Dear Colleagues,

In the second quarter of the year,  the four ad hoc committees created to focus on TAB’s “New Challenging Topics,” namely:

• IEEE at the North and South Poles (Chair: Adriano Camps, GRS)
• IEEE in Food Engineering (Chair: John Verboncoeur, NPSS)
• IEEE in Dig Once (Chair: Bai Blyden, PES)
• Design for Ethics (Chair: Greg Adamson, SSIT)

are continuing their exciting activities. Another in-person meeting took place at the June meeting series, along with some teleconferences.

As mentioned in my May message, the original composition of the group is continuously growing, embracing new Societies and Councils that are showing interest to contribute. This growth is thanks to the outreach activities that the Chairs and members of the ad hocs and myself are doing to promote the Topics, create the communities, and extending each activity to other major IEEE OUs and Committees.

I am extremely pleased to announce that more than 90 volunteers from 27 Societies and Councils and three major OUs (TA, MGA, SA) are presently involved in the activities of the four ad hoc committees. Furthermore, a great cooperation has been established between TA and IEEE-USA for Dig Once, and common activities are under definition with EAB for the IEEE at the North and South Poles.

The number of Young Professionals involved in the Topics almost doubled in the last quarter and their direct involvement in leading actions for the presence of IEEE in the Topic arenas is a valuable and crucial result of the activities of the four ad hoc committees.

The outreach activity on the new Topics has continued and, in particular, I had the pleasure to visit:

• PES GM (17-21 July 2017, Chicago, USA)
• GRS IGARSS Opening (24 July 2017, Fort Worth, USA)
• Region 9 meeting (10 August 2017, at Section Congress)

A new ad hoc committee has been created, as agreed upon in the June TAB meeting, on “Aligned Development of IEEE Products or Services” (Chair Saifur Rahman, PES). This committee will  ensure that when a product or service is developed within the IEEE which involves the fields of interest of one or more Societies/Councils, the lead unit works with the relevant Society or Council. The ad hoc committee will be entrusted with developing guidelines about this interaction and the necessary peer review process of such new content. As a result, the cooperation among IEEE OUs,  as well as the IEEE brand, will be strengthened.

Currently, another ad hoc committee is being created, thanks to a strong and effective cooperation between TA and PSPB, with focus on Ethics in Publications. The activity envisages the cooperation with major IEEE Committees where Ethics in general and Ethics in Publications have strong relevance.

Finally, I would like to mention the great experience at Section Congress 2017 (11-13 July, Sydney, Australia). We will certainly talk more about the results, but I would like to highlight here three areas:

• The event included over 140 sessions. The Building Technical Communities track, organized by Technical Activities, included 52 talks – 28 IGNITE! Sessions, 14 Breakout Sessions, 7 Brief Sessions, and 3 Learning Labs. TA was represented by 25 Societies/Councils, with 13 hosting booths in the exhibit hall and 5 Society/Council Presidents participating on-stage in sessions. All had the opportunity to make valuable contacts with Sections leaders interested in Chapter development and other events. Technical Activities also hosted a reception attended by many.
• The crucial presence of TA in key panel discussions about Young Professionals and Ethics.
• The exciting presence of a delegation of the IEEE at the North and South Poles Ad Hoc and Steering Board, with an Ignite! Talk, a booth and a very important meeting at the University of Technology in Sydney for planning the presence of IEEE in the South Pole.

I would like thank you all for the increasing participation and passion in the 2017 TA activities, for your genuine wish to cooperate within TA and with other OUs and Committees, for your strong vision of IEEE as the enabler of a better future for the Planet and the Mankind.  

I look forward to continuing this exciting year with you.

Marina Ruggieri

2017 Vice President, Technical Activities