof Vladimir Makukha, Inter-Society Cooperation ard deviation ∆d (i.e., error bounds)? b) What do you say that the distance like to thank the Region 8 IEEE Senior Member and Committee have been estab- d will be if leaders for the opportunity Head of the Electron Devices lished as well as a number of 95% confidence level is required? c) What would you expect the range error ∆ to discuss many important Dept, NSTU. After that, the meetings with industry repre- d ap- topics and we hope to see Novosibirsk Joint IA/IE/PEL sentatives were held. proaches with the same 95% confidence level them in Siberia again. Chapter was founded on IEEE Russia Siberia Sec- if the number of range measurements tends to As a result of elections in 9 August, chaired by Prof tion currently has 255 active infinity? March, the following young Sergey Kharitonov, Head of IEEE members, seven Chap- d) What is the received power, P r ± ∆Pr ? and energetic persons were the Industrial Electronics ters, a GOLD Affinity Group, e) What may be the lowest level of the received appointed as Section officers: Dept, NSTU, and general di- four Student Branches and a power under 99.7% confidence level? Prof Andrey Fionov (Chair), rector of Power Electronics of WIE Student Affinity Group. Send your answers to Levent Sevgi [email protected] Saudi Arabia focuses on Answers to last issue’s literacy quiz The answers to the scientific numeric literacy quiz from Region 8 News September 2006 are given with a full standards advancement explanation (and a reminder of the questions) at our website: www.ieee.org/go/r8news. Representatives from cuss establishing a standards imising the use and benefits the IEEE Saudi Arabia (East) session at the 4th IEEE GCC of IEEE standards while uti- section held a brainstorming Conference in 2007. lising industry participation. session on 1 September with Proposals were drafted Suggestions were made to Answers to last IEEE Region 8 Standards on various topics that could consider establishing an IEEE Coordinator Dr Yang Yang, be included at the IEEE GCC standards regional committee Region 8 Standards Vice conference. The topics cover and encourage each section issue’s photo quiz Coordinator Prof Nihal Sin- several tracks starting with a to have an IEEE standards of- Congratulations to Tommi Saarinen from Ouku, Finland, nadurai, and R8 IRSC Chair- basic understanding of IEEE ficer to further enable activi- our winner of the photo quiz in Region 8 News September man Rami Al-Mushcab. The standards landscape and ties and coordination in this 2006. An IEEE T-shirt is on the way! The answers were... aim was to further advance development process for the regard. 1. The electrical components are: IEEE standards awareness novice, and moving into more IEEE Saudi Arabia (East) – four wires terminated on insulations attached to the in the GCC region and dis- intriguing challenges on max- Section has already estab- crossing support lished an IEEE Standards Of- – jump wires connecting the ficer position to focus atten- wires over the crossing support tion on standards promotion – lamp (on the left) with and coordination, currently connecting wires held by Michael Elsayed. – branch cable connected to the The Section is starting to wires Participants see benefits in this area and 2. It’s a three-phase system with three phases and neutral at the session considers the next GCC con- 3. The device on the left is a lamp which operates on single conducted ference as a major vehicle to phase, thus it needs to be connected to only one phase and over dinner promote the work of IEEE. neutral

