IEEE S.F. Bay Area Council e-GRID's
BayAreaTech

TUESDAY November 11, 2008
SCV Magnetics Chapter
Speaker: Tom Yamashita, VP-Engineering, Western Digital Media Operation
Time: Social/Pizza at 7:00 PM, Presentation at 7:30 PM
Cost: none
Place: Western Digital, 1710 Automation Parkway, San Jose
RSVP: not required
Web: ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/mag

Thin film magnetic recording media made a large scale transition to PMR technology starting in 2006 at around 130-180 Gb/in² areal density. This transition has been remarkably fast and effective. Just recently, (more…)

WEDNESDAY November 19, 2008
SCV Engineering in Medicine and Biology Chapter
Speaker: Scott L. Delp, Ph.D., Professor of Bioengineering, Mechanical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University
Time: optional dinner 6:15 pm (no host, no reservations), Presentation at 7:30 PM
Cost: $15 if reserved by Nov. 17; $20 after & at door
Place: Nexus Cafeteria in the Clark Center (for dinner); Clark Center Auditorium, Stanford
RSVP: not required
Web: www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/embs

The outcomes of surgeries performed to improve musculoskeletal function are unpredictable.  This problem exists, in part, because the development and testing of new surgical techniques rely almost entirely (more…)

THURSDAY November 20, 2008
OEB Industry Applications Chapter
Speaker: Rakan El-Mahayni, Team Leader, Eaton Corporation
Time: Social/food at 5:30 PM, Presentation at 6:15 PM, Dinner at 7:15 PM
Cost: $20 for IEEE members; $25 for non-members
Place: Marie Callender’s Restaurant - The Garden Room; 2090 Diamond Blvd in Concord (near the Concord Hilton Hotel)
RSVP: by email to Gregg Boltz, gboltz@brwncald.com, or telephone (925) 210-2571
Web: www.e-grid.net/docs/0811-oeb-ias.pdf

The demand for increased reliability and the heightened sensitivity of electronic loads has forced the modern facility operations to take a new approach.  A successful strategy requires an understanding of (more…)

TUESDAY November 18, 2008
SCV Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley
Speaker: Nina Yablok, Law Office of Nina Yablok
Time: 7:00 PM
Cost: none
Place: KeyPoint Credit Union, 2805 Bowers Ave., Santa Clara
RSVP: not required
Web: www.CaliforniaConsultants.org

Consulting contracts are an important but often overlooked aspect of consulting work.  Going through a menu of contractual clauses, Nina Yablok will review major clauses that should appear in a consulting contract.  (more…)

WEDNESDAY October 29, 2008
SCV Reliability Chapter
Speaker: Jim Loman, Design Reliability, Space Systems/Loral
Time: Refreshments at 6:30 PM, Presentation at 7:00 PM
Cost: none
Place: HP Oak Room, Bldg 48 (Pruneridge Ave. and Wolfe Rd), Cupertino
RSVP: not required
Web: www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/rl

Solar Energy is the ultimate clean energy source. However, solar energy is still more expensive than other means of energy production.  Residential and commercial systems must be highly reliable, have (more…)

TUESDAY October 28, 2008
SF Power and Energy Chapter
Speaker: Abdel-Aty Edris, EPRI Power Delivery and Utilization
Time: Noon - 1:00 PM
Cost: free for IEEE members, $5 for non-members
Place: Pacific Gas & Electric Office, 77 Beale St. Room 323, San Francisco
RSVP: by October 27 by email to Anupama Pandey, apandey@nexant.com, 415-369-1096
Web: www.e-grid.net/docs/0810-sf-pes.pdf

The electric power system is one of the most complex machines human beings have ever built. Among the recent issues that arise from this complexity are inadequate power flow control, inadequate reactive power (more…)

TUESDAY October 28, 2008
SCV Consumer Electronics Chapter
Speaker: Wilfred Martis, Director of Marketing Consumer Electronics Group, Intel
Time: Pizza and drinks at 6:30 PM, Presentation at 7:00 PM, Tour at 8:00 PM
Cost: free for IEEE CES members, $5 for IEEE members, $10 for non-members
Place: Oak Room at HP, 19447 Pruneridge Avenue (Building 48), Cupertino
RSVP: not required
Web: www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/ce

Intel recently announced several new products and initiatives aimed at Consumer Electronics at their Intel Developer’s Forum.  Among the announcements was an SoC (System on a Chip) family aimed at CE applications (more…)

TUESDAY October 28, 2008
SF Industry Applications Chapter
Speaker: Charles Cunha, P.E., Square D, Inc.
Time: Social at 5:30 PM, Presentation at 6:00 PM, Dinner at 7:00 PM
Cost: $25 (pay at the door); $10 for Student Members
Place: Sinbad’s Restaurant, Pier 2 The Embarcadero, San Francisco
RSVP: by email to Jack Lin, jlin@sfwater.org, 415.551.4894
Web: www.e-grid.net/docs/0810-sf-ias.pdf

In this hour and a half presentation, our speaker will give an overview of how panel and inverter selection influences PV design, and also introduce array and field design issues.  After a discussion of (more…)

TUESDAY November 18, 2008
SF Industry Applications Chapter
Speaker: Marcelo E. Valdes, P.E., General Electric, Inc.
Time: Social at 5:30 PM, Presentation at 6:00 PM, Dinner at 7:00 PM
Cost: $25 for dinner ($10, for first 5 Student IEEE Members)
Place: Sinbad’s Restaurant, Pier 2 The Embarcadero, San Francisco
RSVP: by email to Jack Lin, jlin@sfwater.org, 415.551.4894
Web: www.e-grid.net/docs/0811-sf-ias.pdf

In this special before-and-after dinner presentation, our speaker will give a background review of time current curves (TCC).  Marcelo will explain what TCC’s can tell you by describing three methods (more…)

TUESDAY October 28, 2008
SCV Product Safety Engineering Chapter
Speaker: Dr. Fionna S. Mowat, Principal Scientist for Exposure Assessment and Dose Reconstruction, Exponent
Time: Optional dinner at El Torito at 5:45 PM; Presentation at Applied Materials Bowers Cafe at 7:00 PM
Cost: none (no-host dinner)
Place: El Torito Mexican Restaurant, 2950 Lakeside Drive, Santa Clara; talk at Applied Materials, Bowers Café, 3090 Bowers Ave, Santa Clara
RSVP: not required
Web: www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/pses

This presentation about nanomaterial health and safety issues emphasizes how to proactively engineer safety into products and reduce potential exposures and health risk. Nanomaterials contain extremely small-scale (more…)