IEEE Northern Virginia Section History

IEEE Northern Virginia Section History
Established date	1977/01/01
IEEE Region	2
IEEE Council
Geographic region	Northern Virginia
Region area
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List of Subsections in this Section

Background

The Northern Virginia Section is located in Region 2. The Northern Virginia Section takes pleasure in reporting its ten year history as a chronological series of events:

Oct. 1, 1972: Orest A. Meykar initiates a petition to form the Northern Virginia Subsection and with the assistance of Dr. Jenny Bramley soon obtained the required number of signatures.

Nov. 13, 1972: AdCom meeting of the Washington Section with Forrest G. Hogg, Chairman, presiding. The minutes state that "The petition to form a Northern Virginia Subsection was presented, approved and forwarded to the National Headquarters, IEEE."

Dec. 11, 1972: AdCom meeting of the Washington Section with Stuart . Bouchey, Vice Chairman, presiding. The minutes report that Dr. Thomas F. Curry was appointed Interim Chairman of the Northern Virginia Subsection although the Subsection had not yet been approved by IEEE Headquarters. This approval followed a short time later.

May 14, 1973: AdCom meeting of the Washington Section with Forrest G. Hogg, Chairman, presiding. The minutes state that "It was moved and approved that a $300.00 budget be allocated for the use of the Northern Virginia Subsection through the end of the fiscal year."

June 19, 1973: Organizational meeting of, the Northern Virginia Subsection at Computer Sciences Corp., 6565 Arlington Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, with Forrest G. Hogg presiding. Dr. Thomas F. Curry was elected Chairman and L. Douglas Ballard was elected Vice Chairman. Mr. Vernon E. Gardner was asked to prepare Bylaws for the Subsection.

September 12, 1973: The first regular general meeting of the Northern Virginia Subsection was held at Tysons Corner, McLean, Va., with Edward F. Mitchell, Engineering Vice President of Potomac Company, speaking on "Environment versus Energy."

Feb. 13, 1974: At a general meeting of the Northern Virginia Subsection the members approved unanimously the Subsection Bylaws.

Sep. 11, 1974: U. S. Senator William D. Scott addressed the Subsection at Tysons Corner on "Current in Congress."

Sep. 21, 1974: The Subsection had a tour of the National Observatory near Green Bank, west Virginia. (On Oct. 16, 1982, the tour was repeated, this time joint with the West Virginia Section.)

Dec. 4, 1974: L. Douglas Ballard, Chairman of the Subsection, established an Committee to study the feasibility of transitioning the Subsection to full Section status. The Committee reported favorably and proceeded to obtain the required number of signers on a petition.

June 2, 1975: AdCom meeting of the Washington Section. There follows a quotation from the July/August 1975 issue of the Washington Bulletin: "By majority votes by both the ExCom and the AdCom of the Washington Section (on June 2, 1975), the request of the Northern Virginia Subsection for full Section status was denied. It was the general consensus that the Subsection would fare better both administratively and financially in its present status." Notwithstanding the above, the Northern Virginia Subsection submitted its request the . A few months later the following was reported in the December 1976 issues of the Washington Bulletin: "The of the IEEE approved, subject to certain conditions, the Northern Virginia Subsection's petition to become a full Section. The conditions to be met were written agreements between the Sections on several items including financial operations, student affairs, operation of technical chapters and , operation of a joint local office and publication of a joint monthly bulletin." The memorandum of understanding between the two Sections that followed called for the following:

The division of expenses for the Washington office. (Northern Virginia subsequently withdrew from this agreement effective March 1, 1978).
Financial arrangements for a bulletin, serving both Sections. (See Feb. 1978 below.)
The Washington Section to provide the Northern Virginia Section with $6500 as the latter's share of the reserve fund. This was accomplished in January of 1977.

Nov. 15, 1976: At a special meeting of the Washington Section ExCom, Alvin Reiner, Chairman, presiding, it was decided to petition the for the formation of a Council encompassing the Washington Section and the proposed Northern Virginia Section.