December 2006  www.ieee.org/r8sac

Dear friends, as this is my As all of you know, stu- I wish to express my grati- Many of them are organising last column, I will say a few dents from all over the Region tude to all of the participants and hosting wonderful inter- words on a personal note. recently met in Paris for IEEE and especially to the local national events. My term as Region 8 Region 8 Student Branch and organising team, who have We need to share this Student Activities Chair is GOLD Congress. done an amazing job. knowledge, so please send finally over andI want to tell This event brought to- At this time, we have ap- us your input and we will you that it has truly been a gether more than 320 volun- proximately 17,000 student publish it in the Region 8 pleasure to work with you teers from all over the world. members in the region, more Student Activities web site these past two years. I have It was an amazing experi- than ever before. Our student (www.ieee.org/r8sac) and enjoyed every second of it ence and you can read more activities keep growing at an Region 8 News. and I will use this opportunity about it in this issue. From exponential rate. Keep in mind that you be- aware that you are the future to thank all volunteers who my personal point of view, We have formed over long to an exclusive commu- of your profession and the fu- were in any way associated this was the best IEEE event 50 new Student Branches nity and enjoy the benefits of ture of the IEEE. So long, and with student activities. Your I ever attended; I have, also, in the last two years. I have its network. Stay up-to-date thanks for all the fish! work is tremendous and we heard similar comments from been fortunate enough to with the changing world of Marko Delimar have done extremely well in some of the future Presidents visit some of them and I was technology; advance your ca- R8 Student Activities Chair these two years. of the IEEE. impressed by their activities. reer and your profession. Be [email protected] Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic: Czech and Slovak PhD SBC 2006 participants The Organising Committee One of the sessions in full swing Workshop Czech and Slovak PhD stu- dents came together for IEEE Intense days in Paris at SBC 2006 Workshop Vršov on 19–21 The IEEE Region 8 Student dents (including both IEEE total of seven awards were meeting in conjunction with September, organised by the Branch and GOLD Congress President-Elect candidates presented, including the very the Congress. Even though Student Branch of Brno Uni- (SBC) 2006 took place in for 2007). first nomination for the Dar- some of these sessions were versity of Technology. Paris, France, between 31 The four days of the event rel Chong Exemplary Student given in parallel, GOLD and About 40 presentations August and 4 September at were very intense. After ar- Activity Award (University of IRO members joined the WIE covered almost all parts of the Pierre and Marie Curie rival and registration, France Twente Student Branch, R8 and student members during electrical engineering. The University (where the Curies Section offered a cocktail Robotics Contest). the social events. aim of this workshop was to had their laboratories). as a welcome gift. The pro- The final highlight of this Visiting Paris during the meet with colleagues from More than 320 attend- gramme that followed includ- SBC edition was the Elect SBC was a must. We had different universities and to ees from about 40 different ed more than 50 speakers, the President game show, in buses and guides taking us share research results with countries were registered, with plenary sessions, panel which Lewis Terman and John around the vibrant, romantic them. mostly IEEE student mem- discussions and 11 paral- Vig (IEEE President-Elect and historical French capital. The purpose of the meet- bers but also WIE (Women lel workshops. The number, candidates for 2007) faced The Multicultural Evening, a ing is also social, because In Engineering) and GOLD quality and originality of the Region 8 students. celebration of the cultural every year there are many (Graduates Of the Last Dec- these workshops showed SBC has always been richness in Region 8, was new PhD students in each ade) members. Region 8 rep- once more the enthusiasm a very attractive event, not the social highlight of the department, so this is an op- resentatives and guests from and dedication of the student only for student members. Congress. Members from portunity to help them to set- all 10 IEEE Regions joined us members, who organised and For the third time in a row, all represented countries tle into the PhD community. as well. We were very happy moderated them. we were joined by GOLD brought their traditional food, Beyond technical talks, to welcome four Region 8 SBC 2006 also hosted volunteers. Furthermore, music, clothing and drinks, there was time for an after- Directors (past, present and the IEEE Student Awards the Region 8 Industry Rela- and presented a stand. The noon trip around Železné future) and four IEEE Presi- and Contests Ceremony. A tions Officers I( RO) had their evening was full of French hory (Iron mountains) and the cheese, Saudi Arabian handi- evenings were filled with all craft, Turkish songs, Egyptian types of technical and non- mummy-dressed attendees, technical conversations. IEEEXtreme Programming Contest Belgian chocolates, Spanish This was the fourth such It’s coming! IEEEXtreme, the full day of your fellow student members and sign Flamenco, etc. workshop since 2003 and global programming competition designed up. As a team you will work to solve a set You can find more infor- hopefully it’s going to be- just for students. Take the challenge and of programming problems, competing for mation, including the detailed come a tradition. We expect participate in the first ever IEEEXtreme some really cool prizes, and if you are good programme, presented slides the next event to be at least Programming Competition. This is a global enough, you will be crowned the firstIEEE - and lots of pictures at www. as popular with PhD and challenge – you will be competing with stu- Extremist. ieee-r8sac.org/sbc2006. research students as this dents around the world. For more information, rules and to sign Mark Tawileh, Thomas year’s. Are you ready? If so, get together two up, visit www.ieee.og/. Watteyne and Amine Yazidi, Zbynìk Fedra, Chair Local Organising Committee [email protected]

