IEEE Boise Computer Society Presents:
Topic: Extending the Dorsch Decoding for Efficient Soft Decisions Decoding of Linear Block Codes

Speaker: Sean Collison

The research presented builds upon a method of decoding linear block codes presented by Dorsch in 1974. An algorithm is presented that details how to extend the Dorsch Decoding method to check error patterns in the most likely order that they occur. Furthermore, another method is described that increases decoding speed by using various stopping criteria to limit the depth of the error pattern search. Multiple codes of various rates are investigated to find the best performing code subject to a decoding complexity constraint.

Sean Collison is an IEEE Member and the current Treasurer for the Boise Section. Sean has been a Firmware Design Engineer at Hewlett Packard from June 2010 to present. He currently works in HP’s Value Enterprise Products group on enterprise LaserJet printers and copiers. Prior to joining HP, he was a Sr. Graduate Intern at Comtech AHA, in Moscow, ID where he worked in their research department investigating the latest forward error correction technologies. Sean graduated from Washington State University with a Master’s of Science in Computer Engineering in 2009 and Bachelors of Science in Computer Engineering in 2007.

When : Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Time : 7:00 – 8:00 PM
Location : Boise State University, Micron Engineering Center (MEC) 106
1020 Manitou Avenue, Boise.

Newsletter (pdf)

Springtime has arrived already – well actually seems like it was here over a month ago. It may be rainy right now, but there are plenty of sunny days ahead. Please read the attached newsletter for upcoming IEEE events in April and beyond. Some highlights include:

• April 17: Boise Computer Society technical event
• April 19: Boise Section Happy Hour associated with the WMED event
• April 20: IEEE Workshop on Microelectronics and Electron Devices
• June 20: GOLD Event at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival

• Section Awards Nominations – nominate yourself or others for engineering awards
• Senior member upgrades at the WMED event
• Solid State Circuits Society and Signal Processing Society Chapters forming in Boise

I hope to see you at some of our many upcoming events.

I’ve also been asked to solicit volunteers for the upcoming Idaho Science Olympiad April 14th. See below for more details if you are interested.

Best Regards,

Randy Wolff
Chair, IEEE Boise Section

Idaho Science Olympiad

In the morning from about 7:00 to 8:30 we have registration when teams will be checking in.
People working on registration take in the paperwork from the team coaches.

The competition runs from 8:30 to 2:30.

We have two divisions, Junior High and Senior High.
Each division has 23 events.
Events range from rubber band helicopters to towers and catapults to closed-door events involving technical writing and crime scene investigation.

In the 8:30 to 2:30 times we need floaters. A floater is a person who assists the event supervisors with their events. Many times certain events get busy and a floater fills in as needed. It is one of the fun jobs in that you get to see a lot.

I am still looking for event supervisors for two events:

Fermi Questions: Write and proctor a test. See the link for examples of Fermi questions:

http://www.physics.uwo.ca/science_olympics/events/puzzles/fermi_questions.html

Robot Arm: See attached rules for this event. I will work on putting together the needed materials.

I will provide a continental breakfast and lunch to the volunteers.
Call or email if you have any more questions.

Sincerely,
Gary Carlson,
208-362-4999
idahoso@aol.com

If you can’t make if to the banquet, I hope to see you at the IEEE Xplore event at BSU on Feb. 9, 7:00pm, MEC 106.

Best Regards,

Randy Wolff
IEEE Boise Section Chair

Wednesday, February 22nd – IEEE Boise Section Annual Banquet
Time:
• 5:30 pm – Doors open for reception (non-alcoholic cocktails and cheese/fruit hors d’oeuvres)
• 6:15 pm – Dinner served
• 7:00 pm – Presentation begins
Location: Boise State University, Student Union Center – Bishop Barnwell Room
Normal Registration Fee / Early Registration Fee:
• $30 / $25* for IEEE members and their guest
• $35 / $30* for non-members
• $15 / $10* for IEEE student branch members
Registration and Payment URL: https://meetings.vtools.ieee.org/meeting_view/list_meeting/10233

Early registration with reduced rate deadline is February 8th, 5:00pm. Normal registration will close February 14th at 5:00 pm. Registration will be limited to 64, due to available space, and payment is only accepted on-line through the registration link above. Buffet Menu: Sesame Chicken with Cumberland Sauce, Sliced Flank Steak with Savory Mushroom Demi-Glace, Tossed Salad with Two Dressings, Minted Fresh Fruit Salad, Wild Rice Pilaf, Roasted New Potatoes, Asparagus and Rolls with Butter.

Topic: “Nanoscale to Exascale: Enabling Future High Performance Computing”
Recent advances in CPU and GPU architectures are enabling new levels of supercomputer performance. Once the clear leader in supercomputing capability, the top performance supercomputers no longer reside in the USA and innovation is fast-paced on a global basis. In his talk, Mr. Klein will explore the architectures of today’s performance leading machines, with a look forward at the enabling technologies of future of high-performance computing.

Guest Speaker: Dean Klein
Dean Klein is Vice President of Memory System Development at Micron Technology. Mr. Klein joined Micron in January 1999, after having held several leadership positions at Micron Electronics, Inc., including Executive Vice President of Product Development and Chief Technical Officer. He also co-founded and served as President of PC Tech, Inc., previously a wholly-owned subsidiary of Micron Electronics, Inc., from its inception in 1984. Mr. Klein’s current responsibilities as Vice President of Memory System Development focus on developing solid state drive technologies and capabilities.

