Foundations of innovation [President's Message]

This is my final column as the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) president. During the past years, I have had the opportunity to work with many EMBS members and to receive a variety of perspectives on what we do, what we should do, and what we could do differently. As you may guess, although some consensus exists, ourmembers have many different views on EMBS. We can profit from these perspectives and continue the task of improving our Society for the benefit of our members and the profession.     

What's up in the regions? [Society News]

Four geographical representatives of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) Administrative Committee (AdCom) report on activities held in their regions. Stephen Davies (North America) reports on events in Canada. Kenji Sunagawa (Japan), Jyh Horng Chen (Taiwan), and Yong R. Yoon (Korea) refer to biomedical engineering (BME) activities in several countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Here is what they want to tell us.     

President's Message

Over the past decade, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) has expanded its international outreach in a number of areas. Almost half of the EMBS members now reside outside the United States. The international efforts of the EMBS can be seen in many of the activities summarized below.     

Golden accomplishments in biomedical engineering

The 50th anniversary of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) is an appropriate time to look back at the origins and growth of both the field of biomedical engineering and the EMBS. The present account gives most attention to the aspects of biomedical engineering to which IEEE members (and, earlier, American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) members and Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) members) contributed, which is to say that this account emphasizes the electrical, electronic, and computing aspects of biomedical engineering. Topics covered include: history of the technologies; the roots of biomedical engineering; prehistory and history of the profession; biomedical applications of the computer; health care; ultrasound technology; new means of medical imaging; endoscopy, lasers, and fear of electromagnetic fields; study of human metabolism; the Human Genome Project, robotics, and internationalization; and forecasting progress in biomedical engineering.     

Student activities around the world: IEEE EMBS UKRI student club features PGBIOMED 2009

One of the benefits of promoting the formation of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology (EMBS) student associations around the world is to allow university trainees to engage with the global biomedical community at a local, national, and international scale. As part of our continuous efforts toward promoting student activities within EMBS, this column reflects on the experience of a successful EMBS Student Club from Europe [the IEEE EMBS United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (UKRI) Student Club] in hosting the fifth edition of a conference organized by students for students: the Postgraduate Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics (PGBIOMED).     

Highlights [President's Message]

The year 2009 has been a productive year for the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS). We have accomplished a great deal in enhancing the quality of conferences and publications, owing to the tremendous efforts from our volunteers and staff. I take great pride in recognizing the achievements of our members. Across the globe, we are fortunate to have innumerable examples of significant progress. It is my pleasure to report to you the past year's highlights.     

The nuts and bolts of EMBS student chapters! [Student's Corner]

The Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) student chapters and clubs enable students world wide to engage with the global biomedical community, build relationships that extend beyond college, and better understand societal benefits that result from biomedical pursuits. This article addresses lessons learned from the formation of an IEEE EMBS student chapter at Kansas State University (KSU) and highlights some of the activities supported by this group, which include research to aid persons with disabilities and hands-on efforts to interest young women in science and engineering.     

From the Editor

I hope everyone has had a restful and productive summer. For me, this summer has been full of traveling around the world, and I still find it hard to believe that summer is coming to a close and another school year begins. I amsure that you will enjoy this issue on biomedical engineering in China from guest editor Bin He, who is also the IEEE Engineering inMedicine and Biology Society (EMBS) president-elect.     

EMBC 2009 at a glance. . . [Student's Corner]

Another year has gone by and while you are all enjoying summertime, keep in mind that every year, near the end of the summer, it's time for the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC). This year, the 31st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) will be held 2-6 September 2009 at the Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, the world capital of the medical device industry. The meeting will bring together more than 2,000 of the world's experts in biomedical engineering, including academics, researchers, industrialists, clinicians, and trainees for five days of science, networking, and social events.     

Protection of the health care and public health critical infrastructure and key assets

I write these lines with mixed emotions. Our dearest friend Swamy is now with us only in spirit. I coedited past special issues of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine with him, namely, "The New Face of Terrorism: Combating Bioterrorism with Biomedical Engineering" [1], a year after 9/11 (September/October 2002), and "Protecting the Homeland: The Many Facets of Homeland Security," January/February 2004 [2]. Therefore, I would like to dedicate this body of work to his memory. This special issue is also the last to be published under the guidance, and the tender love and care, of John Enderle, as the editor-in-chief of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine. As an editor-in-chief, John Enderle provided an extraordinary service for the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) and IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine. As the editorial remarks in the 2004 issue reflect: "Editor-in-Chief John Enderle's foresight to keep our readers abreast of the current and upcoming developments and initiatives is a source of constant encouragement to the biomedical engineering community to take on a broader role in the continuing fight against terrorism." I take this opportunity to thank John for all the years of strong and visionary leadership and for the wonderful opportunities that he provided to bring forward before the EMBS community broader, meaningful, and highly relevant scholarly perspectives, which attempted to tackle the tough and persistent problems so evident in the times in which we live.     