 December 2006 student news

United Arab Emirates University, UAE: University of York, UK: Election day for WIE An IEEE Election Day was This event was organised un- York students wake up held on 21 September at der supervision of the coun- UAE University. The main sellor of WIE Student AG at objective of this day was to UAE University. 17 students, form a new committee for including 12 IEEE members, to Farnborough Airshow IEEE Women In Engineering attended along with three tu- After a domant year, IEEE (WIE) Affinity Group A( G) in tors from the Electrical Engi- University of York Student UAE University. neering Department. Branch made its comeback The most important guest Sara Ahmed Al Muaini last February. One of the big- was Fatima Al Dhahri, the up- IEEE UAE University WIE gest events organised so far coming Chair of WIE in UAE. Student AG Secretary was a technical trip in July to the Farnborough Interna- Section: tional Airshow, which is one of the most internationally attended aerospace events Science Parks summit in the world. The 3rd Science Parks into an extensive level with It provides a venue for Summit (3-4 November) high participation from in- the world’s civil and military of the travel expenses. As with funding for this trip. was organised by the Student dustry. It was a platform to aerospace suppliers and their well as being able to see We believe that none of Branches of Bogazici Univer- discuss the current status of customers to meet up. For different types of aircraft at this could be done without sity METU, and supported science parks and problems more information, visit www. close quarters – and even sit the team work, the feeling of by the Istanbul Chamber of of new-born science parks. farnborough.com. in some – there were many trust to one another and the Commerce in Istanbul. The second day of the sum- For this event, 25 mem- opportunities for making new IEEE spirit. In this occasion, In this summit, the mit focused on helping en- bers of Student Branch were contacts and job hunting. we would like to thank you all knowledge-sharing platform trepreneurs implement their provided with entrance tick- We would like to take this for being with us in IEEE! between science parks and creative business ideas. ets and car park stickers. The opportunity to thank our uni- Emine Gokce Aydal related entities were widened Ferhan Ozkan SB also covered a big amount versity/department for help [email protected]

Eindhoven University, The Netherlands: Ajman University of Science & Technology, UAE: Eindhoven breaks silence Focus on community After a couple of silent years, the IEEE Eindhoven service programmes University Student Branch IEEE Ajman University together with new students made some drastic changes of Science & Technology attended the meeting. and encouraged membership (AUST) Student Branch ini- Being an IEEE-WIE mem- growth, once again ensuring tiated two community serv- ber, Tazeen Sharif received its future. ice programmes (SMART a full grant to present her The turnaround was and CAUSE) in February undergraduate research brought about by a new com- 2006. The students develop work at the 3rd IEEE GCC mittee that decided to focus projects under the supervi- Conference held in Bahrain its attention on Masters stu- sion of faculty members for in March. Sharif was the only dents, a group for whom stu- the competition. female engineering student to dent activities were thin on SMART (Student Mentors participate in the conference. the ground at the time. for Awareness Raising Tasks) IEEE-WIE members have Another major change was is one of the key programmes been active in other events to enter into cooperation with Racing through the study tour’s field trip to ABB where SB members compete such as WETEX 2006, 1st the largest study association in developing projects, based IEEE UAE Students Day, 3rd of the department – Thor attendees, and was preceded nies, two universities and six on simple scientific princi- WIE Anniversary Meeting and – ensuring that no competi- by a dinner and followed by museums located in Finland, ples, to demonstrate and Student Branch Congress tion in activities could occur. a social drink. Another great Sweden and Denmark. encourage high school stu- 2006. The IEEE AUST WIE Finally, the Branch decided social activity was the sailing In addition to these three dents to join the field of engi- Student AG is also working to to stress its international weekend in April: almost 50 successful activities, lots of neering. CAUSE (Community draw more female high school aspects. By helping foreign student members from all other parties and dinners Activities by Undergraduate students into engineering. students at the University over the IEEE Benelux Sec- filled the yearly schedule. Students of Engineering) and local students who plan tion joined up in the north Together, this has resulted involves students and fac- to study abroad, the Branch of the Netherlands for some in an explosive growth of ulty members team ing up actually became the centre of typically Dutch sailing. student members, from 39 to develop projects that can international activities in the Also popular was the last October to 114 currently be donated to children with Department. three-week study trip, NEXT and still rising. special needs. One of the new activities (‘Northern Europe eXplored Paul Booij The IEEE AUST SB addressing the Master stu- with IEEE and Thor’) in July, IEEE Eindhoven Student celebrated its first anniver- dents was a workshop on La- during which 26 lucky stu- Branch Chair sary on 19 September. More Tazeen Sharif presenting TeX. The event attracted 37 dents visited seven compa- [email protected] than 100 student members her work in Bahrain

