Improvements on my walks and events as the IEEE President and CEO. I spoke at the IEEE Congressional Visits Day in Washington, DC, and the first IEEE Living People Conference in Cuba during the months of March through April of this year. After the Ia Region 5 meet, along the way I was able to observe the total eclipse in Arkansas. The IEEE location 6 meeting was in Seattle, Washington. The northern US, including Alaska and Hawaii, is included in Region 6. Since I reside in San Jose, California and have worked with numerous IEEE charity coworkers over the years, this section is where I belong. In addition to letting the world know more about the Ia and our goal of advancing technologies for the benefit of mankind, I spoke at this place meeting about some guiding priorities for the IEEE, as well as other meetings. These include retaining more of our younger members so that we can stay important and relevant, and supporting our efforts to keep our members and our customers in good health. One of the lighter features of the conference was an Ia labeled IPA, shown below, in addition to the meetings and discussions on important issues. At the Electrical and Computer Engineering Deans and Department Heads Association (ECEDHA ) meeting, I attended the Region 6 meeting to discuss the future of education. This year, IEEE established a task force to look at how technology can be used to lower the cost of higher complex education, making it accessible and affordable to more people, especially marginalized and impoverished people. Additionally, with the rapid pace of technological change, training demands are changing, making technical professionals in need of continuing education. To see if training can be transformed to meet the needs of the global workforce, create new opportunities with technology, and employ technology to solve the world’s pressing problems, IEEE needs to collaborate with other organizations and educators around the world. I traveled to Havana, Cuba, with a partner to talk at a specialized conference and meet with professional educators following the ECEDHA meeting. I was honored to have the opportunity to explore Cuba because I believe I am the first IEEE President to do so. The individuals I met were very polite, well-educated and were willing to do more with the IEEE. In the evenings, Ernest Hemmingway would frequent the El Floridita, a bar and restaurant where he used to stand out and converse with the visitors. The discussion I had with a metal life-size statue of the well-known writer is shown in the image below. Ernest Hemmingway statue in HavanaTom Coughlin PhotoI even traveled to Arkansas in early April to take part in the Region 5 gathering in Springdale, in the state’s northwest region. I thoroughly enjoyed my initial visit to Arkansas this day. Region 5 is in the Central South of the US and includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Louisiana and pieces of Wyoming, South Dakota and New Mexico. I met and spent period with the IEEE individuals it, where we discussed crucial issues and the future of technology and engineering experts, again, about those objectives. For the first time in my life, I spent an additional day in Arkansas to witness the total eclipse of the moon. I can see why it has had such a significant influence on human society over the years thanks to that knowledge. A physicist from Alabama brought a number of cameras to record the supermoon, including some bigger ones like the one shown below, which I saw. The sun’s arc was huge and varied during the entire solar time, and it is an active solar year. I flew to Washington, DC to attend IEEE-USA’s monthly Congressional Visits Day and meet with my senators and representatives. Washington, DC, is where IEEE-USA is based and represents the US government. The nonprofit organization NIST and other US federal technology programs are supported by voluntary professional IEEE members who serve as advisors and gain insights from public policy makers on pressing issues like enabling the immigration of professional professions who were born outside of the US, social design and artificial intelligence, semiconductor workforce and supply chain development, as well as funding NIST and other US government technology programs. IEEE-USA arranges meetings for IEEE members with their senators and representatives to discuss their priorities and the significance of technology in their locations. A record number of IEEE members took part in the 2024 IEEE congressional visits day. After our visits, we had a brief time in the afternoon, and I took some other volunteers to the Library of Congress. One of them showed us how to get our own cards, which allowed us to enter the library and view more of this historic structure, and had already purchased a Library of Congress Reader card the year before. My new library card is shown here! Tom Coughlin PhotoFrom Washington, DC I flew to Toronto, Canada to take part in the IEEE Region 7 meeting. Region 7 is all of Canada. In terms of members, Region 7 is also the smallest IEEE region, but the volunteers there are very active and take on numerous IEEE leadership positions. Region 7 has lost membership over the years, like most of the rest of the US, and is looking for ways to keep its current members and draw in new ones, especially younger ones. One of the issues I raised and discussed with our Region 7 volunteers was this. To get to the first IEEE Life Members Conference in Austin, TX, I had to leave the Region 7 meeting early. Those who are 65 years or older, whose years of membership and their age add up to 100, are considered life members. These members no longer owe their dues to the IEEE, but they can still make contributions to the organization. IEEE life membership has been growing, particularly in Regions 1-7 ( the US and Canada ) even while our younger membership is not. Although most IEEE life members are retired, the majority want to keep up their active and professional lives. Life members from all over the world gathered for this meeting to discuss recent developments in technology and trends as well as ways they can contribute and influence the world. Sessions were held on various volunteer-related topics, including those involving ham radio operators, many of whom were IEEE members, talking about the local Austin emergency services. Below is their van for helping with local emergencies. Radios and antennas are everywhere inside! Tom Coughlin PhotoOne of the IEEE MOVE trucks working with the Red Cross and serving in disaster response was present at the Life Member Conference and the earlier Region 5 meeting. As IEEE President and CEO, I traveled to and spoke with IEEE members ( and non-members ) during Region 5, 6, and 7 meetings, as well as at the ECEDHA meeting and in Cuba during the months of March through mid-April. I also participated in the IEEE-USA’s Congressional Visit Day. I met with numerous members who were engaged in exciting projects in the IEEE’s effort to advance technology for humanity.
