Published on July 5, 2012

On June 29 and 30, I was in Boston attending the IEEE Technical Activities Board meeting, a get together of all presidents of the Technical Societies of the IEEE.  I was there representing the Professional Communication Society and had the opportunity to vote on a number of issues that impact us, such as the funding of Future Directions Initiatives and new journal publications.  One of the things that I appreciate about the TAB meeting is getting a chance to meet other society presidents and to talk with them about how PCS serves the needs of engineers who communicate in the workplace.

As a technical society under the umbrella of IEEE, PCS has strong alliances with a number of IEEE councils and societies.  For example, PCS is a member of the Technology Management Council, and communication plays a leading role in the work of engineering managers.  We also have strong connections with other technical societies, such as Robotics and Automation Society, the Power and Energy Society, and many others.  PCS can offer the members of these technical societies support for their communication activities, particularly through offerings on our new website (coming in late July 2012).

New at TAB this year was the announcement of a draft Mission Statement for Technical Activities:  Inspire, Foster and Empower Technology-Centric Worldwide Communities.  This mission statement naturally reflects the importance of technology in the work of the IEEE.  I do see, however, a specific role for PCS to play as the IEEE works to achieve that mission, through global communication among these communities.  I am looking forward to enhancing the role of PCS in this and many other IEEE activities, and I promise to keep you posted via this blog!