December 2006  student news

did you know? A study group experience Alexandria University, : were given the chance to can be summed up in two join the team responsible for Study online words: share and guidance. designing posters, name tags Allowing our members to Study groups on web and certificates. After some with Berkeley! share the guidance of their excellent work, the number Every semester since fellow students, the Branch of participants rose to 130 autumn 2001, the Uni- launched a couple of study design and graphics members for the web design versity of California (UC) groups oriented to cover Alexandrian group and 126 members for Berkeley has been offer- web design basics as well as students attend the graphics group. ing live and on-demand graphics using Photoshop. a study group Many other Branch activi- webcasts of selected Our Student Branch has ties were held over the sum- courses to the public, also adopted a new strategy mer, including an electron- free of charge. for these sessions, holding ics course, a Matlab course, The courses on offer them in such a way that the a series of ‘come-to-know’ include Astronomy, Biol- participants perform a task was to encourage volun- most significant channels seminars, a trip to Bahgat ogy, Chemistry, Operat- and submit it before passing teers to take on the job of through which the Branch factories and an Egyptian ing Systems, Computer to the next session. designing and developing serves its members. In a Engineering Day visit. Programs, Digital Signal As for the web design Branch’s web site. This lat- similar way, gifted members Enas Radwan Processing, Digital In- study group, our intention ter is considered one of the in the graphics study group [email protected] tegrated Circuits, Soft X-rays and Extreme Ul- Al-Balqa’ Applied University, Amman, : traviolet Radiation, XML, Buddhist Psychology, and more. Watching or partici- pating over the Internet is WIE helps young students totally free. In addition to a web Ankara University, browser such as Net- to identify future aims Turkey: scape or Explorer, you will need the free RealPlayer IEEE Al-Balqa’ Applied Both activities brought us new members and volunteers Turkey SB plug-in, and a broadband University (BAU) Student significant benefits to inform joining up. Internet connection via Branch began this academic other students about our Mohammed Awny, Chair Conference DSL or a cable modem is year with a successful event. Branch. Our strong start to Bushra Zakaria Al- advised for optimal view- SB had two booths at the this year’s activities saw 30 Habashneh, WIE AG IEEE Turkey Student ing. You can still connect Engineer Mall on the univer- Branch Congress 2006 was via a 56k modem but sity campus. One included held in Ankara University dur- your image quality may brochures, IEEE advantages ing 25-27 August, just before be poor. paper, Spectrum Magazine, the IEEE R8 Student Branch If you wish to view a Region 8 and the Institute Congress in Paris. live webcast, simply go newsletters, application During this event, about to the webcast schedule forms and some gifts for 200 IEEE student members for the specific course visitors. from nearly 40 different stu- Participants at the WIE AG conference and click the large ‘Real’ The other event was run dent branches all over Tur- icon at the appropriate by the WIE affinity group, IEEE BAU key had the opportunity to day and time. Usually all who arranged a conference SB and come together and discuss the materials you need entitled ‘How to Plan Your Fu- WIE AG the last status of on-going for a lecture are posted ture’, held on 23 September. volunteers activities and projects face to the site one day before 70 students, several teach- at the to face and make necessary the lecture itself. Lec- ers, and the head and the Engineering arrangements for possible tures are electronically secretary of WIE AG of Jordan Mall joint activities. archived and made avail- participated. The conference It also paved the way able online afterwards, so targetted younger students for joint Student Branch don’t worry if you miss a aged between 16 and 18. University of Cyprus: activities in Ankara, and live webcast. The event programme these began straight after In the spring of 2006, focused on lectures with the congress was over. We Berkeley also began a the following subjects: ‘How Branch is revitalised believe that joint activities Podcast pilot project. to Identify Your Aims’, ‘Self The IEEE University of Cy- sion with the Cyprus Science and projects create much Podcasting automati- Confidence’ and ‘Time Man- prus Student Branch was re- Technical Chamber and the more synergy than the sum cally delivers MP3 audio agement’, and there was a activated in 2005. Although Electrical and Computer En- of individual activities, so we recordings of classroom short 15-minute play. The it is still a small Branch, the gineering students regarding ask all Student Branches to lectures to computers conference was really a great board intends to increase their work rights. take part in joint activities and portable MP3 play- experience for more than 20 the number of volunteers The branch has already in their local areas. You can ers. Currently 26 courses WIE members who attended. and members through the applied to become a regis- make sure that you, as IEEE are participating in the The school has since asked organisation of a combination tered NGO in the Cyprus Re- Student Branches, have the Podcast trial. for more future cooperation of educational and entertain- public, as well as to become potential to be a partner of For further information, with our WIE Student AG. ing events. a Club of the Students Union any joint activity! visit the website at http:// After the event, almost 10 During the previous se- of the University of Cyprus. Yasemin Baser webcast.berkeley.edu. students decided to join IEEE mester, the board organised Michael Markou Bilkent University SB Chair BAU WIE Student AG. a successful open discus- Student Branch Chair [email protected]

