IEEE Awards and nominations

Our UH-Manoa Student Branch has received the Central Area Award for outstanding student branch and, as such, will be nominated for the corresponding Region 6 award which comprises the western U.S, the largest IEEE region in the U.S.  Congratulations!

 IEEE 2012 Central Area Award Winners

Outstanding Engineer goes to Banmali Rawat in the North Nevada Section.

Outstanding Leadership goes to Brian Berg in the Santa Clara Valley Section.

Best Student Branch goes to the University of Hawaii-Manoa Student Branch

Outstanding Corporate Service goes to Texas Instruments.

Best Chapter Computer Society goes to Santa Clara Valley.

Area Chair Special Award goes to Ed Aoki in the Santa Clara Valley Section.

Area Chair Special Award goes to Frank Oppong in the San Francisco Section.

 

-Jeffrey Pawlan, Central Area Awards Chair on May 31,2012

Hawaii Section June EXCON Meeting

Attendees:

John W. Camery, Chair (presiding)
Chris Russell, Vice Chair
Song Choi
Al Toda

Minutes:

The 30 May 2012 Hawaii EXCOM meeting centered on one topic, viz., whether to submit our proposal to host the GHTC 2013 in Honolulu.  Song Choi has been in negotiations with hotels about putting on a different conference.  He provided insight into the pro and cons of using commercial facilities versus the East West Center and UH Manoa. We discussed the policies, facility layouts, and cost figures obtained from the East West Center.  Song Choi expressed the opinion that prices and polices quoted by the East West Center might be those applying to an outside organization as opposed to what he would be given as a faculty member at UH-Manoa.  Perhaps, we should have a Vice Chair for local arrangements like himself who is a faculty member at UH-Manoa.  Also, like John V. Imperial in the previous meeting, Song Choi expressed the opinion that it would be easy to get student volunteers for the conference as long as it did not conflict with their studies. Our Vice Chair, Chris Russell expressed an interest in serving on the conference’s Technical Committee as Student Paper Contest Chair and also in the possibility of attending the GHTC 2012 this year in Seattle.  Song Choi suggested that we inquire about the possibility of hosting the GHTC 2014 if we decide to pass on hosting the GHTC 2013.

The major concern about hosting the conference was the same issue voiced by John V. Imperial in our previous meeting.  Although Hawaii might be an ideal spot for such a conference, nobody wanted their name associated with the bid unless there is the necessary commitment to follow through and make it a success.

We also discussed the key role local humanitarian groups, such as, Surfing the Nations, could play in supporting the conference through providing volunteers and organizing social activities in conjunction with the conference.  As we discussed, one disadvantage to holding a conference in Hawaii is temptation for attendees to skip the sessions to take part in the activities that Hawaii is famous for. This disadvantage could be turned in advantage by involving such groups as Surfing the Nation to sponsor activities like they normally do to attract people away from the temptations into humanitarian work.  This would also give insight to our members into how humanitarian organizations actually work.

We also announced that the UH-Manoa Student Branch will be awarded the Central Area's award for best student branch.  This means that they will nominated for the corresponding award in Region 6.

As most voting EXCON members could not attend this meeting, it was decided that we would vote by email on the issue of whether to submit our proposal to host the conference. The text was as follows:

At the EXCOM meeting tonight, the issue was raised whether we should submit a proposal to host the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference.  It would be held here in Honolulu on or about 21-24 October 2013.  It was decided to poll our EXCOM voting members on this issue.  We need responses by tomorrow, Thursday, 31 May, 2012 and no case later than 1 June 2012.  If you are in favor of the Hawaii IEEE Section and Chapters submitting a bid to host the conference, so signify by replying “Yes”.   If you are opposed to the Hawaii IEEE Section and Chapters submitting the bid, reply “No” to this email.   

____ Yes

____No

Possible Venue for our Bid for IEEE GHTC 2013

I am looking into the possibility of using the East West Center(EWC) as venue for hosting the IEEE Humanitarian Technology Conference in October, 2013.  This site, compared to others we have considered, is more in keeping with the aim of the conference to bring together humanitarian groups with those people and corporations developing technologies that could benefit those in need around the world. The campus is contiguous to UH-Manoa right across the road from the the engineering building, the Marine Sciences Building and the Kennedy Theater. This location would probably aid in getting student and faculty volunteers and, if needed, a source for additional facilities right across the street.  In particular there is UH-Manoa Engineers without Borders student group, as well as, our award winning IEEE Student Branch located in the engineering building that I mentioned.

