May 2021 Newsletter

Welcome to the IEEE Long Island Section May 2021 e-Newsletter. 

We will be publishing this e-newsletter periodically to try to keep our membership informed on a wide variety of technical topics.  If you have any comments and/or suggestions, please reply to us.  Thanks. 

In these unusual times it would be nice if we could all indulge in some learning as we deal with reduced or missing work hours.   Hopefully, we will all be getting back to normal (whatever that is) within the next few months.

For those who are willing to volunteer a bit of your time, the Young Professionals and Women in Engineering (WIE) affinity groups of the IEEE LI Section could always use volunteers to help with upcoming events. The School-Business Partnerships of Long Island, Inc. (SBPLI), which manages all the FIRST Robotics programs from elementary through high school on the Island can also always use volunteers at all levels.

Below are some links to free Webinars and lectures on a very wide range of highly interesting topics. 

Enjoy! 

If everyone is as tired of Zoom and WebEx sessions, as I am, perhaps it’s time for a new camera instead of the barely serviceable ones that come with our Laptops.   This article describes some of the issues and makes some suggestions for alternatives;  “Why It’s Time to Ditch Your Laptop’s Camera and Buy a Real Webcam” Webcam  

Brookhaven Labs right here on Long Island has loads of interesting videos on dozens of topics from tours of the lab to specific equipment to Quantum mechanics to the especially interesting Distinguished Lecture series.  This is the top-level link: https://www.bnl.gov/video/ .  On the main site are also some employment opportunities. 

Some other interesting Reads, Websites and Events

• The LI Section had been holding very well attended bi-monthly Networking events at Houlihan’s in Farmingdale until the onset of the COVID19 pandemic. We had our first virtual version of the event on March 22 and the next IEEE-LI Virtual Networking Zoom meeting will be at 7 PM on Mon May 24 (4th Monday of alternating months).  The links are:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86315256453

Meeting ID: 863 1525 6453

Passcode: 047629

Or Dial  +1-929-205-6099

• This huge array of free videos from the Cold Spring Harbor Labs includes some targeted at teen-agers as well as many aimed at adults on a wide range of fascinating technology topics: https://dnalc.cshl.edu/resources/dnalc-live/
• Some interesting stuff from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine with many articles on the science associated with COVID-19 at: https://www.nationalacademies.org/home
• For those of you interested in Climate Science, the Climate Resources at the National Academies has many interesting articles at: https://www.nationalacademies.org/topics/climate : From more extreme weather to more frequent and intense wildfires, the climate is changing in ways that pose increasing risks to people and ecosystems. Explore the National Academies’ expert advice to help the nation understand, prepare for, and limit future climate change.

• There may be some discounts available for both Members and Student members– Check the IEEE Website for the latest information. https://www.ieee.org/membership/benefits/index.html  It’s not the easiest website to navigate but persistence can be rewarded. 

• Those of looking to change positions or for a new position, please check the Website of the Employment Assistance Committee https://ieee.li/committees/employment-assistance-committee/ for the latest available info on job opportunities.

• Please visit the LI Section LinkedIn group website: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3173694/)

• The LI Section magazine is available at:  https://ieee.li/the-pulse-of-long-island/along with the Calendar at:  https://ieee.li/calendar-of-events/2021-03/ 

• Just a reminder that the IEEE Long Island Section Technical Reference page has several handy on-line electrical calculators; available from: https://ieee.li/ under the “Reference Menu”.

• A reminder from last month’s issue: A recent IEEE Collabratec issue had a discussion on society and technology that is very relevant in this age of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.   “On Empathy: A Q&A with MIT’s Sherry Turkle”, the well-known MIT professor has a new memoir that discusses the past, present, and future of our efforts to make technology feel human.  https://onezero.medium.com/why-machines-will-never-feel-empathy-a-q-a-with-mits-sherry-turkle-fb627582b9ff.  Let us know if you agree that machines will “never” (a very long time indeed!) learn how to feel empathy. 

• A very current article from the National Academy of Engineering. For every 33.9-million-mile distant technological high point success like the Mars rover, there is a counterpart, like the Texas grid failures, all around us that undergirds and impacts our daily survival.  Discusses how important the profession of engineering is to modern societies.  https://issues.org/engineering-mars-rover-john-anderson-guru-madhavan/

• By the President of the National Academy of Engineering on “why introduce the social sciences into the engineering curriculum and practice?” The intent of engineers is always to “do good” – to improve the quality and security of life. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out this way, often because of a lack of appreciation by engineers of how subtle technology affects and is used or misused by people. For example, a new technology might promise and deliver great benefit to portions of society but harm certain groups. We call such results “unintended consequences.” https://ssri.psu.edu/news/why-social-science-because-engineering-intended-benefit-society

• Our own Professor Marjaneh Issapour is the Director of the Renewable Energy & Sustainability Center which includes the very up to date Wind Programs Project at Farmingdale State College. If you have been reading the local papers recently, you know the Federal Government has started approving several massive offshore Wind-Farm efforts.  If you are or know of, a graduating high school senior, a current college student, or a seasoned professional, there is something for everyone in the Wind Program at FSC. All of these programs will help to improve your awareness of opportunities in wind and renewable energy that may be available to you.   https://www.farmingdale.edu/resc/wind/

• The State University of New York (SUNY) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) launched New York’s Offshore Wind Training Institute (OWTI) to train 2,500 workers as part of the largest public investment in offshore wind workforce development by any state in the U.S.

• Some of us have been participating in a lecture series called “Science for the Bored” moderated by some retired science guys in Portland who have been giving some generally well done lectures on everything from the impact of stress on our bodies, to the physics of muons, to energy conservation techniques to what is consciousness to….

  Join the Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 811 3365 9067
Passcode: 919949
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Contributors: Arnie Stillman, Lou D'Onofrio, Howard Edelman, David C Pinkowitz ( david.pinkowitz@ieee.org), Lonni Chu
Editor:   Carl Meshenberg (carljoanm@ieee.org),