10 December 2006 student news

Egyptian Student University of Trakya, Edirne, Turkey: Branches: Egyptian day New Turkish Branch of Engineering enjoys bright start It’s Your turn! This was the motto of this year’s Egyptian Murad Omar, Mohammad Omari, Tala Nimri, Diana Siam The IEEE University of Trakya sign groups for the arrange- Engineering Day (EED) , an University of Jordan: Student Branch has become ment of social and technical event where engineering pro- the newest member of the activities. The main intention fessionals meet new associ- IEEE family from Turkey: of our branch is to establish ates in the field, share ideas, Bird’s eye on activities our SB was established in close relationships between collaborate on projects and March 2006 with the en- students and industry. To this learn something new. EED A new academic year is Washington DC, winning an couragement of our Branch effect, we have participated 2006 was held for the 5th here and so too is a newly Honourable Mention for the Counsellor Cenk Atlig. in many of the IEEE activities time with the support of Dr elected Executive Commit- AviTrack project. AviTrack We are also grateful to and workshops in Turkey and Tarek Kamel, Minister of tee, continuing the previous is a system for tracking and the IEEE Turkey Section also plan a number of activi- Communication & Informa- committee’s work while also recognition of night migrat- Chair, Dr Ozlem Aydin Civi, ties for 2007. tion Technology and Dr Hany bringing new ideas, more ing birds. for his help. We have already organ- Mahfouz Helal, Minister of creativity, fun and more It was designed in col- Membership has risen ised a few seminars and Higher Education and Sci- privileges for our members. laboration with the Jordanian with the participation of workshops, inviting speakers entific Research, in addition Our plans vary from scientific Royal Society for the Conser- students from our Computer from the software industry. to industry sponsors. seminars to social activities, vation of Nature to assist in Engineering Department. We Please visit our website: The event began with from field trips to on-cam- their bird behavioural studies set up press and publication, http://ieee.trakya.edu.tr the Made In Egypt (MIE) pus workshops, from S-PAC and migration tracking. This public relations and web de- Edip Serdar Guner, Co-Chair competition finals, followed to student contests. We plan is of great significance since by a number of seminars and to cooperate with other SBs birds act as bio-indicators for University of a soft-skills track on writing in Jordan Section and else- environmental changes, and Trakya SB CVs. An awards ceremony where in Region 8 to organise thus assist in many areas of Executive took place at the end of the joint events. biological and environmental Committee event. EED was organised by Our Student Branch par- research. and SB the IEEE Egypt GOLD AG. ticipated in the world finals of Murad Omar, Chair Counsellor For more information, visit the IEEE Computer Society [email protected] www.ieee-egyptgold.org. International Design Com- Samir Rawashdeh, Nahel Muhammad Amirah petition (CSIDC) 2006 in Vice Chair [email protected]

