July Note from the Chair

Dear IEEE SIGHT volunteers,

The months continue passing quickly and once again I am writing to share new developments from the past month with all of you. 

I am happy to report that July provided key opportunities to strengthen the program’s partnerships with IEEE Societies. SIGHT Committee members had a very fruitful conversation with Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) leadership. After presenting at the Chapter Chair meeting in June, sixteen chapters expressed interest in forming a SIGHT group. The Humanitarian Activities Committee Chair (HAC) Kartik Kulkarni and I also presented at the Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) Chapter Chair meeting on how AP-S and SIGHT can work together. Thirteen chapters have responded with interest in forming a SIGHT group, and we eagerly look forward to welcoming them to the SIGHT community. Throughout the rest of the year, we’ll continue to explore ways to collaborate to benefit members of both Societies and SIGHT.

Past Chair Daniel Lottis spent time in Brazil to share SIGHT’s mission and vision and let both students and professionals know how they can get involved. We’ll hear more about his trip in our next edition, but for now I’ll share a picture of Daniel with the members of the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF) SIGHT group. They said, “We are proud to share with you that Daniel Lottis, the former president of the IEEE Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (SIGHT), was in Brazil and honored with his visit. We would like to thank Daniel for his presence, kindness and all the knowledge he shared with us. This experience and his advice will certainly help us to make a better world together! “

One of the things I most enjoyed from this month was the Africa stakeholders teleconference we held to meet with SIGHT volunteers and other leaders to identify how SIGHT can best support them in creating a space for mutual learning. We plan to offer personalized training materials and localized workshops for those interested in conducting SIGHT projects.

I was excited to see SIGHT leaders from Regions 6, 8, & 9 come together for the International Workshop and Ideation Camp hosted by the Germany Section SIGHT group. These volunteers and students met for three days to talk about applying technology to come up with solutions for refugee crises. I want to extend my congratulations to all the teams who participated and encourage you to continue 

Finally, I’m very happy to share that the Projects Subcommittee has awarded funding to a new SIGHT project, “Smart Switching Toilet” submitted by the Kerala Section SIGHT group. Congratulations! Other proposals from Call #2 are still being reviewed, and once decisions have been finalized we will publish the entire list. For those of you who are planning a humanitarian technology project, don’t forget to submit your proposal before the next deadline of 15 August!

Sincerely,

Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan

2019 IEEE SIGHT Chair