History of Electrical Engineering

Scanning the Past: A History of Electrical Engineering from the Past

Submitted by Marc Bell, Editor

Copyright 1997 IEEE. Reprinted with permission from the IEEE publication, “Scanning the Past” which covers a reprint of an article appearing in the Proceedings of the IEEE Vol. 85, No. 6, June 1997.

 Edwin H. Colpitts, a communications engineer and re­search manager, was born 125 years ago this year. Remem­bered especially as the inventor of the Colpitts oscillator, he made significant contributions to both wire and radio telephony.

  Born in 1872 in New Brunswick, Canada, Colpitts grad­uated from Mount Allison College in 1893. After two years as a teacher and school principal in Newfoundland, he enrolled at Harvard University, where he studied physics and mathematics and received a Master’s degree in 1897. He remained at Harvard for two additional years while taking advanced courses and serving as a laboratory assis­tant to John Trowbridge, director of the Jefferson Physical Laboratory.

  Early in 1899, Colpitts joined the engineering staff of the American Bell Telephone Company in Boston, MA, where he began as an assistant to George A. Campbell, known for his (more…)

IEEE National News

Stories in this Edition:

  • Small Business Innovation Research, Technology Infrastructure Can Help Create Jobs
  • Advice for Current & Potential Consultants Featured in Latest IEEE-USA E-book
  • IEEE/IEEE-USA Seek Nominations for 2012 New Faces of Engineering Recognition; College Edition Program Started
  • Paid Summer 2012 Internship At Mass Media News Outlet Available to U.S. IEEE Student Members
  • Median Income of Electrotechnology, IT Professionals Rises to $118,000; Communications Technology Workers Report Highest Income, IEEE-USA Salary Survey Reveals
  • ‘IEEE-USA in ACTION’ App Available in iTunes Store
  • IEEE-USA E-Book on Résumés First to be Offered Free as Special Benefit to IEEE Members

All Stories are available at the IEEE National section of our site:  https://ieeecincinnati.org/category/ieee-national/

Small Business Innovation Research, Technology Infrastructure Can Help Create Jobs

WASHINGTON (9 September 2011) — To help encourage job growth, Congress should reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and invest in America’s technology infrastructure.

During his speech to Congress last night, President Barack Obama specifically cited small businesses as a key to job creation. “Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin,” Obama said. “And you know that while corporate profits have come roaring back, smaller companies haven’t.”  

One simple way that Congress can immediately (more…)

Last Call for IEEE MGA Awards Nominations: Deadline 15 October

You can help recognize the efforts of outstanding volunteers by nominating individuals for one of the prestigious IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Awards.  Each award has a unique mission and criteria and offers the opportunity to honor distinguished colleagues, inspiring teachers, and corporate leaders.

If you know someone who has made substantial regional contributions through innovative projects, exemplary leadership, service, or by fulfilling the goals (more…)

SEPTEMBER 2011 SECTION MEETING INFORMATION

 

Technological Advancements in Power & Energy Meters

 

  • Industrial & Utility Application Metering
  • Accuracy Standards
  • Memory Capacities and Methods
  • Load Profiling & Power Quality Capabilities
  • Communications Options and Challenges
  • Regulatory and Security Issues
  • Future Developments

 Jointly Presented by Cincinnati IEEE Chapter member, Mark S. McCloy of CE Power Solutions and Shaun Olson, Regional Manager Satec, Inc. Union, NJ

 Though Shaun does represent a manufacturer of metering products and solutions; we are mutually committed to maintaining a non-commercial, technical presentation and discussion relative to this technology, equipment, standards and industry developments

 ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:  

Mark McCloy is Director of Marketing and minority owner of CE Power Solutions; an Engineering Service provider and Manufacturer’s Representative Agency to the electric Utility and large power producer and consumer markets throughout the United States.   As a third generation in technical sales, Mark has been continuously involved with the Cincinnati IEEE Chapter since 2006 with previous memberships dating back to 1991.   Founder of Power Distribution Services in 1985; Mark has been instrumental in developing and promoting advancements in circuit breaker technologies, such as vacuum and SF6 interrupting mediums (in which he has held one patent for); advanced digital testing technologies for HV and EHV power circuit breakers; and the development and promotion of solid-state and digital technologies in Protection and Metering components and equipment.