Mr. Klein earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and a Master of Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and he holds over 220 patents in the areas of computer architecture and electrical engineering. He has a passion for math and science education and is a mentor to the FIRST Robotics team (www.USFIRST.org) in the Meridian, Idaho school district.

Please read the attached newsletter that highlights some of the exciting events the IEEE has planned for 2012. Some highlights include:

• Feb. 9-10: 4 presentations by George Plosker of IEEE on the IEEE Xplore digital library. Attend an event at BSU, Micron or HP.
• Feb. 22: IEEE Boise Section Annual Banquet
o Early registration closes Feb. 8. Register and pay online at: https://meetings.vtools.ieee.org/meeting_view/list_meeting/10233
o Guest Speaker is Dean Klein, Vice President of Memory System Development at Micron Technology
• April 20: IEEE Workshop on Microelectronics and Electron Devices
• September: Boise Mini Maker Faire – This is an event you won’t want to miss!

Please plan to join us at our annual engineer’s week banquet on Wednesday, February 22. Click the link above for more information and to register – or read more about it in the newsletter. If you haven’t renewed your membership yet for 2012, please do so right away. I hope to see you at one of our many upcoming events.

Best Regards,

Randy Wolff
Chair, IEEE Boise Section

Agenda
Maker Faire (Jenny Kniss)
Review election results and officer transition details
Review non-elected officer positions
End-of-year reporting requirements
Engineer Week Banquet Planning
Status on action items from last meeting
IEEE Explorer Speaker – Elisa
Organize Meeting to watch IEEE recorded sessions from Sections Congress – Elisa & Jaydip
Chapter chair, affinity chair roundtable
2012 Budget Planning Preparation

Here’s the November section newsletter. As always, I hope you find it informative and useful. Here are a few of the topics in this issue:
• Boise Section 2012 Officer Elections. Deadline for voting is Nov 30th — don’t forget to vote.
• PEIA technical event on Dec 8th
• Future City Competition — call for judges

You should have received your 2012 membership renewal mailing already. Renew today!

Best regards,

Chris Gunning
Chair, IEEE Boise Section

It is time to vote for your 2012 IEEE Boise section officers. Eligible voting members are members within
the Boise section with a membership grade of Graduate Student Member (GSM) or higher as of Nov 1st.
The voting site is at https://voting.vtools.ieee.org/ . Please visit this site to vote.

We are using the IEEE vtools voting system for our election. This tool helps us ensure that your voting
rights are protected and that you can be confident that your vote is accurately cast and tabulated.

The section OpComm elected positions are Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. The candidate
biographies are on the voting site. Please select one candidate for each position or specify a write-in
candidate. The deadline to vote is midnight MST on Nov 30th.

Contact me at cgunning@ieee.org if you have a question, comment, or complaint regarding your voting
experience.

A quick note on other positions in the OpComm:

We’ve been fortunate to have several members volunteer recently to fill non-elected positions next
year, but we still have some key positions we’re trying to fill. The time commitment for most of these
positions is just a couple hours per month. You can also volunteer to be an “at large” member of the
OpComm. Volunteering is a great way to network with other engineers, get positive visibility and
leadership experience, and make a contribution to the community. Please contact me if you are willing
to volunteer.

Thank you,

Chris Gunning
IEEE Boise Section Chair

The Boise IEEE PEIS Chapter is pleased to announce our last technical event of 2011. Please see the
attached announcement and share this event with others who may be interested. We look forward to
seeing you there!

Please note that elections are also coming up soon (all elected positions are available). Please contact
me, if you’re interested in serving as Chair (or other officer position) within the Chapter. I will be
sending out election notices soon, unless there is only one candidate interested in any position.

IEEE Boise Section: Joint Chapter of Power and Energy & Industrial Applications Societies Presents:

Thursday, December 8th, 2011 at 12:00 PM

Location: Idaho Power Company CHQ Auditorium East

Drinks and light snacks provided

Data, Power and Control: Some thoughts as the Smart Grid Takes Shape

Presented by: Dr. John Gardner

It’s been a long time coming, but the form of the Smart Grid is starting to emerge
from behind all the smoke and mirrors. From Idaho Power’s Advanced Metering
Infrastructure project to the sweeping Smart Grid Demonstration project being
managed by the Pacific Northwest National Lab throughout the Northwest, some
interesting trends are visible. In this talk, we examine a few examples of the new
potential of the smart grid as well as some of the research project currently underway
at the CAES Energy Efficiency Research Institute (CEERI).

Dr. Gardner is a professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at Boise State University and
Director of the Energy Efficiency Research Institute, a multi-institutional program that is part of
the Center for Advanced Energy Studies at the Idaho National Laboratory. John chairs the Campus
Sustainability Advisory Board (CSAB), a campus-wide body that coordinates and promotes sustainability
practice, education and research at Boise State. He served as chair of the Boise State Mechanical
& Biomedical Engineering Dept from 2001 through 2007 and has published more than 40 refereed
research papers and 2 textbooks. John is a registered professional engineer in Idaho. Prior to his
appointment at Boise State, Dr. Gardner spent 13 years on the faculty at the Pennsylvania State
University in University Park where his research in dynamic systems and controls led to publications in
diverse fields from railroad freight car dynamics to adaptive control of artificial hearts.