Jan. 1, 1977: The Northern Virginia Section came into being. Concurrently, the came into being. The Council, however, has never become operational, notwithstanding the great amount of effort toward that end. Therefore, the Council is not mentioned further in this history.

Feb. 9, 1977: William W. Middleton, intermediate past Director, was present at a general Section meeting and presented Dr. Billy D. Davis, Chairman, with the certificate of formation of the Section.

1977: The greatest obstacle to overcome during 1977 was the matter of finances. The new Section's share of the Washington Section reserve fund, $6500, had been received. However, no rebate money was received in 1977. The IEEE concerning the upgrading of a Subsection to a Section were not at that time very clear as to when the rebates to the new Section would begin. The "IEEE Rebate Schedule" applicable at that time included the following limited statements.

"Basic Allowance: $200.00 for each Section established as of December 31.
Section Member Rebate: $1.50 for each member (all grades) and Affiliates." No mention was made regarding the upgrading of Subsections to Sections.

It had been assumed by the Northern Virginia Section officers that when a new Section was formed by a split portion of an existing Section, a pro rata portion of the existing Section's rebate would automatically be allocated to the new Section. The 1976 records were used by IEEE Headquarters to determine the rebate which was paid in 1977. The Northern Virginia Section had no record by this definition and thus did not receive a rebate in its first year or operation. It is of interest to note that the "1980 Section Rebate Schedule" had the following expanded information:

"Basic Allowance: $200.00 for each Section established as of December 31.
New Section Establishment: For new Sections established after Dec. 31 of the prior year, an annual rebate shall be allowed, prorated based on the number of days from the date of establishment until December 31 of the current year.
Upgrading Subsections to Sections: For Sections formed after December 31 of the prior year from Subsections, the current year rebate for the new Section shall be based upon terms of a written agreement between the officers of the parent Section and the new Section, consistent with the preceding policy and in consultation with the Regional Director and IEEE Headquarters. Such agreement shall be concluded prior to establishment of the new Section." Hopefully, future newly-formed Sections will experience an easier birth.

Feb. 9, 1977: The proposed Bylaws for the Northern Virginia Section, as prepared by Mr. V. E. Gardner and Mr. James F. Strother, were unanimously adopted at the general meeting.

Oct. 3-5, 1977: Northern Virginia lost little time in initiating action to sponsor a symposium. Mainly through the efforts of Dr. Joseph F. Martino, the Northern Virginia Section became one of the sponsors of the First Annual Symposium on in Medical Care held on Oct. 3-5, 1977. This sponsorship has continued during the years that followed.

Feb. 1978: In the Feb. 1978 issue of the Washington Bulletin there appeared the statement: "Commencing with this issue of the Bulletin, only those members who. belong to the Washington Section, and those members of either the Washington Section or Northern Virginia Section who belong to Chapters/ will continue to receive this Bulletin." The above restriction meant that immediate action was required to service those Northern Virginia Section members who did not belong to Group Chapter/. Dr. Beverly Bowen Moeller came to the rescue. On learning of our plight, she joined the IEEE as a Member, arranged with E-Systems, Melpar Division, for printing a monthly bulletin, scheduled addressing and assorting "parties" at her residence and delivered the packages to the Postal Facility in Merrifield, Va. The first issue of the Northern Virginia Bulletin appeared in April 1978 and the publication continued through the June-July-August 1983 issue. After about two years of E-Systems I invaluable help, the Section was financially able to arrange for bulletin printing to be done by Associations International, Inc., McLean, Va. Relations with the Postal Facility in Merrifield, Va., proved to be so favorable that a letter of appreciation was sent to the facility on May 10, 1979. An appropriate letter of appreciation was also sent to E-Systems, Melpar Division, on June 12, 1979.

Sep. 13, 1978: Virginia State Senator Clive L. DuVal, , addressed the Section at Tysons Corner, McLean, Va., on the subject of "Risks of Nuclear Plants in Virginia." Nearly all Chapters which were under the of the Washington Section at the time the Northern Virginia Section was established eventually became joint Washington/Northern Virginia Chapters with the Washington Section as the managing entity. The Northern Virginia Section is, however, the managing entity for Chapters formed in Northern Virginia since 1980:

, Speech, and
Computer
.

