Activity Report from SPS Denver Chapter

by Jason Fritz, Chapter Chair

IEEE Signal Processing Denver Chapter has organized a number of recent events, which have primarily been geared toward providing our members with technical talks and lectures and in the mean time offering some opportunities for networking.  A typical meeting will encompass about 30 minutes for networking followed by some brief announcements by a chapter officer and concluding with a 1 to 1 ½ hr technical talk.  The chapter usually provides sandwiches or appetizers for the event.  The technical talks vary greatly; ranging from highly academic lectures to demonstrations from local industry.

We are currently trying to increase the frequency of our talks and students’ awareness of our activities.  Several talks with large turnouts have been hosted at the University of Colorado at Boulder in conjunction with the IEEE student chapter there.  We have also done joint meetings with the communication and bio-medical societies when technical topics overlapped.  In addition to utilizing local resources in the field, the Chapter is trying to fully utilize the Signal Processing Society’s distinguished lecturer program to bring in experts in the field from other locations.  This year we were able to schedule and invite distinguished lecturers from Switzerland and New York.

We are conducting the second annual competition for funding college senior project, awarding $500 to the top three projects. The primary criteria is that the students need to explain how they are utilizing signal processing in their projects.  In the first competition that was held successfully last year, the award went to a team at Colorado State University who are continuing a project to improve wireless handicap access to buildings.

In November 2009, the Chapter is calling for new officer nominations for 2010 (due 13 November 2009) and hosting a social gathering event on the evening of 16 November 2009. A list of the Chapter Events within this past year can be found at the Chapter website.  Inquiries can be addressed to Dr. Jason Fritz, Chapter Chair, at <jpfritz AT ieee.org>.