Deadline for submitting articles to the June Radiator

Monthly Meeting Calendars

These are mainly recurring meeting schedules, please follow the link to the Chapter page to be sure they have advertised a meeting for this month.

May 2003:

Twin Cities Section Executive Committee Meetings:

May 2003 - the meeting will be 4:30 - 6:00 PM at the Edina Public Library on Tuesday 6th May 2003

June 2003 - the meeting will be 4:30 - 6:00 PM at the Edina Public Library on Tuesday 3rd June 2003

Directions to Meeting Locations:
§ Edina Public Library: 5280 Grandview Square - on the West side of Highway 100 at 50th.
    Go one block East to the Amoco and turn left ( South) one block to the new library building.
   Phone is  952 922-1611.
§ St Louis Park Library: 3240 Library drive, St Louis Park, 952 929-8108
   Directions: The library is between Minnetonka Blvd and Highway 7 just East of Louisiana.
    Go south from Minnetonka on Louisiana to 32nd. Turn East (Left) to Kentucky and then South (Right)
   one block to the library. From Highway 7 go North to 32nd. then right (East) to Kentucky and then
   right (South) onto Kentucky and one block to library.
§ Southdale branch of the Hennepin County Library: 7001 York Ave., Edina.
   The location is the Helen Young Room on the second floor.
    The library may be reached from the Cross town, highway 62 exiting at York and going south to 70th St.
    From 494 the exit is France, going North to 70th St. and then 2 blocks East to York.

Members are always welcome at these meetings.

Chair’s Corner

by Steven James 

It is with great sadness that I must announce the passing of our friend and comrade, Jack Thorson.  Many of you may not have known Jack, but he was a great worker for the IEEE Twin Cities Section.  For example, each year he graciously gave of his time to present his “Meetings 101” class to the chapter officers of the section.  Jack participated in many other professional activities and epitomized what an engineer should be both professionally and personally.  He was a great volunteer.  I firmly believe that what keeps the IEEE strong is the volunteerism of its members.  Jack was a man of many strengths: strength in intelligence; strength in integrity, and strength in enthusiasm.  With these strengths, he was a perfect example how we in our society must lend our strengths to those who need it.  I learned of Jack’s passing from someone at an IEEE meeting.  The person was recently out of work and Jack had told him to go to the meeting to network. Jack was helping him find a job.  He always said his “hobby” was finding jobs for people.

He was a unique individual.  At one point in his career he obtained hundreds of glass insulators used on power lines.  He thought that they might be worth a great deal of money, but later found out they were practically worthless.  What he did next was an example of his spirit and strength.  Each time he would give a presentation (such as “Meetings 101”) he would give a glass insulator to everyone in the audience who wanted one.  I have mine setting on my coffee table and think of Jack whenever I see it.  He took something of little or no value and by his spirit and strength made it into a valuable symbol of the ideas and concepts he was teaching.  But isn’t that what good engineers do?  Taking something of little or no value and making it valuable.  Taking sand of little or no value and making it into silicon chips.  Taking one’s and zero’s of little or no value and making them into useful programs.  Isn’t that what good politicians do?  Pooling our taxes of little or no value and making them into our roads, schools and other things necessary to make our lives better.  Isn’t that what charities do?  Pooling our donations of little value and helping those who need a hand.  Isn’t that what we as volunteers should all do?  Taking our time of little value and using it to make the world better more valuable place?

Let us all strive to live up to what Jack taught us.  Help when you can, both professionally and personally.

Best Regards,

Steven James, IEEE Twin Cities Section Chair

IEEE Study Groups
by Curt McNamara,c.mcnamara@ieee.org or mcnam025@tc.umn.edu  --  763-639-8967 (cell)

There are two on-going groups listed on the web site below, as well as a handful of proposals. Respond directly to Mike for the DSP group, or me (Curt) for the others. I will network the attendees together to get the group going.  Groups typically run twice per month, and meet at a company,  in a library, or at a restaurant. Lunch and after-work are popular times. Group members work together to do exercises and bring in examples from their experience. It is a great way to network while improving your technical skills.

Link: http://www.tc-ieee.org/webpages/education.html#study groups

Awards & Recognition

by Jim Riess  (651) 223-5646

"People want to feel what they do makes a difference."

"Human beings need to be recognized and rewarded for special efforts."

"Recognition is so easy to do and so inexpensive to distribute that there is simply no excuse for not doing it."

"We all like to be recognized and appreciated. Just by giving an award or recognition certificate, formally recognizing someone in front of a group…we’re telling the person that their work is appreciated."

"Knowing that what you do is important and appreciated is the best reward."

Because of this need to recognize, appreciate and celebrate the accomplishments of our peers in the IEEE, the Twin Cities Section Awards & Recognition Program recently was expanded.

New awards for the Section Outstanding Engineer, the Corporate Outstanding Engineer, the Section Outstanding Member and the Outstanding Engineering Student have been created and were given to qualified nominees during the Twin Cities Section Annual Awards Banquet in May.  Congratulations to all!!

Contact Jim Riess by e-mail j.riess@ieee.org or by phone 651-227-7773 with questions or comments.

Advertisements:

 

Employment: