Mile High Spark
Volume 4, Issue 1
A Special Edition Mile High Spark
March 2013
Inside this issue:
A Special Edition
1
From the Chair
1
Revitalizing the
Denver Communications Society and
Computer Society
2
Erik Attends the
18th Annual Congressional Visits Day
3
Region 5 Asks What
Members Want
4
The Voice of the
Past, The Foundation
of the Future
5
SPAC Keynote
Watson on April 6th
6
Project Management
on April 6th
6
Denver IEEE ExCom meeting at:
DeVry University 1870 West 122nd Ave Room 121
Official newsletter of
IEEE-Denver Section
Published Quarterly
Submit articles for
consideration to:
hasling@ieee.org
April 6.
There are 2 inserts with more information to
volunteer and/or attend full days or half
days of the conference. The days are
packed full of speakers, events, and networking. Our local Power Electronics Society
(PES) has also contributed a story on the
Distributed Generation Integration tutorial
coming to the 1st day of the GREENTECH
program. Check out details here: the Program Binder of Events and we hope to see
you there!
Join us and attend the next
Special points of
interest:
Editor:
Please enjoy a special edition newsletter
this quarter that highlights some of the
best of come for 2013! On April 4 and 5,
the IEEE GREENTECH 2013 Conference will
be held in Denver by the IEEE Denver Section followed by the Annual R5 Meeting on
Tuesday, April 9th
6:00 pm—8:30 pm
From the Chair: Conference Season Has Arrived
“If we build it, they will come” ~ Field of Dreams
Welcome to an exciting year for the Denver Section program! After 2 years in development,
the IEEE Green Technologies (GREENTECH) and the IEEE Region 5 Conference are just
weeks away (Apr 3-7) and the Denver Section will play host to 300+ attendees from around
the world. There are plenty of volunteers to thank for this effort and I’d like to acknowledge
Dr. Pankaj Goyal, Dr. Eduard Muljadi (NREL) and Dr. David Gao (DU) for their contributions to
the conference planning process.
In this special Mile High Spark edition you will find a few stories on the conferences including an overview of the GREENTECH Technical Program, a write up on the Student Professional Activities events featuring Jim Watson PE (nationally recognized speaker), and Student
Chapter Leadership and Project Management workshop.
The first 2 months usually consists of the transition of Chair handoffs to new Section and
Chapter officers, membership surveys, and annual program launches. Since January we
have held the Officer’s Training program, closed out our FY2012 finances and started some
new programs in the Denver Section, and more!
I look forward to our working together in 2013 with the assistance
of Jennifer Kramer (Vice Chair) and Allen McLain (Treasurer). I also
thank past Chair Louis Tsai for his support with the transition of the
Section. On behalf of the Denver Section we wish you a productive
and successful year. Our door is open so try to make our monthly
meetings (2nd Tuesday evening of the month). See you there!
- Tim Weil
2013 Denver Section Chair
Mile High Spark
Page 2
Revitalizing the Denver Communications Society and Computer Society Chapters
The Communications Society and the Computer Society chapters are two of the largest Denver Section technical chapters, and yet hold the fewest number of activities and have a hard time finding volunteers to help lead the chapter and
organize events. While there is no formal data, it is possible to discern that the few events that have been held in past
couple of years have been poorly attended. It would be fair to say that poor membership interest, paucity and irregularity
of events, and a lack of volunteers have formed a vicious triangle hurtling in a deadly spiral. The chapters have been in
intensive care for some quite some time. It is time to breathe in new life and vitality. To this end, the 2013 Denver Section Chair, Tim Weil, and the past 2007 Chair, Pankaj Goyal, have decide to pool the two chapters’ resources and figure
out a way to lay a foundation for long term sustainability. To date, a couple of baby steps have been taken.
The first step has been to impart some regularity and structure to the meetings. Starting in December 2012, monthly
meetings on the first Wednesday of the month are being held at the DeVry University Greenwood Village Campus. There
will be no meeting on Wednesday, April 3, as we want to encourage our members to learn about an emerging domain –
Green Technologies, including distributed generation, smart grids, et al. – as this area depends on computer and communication technologies. The Project Management workshop, Saturday, April 6, from 8 AM to 5:30 PM, will provide handson training on creating successful projects.
The next step would be to increase collaboration with other similar organizations, and, in particular, area Universities. In
addition, we plan to completely revamp the chapter websites. There are too many sources of information, too many activities calling for attention, too many beeping devices and the latest tweet, and so it is understandable that attending a
meeting with your physical avatar participating in an event can be challenging. But it is in the challenges that lie the
opportunities. The opportunity to lead an organization and show measurable results, present and defend ideas to technical peers and experts, and networking. And yes, it is a place where you can add hundreds to your list of virtual friends
– with a twist: you will recognize if you run across them on a busy street corner. Some come on, lend a hand and make
these chapters to whatever you want them to be. It is for a reason that you chose to be a member.
- Pankaj Goyal
Mile High Spark
Page 3
Erik Attends the 18th Annual Congressional Visits Day
Erik joined with more than 150 scientists, engineers and business leaders who made visits on Capitol Hill as part of the
eighteenth “Congressional Visits Day,” an annual event sponsored by the Science-Engineering-Technology Work Group on
March 12 and 13. While visiting congressional offices, Erik discussed the importance of the nation’s broad portfolio of investments in science, engineering and technology to promoting our country’s prosperity and innovation. Most importantly,
they provided a constituent perspective on the local and national impact of these programs and their significance to Colorado. He also spoke about the importance of education at the elementary level and how it is crucial to the R&D area.
More than 50% of all industrial innovation and growth in the U.S. since World War II can be attributed to advances pioneered through scientific research, with publicly funded R&D the vital foundation for today’s scientific and technological
progress. Achievements from federally funded science, engineering and technology include global environmental monitoring, lasers, liquid crystal displays, the Internet, among many other scientific and technical advances. The federal government supports a unique research and education enterprise that fuels the American economy. This enterprise provides the
underpinning of high-technology industries and expands the frontiers of knowledge in every field of science. Much of this
research is carried out at academic institutions across the country ensuring knowledge transfer to future generations of
scientists, engineers, mathematicians, physicians and teachers. Additionally, technology transfer from academic research
adds billions of dollars to the economy each year and supports tens of thousands of jobs.
“It was great getting to visit Washington D.C. for the first time. The experience I gained from talking with the offices of senators and congressmen was one I recommend for everyone to experience! It is important that we continue to fund R&D and I am hoping that the groups that were present, such as IEEE USA, have a big enough impact to
increase their awareness of the matter.”
Highlights of the two-day event included a series of briefings and talks by Member of Congress and Executive Branch officials including Kei Koizumi, Director for Federal R&D the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Matthew
Hourihan , AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program; and from the Congressional Committees. The George E. Brown Award
for outstanding leadership in support of Federal R&D was presented to U.S. Representative Richard Hanna of New York
and U. S. Representative Mike Honda of California. They were recognized for outstanding efforts to advance and promote
science, engineering and technology on Capitol Hill. CVD participants had a breakfast briefing. The attendees then made
hundreds of visits to their Senators and Representatives.
The Science-Engineering-Technology Work Group is an information network comprising professional, scientific, and engineering societies, institutions of higher learning, and trade associations. The sponsors represent more than one million
researchers and professions in science and engineering. The Work Group is concerned about the future vitality of the U.S.
science, mathematics, and engineering enterprise.
“These are uncertain times and we are faced with difficult choices about whether to continue in the field of academic research or to choose a different path. For instance, I am a current student at Colorado School of Mines and
our institution is heavy in R&D. If it were not for such a strong pull in this area, my degree would severely be affected. Additionally, the entire state of Colorado is heavy in R&D and is one of the strong pulls for our economy. “
Additional information concerning the 2013 Congressional Visits Day can be found at
on the Web at: www.setcvd.org
- Erik Johnson
“Getting to converse with leaders of our nation is an
exciting thing and as a Colorado Native, it was good
knowing that as an individual, my voice can at least
be heard in D.C.”
Volume 4, Issue 1
Page 4
Region 5 Asks What Members Want
As part of the Region 5 strategic planning exercise, Jim Jefferies, Regional Director, requested that the four Area Chairs to
obtain feedback from their Sections. The objective was to identify areas where the Region could provide additional support
to Section leadership and to obtain new ideas for enhancing existing Region 5 programs.
The West Area (composed of the Denver, El Paso, High Plains, Panhandle, Pikes and South Plains Sections and the Black
Hills Subsection) was the first Area to complete a survey. Jim Look, the West Area Chair, composed a brief (eight item) nonscientific survey of members in the West Area who are either in or have been in a volunteer leadership role. The survey identified several areas for continued improvement. It was not intended to be a rigorous sampling of members, but only a snapshot of improvement opportunities from the perspective of a volunteer leader trying to support a Section. 35 volunteers responded to the survey.
Here are a few observations from the survey:

All West Area Sections participated, with at least three responses from each.

Most respondents felt that the Region was providing satisfactory support. However, 9% were dissatisfied.

A surprisingly large number of respondents were not aware of the Regional Student Competitions or R5 Meeting
(100% awareness was expected).

Use of the SAMIEE member database continues to be a very popular topic, with 62% of the responders indicating a very high interest in additional training.

Only 3% of the respondents felt that their Sections were struggling.
Written suggestions were optional and several of the suggestions recommended improving communications between the
Section and Region, possibly including a regular Regional newsletter and the positive confirmation of transmitted material.
There was also strong interest for improving relations with Universities in the Region. Improvements might include a Regional Roadshow directed at university student Chapters and the possibility of holding Excom meetings at selected universities.
- Jim Look
Mile High Spark
Page 5
The Voice of the Past, The Foundation of the Future
The IEEE Global History Network, or GHN, is the metaphorical voice of the past upon which our future is made manifest.
From this perspective and upon our awareness that the advancement of technology is accelerating exponentially, it behooves us to create processes that insure the archiving and dissemination of the history of past achievements in technology through enterprises such as the IEEE History Center and the GHN that it has created.
The GHN is becoming a significant repository of past achievements and provider of linkages to other repositories, such as
libraries and museums, housing information and artifacts pertaining to technology. By hosting information of current activities of various operating units of the IEEE, the GHN captures information pertaining to emerging technologies that will
in many instances become aspects of the history of those technologies years, decades, and centuries from now. Region 5
has a page on the GHN which can be found here.
You will notice in the banner across the top of the page a string of buttons which when pushed will take you to different
categories of information to be found on the GHN. For example, if you were to click on IEEE Milestones you would find
yourself contemplating turning points in the development of technology. Specifically, Milestones “recognize the technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity found in unique products, services, seminal papers and patents.” The latest within Region 5 is the Mercury Spacecraft Control dedicated during 2011 in St. Louis. But, you don’t
have to invoke that kind of link to learn about Region 5. As you scroll down the Region 5 page you will see links to the
sections in all four quadrants of the region. A section’s page is often populated with lists of section officers and information about the activities in the section. Such documentation if assembled year-by-year could become a running history
of the section and a chronology of technologies of interest in the area. It is hoped that more sections might create pages
which reflected the history of the area and the section itself.
A history truly worthy of emulation is that prepared for the Washington, DC section and found here. It is also worthy of
note that some sections have their own sites outside of, but linked from, the GHN. Scrolling further down the Region 5
page you will find 3 more themes:

The first theme topic is Region 5 History which provides a link to an IEEE site which is focuses largely on current activities. As noted previously, this becomes recorded history ever so quickly with an implemented archival process.

The second theme topic is Region 5 Links to the Past which provide links to foci of technology in the region.
For example, the Region 5 Green Tech Conferences past and upcoming are recognized with links to narrative
histories and fliers. Numerous national laboratories and sites are recognized with links to their hallmark
functions and achievements. And, advancement in technologies that distinguish some locations and some
enterprises in the Region are also recognized. Though the number of sections is limited, there is no evident
limit to this thematic portion of the Region 5 page. And, this content, as illustrated next, helps to expose others to the significant technological advances from Region 5 over time?
NIST laboratories located in Boulder, Colorado


Background information on NIST

Portal for NIST history

A walk through time

NIST’s history in measuring time and frequency

Information on Radio Station WWV in broadcasting time and frequency

Portal for WWV history
The third theme topic is Histories of Region 5 Academic Institutions: their programs in IEEE Fields and their
IEEE Student Branches by Section. There are almost 100 hundred entries that
continued on next page
Mile High Spark
Page 6
Voice of the Past cont.
have been established with entries for the academic institutions in Region 5 with an IEEE student branch. In
time it is hoped that the student branches will each assume responsibility (1) to establish additional and maintain current links to history of their institution and to their institution’s content in IEEE Fields of Interest and (2)
to create a means of reporting current activities and archiving such reports as steadily evolving history of such
activities. It is worthy of note that some branches have established a distinctive presence on the GHN and
some have their own sites outside of, but linked from, the GHN.
- Theodore A. Bickart
SPAC Keynote Watson on April 6th
Project Management on April 6th
Colorado School of Mines will be hosting a Student Professional Awareness Conference (S-PAC) featuring Jim
Watson as their keynote speaker. Jim Watson is dedicated to helping students and professionals develop nontechnical skills to supplement their degrees. Jim was the
2011 recipient of the Robert S. Walleigh Distinguished
Contributions to Engineering Professionalism, the highest IEEE-USA award for volunteer activities. As an international speaker, he has delivered 2,000+ presentations
worldwide to 100,000+ students.
Do you want to learn more about or freshen up your skills in
project management? Sign up to attend an exciting event
during our Region 5 Annual Meeting on April 6th following
the GREENTECH conference. The Project Management
Workshop will be an all day, hands-on workshop delving into
key topics of project management. Our guest speaker will
be Martin Radley who is currently a Professor at Touro College. Previously, Martin was a faculty member at Carnegie
Mellon's Silicon Valley campus where he designed, developed and taught professional master's program courses
using a story-centered, learning-by-doing pedagogy. Before
designing and developing college courses Martin spent 25
years in the software industry as a developer, project and
program manager. Martin holds a M.S. in Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Read more about
this exciting workshop we are offering on the website here
or email Jennifer Kramer your questions. We hope to see
you there!
Jim’s keynote presentation, Leading the Way to Success,
will show you how you can make leadership an important
part of your engineering skill set. He will focus on leadership development and other ways in which you can play
an important role in the engineering profession through
your support of leaders.
Jim will also assist in helping the attending student branches sketch out a plan for the coming fall semester’s keystone events. If you are interested in attending the S-PAC or SLTW, register here.
- Jennifer Kramer
- Erik Johnson
IEEE Denver Section
Mission Statement
Enrich the professional and
personal lives of the Rocky
Mountain Region members,
developing them into valued
contributors to society through
quality programs, continuing
education, career development
and community service; in
collaboration with IEEE, industry,
government and academia.
The IEEE Denver Section is comprised of over
3600 engineers and technical professionals in the
Denver - Boulder area.
http://www.ieee-denver.org
Want to be a part of a leading
International Conference on Advancing Green and
