March 2010 From the Chair

The Hampton Roads Section Technical Meeting was held on February 18 at Christopher Newport University. Anton Riedl was a most gracious host and the section would like to thank him for providing pizza for us before the meeting. Luke Hargrove of National Instruments gave us a new look into LabVIEW. Like so many companies, National Instruments is very interested in the Green side of our business. They are even giving grants for developing green solutions utilizing their software. That sounds like a good deal. The amounts as I understand should cover the cost of the software that you will need, so if we have anyone out there with an entrepreneurial desire to make our planet greener, this may be what you need.
In March, we will be back to Clark Nexsen, where we will once again be hosted by Kurt Clemente. This month’s topic will be the use of UPS systems data centers. I like when a topic can cover two or more technical interest groups for our membership. I am interested in the current trends in this area. I realize that the UPS have limited capacity and if the data systems shut down, like my PC at home shuts down, then that capacity better increase. Seriously, as these data centers get more complex the need to coordinate our effort with the power engineers becomes even more urgent. Some systems may not be able to shut down and the UPS can bridge the gap until a site diesel can come on line. Likewise, an improper shutdown can corrupt an operating system causing an inability to come back on line once power is restored. This could be costly for a company and you know that users are an impatient lot.
Bob Kugler is meeting with the Marine Technology Society for the Oceans 2012 program and the techsurge program that will occur in June of this year. Bob will provide us with the information as we go forth with this effort. Please be supportive of the section and the programs that will be offered at those times. We have been struggling as a section financially so this will be an opportunity for the section to raise some money while supporting a worthwhile conference. We are looking for someone to be the section’s Secretary. If you are interested, please contact one of the section officers. The Section Secretary acts as the gateway between the Section members and the IEEE, having a leadership role in bringing the needs of members to the Executive Committee. Part of the role involves having accountability and ownership of the records and correspondence of the Section including meeting records, reporting officer changes and submitting reports of committee activities. The Secretary’s role is much more than record keeping – he/she is a steward of the Section’s history and future, bringing critical data to enable decision making by the Executive Committee and deliver real value to members that keeps the Section engaged, relevant and sustainable in the long term. The Section Secretary plays a key role in ensuring that the IEEE members within the Section are engaging in IEEE activities. So please consider this important position.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone in March.
Regards,
James Bolitho
2009 Chair
Hampton Roads Section