Shaun Olson – Regional Sales Manager Satec Inc.  graduated from West Virginia University and started his career in 2001 working for an electrical distributor Turtle & Hughes.  After gaining experience in dealing with electrical distribution equipment and the pleasure of working with electrical contractors, he moved onto work for Siemens Energy & Automation in 2004.  Shaun started his career at Siemens as a project manager for a number of years and then advanced his career into power monitoring sales.   Shaun worked with design consultants and assisted in laying out communication network infrastructures for the critical power market.  After working with Siemens for a number of years, Shaun advanced his a career again and currently works at SATEC Inc. as a Regional Sales Manager.  SATEC Inc. is a leader in electrical meter manufacturing for the utility, industrial, and commercial market.

DATE:

Thursday, September 22, 2011

PLACE :

Raffel’s – 10160 Reading Road (see below for directions)

TIME :

5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. –  Social Time

 

6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. –  Dinner

 

7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. –  Presentation

COST

$12- $20, See information in Reservations

MENU SELECTIONS:   Buffet Menu: Homemade Crab Cakes, Stuffed Pork Chops, Grilled Portobello w/ Ratatouille & Yellow Rice, Twice Baked Potatoes, Sauteed Vegetables, Tossed Salad, Dinner Rolls and Butter.  There is also a bar available for the purchase of alcoholic drink.

LOCATION:  Raffel’s is located at 10160 Reading Road, south of Glendale-Milford Road on the east side of Reading. Take I-75 to the Glendale-Milford Rd. Exit, go east on Glendale-Milford Road approximately ¾ of a mile to Reading Rd. and turn right on Reading.

RESERVATIONS:  (Please note New Procedure) Please make reservations for each meeting by going to: https://ieeecincinnati.org/meetings/.  Please click on the appropriate link and complete the reservation.  You may now pay on-line. 

DINNER RESERVATIONS
Members: $12.00
Non-members: $15.00

Two ways to pay for dinner:
1) [Register and pay the fee now] using PayPal.
2) [Register and pay the fee at the meeting]. Check or cash; correct change appreciated.

Make checks payable to “IEEE Cincinnati Section”.
Those desiring to use their bank’s bill payer service to send a check, rather than paying at the meeting, should contact Reservations@ieeecincinnati.org for details.

Reservations close at noon on September 15, 2011.

DINNER RESERVATION CANCELLATION POLICY
An email to Reservations@ieeecincinnati.org prior to the close of reservations is required to properly cancel your reservation. Failure to cancel does not eliminate your responsibility to pay for the dinner. Refunds for PayPal payments are more complicated, and we request that you leave the funds on deposit for a future meeting.

WALK-INS: If you don’t have a dinner reservation, there may not be enough food to serve you. Walk-ins pay a higher rate: $15.00 for members, $20.00 for non-members. Cash or checks only.

All Reservations must be made by noon, Thursday, September 15th, 2011

PE CREDITS:  Depending on the subject matter, attendance at IEEE Cincinnati Section Meetings now qualifies the attendee for Professional Development Hours towards renewal of Professional Engineers Licenses. Required documentation will be available following the meeting!  The Section Meetings also provide a great opportunity to network with fellow engineers in the area.

 

IEEE Professional Communication Conference 2011

IEEE Professional Communication Conference 2011

 On October 17-19, the IEEE Professional Communication Society will host the International Professional Communication Conference 2011 on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.  As a member of the IEEE Cincinnati chapter, your participation in the conference is encouraged as we network with colleagues, learn about the conference topic of sustainability, and share research and information important to technical communicators, educators, practitioners, engineers, and others! 
 
This article provides you with a summary of information to plan your attendance at the conference.  All information is available at the conference website
 
Registration for the conference is online on the conference website.  We have reduced registration fees this year to make the conference more affordable, and you can bring a student for free with your paid registration.  IEEE members enjoy discounted registration, even if you aren’t a member of PCS.   

