Because the saying goes, you’re by no means too outdated to begin over. It holds true for the IEEE Life Members Committee, which has been revitalized after COVID-19 pandemic disruptions.
The committee helps these no less than 65 years outdated who’ve been members lengthy sufficient in order that their age and years of membership equal or exceed 100. Life members’ dues, regional assessments, and society charges are waived, and a few convention registration charges are lowered.
In the course of the pandemic, fewer life members have been attending in-person actions and becoming a member of native teams, and donations to the Life Members Fund, which helps a number of packages, dropped off.
“As we rebounded from COVID,” says Howard Wolfman, previous chair, “the Life Members Committee took a deep breath and mentioned, ‘Let’s transfer ahead. What are our points?’” A life senior member, Wolfman has been an energetic IEEE volunteer for 64 years and a beneficiant donor to the Life Members Fund.
“We re-established connections, developed new targets, and launched new packages,” he says.
In the course of the previous 5 years, the committee launched a number of initiatives together with an annual convention and a mentoring program. It additionally labored to reactivate affinity teams that had gone dormant, and it shaped new ones. Affinity teams are a part of an IEEE part or area.
The committee additionally ran campaigns to extend donations to the Life Members Fund, which the IEEE Basis manages. The campaigns showcased how the donations are used to assist member actions and IEEE packages.
The variety of life members elevated from 25,000 in 2019 to almost 39,000 final yr. IEEE now tasks a 58 p.c enhance by 2034. The group says it desires to utilize its most skilled and educated engineers.
Tech for an ageing inhabitants
The inaugural Life Members Convention was held in April 2024 in Austin, Texas. Its theme was “Evolution: Know-how, Purposes, and Contributions.” Open to all IEEE members, the occasion centered on offering a greater understanding of how rising applied sciences and new functions might influence senior residents. Greater than 180 individuals attended.
This yr’s convention, “Studying By no means Stops,” is scheduled for 11 to 13 June at Tufts College in Medford, Mass. Matters embody improvements in well being know-how, synthetic intelligence, and robotics. A session on techniques that influence society is anticipated to debate the vitality grid and telecommunications.
“Life members have the chance to share the knowledge they’ve gained by way of their membership in addition to careers in trade or academia.”
Based on the World Well being Group, by 2030, one in six individuals on the planet might be 60 or older.
With that in thoughts, a convention dialogue on ageing and longevity will cowl applied sciences to reinforce the standard of life for older individuals, Wolfman says, including that it’ll contact on independence and general well-being. The age tech area contains well being and wellness monitoring, sensible home equipment, and home-care robots.
The IEEE Requirements Affiliation’s Know-how Requirements for the Growing older exercise plans to supply a session to debate technical requirements being developed to make sure such merchandise are interoperable, protected, and safe. The keynote speaker is Rick Robinson, vice chairman and basic supervisor of AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative, which helps builders within the area. Dean Kamen, an honorary IEEE member who most likely is finest identified for inventing the Segway scooter, is anticipated to ship the closing keynote tackle.
You don’t need to be a member to attend the convention. Registration continues to be open.
Sharing experiences with youthful generations
The idea of mentoring is just not new. Conventional mentoring packages usually contain one-on-one classes. However Wolfman says he had an epiphany for a brand new sort of program the committee ought to launch: group mentoring.
Launched final yr, the group classes contain life members assembly with highschool college students, school college students, and younger professionals. The members share the ups and downs of their skilled and private lives, classes discovered, and pitfalls to keep away from, Wolfman says.
Group classes have been held in Ottawa; San Marcos, Texas; and Tokyo.
“One factor I discovered in speaking to the individuals is that mentoring works each methods,” Wolfman says. “Life members get mentored as effectively. We find out about what’s occurring in right now’s world, so it’s a two-way road.”
He’s exploring increasing the mentoring program to different IEEE teams, together with Girls in Engineering and Younger Professionals, so individuals can get totally different views.
Affinity group actions
There are greater than 190 life member affinity teams in 66 international locations. The Africa Council shaped one of many latest. Its members come from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Zambia, and three different international locations.
A number of affinity teams have been reactivated after a number of years of inactivity, together with the Dallas group final yr.
The teams maintain several types of actions. Final yr the IEEE Benelux group visited the European Area Company in Noordwijk, Netherlands. The members additionally toured medical gear firm Cochlear’s manufacturing plant in Mechelen, Belgium. In Colorado, the IEEE Denver and Pikes Peak teams visited the U.S. Basic Providers Administration’s Skaggs Analysis Middle, in Boulder.
Affinity teams additionally manage academic classes on cybersecurity, electrical security, spintronics, and comparable topics.
Supporters of 15 packages
Life members are beneficiant. Final yr they gave greater than US $1.7 million to IEEE’s philanthropic packages, in accordance with the IEEE Basis. Life members account for 65 p.c of the overall donations given by people to the greater than 215 IEEE Basis accounts.
The IEEE Life Members Fund helps greater than 15 packages together with awards, conferences, academic outreach, fellowships, and humanitarian tasks.
The fund, for instance, helps EPICS in IEEE tasks world wide. Final yr, greater than 12,800 college students and a few 1,600 volunteers participated within the service-learning program of their group.
One other program that receives funding is IEEE MOVE (Cellular Outreach utilizing Volunteer Engagement). Within the United States, three MOVE automobiles present communities with energy and communications capabilities in areas affected by widespread outages because of pure disasters. Prior to now yr they’ve been deployed to help survivors of floods in Kentucky, hurricanes in Florida, and wildfires in California.
MOVE India carried out a number of packages final yr, together with disaster-awareness classes, STEM workshops, and volunteer coaching. MOVE India donated photo voltaic lanterns and cell chargers to survivors of the Wayanad landslides who have been with out energy.
“Life members have the chance to share the knowledge they’ve gained by way of their membership in addition to careers in trade or academia,” Wolfman says. “We obtain the satisfaction of realizing that we’re giving again to the subsequent technology of innovators, IEEE typically, and society.”
This text was up to date on 30 Might 2025.
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