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The Institute is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Launched in 1976, the publication was designed to keep members informed about IEEE and what its constituents were doing, as well as to report on the organization’s initiatives, technical standards, products, and services.That directive expanded over the years to include our reporting on key historical technical achievements recognized as IEEE Milestones and support for young professionals with career-guidance articles and information about educational resources.The Institute has gone through many iterations in the past 50 years. What began as a monthly four-page insert in the print edition of IEEE Spectrum became a separate newspaper published six times a year and mailed along with Spectrum in 1977, and then a monthly publication the following year.Today we publish all of The Institute’s articles online, with a curated selection appearing in our 16-page quarterly printed in the March, June, September, and December Spectrum issues.To provide members with a quick summary of the latest online news, in 2003 a bimonthly newsletter, The Institute Alert, began appearing in your inbox. You also can stay up to date by following our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages.Although much has changed, an original subsection from 1976—“IEEE People”—has been maintained for the past five decades. We continue to celebrate IEEE members from around the world through our profiles, which are among our most popular articles.As the longest-serving editor in chief for The Institute, it is a privilege for me and my staff to chronicle the stories of remarkable IEEE individuals. They are often-unseen visionaries and problem-solvers who work tirelessly behind the scenes on technologies that are reshaping the world. By highlighting their careers and how IEEE has played a role in their professional growth, we hope to inspire the next generation of engineers and technologists to continue a legacy of innovation and service to humanity.

New graduates’ careers are unfolding in an era when AI is not optional. The most successful engineers treat artificial intelligence as leverage, not competition.Here are seven tips to help keep young professionals in demand no matter how quickly the field’s tools evolve.1. Master the fundamentals first. AI tools can help you code, but you still need strong fundamentals in:Data structures and algorithms for problem-solving.Operating systems, databases, and networking for system-level understanding.Core programming languages such as C++, Java, and Python.AI can autocomplete syntax, but if you don’t understand how things work under the hood, you’re likely to struggle to debug or optimize.2. Learn how to work with AI, not against it. The best engineers will not try to out-code AI. Instead, they will learn to: Write clear prompts to generate better code snippets.Review and debug AI-generated code for accuracy, performance, and security.Use AI for productivity boosts while still exercising judgment.Think of AI as a teammate. The real skill is knowing when to trust it and when not to.3. Build projects that showcase end-to-end thinking. Employers increasingly look for engineers who can design and build systems, not just solve problems. Create projects that show you can: Define requirements clearly.Use AI tools responsibly within the workflow.Deliver a product that scales and is maintainable.4. Sharpen your system design skills early. Even junior engineers are now asked questions about basic system design with AI. Expect to explain to prospective employers: How you would responsibly integrate AI into a system.How to design fallbacks when AI fails.How to ensure scalability and reliability.5. Develop strong communication skills. Today’s engineers don’t just code in isolation. You will be expected to: Explain design choices to teammates and stakeholders.Document decisions clearly.Collaborate effectively in cross-functional teams.This is one area where AI cannot replace you. Clear communication is a career accelerant.6. Stay curious and keep learning. The tech industry moves fast, and AI is accelerating that pace. Cultivate habits such as:Following industry […]

This sponsored article is brought to you by Black & Veatch.The biggest challenge facing utilities today isn’t what it seems. It’s not demand, even as load growth accelerates. It’s not extreme weather, even as “major events” become routine. It’s not cybersecurity, even as connections expand across the grid.The real challenge is this: Distribution systems were designed for a different reality.Long gone are the days of predictable demand, one-way power flow and isolated disruptions. At Black & Veatch, we see that leading utilities are no longer debating whether to modernize. They’re deciding how quickly they can do it, and how to do it at scale.Across grid modernization programs globally, three truths consistently emerge. They define what it takes to prepare the distribution system for what’s next:1. Outage response is not a resilience strategyResilience is being redefined in real time. A strategy centered on mobilizing crews and restoring service as quickly as possible is reactive, and increasingly insufficient.Resilience has to shift upstream into integrated system design. That starts with hardening. Stronger poles, undergrounding and structural upgrades all have a role, particularly in high-risk corridors. We’re also seeing meaningful gains from how the network is configured and how quickly it can respond without waiting on manual intervention.This is where distribution automation programs can change outcomes. Strategically placed reclosers, automated switches and fault indicators help contain disruptions before they spread. When combined with feeder reconfiguration and updated protection strategies, distribution automation investments allow utilities to set more aggressive recovery targets and achieve measurable reductions in outage duration and customer impact.2. Future-readiness depends on DERs at scaleForecasting is less and less reliable. Only 19 percent of utilities report strong confidence in their ability to predict future load growth, according to the Black & Veatch 2025 Electric Report. Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) like solar, storage, EVs and behind-the-meter generation are exciting solutions; but they […]

Direct-to-cell technology uses LEO satellites as spaceborne cell towers. It delivers LTE services to existing smartphones without hardware changes, bridging global coverage gaps.What Attendees will LearnHow DTC works as a spaceborne cell tower — LEO satellites carry LTE eNodeB payloads in regenerative mode. How they serve unmodified phones using quasi-earth-fixed multi-beam antennas. How the satellite compensates for Doppler shift and time delay on thenetwork side.Why Doppler shift and round-trip time are critical challenges — A LEO satellite’s high velocity causes carrier frequency offsets in OFDMA systems. Pre-compensation at a reference point helps, but cell-edge users still face residual Doppler.How spectrum sharing and regulation shape DTC deployment — DTC has no dedicated spectrum allocation. It relies on spectrum sharing between terrestrial and satellite operators or re-farmed MSS bands. How national regulations like the FCC SCS framework govern access.Where DTC fits in the evolution toward 5G NTN and 6G — DTC is an interim technology offering fast time-to-market satellite services. It bridges the gap until 3GPP NR-NTN matures. How NR-NTN will bring purpose-built NTN features and international spectrum frameworks.Download this free whitepaper now!

Children born after 2013 are the first generation to grow up fully immersed in digital systems, which weren’t designed with them in mind. One‑third of the world’s Internet users are younger than 18, according to UNICEF, yet these systems shaping their daily lives were built for adults. They were optimized for engagement and designed long before people understood how profoundly digital environments influence children.For engineers and technical professionals, online safety is not an abstract policy debate. It is a design challenge that demands rigor, systems thinking, and ethical foresight.Governments around the world are also beginning to recognize the problem. Policymakers from across Australia, Brazil, the European Union, Indonesia, and the United States are responding to risks engineers have long understood: Addictive features, inappropriate content, opaque data practices, and algorithmic systems shape user behavior in ways that their creators did not fully predict. For years, technology moved faster than governance. Now governance is trying to catch up.Global Shift Toward Design ReformSupporting National Digital AmbitionsIn Athens this year I met with senior leaders of Greek government agencies and key national research institutions. Greece is moving quickly on digital transformation and responsible technology governance, and our discussions reinforced IEEE’s role as a trusted, neutral collaborator.We focused on supporting Greece’s ambitions in digital modernization and public‑sector innovation. We also discussed responsible AI and age-appropriate digital design in Europe and elsewhere. These engagements, grounded in shared values and long‑term commitment, strengthened IEEE’s presence within the European ecosystem and opened new pathways for collaboration on trustworthy AI and child‑focused digital well‑being.The European Union and the United Kingdom have been among the first to act, embedding age‑appropriate digital design into their broader children’s rights agenda. Drawing on IEEE expertise and global best practices, Indonesia is the first country in Asia, and Brazil is the first country in Latin America, to adopt age-appropriate […]