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Member Activities
Wanted: Audiences for Dynamic Speakers
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his column describes one of the programs for supporting local chapters, the Distinguished Lecturer Program. The list of Distinguished Lecturers and more information on this program can be found under the Membership Activities tab of the IEEE Control Systems Society Web site (www.ieeecss.org). Nominations for Distinguished Lecturers or inquiries about inviting a lecturer should be addressed to the chair for the Distinguished Lecturer Program, Prof. Mathukumalli Vidyasagar (
[email protected]).
lecture cannot be part of a workshop or conference with a registration fee or other restriction on attendance. Any IEEE Chapter, Section, or subsection may host a distinguished lecture by first contacting the lecturer, arranging a mutually agreeable time, and then contacting Prof. Vidyasagar. If you do
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he IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) Distinguished Lecturers Program helps local groups around the world hold public lectures by worldrenowned lecturers. The program helps by providing a pool of experienced and willing expert lecturers and by making financial assistance available for the lecturer’s travel expenses. Lecturers are appointed to the pool of Distinguished Lecturers after a multistep procedure. First, nominations by the chair of the Distinguished Lecturer Committee are sent to the CSS Executive Committee for approval. Candidates are selected based on research excellence as well as the ability to give an engaging lecture. Once candidates are approved, they are approached to see if they are willing to give lectures to local Chapters. The new names are then provided at the next meeting of the CSS Board of Governors and posted on the CSS Web site. Each lecturer is initially appointed for three years. However, popular lecturers are often reappointed for additional terms, if they wish to continue. Details of all of the current Distinguished Lecturers are available on the CSS Web site (http://www.ieeecss.org) together with details of potential lecture topics.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MCS.2013.2279446 Date of publication: 14 November 2013
Bassam Bamieh giving a lecture at the Karlovo Namesti campus of the Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic, on March 18, 2013.
Rodolphe Sepulchre giving a lecture in Beijing, China.
A lecturer’s expense is funded in a cost-sharing arrangement with the CSS contributing up to 80% of the airfare and hotel. The local Chapter, Section, or subsection covers the remainder of the cost. The chair of the Distinguished Lecturer Committee, M. Vidyasagar, approves the proposed lecture and budget. The main criterion for approval is that the lecture must be open to all IEEE Members free of charge. This means that the
18 IEEE CONTROL SYSTEMS MAGAZINE » DECEMBER 2013
not have a local Chapter in your area, here is a good reason to start one! (For information on starting a local Chapter, please contact me.) If you would like to suggest someone who would be a good lecturer or would like information on inviting a lecturer to speak, please contact Prof. Vidyasagar. Kirsten Morris
