March has been a busy month for the section. Pandemic notwithstanding, several events saw impressive success, even though they were the first of their type and were completely virtual. In a surfeit of riches, some of the events overlapped with each other. First among them was the 2021 International Energy & Sustainability Conference. This year’s event was completely online and co-sponsored by the Section’s Power & Energy Society. I’m sure some attendees would have preferred to be at the University of the West Indies venue, but conditions do not allow it.

With some slight overlap, the Section also held a Job Fair and Employ Me Day spread over two days, March 12th and 19th. The first day was dedicated to resume writing skills and interviewing techniques. The second day featured Toastmaster and company presentations. The team effort that went into this event was rewarded with a good turnout on the two days, especially since it was the first time the Section was attempting an online job fair.

Kudos to Dr. Jessica Donaldson for having her Signal Processing Society proposal for a summer school accepted. This is a major accomplishment, since a global list of presenters is on the slate. Full details will be available as they become final.

Replacing the Section’s in person social networking events are our virtual get togethers on the fourth Monday of alternate months. On March 22, we had our first, which was a success. Not only does it provide an attempt at networking, it also provides small group breakout rooms. See the Section calendar for details on attending the next one on May 24th.

Now is normally the time for accepting nominations for Region and Section awards. If you are a member of the Section, you can submit a candidate for section awards to the Awards Nominating Committee. The Committee has recently had its first meeting and officers are not yet decided. Until they are, please submit nominations for Section awards to me. Include your IEEE member number with the submission. Region 1 Award Nominations should be submitted to the Region 1 Awards website. You will need to log in as an IEEE member.

Stay tuned for more events as the warm weather arrives. The Section has several offerings that will be more fully developed in the May edition of the Pulse. Be healthy,

Stay healthy,
Arnold Stillman
IEEE Long Island Section Chair, 202