IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July 2015 - 19

IEEE CE Society President Sharon Peng at
the podium.

From left, Bruce Hecht, Anantha Chandrakasan, Dina Katibi, Sanjay Sarma, and
L. Dennis Shapiro.

In the summer of 2014, Bob
Frankston and I met with Prof. Anantha
Chandrakasan, head of the EECS Department at MIT, and asked how the IoT is
impacting research and teaching. Additionally, we hoped that he might convene
a panel of faculty who would share with
our Chapter what they are doing and how
they are preparing for the future. He was
interested, and we agreed to talk again in
the fall to work out details.
When contacted in the fall, Prof.
Chandrakasan mentioned that this would
fit in very well with his research on very
small, very low-power circuits for sensor
design. He said that he had worked with
the SSCS on this topic at recent conferences. I suggested we ask the SSCS to
cosponsor-a most natural association.
Prof. Chandrakasan agreed to put
together a panel, and I made contact
with the SSCS. Bruce Hecht, president
of the Boston SSCS Chapter, was immediately enthusiastic.

Center at MIT, discussed radio-frequency
identification (RFID) and the cloud.

agenda
When I contacted Anantha at the end of
2014, he said that he and two of his
colleagues, Dina Katabi and Sanjay
Sarma, would comprise the panel. This
was splendid. It was an all-star team.
Prof. Chandrakasan spoke about silicon systems for the IoT. Dina Katabi, the
Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science and the director of
the MIT Center for Wireless Networks
and Mobile Computing, focused on smart
homes that adapt to our habits and
improve our well-being. Sanjay Emani
Sarma, the Flowers Professor of Mechanical Engineering and former chair of
research and cofounder of the Auto-ID

Sharon peng
In April 2015, while in Los Angeles, I
met with Sharon Peng, who was elected
president of the CE Society in January. I
mentioned our upcoming meeting on
6 May, and she told me that she would
attend. Splendid! I asked her to be prepared to say a few words about the IEEE
and the Society. A few days later, Sharon
wrote to ask whether there would be an
opportunity for her to meet with some
students. I asked Prof. Chandrakasan,
who agreed it was a fine idea, and an
e-mail was sent to the student body saying that Sharon Peng, president of the CE
Society, would like to meet with students
at 5 p.m., prior to the Chapter program.

food and logiStiCS
When Robin Bradbeer was the Administrative Committee's vice president of
international affairs, she made funds
available in support of meetings. The
Boston Chapter filed a request, which
resulted in a modest bank balance. We
decided to provide a light dinner. The
Grier conference room (Herbert Grier
was the second "G" in the EG&G company founded by the legendary Doc Harold Edgerton) was beautifully appointed,
had seating for more than 100, and was
equipped with audiovisual capabilities.
EECS set up a table in the hallway to
greet and document attendees.
Support from the Chapter Planning
Committee was helpful in gaining publicity and attendance. Bob Frankston,
Mike Bellomo, Matt Hickcox, Nat Sims,
and Anthony Vento were present, and

Stu Lipoff attended virtually. The support from the CE Society was extraordinary, with Peng and Board of Governors
members Bob Frankston, Sunish Gupta,
and Nahum Gershon present. Gershon,
who is a board representative of IEEE
Transactions on Cloud Computing Systems and cochair of the Health-Care
Workshop Committee, brought his camera, and both he and Bruce Hecht documented the meeting.

the StUdent MeetinG
Peng met with students in the EECS
executive conference room and spoke
of her career in electrical engineering.
She talked about the IEEE and the CE
Society and the reasons to be connected
with both organizations. Gupta, board
representative, Accessibility and Home
Health Committee, spoke about his activities in providing accessibility.
I attended and observed that becoming a member is important because some
day (for most of us) you will get a letter
from the IEEE that you qualify for Life
Membership, based on a formula of age
and years of membership, and you will
then have free membership for life. Telling this to such a young audience got
limited traction!

Dennis Shapiro, chair, CE Society Boston
Chapter.

july 2015

IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July 2015