The conference center is designed to support groups from 10 to 300.  There are cost-effective meal options at UH-Manoa in addition to the dining rooms in the EWC Conference Facility.  It may be more cost effective to transport people from nearby hotels and to utilize the low cost conference housing in the EWC. The only large banquet facility in walking distance is the UH-Manoa Campus Ballroom which seats 350.  In Hawaii however, it might be better to concentrate on social events with the help of and/or sponsored by local humanitarian groups on the island rather than a large banquet reception. We might achieve as great or greater effect by getting humanitarian groups to help out and sponsor social events than to ask for money or paid attendance.

Click here for infornation on the conference center.

Here is a video about the EWC.

Monthly Meeting - Date Change

We usually hold a dinner meeting the first Monday of each month.  However, due to pressing business, we  are holding our June meeting on on Wednesday, 30 May 2012.  Our dinner meeting at 5:30PM at Zippy's, 59 North Vineyard Boulevard  Honolulu, HI 96817. Map: http://zippys.com/live/locations/vineyard/. 

The first and most pressing issue is to finalize our bid to have the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) held here in October, 2013. We want to invite anyone how wants to help us make this happen. We need sponsors, volunteers from humanitarian organizations, people to serve on the technical committee, and people experienced in putting on conferences. There are many issues or which we a soliciting input. These are detailed in a previous post. The agenda for the meeting is also in a previous post. Please read these and help out. Thanks.

Brief Description of GHTC:  GHTC is the IEEE flagship annual conference designed to gather together scientists, engineers, technology professionals, academics, foundations, government and non-government organizations, and individuals engaged in humanitarian work to discuss and develop solutions for present and future humanitarian needs. An international conference, we anticipate participants from all over the world to attend a program of invited talks, technical sessions, tutorials, exhibits, networking, and social activities.

Participation in GHTC is open to all technologists or organizations interested in applying technology to humanitarian goals and to non-technical individuals and organizations interested in learning about the application of technology to humanitarian challenges. Link to last year's event: http://www.ieeeghtc.org/event/

Your help is needed with our conference bid

Your input is requested on the following items regarding our bid to hold the IEEE Global Humanitarian Conference 2013 in Honolulu, HI.

Issues

1.       We need to specify a venue and a date in the October- November, 2013 time frame.  Perhaps October 20-23, 2013

Discussion: Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday mornings might cause conflicts with Islamic, Jewish and Christian religious practices.  Critically, we need a date when venue we choose is available.

Possible venues:

a.       The Sheraton/Royal Hawaiian Hotel

b.      The Hyatt

c.        The Hilton Hawaiian Village

d.      The Convention Center

e.        UH-Manoa (Ballroom, auditorium in the Art Building, etc.)

Discussion: We need a venue with that has or is nearby facilities that supports at least 300 people for lunch and at least 460 people for a banquet.  Does this rule out any of the above?  Since this is during the school term, does this rule out UH-Manoa?

2.       We need to specify at least one person to serve on the Organizing Committee.  Is anyone willing to serve as Vice Chair/local arrangements or have suggestions as to who this should be?

3.       We need five people to serve on the technical committee.  Is anyone willing to serve in one of the following positions or have suggestion who we might approach to serve:

a.       Student Paper Chair

b.       Registration Chair

c.       Finance and Audit Chair

d.      Tutorials Chair

e.       Exhibitors Chair

4.       We need specify what corporations are possible sponsors.  Can anyone contact their employer or other companies to find a point of contact for seeking such support?

5.       Is anyone a member of ASME or EWB or know members they can approach? These organizations are key supporters of the conference.

6.       Can anyone check to see if there are government programs that could aid in putting on the conference here in Hawaii?

7.       We need sponsors who will provide volunteers to help run the conference. Help welcoming attendees, giving directions to event, help in registration, help manning the doors, technical help with laptops, projectors, for presentations, etc.