Professional Development Seminars are offered for Continuing Education Credit (important for Professional Licensure) on Monday and Tuesday, October 17 and 18.  Kim Campbell will offer “Thinking and Interacting Like a Leader” and Michael Alley will offer “Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides.”  Your seminar registration fee gives you access to all conference sessions and workshops for one day. 

New to IPCC 2011 is the (more…)

SEPTEMBER 2011 HISTORY

Scanning the Past: A History of Electrical Engineering from the Past
Submitted by Marc Bell, Editor

Copyright 1997 IEEE. Reprinted with permission from the IEEE publication, “Scanning the Past” which covers a reprint of an article appearing in the Proceedings of the IEEE Vol. 85, No. 5, May 1997.

Shintaro Uda and the Wave Projector

Seventy years ago this month, the proceedings OF the institute of radio engineers (IRE) included a paper by Shintaro Uda (Fig. 1), a Japanese engineer, on the radia­tion of short waves. His paper included information on a recently invented antenna, which he called a wave projector but which later became known as the Yagi-Uda antenna. During his long career as a teacher and researcher at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, Uda made significant contributions to communications engineering.

Uda was born in 1896 in Toyama Ken, Japan. He studied electrical engineering under H. Yagi at Tohoku University and graduated in 1924, and then joined a communications research group directed by Yagi. One of Uda’s first projects was to design a vacuum-tube oscillator that would operate at wavelengths of’around 440 cm. Experiments using the oscillator as a transmitter led to the discovery of the wave projector, Uda initially used a resonant loop antenna and observed the directive radiation it produced. He then tried placing a parasitic loop near the driven loop in an effort to obtain a more directive beam. The idea for this arrangement apparently was suggested by an earlier investigation of loops of various shapes conducted by one of his classmates as a thesis under Yagi’s direc­tion. Subsequently, Uda substituted metal rods for parasitic loops and found that the field intensity in a preferred direction increased with the number of parasitic rods. He then undertook a systematic investigation to determine the effect on antenna directivity of changes in (more…)

NEW MEMBERS

If you are interested in upgrading your membership to Senior Member, please contact any member of the Executive Committee.

NEW MEMBERS

The following individuals are IEEE members who are new to our Section: 

James Ablordeppey

Mohamed AbuAli

Oluseye Akomolede

Ryan Anderson

Chukwuka Anyadiegwu

Gerado Ayes

Andrew Bak

Nathan Ball

Tamara Colette Baynham

Brian Buxton

Devin Cottier

John Curran

Lien Dang

Christopher Datko

David Feng

Michael Gross

Aaron Hacker

Jeff Hanson

Theodore Harper III

Joshua Hay

Gerardo Heidenreich

Christopher Hillger

Dale Horan

Joshua Hoy

Andrew Huster

Xuchu Hu

Cory Jeffers

Susan Johnson

Laveeta Joseph

Jacob Kilver

Robert Lancaster

Brian Lawrence

Jonathan Lewis

Michael Logies

Elliott Long

Jack Lorthioir

William McWhirter

Ben Michels

Jeff Overbeck

Douglas Porter

Cameron Ross

Andrew Sampson

Christopher Schieman

George Shiekh

Michael SoRelle

Vradimir Sotnikov

David Stout

Haibin Su

Douglas Tittle

Jeffrey Tomask

Yingying Wang

Shea Watson

Daniel Weber

Eric Wei

Edward Weite

Edwin Williams

Wes Williams

Wenyu Zhao

Xinya Zhao

We wish to welcome these members to the Cincinnati Section!!!

IEEE NEWS

NEWS from IEEE-USA
2001 L Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036-4910

IEEE Electric Vehicle Conference Seeks Technical Papers

WASHINGTON (18 July 2011) — IEEE International Electric Vehicle Conference (IEVC) organizers are seeking technical papers on the technology, standards and engineering of electric vehicles.

Accepted papers will be presented during the inaugural conference, 4-8 March 2012, at TD Convention Center in Greenville, S.C. They will also be published in conference proceedings and available through the digital library IEEE Xplore. The deadline for extended abstract submissions is 15 October.

For more on the specific types of papers being sought, as well as paper submission guidelines, see http://electricvehicle.ieee.org/cfp.html.

