In our highly electronic, highly connected world, some of the biggest reliability problems are Mechanical in nature!  Why?  Because humans are decidedly mechanical and analog beasts!!
They drop things, they misuse and abuse products.  Successful companies go the extra mile to make their products highly robust and they gain a reputation for reliability.
Dr. Kim Parnell will address these issues and more during this presentation on Mechanical Design for Reliability (MDfR).  He will cover some of the fundamentals and highlights of consulting applications for MDfR.  He will also recap some recent cases where mechanical simulation and analysis were critical in successfully addressing reliability issues.
Show & Tell time will be included with some actual hardware!

In January 2013, the CPUC released a staff report entitled “Advanced Inverter Technologies Report”.  This presentation will provide an overview of this report which examines the present and evolving capabilities of advanced inverter technologies for both primary and secondary distribution applications. Inverters are widely used in conjunction with a range of Distributed Energy Resources (DER), particularly photovoltaic and wind turbine generators and energy storage resources.  Advanced inverter functionalities represent a significant opportunity to improve the stability, reliability, and efficiency of the electric power distribution system, particularly as DER become incorporated onto the grid at higher penetration levels.  Despite proof of concept by national electric power systems in Europe, implementation of these functionalities is not presently supported by the standards which govern inverters in the United States, preventing both widespread adoption of these functions and realization of the corresponding benefits to the distribution network.  In addition, there is a lack of consistent U.S. interoperability and performance standards for inverters and inverter controllers to communicate with utility distribution management systems.  This discrepancy will make full realization of the potential benefit of advanced inverter functionalities difficult, especially in the context of safely and reliably enabling higher penetrations of distributed energy resources.

Come join IEEE SCV GOLD at Villa Montalvo Arts Center for a hike in the picturesque mountains above Villa Montalvo.  The lookout point at the top of the trail has a breathtaking view allowing you to see the entire South Bay area from South San Jose, to Mountain View, Palo Alto and more.  There will likely be a trip to a local bar/coffee shop after the hike for people to refresh themselves as well as to get a chance to network with more of your fellow Engineers!
We will meet at the Villa in the Montalvo Arts Center at 2PM sharp, feel free to park in any of the 4 parking lots, but make sure you are in front of the villa at 2PM sharp as we will leave promptly.  We will try to have IEEE GOLD signs with us to make it easier to find us, but we should be an obviously large group.

This course presents an overview of the basics as well as the more advanced techniques in low-power design.  The first part of the lecture will focus on the fundamentals of low-power design and a number of well-established techniques will be reviewed.  The second part of the lecture will shift towards more recent trends and applications, introducing some interesting techniques to reduce energy even more aggressively over the next decade.

Pacific Biosciences launched the RS, a high resolution genetic analyzer in early 2011.  The RS incorporates novel, single molecule sequencing techniques and advanced analytics to reveal true biology in real time.  The RS conducts, monitors and analyzes biochemical reactions at the individual molecule level.
The RS’ subsystems include high performance optics, automated liquid handling, and an environmental control center.  The RS uses a state-of-the-art computer system to perform the primary data analysis (base calling), and requires a high performance computer cluster to assemble the DNA molecule.  The company received the 2010 Advanced Sequencing Technology Award from the National Human Genome Research Institute, and Technology Review magazine included them in their list of the top 50 most innovative companies for both 2010 and 2011.
John Hejtmanek will provide updates on the latest genetic research activities, and then present an overview of the many sciences used at PacBio to produce a DNA analyzer capable of monitoring single molecule sequencing in real time.

Quantum cascade lasers have opened up many new opportunities in quantum electronics, by freeing us from previous limitations in material wavelength limitations.  They have opened up a wide range of wavelengths in the mid and near infrared.  We will discuss how QCL’s work, how they are used, and what new developments are being pursued.

Futuremark develops industry standard benchmarking software (such as 3DMark) that measures hardware performance of PCs, tablets, and smartphones.  Running benchmarks during the product development process can highlight setup and stability problems.  Comparing scores from similar systems can help you choose between upgrades and new components.
This talk will center on how Futuremark and the companies that are working in its programs are involved in benchmarking the new generation of processors.  These range from GPUs to CPUs to APUs and power the latest electronic devices.  Futuremark’s benchmarks are the most authoritative performance tests and are widely used by the world’s leading software publications and enthusiasts review sites when testing the latest devices.

Jacob Saperstein and Shiyama Clunie will describe the mission and purpose of AT&T’s Palo Alto Foundry and its role in the Silicon Valley ecosystem.  A progress report and use cases will also be presented.  AT&T’s Innovation Platform will be defined and related to the Foundry. Michael Caniglia will review AT&Ts wireless network infrastructure and recent deployments in the Bay Area.  AT&T invested nearly $7 Billion in California between 2010 and 2012 and is expected to invest in the range of $21 billion nationwide in 2013.  The crux of this investment is the newly announced Velocity IP Plan to expand and enhance wireless and wireline broadband networks over the next three years.  Michael will outline AT&T’s Wireless Network infrastructure, in particular the components of the network and the design and deployment of 4G LTE and HSPA+.  In particular, he will focus on the Bay Area and discuss the preparations for America’s Cup as an example of planning for high volume usage.

This talk will focus on the design and performance of the Magellan Robotic System, an intravascular catheter system that received FDA clearance in June 2012.  The Magellan System is the successor to the company’s Sensei X Robotic System, which has been used on more than 10,000 patients.  The talk will begin with an overview of Hansen Medical Inc, a Mountain View company founded in 2002.  It will then provide a background on flexible robotics, followed by a detailed presentation of the Magellan Robotic System.  After a clinical review of intravascular cases to date, it will offer observations about the future of intravascular robotics.

Regarding the workings of the human mind, memory and pattern recognition seem to be intertwined.  You generally do not have one without the other.  Taking inspiration from life experience, a new form of computer memory has been devised. Certain conjectures about human memory are keys to the central idea. The design of a practical and useful “cognitive” memory system is contemplated, a memory system that may also serve as a model for many aspects of human memory.  The new memory does not function like a computer memory where specific data are stored in specific numbered registers and retrieval is done by reading the contents of the specified memory register, or done by matching key words as with a document search. Incoming sensory data would be stored at the next available empty memory location, and indeed could be stored redundantly at several empty locations.  The stored sensory data would neither have key words nor would it be located in known or specified memory locations.  Sensory inputs concerning a single object or subject are stored together as vectors in a single “file folder” or “memory folder.”  When the contents of the folder are retrieved, sights, sounds, tactile feel, smell, etc., are obtained all at the same time.  Sensor fusion is a memory phenomenon. The sensory signals are not fused, but they are simply recorded together in the same folder and retrieved together.  Retrieval would be initiated by a prompt signal from a current set of sensory inputs or patterns.  A search through the memory would be made to locate stored data that correlates with or relates to the present real-time sensory inputs.  The search would be done by a retrieval system that makes use of auto-associative artificial neural networks.  Applications of cognitive memory systems have been made to visual aircraft identification, aircraft navigation, and human facial recognition. Other applications to speech recognition and control systems are being explored.