8.       Is our section offering financial resources to support this conference?

9.       Can anyone invite possible sponsors to our EXCOM Meeting on Wednesday next week?

Proposed Date Changes for Meetings

 The Hawaii Section's June EXCOM Meeting

We need a follow up meeting do deal with our conference bid which is due by 1 June 2012.  Perhaps we should move the date for the June EXCOM Meeting forward to Wednesday, 30 May, 2012 so we can review the final bid and make the required decisions regarding our bid to hold the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference 2013 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Let me know if anyone disagrees or has another suggestion.  If not, the next EXCOM meeting will be 5:30PM, Wednesday, 30 May 2012 at our usual location, Zippy's on Vineyard.  The proposed agenda is posted on this blog, http://hawaii-ieee.blogspot.com/2012/05/agenda-for-june-hawaii-section-excom.html.  Anyone with an interest in bringing the conference to Hawaii and wants to help out is encouraged to attend. We will need everyone's support to formulate a successful bid. Please review the information and see what you can do to help.  Thanks.

21 May 2012 Meeting on our IEEE GHTC 2013 Bid

John W. Camery (Presiding)
David Morse,
John V. Imperial
Alvin Toda
Grant Torigoe

Meeting Details

This was a working meeting to gather information for the Hawaii Section and Chapters to bid on having the IEEE Global Humanitarian Conference 2013 held in in Honolulu, Hawaii. Song Choi is looking into possible venues for the conference. John V. Imperial will look into ways of promoting the conference and getting sponsorship from corporations. He will also try to find points of contact through the Pacific Partnership 2012 humanitarian initiative with the Philipines. Grant Torigue will find a point of contact with the company he works for regarding possible sponsorship of the conference. Other IEEE members are encouraged to do likewise, esp. Ryan with Oceanit. It was suggested we contact Mark Rognstad about obtaining a copy of the successful bid for the Oceans Conference in Hawaii. We need to locate local members willing to serve on the organizing and technical committees. I started the discussion topic, "Wouldn't it be great to to have the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technical Conference 2013 held in Hawaii?" on several groups I belong to on LinkedIn to try to find others willing to help out. The professional and student Engineers Without Borders groups on the island should be a key assets. We can also get quality volunteers from many countries to assist during the actual conference from the humanitarian groups working on Oahu and from students at the colleges and universities. All our members are encouraged to lend a hand in this worthy endeavor.  A luau was suggested as a social event, but perhaps the local humanitarian groups might want to sponsor activities more in line with the humanitarian nature of the conference. We need to involve these organizations in the planning.

Agenda for the June Hawaii Section EXCOM Meeting

• Report the progress on our bid to hold the IEEE GHTC 2013 in Hawaii and further actions.
 
• Discuss request by the Communication Society Chapter to hold a joint technical meeting with the Hawaii Section hosting a speaker to talk about 4GL.
 
• Plan a Joint Computer Society Chapter/Hawaii Section Technical Meeting.
 
• Discuss the ideas for meetings provided by our PACE Chair, David Morse.
 
• Discuss ideas for promoting the IEEE on E4C, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, TechHui, Google+, etc.
 
• Mention the petition to add a candidate for IEEE-USA President.
 
• Report on the recent IEEE-USA annual meeting.
 
• Ask for suggestions on possible use of the IEEE kite.

Please comment or send me a email about any topics you would like added to the agenda. Also, should we appoint a timekeeper to keep us on track discussing the issues?

 

The MATE-2012 Hawaii Underwater Robot Challenge

Congratulations to the first place winners!

The MATE-2012 Hawaii Underwater Robot Challange was held Saturday, May 19th at Richardson pool, Pearl Harbor. At our last Hawaii Section EXCOM Meeting, Mark Rognstad asked for other IEEE members volunteer to act as judges. IEEE members, Song Choi, Al Toda and David Morse volunteered to act as judges. The first place team will be invited to Orlando, Florida.  David Morse supplied the photographs above of the winning team.

Draft of the minutes from the 14 May ExCom meeting

John Camery (Presiding)
Alvin Toda
Song Choi
Mark Rognstad
Grant Torigoe
David Morse

Mark announced that the MATE Hawaii Underwater Rbot Callange was being held
Saturday, May 19th at Richardson pool, Pearl Harbor.  First place team will be
invited to Orlando, Florida.  He asked for volunteers to act as judges:
Choi, Toda and Morse volunteered.

John announced that 15 May is the deadline for "awards nominations".
John announced that June 1st is the deadline for submission of a bid to host
the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference 2013.
 -- group discussion followed, with the below points being discussed:
 = need to pick venue with support for a nearby banquet of 450, lunch 300+
 = need volunteers to participate in coordinating and technical commitees
 = need to evaluate and choose dates in the October timeframe in 2013
 = John will fwd bid-guidance from Region 6 to the Exec. Comm. members.
 = committee members will review and provide feedback
 = a follow-up meeting was scheduled for Monday 21 May,
     at which the ExCom members will decide whether or not
     to go forward with a bid for 2013.
 = Al voiced concern that Local members will not be involved in the conf.