Clean Energy Technologies in the 21st century?
Join our team of Volunteers at the 5th Annual IEEE Green Technologies
Conference and trade a half day of service for a half day Free Admission.
The GREENTECH 2013 program includes presentations on worldwide advances in the areas of
distributed generation, including renewables, integrating them into the grid and managing them
through smart-grid technologies, the supporting infrastructure, including IT and communications, and
methods for achieving efficiencies. In addition to the advances, keynotes and expert panelists will
address both the current issues and future trends.
GREENTECH 2013 offers an unrivaled opportunity to hear
from influential thought leaders in the clean technology
industry, including Gov. Bill Ritter, Founding Director of the
Center for New Energy Economy, and those on the front
lines of clean energy advancement representing the U.S.
Department of Energy, DOE’s National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, Texas A&M University, S&C Electric, American
Capital Energy, Vestas Americas, and the Rocky Mountain
Institute. Visit Keynote Speakers for more information and
authors’ bios.
The 5th Annual IEEE Green
Technologies Conference
Technical Panel Sessions include Wind Power Generation,
Signal and Information Processing in Smart Grid, Marine
Hydrokinetic, Smart Grid Technology, Power Systems
Resiliency, IEEE 1547 Smart Grid Standards, and UtilityScale PV: Next Generation Technology
8 Expert Panel Sessions
April 4-5, 2013
Hyatt Regency DTC, Denver,
Colorado, USA
8 Keynote Speakers
70+ Technical Papers
Authors from 24 countries
Topics from policy, business strategy,
to an array of technologies—from
wind, solar, biomass, to
transportation
Volunteering at GREENTECH 2013
Volunteer for one half day (four or more hours) and receive a half day free admission (on the same
day). Apply by March 15, 2013, at: http://www.ieeegreentech.org/volunteer . Contact us with any
questions at staffing@ieeegreentech.org.
Thought and Product Leadership
 Idea Exchange,
GREENTECH 2013 is the place to be.
Global Networking, and
Exceptional Learning
April 3-5, 2013
Advancing Green and Clean Energy
IEEE GREENTECH 2013
The 5th Annual IEEE Green Technologies Conference
April 3-5, 2013
Hyatt Regency DTC, Denver, Colorado, USA
Clean energy investment in
companies and projects reached a
record $280bn in 2011
Bloomberg New Energy Finance,
November 2012
8 Keynote Speakers
65+ Technical Papers
Authors from 24 countries
8 Expert Panel Sessions
Topics from policy, business strategy,
to an array of technologies—from
wind, solar, biomass, to transportation
IEEE GREENTECH 2013
Thought and Product Leadership,
 Idea Exchange,
IEEE GREENTECH 2013 brings together
green technology leaders and provides a
critical platform for industry, government,
academia and the investment community to
drive the development and application of
clean and alternate energy sources;
showcase innovative products and services;
and engage in outstanding networking.
Register early for best discounts. Contact us
for block registrations (4+) and rates.
Email:
info@ieeegreentech.org
Global Networking, and
Exceptional Learning
GREENTECH 2013 is the place to be.
For additional information concerning the conference program, registration, patron support.
Visit: http://ieeegreentech.org
Each year, IEEE GREENTECH offers an unrivaled opportunity to hear from influential thought
leaders in the clean technology industry.
Keynote Speakers, April 4
Dr. Sam Baldwin, Chief Science
Officer, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable
Energy at U.S. DOE.
Dr. Jon Creyts, Program
Director at Rocky Mountain
Institute, Colorado.
Dr. Juris Kalejs, Chief
Technical Officer at American
Capital Energy, a commercial
utility-scale PV Power Plant
developer.
Ms. Wanda Reder, Vice
President of Power Systems
Services, S&C Electric Co.,
Chicago.
Mr. George Roe, Senior Manager,
Platform Subsystems Technology,
Energy Management, Boeing
Research & Technology.
Mr. Steven Saylors, Senior
Specialist Electrical Engineer of
Vestas Americas, a division of
Vestas Wind Systems.
Keynote Speakers, April 5
Dr. Helena Chum, Research
Fellow in the Renewable Fuels &
Vehicle Systems Directorate at
U.S. DOE NREL.
Dr. Mehdrad Ehsani, Professor of
Sustainable Energy Engineering at
Texas A&M University.
Dr. Charles Kutscher, Principal
Engineer and Group Manager,
Thermal Systems Group, U.S.
DOE NREL.
INTERACT – Panel Sessions with the Experts
April 4 and 5