Society News [let's welcome new IEEE Fellows]

Reviews the history of the Fellows grade and lists the 16 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) members confirmed as IEEE Fellows effective 1 January 2008.     

Retrospective: student events at EMBC'08 [Student's Corner]

The IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) reaches the community and its members every year, bringing together researchers, clinicians, industry representatives, and trainees from around the world. The 30th annual international conference of the EMBS was held at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre in Vancouver, Canada, on 20-24 August 2008. The 2008 edition of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC) gathered more than 1,600 biomedical engineers in beautiful downtown Vancouver for four exciting days of science, networking, and social interaction.     

Best of both worlds [Emerging Technologies]

Expanding on the experience gained at 2006 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC'06) in New York, the 30th IEEE Annual International Conference of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), held on 24 August 2008, hosted the second Industry--Academia Partnership Roundtable. The panel that pioneered the EMBC'06 efforts, with members from academic and industry communities, debated topics related to the following: · reciprocal value that academia and industry can offer in medical device new product development · the basics of starting up your own company · clash of cultures (industry versus academia): what obstacles academicians may face in reaching entrepreneurship? · intellectual property (IP) joint development and sharing between industry and academia · quick tutorial on use of provisional patents. How are patents used by companies?     

Online visibility: EMBS gets e-savvy [Student Activities]

I came across an e-newsletter from the British Museum last week advertising free delivery when you spend more than ￡100 on British Museum sculptures and replicas. Inasmuch as my small flat in London could use a bust replica of an Egyptian noble woman or a Rosetta Stone coffee mug, it was the ending of the newsletter that caught my eye in particular. To help others find this newsletter, the British Museum has conveniently provided links to ten networking Web sites (some of which I have never heard of): Digg It!, Del.ico.us, Newsvine, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn. The British Museum is e-savvy. I started to think about the IEEE and the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), and I thought I would share some of our own proud e-achievements and current endeavors that we have come a long way over the past several years.     

IEEE and Accreditation of Engineering Programs

Accreditation of engineering education programs is a responsibility of ECPD. IEEE, as a Participating Body of ECPD, participates through committees of the Educational Activities Board and through individual IEEE members selected to work with ECPD Committees. In addition to satisfying ECPD criteria for engineering programs, electrical engineering and computer engineering programs that are to be accredited must comply with IEEE guidelines for their programs. Interest in accreditation by IEEE members and officers has increased in recent years. This increased interest has resulted in increased participation by IEEE in the accreditation of engineering programs.     

Editorial

Welcome to 2009 and a new issue of IEEE Potentials. I am especially proud to note that three of the technical articles are written by IEEE Fellows and one by a recent doctoral graduate. As always, we have ensured that these articles are geared toward the background and interests of Student Members and entry-level engineers. To our readers who are contemplating their careers and research, we hope these articles will introduce you to new ideas and fields of study; to our readers who are more concerned with their academic coursework, we are confident these articles will give you an opportunity to see the impact of textbook theory to cutting-edge engineering applications.     

EMBS GOLD and MGA GOLD---adding a new dimension [GOLD]

The Webinar series is one example where EMBS GOLD members benefit from the MGA GOLD resources. With the MGA GOLD network and our Society, we have great opportunities to help you realize your dreams, and I invite you to be a part of GOLD in EMBS and around the globe.     

IEEE student branch profile - Hands-on approach keeps UC-Berkeley student branch active and growing

The "hands-on practical electronics" classes (HOPE), which are offered weekly to both UC-Berkeley and high school students by student branch members, are what Torous called "our most successful achievement". The success of that activity involves the effect that the program has had in terms of outreach to the overall UC-Berkeley electronics engineering community as well as students majoring in other subjects, membership growth, and cross pollination with other IEEE student branches     

A Cautionary Note on Checking Software Engineering Papers for Plagiarism

Several tools are marketed to the educational community for plagiarism detection and prevention. This article briefly contrasts the performance of two leading tools, TurnItIn and MyDropBox, in detecting submissions that were obviously plagiarized from articles published in IEEE journals. Both tools performed poorly because they do not compare submitted writings to publications in the IEEE database. Moreover, these tools do not cover the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) database or several others important for scholarly work in software engineering. Reports from these tools suggesting that a submission has ldquopassedrdquo can encourage false confidence in the integrity of a submitted writing. Additionally, students can submit drafts to determine the extent to which these tools detect plagiarism in their work. Because the tool samples the engineering professional literature narrowly, the student who chooses to plagiarize can use this tool to determine what plagiarism will be invisible to the faculty member. An appearance of successful plagiarism prevention may in fact reflect better training of students to avoid plagiarism detection.     

New ideas spring from Virginia Tech's historical roots

Although it has been around since 1917, the Virginia Tech Student Branch is anything but an old timer. Attracting members, educating the public about what electrical and computer do and operating the student branch with a modicum of fiscal independence has always been the focus of the student branch sponsors a number of activities that address those goals. The officers added up a new component to their most popular event the student professional awareness conference (S-PAC) which is held at all IEEE Student Branches to promote professionalism in engineering