Thank you for your show of confidence in my candidacy in the recent election. IEEE-USA has had the good fortune of having excellent past and current presidents, board directors and staff. I would like to continue this trend.
This is the dawn of a new era, with a focus on education and communication. Many issues need to be addressed. Here are some feed forward items:
Do you know what the difference is between IEEE and IEEE-USA? IEEE is the largest professional association in the world, with more than 425,000 members in 160 countries, and growing. Approximately 47 percent of IEEE members reside in the United States, and they are considered U.S. members of the IEEE–and by virtue of the U.S. dues assessment, they are a part of IEEE-USA. However, all 425,000 IEEE members (including those in the United States) are all equal, full IEEE members.
The U.S. part of the IEEE is divided into six regions; or, Region 1 through Region 6. Each region has from 20-40 sections, with names that usually convey geographic information. There are about 160 sections within our 6 regions.
Quiz: Which of the six regions do you belong to? What is the name of your section?
If you need help, start by going to:
https://www.ieee.org/communities/regional-world-map.html
Then, click on the region map, and you will find a directory of sections within the region. Some sections have thousands of members, others have less than a hundred.
The main office for IEEE is in Piscataway, N.J., with more than 850 employees. The IEEE-USA office is in Washington, D.C., with approximately 18 employees. Including all locations, IEEE has more than 1,100 employees.
I hope you are as proud as I am to be one of IEEE’s 425,000 members, including more than 190,000 in the United States. What a thrill to know that Bell, Edison, Westinghouse, Steinmetz, Tesla, De Forest, Terman, and more, are among some of our predecessors and founders . We can brag that we are IEEE members, the largest professional association in the world. And we should wear our membership pins with pride, and be committed to advancing technology for humanity.
Feedback
There is much to be done to improve IEEE-USA; and with your help, I will pursue this now, and in 2014, when I am IEEE-USA President. Will you please tell me what you like about IEEE-USA? Also, what you would like to see changed, removed, added, or expanded? I will respond by thanking you for communicating with me. Your feedback is very valuable. It helps us to know what you (the member) want IEEE-USA to be; and what you want IEEE-USA to do for you.
E-mail me at g.l.blank@ieee.org. First of all, give me your answers to the quiz questions about your region and section. Then, briefly describe four things about IEEE-USA you like, and four things about IEEE-USA you would like to see changed. In your e-mail’s subject line, simply put IEEE-USA. You may include your name and phone number, but those are optional.
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Dr. Gary Blank is the IEEE-USA President-Elect 2013, IEEE-USA President 2014. He is active in both industry and academia.