AAST, Alexandria, Egypt: AAST helps with job hunting We’re back with our sec- society, which will in return ond annual IEEE AAST Stu- provide more opportunities dent Professional Awareness for career advancement and Alexandria Institute of Technology, Egypt: Venture (SPAV): Leading Your job opportunities. More than Career, Leading Your Society 200 participants enjoyed an 2006, held on 1–7 Septem- integrated package of ses- SB established at AIT ber 2006 at the Bibliotheca sions, panels, discussions IEEE Alexandria Institute University and AAST. Alexandrina and AAST Miami and workshops throughout of Technology (AIT) Student Our aim is to keep ex- Campus, with the support of to ways of tackling careerand the week. Branch in Alexandria, Egypt, panding the branch, enhanc- the Alexandria Governorate. job hunting challenges. The Ahmed Rabie, Sara El Kady, has finally been established, ing volunteer experience of The main aim of this an- concept behind it is that Hazem Hegazy, having grown from just two our members, helping them nual event is introduce senior a better career will surely Mohamed Diab members in 2003 to our to develop their leadership students and fresh graduates lead to a more developed IEEE AAST SB current membership of well and personal skills, increas- over 60. ing the industry relevance Middle East Technical University, Turkey: We have run eight semi- among the students and nars to date, covering vari- helping them to understand ous topics including MEMS, the links between the cours- METU plans a career launch day microcontroller and human es they’re studying and the International Campus answers to their questions this international event for all development, along with technologies that have been Development Days will take thinking about their future in students in every department seven workshops on micro- developed in the industry so place at Middle East Tech- this interactive and versatile and course level. controllers, microprocessors, far. We are about to establish nical University (METU) career event. Students from any univer- MATLAB, networking and so a WIE section too. once again in 2007. On 1–2 During the two days, sity or company are invited on. We also organised five Special thanks go to Alex- March next year, there will be there will be panel discus- to next year’s event. For in- scientific trips and participat- andria University officers for a strong career wind blowing sions, seminars, competi- formation, please visit www. ed as volunteers in activities all their help. through METU Cultural and tions, job interviews and kariyer.ieee.metu.edu.tr. organised by other Branches Karim Mansour, Mona Ibra- Convention Centre. case studies. IEEE METU Cagdas Cirpan, Chair including those at Alexandria him, Mohamed El Sobky Everyone will find all Student Branch organises [email protected]

December 2006 11 feature article future events Conference calendar Workshops, conferences & symposia in Region 8

