IEEE Huntsville Section has seen some great events this year so far, and we’re hosting even more exciting offerings later this year. IEEE Member Geographic Activities (MGA) and Huntsville Section have kicked off the 2-day IEEE Smart Tech: Metro Area Workshop , an tremendous opportunity for current and potential IEEE members. Attendees choose two 8-hour workshops from a palette of Wireless Communications Engineering, Software Engineering Essentials, and Introduction to Smart Grid Power Systems. IEEE Communications Society will present the Wireless Communications Engineering Workshop only on Friday, and the Computer Society and Power Systems Society offer the Software Engineering and Smart Grid Power Systems workshops on both Friday and Saturday.

IEEE-USA Employment and Career Services Committee (ECSC) volunteers will also present a Career Enhancement Workshop option on Saturday, which will assist engineers and technology professionals in developing and maintaining lifelong employment skills in continuously changing career and employment environments. The workshop will provide information and tools to help engineers and technology professionals focus on professional and career development. In addition to classroom sessions, an expert panel of Human Resource Executives, Engineering Managers, and Career Counseling Professionals will discuss gaps between what the company needs and what the applicant presents and how the applicant can best address those gaps. Whether you are a technical professional transitioning to new employment or looking for future opportunities within your own company, this panel will help you better market your skills and learn how to make transitions from the career that was to the career of the future.

The website at http://www.ieee.org/membership_services/mga_maw_agenda.html describes the IEEE Smart Tech Metro Area Workshop agenda and provides detailed course descriptions. IEEE MGA and Huntsville Section are hosting the IEEE Smart Tech Metro Area Workshop in the the Von Braun Center (VBC) North Hall on November 4-5, 2011 (Friday and Saturday), economically priced for members and non-members. Workshops include breakfast and lunch both days, with a reception/dinner that features Dr. Michael Griffin as plenary speaker on Friday evening. IEEE Communications Society, Computer Society, and Power Society are providing workshop technical content, the same content provided in separate workshops priced much higher. Huntsville registration links appear at http://mawhuntsville.eventbrite.com/, stay tuned for updates and additions, the program looks great!!
Huntsville Association of Technical Societies (HATS) hosted the 28th Annual Professional of the Year (POY) Banquet at the Huntsville-Westin, Tuesday June 21, 2011, 5-8 PM. IEEE Huntsville Section selected Dr. Willie J. Fitzpatrick as 2011 POY. Willie J. Fitzpatrick, PhD, is past Huntsville IEEE Section Chair (2007-2008), and received previous Section awards for 2002 Outstanding Engineer and 2009 Outstanding Service. Willie is Chief of Aviation Division in the Software Engineering Directorate of the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command’s Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center.

Dr. Fitzpatrick has a B.S.E.E. (Tuskegee University, 1974), M.S.E.E. (Leland Stanford University, 1975), and Ph.D., Industrial and Systems Engineering (UAHuntsville, 2001). He now serves as UAHuntsville Adjunct Professor and sits on their PhD committee as well as AAMU curriculum steering committees. Willie’s 35 year distinguished aviation and missile system career spans Apache, Blackhawk, Chinook, Comanche, Scout, and Kiowa automatic control systems and systems/software engineering. Willie demonstrates exceptional commitment to IEEE Huntsville Section K-12 STEM and university activities, serving as IEEE team judge and coordinator. He annually leads the IEEE Technical Team for the BEST Robotics Competition.
2011 Moquin
Each years at the POY Banquet, HATS selects an outstanding awardee from the member society POY awardees as meriting particularly noteworthy achievements and awards that candidate with the prestigious Joseph C. Moquin Award. Per the HATS criteria that define the award, the Moquin award is “Named in honor of Joseph C. Moquin for his career contributions to our community, the HATS selection committee chooses the Moquin honoree from among the current year’s POY group who has stood above their peers by providing exemplary leadership to the North Alabama technical community. This involvement and leadership shall have been long-standing with commitment and consistency.” This year, the HATS Moquin award committee presented the “best of the best” Moquin award to Dr. Willie Fitzpatrick, a most deserving candidate for his prestigious and continuing career accomplishments. The photo below shows Willie with the IEEE POY Award and the Joseph C. Moquin “Flame of Technology” Award. At left in the photo is Bill Whipple, 2010 Moquin Award winner and HASBAT POY.
2011 Moquin
Help us help you make Huntsville Section better. We want to meet member needs and look forward to your suggestions to make IEEE better support your career development and professional networking needs. Join us on the Section website at http://www.ieee-huntsville.org and Huntsville Section LinkedIn group site. Photo credits above to Woody Williams, HATS Photographer