IEEE Electrification Magazine - December 2013 - 79

Women Leading the Way
The population of the Industry Applications Society is changing.
Who we are

The Industry Applications Society
serves electrical engineers over a wide spectrum of industries and technologies. We are involved in the application of engineering, from motor drive and power
electronic technology for renewables, transportation,
or industrial processes; we develop automation systems for manufacturing; we are involved in mining,
cement production, pulp and paper and metal industries, refineries and chemical plant operation; from
rural electric cooperatives to large industrial plants;
from the development of lighting and displays to the
engineering of electrostatic processes. One IAS member out of five works in academia or at a government
laboratory, closer to fundamental technology developments, while the others are in industry, applying stateof-the-art knowledge to new products or their manufacture. Last but not least, IAS members have developed
and are continuously updating many industry standards, from grounding to DC networks, contributing
to increased electrical safety at home and in industry.

Left: Newly Elected IAS Board Member, Ms.Yao Yingbei, Chairing a student poster
session at the IAS Annual Meeting.
Right: Ms. Aathira, (2nd right ) 2012 Thesis Contest 3rd Prize Recipient. accepting
her award at The RIT SB IAS Chapter event with Prof. Vijayakumari C K., thesis
supervisor (m).

Where we are and where we meet - The IAS
has close to 10,000 members worldwide. Relative
to its size, the IAS has one of the largest offering
of conferences and local chapters of any IEEE society, reflecting the broad technical, regional, and
cultural diversity of our membership. The IAS
has over 170 chapters worldwide with a number
of student branches, for our younger members,
at universities with accomplished student advisors on hand to guide members. Papers that are
presented at our technical conferences are eligible
to be published in the peer reviewed Transactions
Journal or magazine. More and more women are
joining the society and finding their way to high-

level volunteer positions. One of our newly elected board
members is a young engineer from China, Ms. Yao Yingbei, a leader in the Chapters and Membership Department.

Testimonies - "Being an IAS member has brought me
opportunities I never would have imagined", says Ms.
Taqua Khairy from Bahrain. "I feel that I can and will
create reality of my dreams! IAS had made that possible
and reachable for me. The first time I traveled alone was
when I had a 24 hour trip from Bahrain to Florida to attend the IAS annual meeting 2011. This trip wouldn't
have been possible without the IAS Zucker Award support. I was there in the US for the first time, sharing a
room with a very sweet female engineer who had a totally different culture and background. She was Latin,
I was Arab and we made a friend there who was Italian! However, we could still connect through our common interest in science, engineering and volunteering
work with IEEE. We are still good friends! That year I
stood in front of more than 60 people and spoke about
my university and the country I live in. IAS gave me the
opportunity and encouraged me to be an effective person, and made me believe that I can make a difference!"
A decade-long IAS project of particular significance to
our world is the improvement of electrical safety. The
IAS has a technical committee dedicated to this topic,
working on new technology, standards, and significantly to the dissemination of knowledge related to the
prevention of electrical accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Says Dr. Mary Capelli-Schellpfeffer, a physician
who works with engineers, IEEE Fellow and IAS member: "The IAS Electrical Safety Committee has as a
goal no less than changing the electrical safety culture."

Left: Ms. Janet Flores, IEEE WIE, and Ms.Taqua Khairy, CMD SiE
program co-chair co-presenting at the IAS 2012 Annual Meeting.
Right: Ms. Megha Tak, DA-IICT SB IAS Chapter Chair, accepting a
chapter award from Dr. Peter Magyar, IAS CMD Chair

Take your engineering career to new heights
by joining the Industry Applications Society where you can make a difference!
For more information about the Industry Applications Society go to http://ias.ieee.org/

http://ias.ieee.org/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - December 2013