WIND POWER GENERATION ~ Dr. Paul Veers, Chief Engineer, NREL, Moderator
How to encourage the rapid expansion of clean, affordable, reliable domestic wind power, and new job creation, rural
economic development and the nation’s energy.
 Panelists: Dr. Fort Felker, Director of NWTC, NREL ▪ Mr. Walt Musial, Manager Offshore Wind & Ocean
Power Systems, NREL ▪ Mr. Nicholas Miller, GE Energy Consulting
SIGNAL & INFORMATION PROCESSING IN SMART GRID ~ Dr. Jun
Jason Zhang, University of Denver, Moderator
Extracting information from huge amount of signals, measurements and data
from Smart Grid systems, and use of the information for wide-ranging decisions,
such as schedulable loads and R&D.
 Panelists: Dr. Junshan Zhang, Arizona State Univ ▪ Dr. Dongliang
Duan, Univ. of Wyoming ▪ Dr. Liuqing Yang, Colorado State Univ.
▪ Dr. Yingchen Zhang, NREL
MARINE HYDROKINETIC ~ Dr. Robert Thresher, Research Fellow,
NREL, Moderator
State-of-the-art of Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) power generation, R&D, and
improving interactions among experts and stakeholders to enhance MHK.
 Panelists: Dr. Ted K. A. Brekken, Oregon State Univ. ▪ Dr. M. ElHawary, Dalhousie Univ. ▪ Ghanashyam Ranjitkar, Hydraulic
Energy Engineer, Marine Energy, Canada
SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY ~ Dr. Salman Mohagheghi, Colorado
School of Mines, Moderator
Challenges facing today’s modern grid and possible solutions incorporating
intelligence into the grid operations.
 Panelists: Dr. Ben Kroposki, NREL ▪ Dr. Sioe T. Mak, ESTA Intl. ▪
Dr. Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy, Clemson Univ.
Tutorial ~ Case Study
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Topic: Distributed
Generation Integration:
Understanding the Current
Challenges &
Opportunities
Tutors: Drs. Pankaj “PK”
Sen and Ravel
Ammerman, Colorado
School of Mines;
Mr. Michael Coddington,
NREL
POWER SYSTEMS RESILIENCY ~ Dr. Sunil Cherian, CEO, Spirae Inc.,
Moderator
Resiliency through distributed energy innovations, control systems for integrated operation, cyber security, and networked
micro-grids.
 Panelists: Dr. Alexis Kwasinski, Univ. of Texas at Austin ▪ Joe McCormick, Boeing Co. ▪ John Tembrock, Juwi
Solar Inc. ▪ Dr. Holger Kley, Spirae, Inc.
IEEE 1547 SMART GRID STANDARDS ~ Thomas Basso, Senior Engineer, Distributed Energy Systems
Integration Group, NREL, Moderator
Status and future direction of 1547 series of standards, including impacts on utilities, distributed PV systems, and testing
and conformance.
 Panelists: Tom Yohn, Electric Distribution Engineer, Xcel Energy ▪ Jim Reilly, System Integrator/Consultant ▪
Tim Zgonena, Senior Project Engineer, UL.
UTILITY-SCALE PV: NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY ~ Dr. Juris Kalejs, CTO, American Capital Energy,
Moderator
Utility-scale Photovoltaic (PV) Power Plants are constrained by current utility technology. The panel will examine currently
used technology, designs that make PV power plants more adaptable and technologies under development.
 Panelists: Mahesh Morjaria, First Solar ▪ Ken Christensen, SMA ▪ Jim Cale, NREL
FORWARD: Advances in Technology, Operations and Infrastructure
Area
Description
April 4 and 5
# of Paper
Sessions
Smart Grid
Optimal control for energy storage, load management,
fault detection and isolation, data acquisition, metering,
architectures, and micro-grid.
4
Wind Power
Technological advances, modeling and simulation,
energy storage, and aerodynamic control.
3
Power Systems
Improvement in renewable energy generation stability
and transmission, future power systems complexity, and
offshore wind plants.
4
PV Generation
PV power generation at the cell level, PV array, system
level and power system level.
3
Green IT/
Communications
IT/Communications applications, infrastructure, and
Cyber Security related to renewable energy.
3
Energy Market
Impacts of load forecasting errors on trading/balancing
micro grid and renewable energy, use of markets to
reduce cost and environmental impacts, and dynamic
pricing and cost estimation.
2
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency improvements and implementations:
monitoring, automation, efficiency awareness, energy
use visualization, and advanced technologies.
2
Transportation
Electric Vehicle (EV) use of low cost battery charging and
fast charging methods, impacts of EV on distribution
network, and proposed autonomic traffic and energy
models.
1
Solar Generation
Solar thermal generation, control systems to improve
thermal storage operations.
1