Annual Meeting attendees heard from this year's candidates for IEEE-USA Board Member at Large -- Mauro Togneri and John Twitchell. Below are excerpts from some of the questions the candidates were asked to answer by audience members.
1. Why does IEEE-USA exist?
Mauro: I think we’ve been told already by the speakers at this year’s and last year’s Annual Meeting that engineers in the future need to be a different type of engineer than we’ve seen in the past. We’ve gone from very generalists to very specialized engineers, but always highly technical. Engineers now need to be businessmen and engineers and they need to have the ability to work on human relations and on teams, convey their ideas to their peers as well as the public. IEEE-USA is a necessary component to take the members’ skills in the technical fields to cross them over to promote our ideas, sell our ideas, and interact with all facets of people including arts and government.
John: An electron in the U.S. is the same as one in Canada and in Europe. IEEE handles electrons pretty well I think. Our IEEE-USA members in Regions 1-6 have many issues that are unique to the United States. Licensure is unique to the states in the U.S. and the educational system is different from the educational system in many other places. The national electrotechnology policies that our organization supports go to a different audience than IEEE can provide.
2. How can IEEE-USA keep a strategic vision so that we can overcome the rising storm?
Mauro: I believe IEEE-USA is vital in maintaining the strategic vision of the country because so many of the technical areas that we’re involved with have to do with the issues issues that cause the gathering storm. We need to keep focus on the entire message of the gathering storm because it’s a holistic solution to the problem. We need to convey the message to our members and create the vision for the IEEE-USA that works toward solving the whole problem and not pieces of it.
John: I think we have begun to focus on the implications of the gathering storm and we need to continue to do that.
3. What is the most effective way to engage members and how would you implement it?
Mauro: I agree that we have to use all means of communicating to the members that are available in today’s world with today’s technology. I think we need to translate some of the things we do involving law, patents, etc. to make sure the members get the message as to what we’re doing. Some of the stuff we do -- reading the position statements -- it’s not clear what we’re really saying.
John: I agree that member engagement begins at the grassroots level. I think it would be very difficult to get individual IEEE members in Regions 1-6 engaged in many of our issues, but we do have a mechanism in place to communicate with members and get them involved -- our system of regions and sections. We can focus on getting regions and sections involved.
4. What is your favorite aspect of IEEE-USA?
Mauro: My favorite aspect is being able to work with the other volunteers because we have such a talented group of people here. They are willing to spend time to help the members. My passion is the careers of our members as they go through their employment or start companies because I think that is very rewarding on a very large scale.
John: It’s very satisfying to meet and work with people like yourselves all from diverse parts of our electrotechnological industry while trying to serve our members.
5. What is one of the most important public policy issues?
Mauro: I think the most important issues are some of the things that are happening with patents. For the members, the policy issues have to do with what we do with education.
John: I think our national energy policy is currently the most important issue we face. Our country is at a crossroads with respect to energy supply and there is a terrific balance trying to be reached between the environment and cost and reliability and the use of natural resources. I foresee at least for the next 5-8 years energy policy is going to be one of the most important things.
6. What will you do differently to turn around the aging member population statistics?
Mauro: I think part of it is we need to get industry to realize and see the kind of benefit that membership in IEEE is bringing to their companies. The other is we need to find a way to take the S-PACs and transition the students from students to members.
John: 25-35% of employees are going to be eligible to retire in 3-5 years from my company. We need to get more members, but our members have to come from college and the way that’s going to work is to encourage our K-12 kids to look at science, technology and math education as an attractive, exciting field for them.
Mauro: I think we’ve been told already by the speakers at this year’s and last year’s Annual Meeting that engineers in the future need to be a different type of engineer than we’ve seen in the past. We’ve gone from very generalists to very specialized engineers, but always highly technical. Engineers now need to be businessmen and engineers and they need to have the ability to work on human relations and on teams, convey their ideas to their peers as well as the public. IEEE-USA is a necessary component to take the members’ skills in the technical fields to cross them over to promote our ideas, sell our ideas, and interact with all facets of people including arts and government.
John: An electron in the U.S. is the same as one in Canada and in Europe. IEEE handles electrons pretty well I think. Our IEEE-USA members in Regions 1-6 have many issues that are unique to the United States. Licensure is unique to the states in the U.S. and the educational system is different from the educational system in many other places. The national electrotechnology policies that our organization supports go to a different audience than IEEE can provide.
Mauro: I believe IEEE-USA is vital in maintaining the strategic vision of the country because so many of the technical areas that we’re involved with have to do with the issues issues that cause the gathering storm. We need to keep focus on the entire message of the gathering storm because it’s a holistic solution to the problem. We need to convey the message to our members and create the vision for the IEEE-USA that works toward solving the whole problem and not pieces of it.
John: I think we have begun to focus on the implications of the gathering storm and we need to continue to do that.
Mauro: I agree that we have to use all means of communicating to the members that are available in today’s world with today’s technology. I think we need to translate some of the things we do involving law, patents, etc. to make sure the members get the message as to what we’re doing. Some of the stuff we do -- reading the position statements -- it’s not clear what we’re really saying.
John: I agree that member engagement begins at the grassroots level. I think it would be very difficult to get individual IEEE members in Regions 1-6 engaged in many of our issues, but we do have a mechanism in place to communicate with members and get them involved -- our system of regions and sections. We can focus on getting regions and sections involved.
Mauro: My favorite aspect is being able to work with the other volunteers because we have such a talented group of people here. They are willing to spend time to help the members. My passion is the careers of our members as they go through their employment or start companies because I think that is very rewarding on a very large scale.
John: It’s very satisfying to meet and work with people like yourselves all from diverse parts of our electrotechnological industry while trying to serve our members.
Mauro: I think the most important issues are some of the things that are happening with patents. For the members, the policy issues have to do with what we do with education.
John: I think our national energy policy is currently the most important issue we face. Our country is at a crossroads with respect to energy supply and there is a terrific balance trying to be reached between the environment and cost and reliability and the use of natural resources. I foresee at least for the next 5-8 years energy policy is going to be one of the most important things.
Mauro: I think part of it is we need to get industry to realize and see the kind of benefit that membership in IEEE is bringing to their companies. The other is we need to find a way to take the S-PACs and transition the students from students to members.
John: 25-35% of employees are going to be eligible to retire in 3-5 years from my company. We need to get more members, but our members have to come from college and the way that’s going to work is to encourage our K-12 kids to look at science, technology and math education as an attractive, exciting field for them.
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