John reported on his attendance at the IEEE annual mtg:
 - PACE events are important, goal is 4 per year.
 - he also learned about financial requirments

Al asked that the committee evaluate a prior event held at Maple Garden Resturant:
  Al stated that getting members to attend took making phone calls (not just email)
  John stated that the event was confrontational, with members monopolizing discussion.

Song announced that this spring the UH Manoa College of Engineering graduated 150 students.
  He suggested that a membership followup be conducted to foster retention.
  He noted that students pay attention to facebook, twitter.

The meeting adjourned at aproximately 19:30.

Meeting Monday at Zippy's on Vineyard

The Hawaii section of the IEEE is having a meeting Monday to work on submitting a bid to host the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference in late October, 2013. We need the help of people experienced in conference planning, humanitarian work, companies to act as sponsors, etc. I would like to extend my personal invitation for anyone intereted in helping out to  attend our dinner meeting at 5:30PM at Zippy's, 59 North Vineyard Boulevard  Honolulu, HI 96817. Map: http://zippys.com/live/locations/vineyard/. The dinner is on the IEEE.

Brief Description of GHTC:  GHTC is the IEEE flagship annual conference designed to gather together scientists, engineers, technology professionals, academics, foundations, government and non-government organizations, and individuals engaged in humanitarian work to discuss and develop solutions for present and future humanitarian needs. An international conference, we anticipate participants from all over the world to attend a program of invited talks, technical sessions, tutorials, exhibits, networking, and social activities.

Conference Goals:

• Impact in positive and meaningful ways lives of disadvantaged billions of people around the world
• Focus attention of businesses on emerging market opportunities and related technology enablers
• Foster exchange of information and networking in the humanitarian field
• Promote science, engineering and technology as key to development of solutions for disadvantaged communities and attract young people to these professional fields

.

Participation in GHTC is open to all technologists or organizations interested in applying technology to humanitarian goals and to non-technical individuals and organizations interested in learning about the application of technology to humanitarian challenges. Come and learn about humanitarian challanges and opportunities around the world. Gain visibility for your humanitarian organization or help to sponsor others.  Here is a link to last year's event: http://www.ieeeghtc.org/event/

LinkedIn Group: IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference 2012

Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/ieeeghtc/

Theme Song Video

IEEE Volunteers needed Saturday

Mark R. Rognstad, University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii Mapping Research Group Honolulu, Hawaii is looking for volunteers to help judge the Hawaii Underwater Robot Challenge on Saturday morning. Contact Mark for further information.

Hawaii Underwater Robot Challenge

NAME:       Hawaii Underwater Robot Challenge
LAST DATE:  May 30, 2011
NEXT DATE:  May 19, 2012
LOCATION:   Richardson Pool, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, HI
EVENTS:     Timed, multitasking, tethered mission
CLASSES:    Remote-control
SIZE:       see MATE ROV competition rules
AWARDS:     N/A
INFO:       http://www.materover.org/
OTHER:      Regional for the MATE ROV competition

2012 Teams

 RANGER Teams


Highlands Intermediate School/Highlands Intermediate School Team 1
Pearl City
HI
Highlands Intermediate School/Highlands Intermediate School Team2
Pearl City
HI
Kailua High School
kailua
HI
Kailua High School Underwater Robotics Program
Kailua
HI
Moanalua High School
Honolulu
HI

SCOUT Teams


Club HIIQ
Honolulu
HI
Hawaii Active Learning Academy/Da Marines
Laie
HI
Le Jardin Academy
Kailua
HI
Palisades Elementary/Ach Two Oh
Pearl City
HI
Palisades Elementary/Underwater Conquerers
Pearl City
HI






For additional information, contact:



Mark Rognstad - RANGER
1680 East West Road, POST 816B
Honolulu, HI 96822
Phone: 1-808-956-8712
Fax: 1-808-956-6530
Email: mrognsta@hawaii.edu



Timmie Sinclair - SCOUT
Phone: 808-741-7114
Email: timmie@scoutrov.org



 

Here is a link to the History of the Contest