April 3, 1980: The Northern Virginia Chapter of the , Speech, and Society was established with Dr. Ronald E. Higgenbotham as the Interim Chairman. Donald J. Marsh spoke at the first meeting on April 17, 1980, on the subject of "Integrated Services Digital Networks."

Sep. 29, 1980: The Northern Virginia Chapter of the was established with Vernon E. Gardner as the Interim Chairman. Its first general meeting took place on March 11, 1981, in the form of a tour of a Defense Communications Agency Facility in Reston, Va.

June 18, 1981: The Northern Virginia Chapter of the was established with Wayne B. Bloomquist as the Interim Chairman. The first meeting was a joint effort with the Washington Chapter on Feb. 17, 1982. At this meeting Marve Gordon spoke on "Policy Implementation Impacting Computer systems Usage in the Department of ."

Jan. 2, 1982: The Section was shocked by the sudden death of its Chairman, Dr. Charles R. Ammerman, in mid-term. Vice Chairman John J. Kelleher served as Acting Chairman for the remainder of the term after which he served as the elected chairman for a full term.

Mar. 30, 1982: The Northern Virginia Section receives word that it is among the ten largest Sections in the six regions encompassed by the United States.

May 5, 1982: The Northern Virginia/Baltimore/Washington Chapter of the Society on was established with the Northern Northern Virginia Section as the managing entity and Susan A. Thomas as the Interim Chairman. This was the first Chapter established in this Society. The Chapter was preceded by a Working Group which had been active while was still in the committee stage. Rosemary Chalk had addressed the group in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 29, 1980, on the subject of "Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Engineering" and Dr. Joseph Pelton had addressed a joint Committee - Northern Virginia Section meeting in Falls Church, Va., on Nov. 16, 1981, on the subject of "The Electronic Future and Us."

1982: An IEEE Student Chapter At George Mason University was established within the Northern Virginia Section area, with Prof. W. Murray Black as the Interim Chairman. On Sep. 8, 1982, the new Student Chapter and the Northern Virginia Section held a joint meeting on the University campus.

1983: The Northern Virginia Section became a member of the Washington Academy of Sciences. Much credit for this event is due to Northern Virginia's member, Ralph I. Cole.

June 14, 1983: A joint meeting of the Northern Virginia Section and the Chapter on was held in McLean, Va. to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Section. Hans C. Cherney, a candidate for the office of IEEE President-elect, addressed the group. At a brief business meeting prior to the address, the members voted unanimously to increase the number of directors from six to eight, a Bylaws change considered advisable because of the great increase in size of the Section since its organization.

Sept. 1983: The first issue of The Washington/Northern Virginia Scanner was published. This is a joint publication of the Washington and Northern Virginia Sections replacing the two bulletins, The Washington Section Bulletin and The Northern Virginia Section Bulletin. Beginning in 1977, the Northern Virginia Section and the Washington section have sponsored a joint Awards Banquet each Spring to honor the newly-elected Fellows and others deserving recognition. Although the Northern Virginia Section has not been an official sponsor of EASCON, two of its members have been very active in this organization. Dr. Arvid C. Larson was elected to a three-year term as a Member of the Eascon . He was elected Chairman of the for one year and at the end of his term was re-elected. John J. Kelleher has been a Member of the EASCON Committee for six years, a Member of the EASCON for three years, and has served as Chairman of the for two years. Over the ten year history of the Northern Virginia Section, we have been fortunate to enjoy the use of meeting room facilities provided by three area : Computer Sciences Corp., E-Systems Melpar Division, and the Planning Research Corporation.

Chapters & Affinity Groups

The Northern Virginia Section established a joint chapter of the with the IEEE Washington Section in May 2009.

Past Chairs

The following is a list of past Section Executive officers whose service and dedication to the Northern Virginia Section was and is still greatly appreciated.

