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January 7, 2020
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December 4, 2019
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November 6, 2019
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IEEE Conference Organizer, Dustin W. Demetriou has contributed to the IEEE Intersociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems (IEEE ITherm) for over a decade. Sponsored by the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society (EPS), the event covers “scientific and engineering exploration of thermal, thermo-mechanical and emerging technology issues associated with electronic devices, packages, and systems.” Demetriou “became involved in IEEE ITherm around 2008 as a graduate student – at first as an author on submitted conference papers, and then as a session chair during the conference.”
Demetriou served as the first formal Treasurer for 2018 IEEE ITherm, which convened over 350 researchers, professionals, and students in San Diego, CA. The conference featured 182 technical papers in 50 sessions, keynotes, panels, tech talks, student poster sessions, professional development courses, competitions, and vendor exhibits/sponsor stations.
On accepting the 2018 Treasurer role, he recalls, “I chose to accept the appointment because I thought it would give me good insights into how the conference was run and become further engaged in the IEEE ITherm community.” Management was supportive of Demetriou’s role, which he adds was “seen within my company as a significant growth opportunity.”
The leadership team implemented a number of strategies to ensure smooth and efficient planning of the conference. Demetriou says, “we decided to organize a weekly meeting to make sure the entire leadership team remained on top of all aspects of the conference….We also implemented a central repository for all members of the leadership team to have access to, share and collaborate on documents.”
The 2018 event used IEEE MCE’s services for conference registration to leverage their expertise in this area. “The conference registration system was easy to set up and changes and modifications were implemented quickly,” says Demetriou. “This allowed us to offer the registration services to our attendees earlier then we had in the past. The registration system also allowed us to ask questions of our attendees. This data was invaluable for better understanding our attendees and better design[ing] programs and events that exceed their expectations.”
Demetriou cites “careful budgeting and sponsorship” as essential to helping the conference achieve key goals. He shares, “we were able to support nearly 70 students to attend the conference, present their research and network with industry participants. The conference was also able to improve and expand the activities available to the participants – including an Art-in-Science exhibition and new networking opportunities.”
A few smart practices and tools helped IEEE ITherm close their conference finances both quickly and efficiently. Demetriou shared, “By having the weekly meetings, all organizers understood the requirements for making purchases or engaging with vendors – including documentation needs. I utilized NetSuite in order to keep track of all payments and…required documentation. We implemented monthly financial reviews with the leadership team.”
Demetriou found his role as an IEEE ITherm Conference Organizer to be a rewarding experience stating, “The best part about being a Conference Organizer is the interaction with the IEEE ITherm community. Being a Conference Organizer provides attendees with a direct line to you. More times than not, through these engagements, you learn about the excellent work being done in the research community and insight into how we need to evolve the conference.”
In terms of words of wisdom for fellow conference organizers, Demetriou remarks, “Organization is key to reducing the time needed to close the conference….Ensuring the entire leadership team understands the role of the Treasurer and the procedures is essential for avoiding complexity and inefficiency at the end of the conference.”
October 1, 2019
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October 1, 2019
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July 29, 2019
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July 10, 2019
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June 13, 2019
The IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN) gathered over 130 attendees from 1-4 October 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Recently celebrating its 44th year, LCN is the longest continuously running computer networking conference in the world. The conference has a global presence with previous locations including Europe, Canada, Australia, Dubai, and Singapore.
Sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, LCN brings together researchers from around the world to engage with leading-edge theoretical and practical aspects of computer networking. This highly interactive conference enables an effective interchange of results and ideas among researchers, users, and product developers.
The strong leadership of the LCN Organizing and Steering Committees has been vital to the success of the conference. Operational changes implemented by the committees have helped the conference series thrive. Finance Chair, Dr. Frank Huebner, cites the following as key cost-efficiency measures: “reigning in unnecessary spending and using a hands-on approach for running the conference (rather than outsourcing all kind of tasks).”
Succession planning is another useful strategy employed by the LCN Organizing Committee. By rotating new members for several years before considering them for critical positions, the committee facilitates leadership continuity, longevity, and teamwork. Dr. Huebner says, “The Organizing Committee has intimate knowledge of how the conference is run due to already being part of the LCN OC for a number of years. This results in the OC members knowing each other for many years, which makes working as a real team much more effective.”
The knowledge and dedication of organizers like Dr. Huebner have also helped LCN achieve impressive results. LCN conferences have made substantial surplus for all but one of the last 15 years. The conference has always closed on time due to the diligence and experience of the Finance Chairs over the past 44 years.
The LCN Organizing committee uses a variety of organizational strategies to maximize efficiency. Dr. Huebner shares, “LCN OC members also follow, maintain, and update to-do lists/checklists for every position. This way knowledge is preserved, repeat mistakes are minimized, and upcoming tasks can be anticipated, which leads to a smoother conference operation.”
The 2019 and 2020 LCN conferences are taking place in Osnabrueck, Germany and Sydney, Australia, respectively.
For more information, please visit: https://www.ieeelcn.org.
June 5, 2019
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