May 2015

Topological data analysis (TDA) is an emerging multi-discipline area of research spanning topology, statistics, machine learning, signal processing and computation geometry. In our video of the month, Gunnar Carlsson, Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Stanford University and co-founder of Ayasdi, offers a nice and concise introduction to TDA.

As a special benefit to IEEE members for the month of April, IEEE-USA will offer “Starting Your Start-up – Book 3: Competitive Analysis,” by Tanya Candia. This e-book is for engineers or entrepreneurs who have a great product or service idea, but no real marketing expertise. It gives advice on how to map out the competitive landscape, discern the product’s compelling value, and sell against any and all competitors. Available 1 April through 15 May.

For our May 2015 issue, we cover recent patents granted in the area of visual gait recognition. The section below covers patents granted recently for gait recognition technologies in computer generated reality, visual behavior recognition, access management and motion classification.

The IEEE MGA vTools team is happy to announce successful new releases for the following vTools applications:

The 2015 IEEE Panel of Conference Organizers (POCO) will take place 16-18 July, in Glasgow, Scotland. IEEE POCO convenes organizers, volunteer leaders, and decision makers to address conference leadership practices, changes in policies, challenges in the conference landscape, and new conference initiatives. IEEE volunteers involved in conferences can apply to attend as a hosted attendee and receive complimentary registration. Many IEEE organizational units will cover the cost of travel and lodging. Check with your unit as soon as possible for this unique event.

Here are three facts to tell members about the IEEE Member Discounts Program:

1. Discounted products and services and insurance are not just in the US anymore.
2. IEEE members can buy at better rates than the public any day, not just when there is a sale.
3. When you get benefits from Member Discounts, they are yours even when you change jobs.

In addition, when IEEE members participate in Member Discounts, IEEE earns royalties. So the greater the participation, the more Member Discounts contributes to IEEE revenue to help defer other costs.

As part of the January 2015 Board Retreat, IEEE President and CEO Howard Michel convened a diverse group of participants including the IEEE Board of Directors, the executive staff team, and select volunteers to engage in a candid and productive dialogue around IEEE’s future direction and strategy. A three-day retreat resulted in 12 strategic topics, each with recommendations and perceived importance of the recommendations.

One of the trends in publishing is to make research articles publicly available through a process called “open access” (OA). To help ensure that your conference authors can meet open access guidelines from their funding agencies, reviewing the IEEE Author Posting policy may address their concerns and make them comfortable submitting papers to your conference.

IEEE Meetings, Conferences & Events (MCE) Conference Education Program Webinars: marketing your conference, global hotel partnership program

The IEEE Meetings, Conferences & Events (MCE) Conference Education Program is offering the following upcoming webinars:

Marketing Your Conference: Better Event E-mail Invites in 7 Easy Steps

Speier, William Farran, IV. (University of California, Los Angeles ) “Toward real-time communication using braincomputer interface systems” (2015), Advisor: Pouratian, Nader