AICCSA 2007 DECEMBER ACS/IEEE International JULY 2007 Conference on Computer ICENCO 2006 Systems and Applications INDIN 2007 2nd International 5th IEEE International Amman, Jordan Computer Engineering Conference on Industrial 13–16 May 2007 Conference: New Informatics Technologies for the www.philadelphia.edu.jo/ Vienna, Austria Information Society aiccsa2007 23–26 July 2007 The Austro-Hungian monarchy during Tesla’s lifetime Cairo, Egypt www.indin2007.org 26–28 December 2006 WILGA 2007 20th Joint Symposium on www.icenco2006.eng. Photonics and Electronics cu.edu.eg SEP 2007 Tesla’s time and for Accelerators and High Energy Physics Experiments IEEE Region 8 JAN 2007 Warsaw, Poland Eurocon 2007 International Conference the application of 21–27 May 2007 ESPW 2007 on Computer as a Tool 10th European Systems EFTF & IEEE-FCS Warsaw, Poland Packaging Workshop Joint Meeting 9–12 September 2007 his achievements Como, Italy http://eurocon2007.isep. Joint Meeting of the 29–31 January 2007 pw.edu.pl In 2006 we celebrate sev- As one of five children, European Frequency www.packagingworkshop. eral outstanding personali- Nikola Tesla was born in and Time Forum & IEEE polito.it International Frequency AFRICON 2007 ties – Mozart, Freud, Brecht Smiljan in the province of Forum for Electrical, Control Symposium – and last but not least Lika, which was in the fron- Electronic & IT research Geneva, Nikola Tesla. On the 10 July tier lands between the KK with related Mechanical MARCH 2007 29 May – 1 June 2007 1856 Nikola Tesla was born, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and Civil activities in [email protected] the “Man who invented the one of the strong powers in ICTIS 07 Africa 20th Century” as the Austri- Europe, and the Osman Em- Information and Windhoek, Namibia an newspaper Der Standard pire. Tesla was born after Communications JUNE 2007 26–28 September 2007 entitled an article in 1992. the Crimean War and died Technologies www.africon2007.co.za Mozart was born 100 during the most disastrous International Symposium Fez, Morocco ISIE 2007 years earlier than Tesla: two World War II. IEEE International 25–27 March 2007 Symposium on Industrial OCT 2007 geniuses who were so dif- No wonder he became a www.ictis07.org ferent and yet very similar pacifist, as so many others. Electronics Vigo, Spain eChallenges e-2007 in their ingenuity. I even After an active but fitful The Netherlands SETIT 2007 4–7 June 2007 dare to compare Tesla and education, he ended up work- 4th International 9–12 September 2007 www.dte.uvigo.es/ Conference on Sciences www.eChallenges.org Mozart as two outstanding ing for Continental Edison in isie2007 personalities whose achieve- Paris before leaving Europe of Electronic, Technology ments, of course, were totally in June 1884 for Edison Ma- of Information and IEEE IROS 2007 IEEE ICC 2007 International Conference Telecommunicaitons IEEE International different. chine Works in the US. He on Intelligent Robots and Tunisia Communications Mozart, for instance, became an American citizen Systems 25–29 March 2007 Conference wrote more than 600 compo- in 1891 at the age of 35. www.setit.rnu.tn San Diego, Calif, USA sitions while Tesla’s patented His inventions and discover- Glasgow, Scotland 24–28 June 2007 29 OCt – 2 Nov 2007 inventions count more than ies were pioneering in many www.icc007.org www.iros2007.org 200, some even count 700. areas, and while he was in- APRIL 2007 Both had the ability to de- volved in many quarrels over velop and design their ideas patents, these were generally ICDE 2007 in their heads so completely solved in his favour. 23rd International Conference on Data that no corrections were nec- Many of these patents Engineering essary to be made at the later are forgotten: today, Teslas’s Istanbul, Turkey stage of realisation. name is remembered only 16–20 April 2007 Mozart’s handwritten for the Tesla transformer to www.icde2007.org Note to Organisers handwritten sheets of music generate high voltages at Only IEEE of his compositions show al- high frequency and by the co-sponsored most no corrections. It was measuring unit of the mag- conferences and MAY 2007 workshops in Region the same with Tesla who said netic field. 8 are eligible for free about himself that he had But no doubt, his contri- IST-Africa 2007 Information Society publicity here. developed all his inventions butions changed the world Technologies conference Send details as a plain text message to and experiments in his head and still are not out of date. Maputo, Mozambique [email protected], ready for realisation. Tesla They will help to keep on de- 9–11 May 2007 putting R8 News once wrote: “The images I veloping civilisation and the www.IST-Africa.org/ Calendar in your saw were to me perfectly real well-being of humanity. Conference2007 subject line. and tangible”. Kurt R Richter, LF IEEE Remember to state the event’s full title, The full, unabridged version of this article can be read location, date and URL. online at our website: www.ieee.org/go/r8news

12 December 2006