Engineers Week Activities

Engineers, engineering organizations, and numerous corporations across the country are involved with celebration of National Engineers Week, February 17-23, 2002. Come be a part of the celebration. There are more details in a separate article.

North Alabama Regional and State Science and Engineering Fairs

Once again it is time for us to get involved with the most difficult task of selecting projects developed by our area's future scientists and engineers. Every year the Huntsville Section participates in the North Alabama Regional and State Science and Engineering Fairs. The Section, with the great assistance of Jim Kennedy, helps with the judging of projects in the area of Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, and Computer Science. Winners of these categories receive awards form the Section. If you would like to help and be part of the judging process please contact Jim Kennedy at jamesrk@bellsouth.net. The Regional Fair is scheduled for 11-14 of March at Calhoun College. The State Fair will be on April 4th and 5th at UAH. We need judges for both fairs.

Biometrics Verify Travelers' Identity

After terrorists passed through passenger checkpoints last September and hijacked four airplanes, airlines and governments began to look for new ways to screen air travelers. One way is biometrics -- forge-proof identifiers of the human body.

Biometrics are physical features such as fingerprints, retina patterns and facial structures that could be incorporated into identification cards and security systems in airports and other public areas. But this idea stirs controversy among civil libertarians, lawyers and others concerned with a citizen's right to privacy, according to a panel discussion on surveillance technology sponsored by IEEE Spectrum and the New York Academy of Sciences, held in October.

"What we've witnessed since 11 Sept. is what national security experts call 'asymmetric warfare' -- forms of attack that do not use conventional weaponry or armaments, but take advantage of our openness as a society and use our own technology against us," said panelist Michael A. Vatis, director for the Institute for Security Technology Studies at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., USA. Vatis called for a "Manhattan Project" approach to bring together academia, private industry and government experts to develop a research and development agenda to counter the terrorist threat.

For a complete transcript of the panel discussion, go to http://www.spectrum.ieee.org.

IEEE Communications Society Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Two-DVD Set

To commemorate its 50th anniversary, the IEEE Communications Society is offering a two-DVD set entitled "Communications Engineering Technology: A Comprehensive Collection of Papers, 1953-2001." The 28,000-paper compendium features materials originally published in the Society's periodicals or proceedings. The set will be available in March, but IEEE members may purchase it for US$69 until 15 Feb. The price rises to US$129 after 15 Feb. For more information, visit the IEEE Catalog & Store.