IEEE Solid-States Circuits Magazine - Summer 2020 - 5

PRESIDENT'S CORN ER

Kenneth O

Society Updates: Working Remotely,
Mentoring, and Virtual Conferences

I would like to begin by saying that
the health and safety of our members, volunteers, and IEEE staff are
the number-one priorities of the
IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society
(SSCS). We must seek and continue
to ensure health and safety in all
our activities.

Working From Home
In an effort to stay safe, like most
of our members, I have been working from home. Since in the middle of
March, I have been teaching, researching with my students, contributing as
a volunteer for our Society, and carrying out my other employment duties
remotely. This experience has been a
period of transition and adaptation.
I find I developed an even greater
appreciation for the technolo gies our members have created and
are creating.
Many advances that have previously been a convenience and often
useful in the past have become a
critical necessity for me and many
others. The fact that I can lecture to
my students and that they can view
my class and interact with me in
real time is nothing short of amazing. Of course, the miraculous part
is that these technologies are available to billions of people, thanks to
the ingenuity and perseverance of
our members. The same products
and services are also helping society
to innovate in response to COVID-19.
It's because of them that the SSCS
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSSC.2020.3001902
Date of current version: 25 August 2020

ca n continue to work towa rd
accomplishing its mission to serve
its members through education,
communication, recognition, leadership opportunities, and networking during this time of mandatory
sheltering.

SSCS Mentoring Program
This spring, the Society launched a
virtual mentoring program to teach
and encourage young professionals.
As you know, there are many options
for students and young professionals in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. We
must do more to encourage students
and young professionals to become
part of our Society and help them
on the road to success so that they
will remain in our community. The
SSCS mentoring program is our way
of addressing this essential need.
Because the program platform can
now support a lot more mentees
and mentors, the initiative is off to
a good start.
Mentoring is a great opportunity,
as many of us would not be where
we are today without the help we
have received through the years.
Volunteering to be a mentor for this
program is an excellent way to pay
it forward, form professional relationships, and make friends. For
mentees, this is a great way to meet
and forge professional relationships
with members who are more senior
in the Society. Lastly, this is a wonderful opportunity to meet people
who may become lifelong friends
and champions. Mentees can con-

nect with mentors who then can
share their thoughts on what has and
has not worked during the mentors'
careers, how to lead, how to interview, and more. Although the program was originally intended to help
students and young professionals, it
is open to all members. Mentoring is
beneficial for anyone, regardless of
industry, age, or experience, so feel
free to join the program as a mentor or mentee. To become a mentor,
mentee, or both, please visit https://
sscsmentoring.chronus.com/.

Symposium on VLSI
T he Sy mposium on Ver y L a rge Scale Integration (VLSI) Circuits has
become our Society's second virtual
conference. Compared to our first,
the IEEE Custom ICs Conference
held in March, the symposium significantly increased its interactivity
by more fully utilizing virtual technologies. It encompassed over 30 h
of live interactive events, including
plenaries, lectures, panel discussions, Q&As with short-course and
forum speakers, a micromentoring
event for students and young professionals, and executive sessions
on different VLSI topics. The executive sessions are intended to foster
a discussion about the current and
future state of the field. These discussions include live talks among
the symposia's presenting authors,
field experts, and audience.
SSCS Women in Circuits, in conjunction with the symposium, held
a panel on diversit y. Creating a
diverse community is crucial, and

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IEEE Solid-States Circuits Magazine - Summer 2020

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