From Brian’s Desk

We had a terrific meeting on May 22.  Nine students from the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering shared their projects with us:

David Stricker, Mark Monnin, and Chris Shaw demonstrated their Wayfinder software – a UC Mobile cell phone and web application that provides walking directions for on-campus destinations.

David Beckman and Joshua Bell demonstrated their intelligent power-out flashlight – complete with hand crank and solar cells for recharging.

Logan Niehaus and Mads Almassalkhi demonstrated their new musical instrument.

Ryan McGovern and Chris Siebert demonstrated Project Mimir –  a distributed file system based on Luby’s Algorithm. 

A big thank you to Stephen Herman, student branch president, for making the arrangements.

The Section awarded prizes to three senior design projects from the College of Applied Science (these projects were on display at the Duke Energy Center the same day as our Section Meeting):

Josh Hays – GPS Logging Cycling Computer – A microcontroller project that interfaced to a GPS unit, tire rotation sensor, and heart monitor.  The LCD displayed current stats and an SD card recorded the path for playback and analysis by a PC program.

Sean McShay – Siren Detection System – A DSP application that “hears” and recognizes police and emergency vechicle sirens.

Nicholas Werner – Diabetic Foot Ulcerations Screening Shoe Sole – A shoe sole instrumented with pressure sensors was connected to a PC system for data collection and analysis.

The Section does not meet again until September 25.

Have a great summer!

From Brian’s Desk

A special thanks to Dr. James Stever for his presentation on Homeland Security “Re-Engineering The City”.  His power point slides are available here: Re-Engineering the City Presentation.

Tech Expo 2008, the College of Applied Science exposition of Senior Design projects,  is being held May 22 at the Duke Energy Center (downtown Cincinnati 10:00 to 4:00).

This month, our meeting at Raffel’s, will feature Senior Design project presentations by students from the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering (and possibly other colleges).  We have had some scheduling issues. 

Remember, we begin our summer break from Section meetings after tonight’s meeting.  Meetings resume in September. 

May 2008 Section Meeting Information

MAY MEETING
STUDENT PROJECTS

DATE: Thursday, May 22, 2008
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 8:30 p.m. –  Presentation
 
COST FOR DINNER: $10.00 per person – REGARDLESS OF MEMBERSHIP OR MEMBERSHIP GRADE!

NOTE: DINNERS ARE ALWAYS OPTIONAL – YOU MAY ATTEND THE PROGRAM ONLY. 

MENU SELECTIONS:   Country Fried Chicken, Spaghetti with Meatballs, Meatloaf with Brown Gravy, Whipped Potatoes, Succotash, Caesar Salad, Fresh Fruit Salad, Biscuits, Apple Dumplings, Coffee, Tea, Iced Tea, Soft Drinks. There is also a bar available for the purchase of alcoholic drinks.

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 email Charlie Nash for reservations at mailto:cnash@ieee.org (preferred) or call the Section Voice Mail at 513-629-9380 by Noon, Tuesday, May 20, 2008 if you plan to attend. Please leave your Name, IEEE Member Number, and a daytime telephone number.

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.

ABOUT THE MEETING:  This month’s meeting will feature presentations by senior students from the College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati.  We have also extended an invitation to students from the Computer and Electronics Engineering Technology program at Northern Kentucky University and the Electrical Engineering program at Miami University.  Students will present their findings in a brief slide show, demonstrate their projects, and answer questions from the audience.

Membership News – May 2008

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

Ali A. Alfayez
Balaji Ananthanpillai
Kevin Berndsen
Robert Brockman
Thomas P. Ferrell
Royden J. Forsythe
Slobodan M. Gataric
Yi Hu
Von Edwin Huffaker
Hoang Lai
Eric L. Lapresto
Daniel Legg
Wei Li
Michael R. Logies
Michael A. Miskus
Guangdong Pan
Karen Price
Mamoun Sawah
Patrick E. Searfos
Brent A. Shields
Scott Smith
Christopher P Trampel
Tim Tylinski
Phillip Ulrich
Timothy Joseph Wurth

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

History of Electrical Engineering – May 2008

Scanning the Past: A History of Electrical Engineering from the Past
Submitted by Bob Morrison, Editor

Copyright 1995 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. 83, No. 5, May 1995.

William D. Coolidge and Ductile Tungsten
Eighty-five years ago this month, William D. Coolidge presented a significant paper concerning the discovery of a new method of producing ductile tungsten at a meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE). The breakthrough which he reported had been achieved by a research team led by Coolidge at the General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, NY , and it was to have a major impact on production of electric lights, electronic tubes, and numerous other applications.

Coolidge was born in 1873 on a farm near Hudson, MA. He graduated in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1896 and spent a year as a laboratory assistant at MIT. He then accepted a graduate fellowship for study in Germany where he earned the Ph.D. in physics from the University of Leipzig in 1899. He then returned to MIT where he worked as a laboratory assistant to Prof. Arthur A. Noyes and did some teaching until 1905, when he joined the General Electric Research Laboratory. He soon began what proved to be a very difficult quest for a way to produce ductile tungsten suitable for filaments in incandescent lamps. He became assistant director of the Research Laboratory in 1908, and two years later, reported the successful outcome of the ductile tungsten project. (more…)

IEEE News – May 2008

TECHNICAL PAPERS SOUGHT FOR IEEE WIRELESS HIVE NETWORK CONFERENCE
WASHINGTON (23 April 2008) — Organizers of the IEEE Wireless Hive Network Conference (IEEE WHNC 2008) are seeking technical papers from authors presenting the latest research, innovations and implementations related to the theory and practice of wireless sensor network systems, printed electronic device technologies, cognitive radio and related information system support.

IEEE WHNC 2008 (http://www.ieee-whnc.org/index.html) will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott in Austin, Texas, on 7-8 August. It will feature keynote addresses and panel discussions by leading experts, as well as innovative technology presentations. (more…)

Energy Conference – May 22

Join Tri-State Energy Professionals as they present and discuss the future of energy generation, distribution and use. Learn about the issues faced by climate changes, renewal energy sources and fuels, increasing demands for electricity and natural gas, and worker training for the challenges ahead in the 21st century.  For Complete Details 

From Brian’s Desk

Many thanks to Scott Holland for his excellent presentation “Function MRI of the Brain” at our March meeting.  Scott was introduced by David Pettigrew, the Chair of our new EMBS Chapter.  It was great to see many new faces at this meeting.  We hope to see you again this month, and for many meetings to come.

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April 2008 Section Meeting Information

“RE-ENGINEERING THE CITY”

DATE: Thursday, April 24, 2008
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 8:30 p.m. –  Presentation
 
COST FOR DINNER: $10.00 per person – REGARDLESS OF MEMBERSHIP OR MEMBERSHIP GRADE!

NOTE:  DINNERS ARE ALWAYS OPTIONAL – YOU MAY ATTEND THE PROGRAM ONLY. 

(more…)