The Institute - March 2021 - TI-3

editor's note
Members Blaze a Path
to the Future
BY KATHY PRETZ
Editor in chief, The Institute

RANDI KLETT

environment of collaboration with active
and open engagement. IEEE can uniquely
provide this environment, where every
individual's passion and commitment
is represented and respected, where
they feel engaged and empowered, and
where we can all work together to support IEEE's mission.
I believe that it is vital that IEEE live
up to the ideals expressed in our Code of
Ethics: that IEEE be a place where people
feel respected and included. We should
welcome new and challenging ideas from
everyone. It is my hope that we work
together to ensure that IEEE continues
to support robust diversity of thought and
build a community where differences of
opinion can be discussed and resolved collegially and where we can find consensus
in expanding and furthering IEEE's mission. I hope that we can work together
to create safe and supportive environments, free from bullying, that attract and
nurture individuals who strive for professional and technical growth.
Let's work together to accelerate and
nurture innovation, helping to make IEEE
the technical professional's lifelong network of choice and the first place people go for the highest quality technical
information.
I encourage all our members to get
involved, use your membership to its
fullest, and be part of the drive toward
fulfilling our mission of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. It
is remarkable what we can accomplish
working together!

Many IEEE members oversee
groups at large organizations that
are working on developing cuttingedge technologies. In this issue, we
highlight two.
Jean McManus is executive director of emerging technologies for telecom giant Verizon's technology and
product development group. In addition to other technologies, her team is developing quantum
key distribution [page TI-4]. The emerging cryptographic
method could use the quantum nature of photons to help
protect Verizon's subscriber data. The IEEE member and
her team recently conducted one of the first commercial
trials of the technology in the United States.
Sethuraman " Panch " Panchanathan, director of the
U.S. National Science Foundation, is responsible for guiding the agency's mission [page TI-6]. The NSF plays a critical role in U.S. science and engineering because it supports
basic research. In a Q&A with The Institute, the IEEE Fellow talks about his vision for the foundation, the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic on the scientific community, and
what the NSF is doing to encourage more students to study
STEM subjects.
Also in this issue, we profile Diana Dabby, who put her passion for music to work by establishing the Olin Conductorless Orchestra. No one person leads the orchestra; instead,
engineering students work together to perfect their performances [page TI-9]. In addition to serving as a creative outlet, the orchestra teaches students leadership, teamwork,
and communication skills.
On page TI-12, learn how Josephine Cochran, a socialite with
no technical background, invented the automatic dishwasher.
On pages TI-14 and TI-15, meet the candidates running
for IEEE president-elect and learn who received the IEEE
Medal of Honor.
Also learn who the winners of the IEEE 2020 election are on
page TI-16. n

-SUSAN K. " KATHY " LAND,
IEEE president and CEO
Share your thoughts with me at
president@ieee.org.

FOR UPDATES ABOUT IEEE AND ITS MEMBERS, VISIT US AT
SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG/THE-INSTITUTE
THE INSTITUTE

MAR 2021

TI-3

http://SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG/THE-INSTITUTE

The Institute - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Institute - March 2021