Worcester County Section 2014 report

The Worcester County Section has had a busy year with an increased number of society meetings. We have had six open section meetings with all members invited, four Communication Society meetings, four Consultant’s network meetings, six Women in Engineering Society meetings and sponsorship of recruitment “Spark” party at WPI Student branch as well as an Industry day with networking for Student Branch and guests. We held two successful Senior Member Elevation clinics and made applications – unsuccessfully thus far - for IEEE awards.

The list of meetings is below:

21 Jan 2015 / WIE / Mathaltitude Principal meeting
21 Jan 2015 / Communication Society COM19 / Wireless Positioning
28 Jan 2015 / Consultant’s Network / KICAD Schematic & PC Board Design
4 Feb 2015 / Women in Engineering / Networking meeting for WPI students
11 Feb 2015 / WCS Section / Senior Membership Elevation clinic
18 Feb 2015 / Consultant’s Network / KICAD Schematic & PC Board Design
23 Feb 2015 / WCS Section with ASME / Engineers Week Banquet and Presentation
11 Mar 015 / WCS Section / Senior Membership Elevation clinic
12Mar 2015 / Consultant’s Network / Growing your business
13Apr 2015 / Women in Engineering / Mathaltitude Principal meeting
11May2015 / Women in Engineering / Middle School Science Fair
13May2015 / WCS Section / Awards Banquet
20Jun 2015 / WCS Section / Networking Picnic
25 Sep 2015 / Comm Society COM19 / Graphene in Medical Communication
21 Oct 2015 / Consultant’s Network / Networking Meeting
9 Nov 2015 / Women in Engineering / Promoting Engineering, Math and Science
16Nov 2015 / Women in Engineering / Presentation to K-12 from College Perspective
19Nov 2015 / Comm Society COM19 / Digital Comm Techniques Underwater
5 Dec 2015 / WCS Section / Annual Meeting and Holiday Party
15Dec 2015 / Comm Society COM19 / Towards 5G networks, Distinguished Lecturer

2016 plans:

We expect our emphasis for 2016 to be:

1.  Recruit Young Professional members

2.  Improve communication with Senior Member candidates

3.  Secure appropriate awards for longtime contributors to the Section’s health

4.  Participate in the sponsored Medical Information and Communication Technology symposium at WPI March 20-23.

5.  Reach out to Robotics and Automation Society via new Department chair at WPI.

We have had some of our best outreach results with nontechnical events that give members an opportunity to network and get acquainted, such as picnics, awards nights and holiday gatherings. These events have fed our ability to recruit and involve members in technical activities. I would encourage the Region more effectively recognize the value of these networking events and make them eligible for funding.

For the Worcester County Section, Region 1,

C. Vernon Gaw, chair