2010, Barry Tilton, PE
2009, Monica A. Mellini, PE
2008, Syed F.Ahmed
2007, Chuck F. Sisung Jr.
2006, Michael Cardinale
2005, Murty S. Polavarapu
2004, Amarjeet Basra, P.E.
2003, Dr. J. Scott Goldstein
2002, Michael Cardinale
1999-2001, Vincel W. Williams
1998-1999, Thomas A. Tullia
1996-1998, Steven Rebovich
1995-1996, Dr. Nick Vlannes
1994-1995, Lalit Batra
1993-1994, Rex C. Klopfenstein
1992-1993, David A. Young
1992, Dr. J. Scott Goldstein
1991-1992, Dennis W. Swift
1990-1991, William P. LaPlant, Jr.
1989-1990, James F. Strother
1988-1989, Dr. Andrew J. Grekas
1987-1988, Marc T. Apter
1986-1987, Dr. Arvid G. Larson
1985-1986, Wayne Bloomquist
1984-1985, Robert A. Lane
1983-1984, Neil . Ishman
1982-1983, John . Kelleher
1981-1982, Dr. Charles R. Ammerman
1980-1981, Bernhard E. Keiser
1979-1980, Richard J. Boyd
1978-1979, Vernon E. "Veg" Gardner
1977-1978, Dr. Jenny Bramley
1977, Dr. Billy D. Davis

Section Officers

**Northern Virginia Section Officers**
Year	Chair	Vice chair	Secretary	Treasurer
July 1995 - June 1996	Nickolas Vlannes	John Campanella	Kim Faunce	Debbie Nordstrom
July 1996 - June 1997	Steven Rebovich	Kim Faunce	Louis Detweiler	John Campanella
July 1997 - June 1998	Steven Rebovich	Thomas A. Tullia	John Campanella	Peter Sypher
July 1998 - 1999	Thomas A. Tullia	Peter Sypher	Vincel W. Williams	Michael Cardinale
2000	Vincel W. Williams	Peter Sypher	Robert Munzner	Michael Cardinale
2001	Vincel W. Williams	Michael Cardinale	Robert Munzner	Peter Sypher
2002	Michael Cardinale	J. Scott Goldstein	Michael Scheidt	Michael Picciolo
2003	J. Scott Goldstein	Amarjeet Basra	Murty S. Polavarapu	Michael Picciolo
2004	Amarjeet Basra	Murty S. Polavarapu	Syed Faisal Ahmed	Chuck Sisung
2005	Murty S. Polavarapu	Michael Cardinale	Charles Sisung	Syed Faisal Ahmed
2006	Michael Cardinale	Charles Sisung	Monica A. Mellini, P.E.	Barry Tilton, P.E.
2007	Charles Sisung	Syed Faisal Ahmed	Kerry Hartman	Monica A. Mellini, P.E.
2008	Syed Faisal Ahmed	Monica A. Mellini, P.E.	Charles Baldi	Kerry Hartman
2009	Monica A. Mellini, P.E.	Barry Tilton, P.E.	Jeffrey Poston	Timothy Settle
2010	Barry Tilton, P.E.	Timothy Settle	James Cross-Cole	Jeffrey Poston
2011	Timothy Settle	Jeffrey Poston	Susanne Dreier	Hemant Mehta
2012	Jeffrey Poston	Mithun Banerjee	Susanne Dreier	Hemant Mehta
2013	Mithun Banerjee / Barry Tilton	vacant	Rhonda Farrell	James Cross-Cole
2014	Michael Cardinale	Joel Goodman	Sandra Hyland	Thomas A. Tullia
2015	James Magee	Joel Goodman	Sandra Hyland	Thomas A. Tullia
2016	Martin Schulman / Katherine Duncan	Rhonda Farrell	Anthony O'connor	Gerald Friedman
2017	Kiki Ikossi	Chandra Curtis	Michael Olex	Barry Douglass
2018	Chandra Curtis	Barry Douglass	Michaela Iorga	Michael Olex
2019	Michael Olex	Michaela Iorga	Dmitry Cousin	Barry Douglass
2020	Michaela Iorga	Melissa Stange / William Scheible	Dmitry Cousin	Martin Schulman
2021	William Scheible	Safeeullah Soomro	Annie Sokol	Michael Olex

Archival documents