IEVC (http://electricvehicle.ieee.org/) is expected to draw electric vehicle engineers, manufacturers, utility experts, corporate executives, researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, legislators and regulators, among others, to discuss the impact the electrification of transportation is having, and will have, on society and the electric grid. Smart Grid planners are interested in EVs because of the increased demand they are expected to have on the electricity delivery system.

Greenville has become a major hub of electric vehicle research because of the nearby presence of major auto manufacturers and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (http://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/cu-icar/), a public-private partnership advancing automotive safety, testing and design.
 
For sponsorship opportunities and more information on the conference, contact Lee Stogner at l.stogner@ieee.org.

IEEE Electric Vehicle Committee Chair and former IEEE-USA President Russ Lefevre is one of the event organizers. IEEE-USA is a financial cosponsor.

 

**IEEE-USA IN ACTION** IEEE.TV AIRS “ENGINEERING OUR FUTURE” SPECIAL ON FORUM CONVENED FOR HOLLYWOOD DIRECTORS TO TELL ENGAGING, REALISTIC STORIES ABOUT ENGINEERING

WASHINGTON (1 September 2011) — IEEE.tv is airing a special public access presentation on “Engineering Our Future: Because Dreams Need Doing” at https://ieeetv.ieee.org/ieeetv-specials

The “Engineering Our Future” forum was convened for some (more…)

Website Software Has Been Upgraded

Section members the software running our website has been upgraded over the summer. WordPress has been upgraded to the latest release WordPress-3.2.1 and a number of needed plugins were installed:

  • A new WYSIWYG editor to make authoring posts and pages easier
  • A backup package
  • A reCAPTCHA security package  to protect the site from spammers
  • An image viewing gallery package – integration of it is still in progress
  • A forms authoring tools 
  • A Google Analytics package for reporting the website’s usage

2011 UC Senior Design Projects Awarded by IEEE

Title: Project HINTERNET
 1.jpg
Students:  Benjamin Jones (EE), Ed Kimball (CS), Adam Stylinski (CompE), Stephen Zeisler (EE)
Addvisor: Howard Fan
Description: This project implements a wireless modulation scheme over the amateur
radio bands using a custom built wireless interface card and driver to communicate data over long distances.

Title: AIS Radio
 2.jpg
Students: Jeffrey Hamm (EE), Ian Larkin (EE), Benjamin Michels (EE), Jeffrey Overbeck (EE), Advisor: Howard Fan
Description:  This project receives and demodulates an AIS signal, then displays the location of the ship that the signal is received from on a map application using Google Earth.

Title: Real-time Stereo Vision Controller
 3.jpg
Student: John Curran
Advisor: Lei Miao
Many applications of robotics today require the perception of unknown surroundings in three dimensions to aid in obstacle detection and autonomous navigation. However, until recently, stereo vision processing required large banks of computers, or could not handle data in real-time, effectively limiting which platforms could implement this technology.

This project sets out to solve the problems in these previous implementations by leveraging the latest in DSP technology to create a real-time stereo vision system, that has a high enough resolution to be useful for navigation and obstacle detection, while being small and efficient enough to be deployed to mobile, battery powered applications.

Title: Low Air Pressure Regulator
 4.jpg
Student:  Dung Nguyen
Advisor: Max Rabiee
Description: This project is building an electronic controller that regulates the air pressure from 0 to 120 PSI to smaller ranges from 0 to .36PSI. This small range air pressure is used to simulate the air pressure for testing environment used  at L-3 Fuzing and Ordnance Systems. At the Tech Expo, I will demonstrate the working loop control that regulates about 2psi air source to a constant air pressure from 0 to .36psi; using the data acquisition, Labview and electronic control valve. Also in future works, the project will be integrated to a microcontroller-base as a standalone unit or combined with a pc for more advanced features.

Title: The Tweetographer
Students: Billy Clifton (CS) and Alex Padgett (CS)                  Advisor: Fred Annexstein
Description: This project is a web application that collects Twitter posts from a geographic region and analyzes them to determine which ones refer to events; it displays the events on a calendar.