Robert Simons
Editor-in-Chief, Winter 2010 Issue
Resolutions
As you read this editorial we are fast approaching the end of another year.
For some, this is a time for introspection. Who has not, at sometime, looked back at the past year in their personal life, maybe reflecting upon what they accomplished, would have liked to accomplish, and what they did not accomplish? If you, the reader, are given to this type of reflection, I hope that you find satisfaction in what you have accomplished professionally and are not too disappointed in what you did not accomplish. If you are not given to this type of introspection, perhaps you should be. As engineers, many of us are subject to performance appraisals and project progress reports. This is an opportune time to conduct your own self-appraisal and consider what you might do to enhance your professional performance and satisfaction in the coming year.
On the occasion of the New Year, many people often make a New Year’s Resolution to somehow improve their personal life. My objective here is to encourage you to reflect on your own professional situation and consider what you might resolve to do in the coming year, to enhance your engineering skills and knowledge, to make you an even better engineer and derive more satisfaction from your profession.
For example, you might consider furthering and broadening your engineering knowledge by taking college courses at night or online towards an advanced degree in your discipline. Or you can conduct your own self-study program using the Internet as a resource. Just choose the topic or discipline you wish to explore and Google it. Having done this myself, I know that you will find many websites that are valuable sources of information on virtually any topic.
Another avenue you might choose is to consider sharing your knowledge or a recent technical accomplishment by writing a paper and presenting it at a technical conference. There are two IEEE-sponsored conferences totally devoted to electronics thermal management topics that you might consider. One is the Semiconductor Thermal Measurement and Management Symposium, commonly known as SEMI-THERM. This year’s SEMI-THERM will be held March 20-24 in San Jose, Calif. See Page 19 for the Advance Program. The other is the Intersociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems, commonly, known as ITherm. ITherm is held every other year and is usually co-located with the IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference.
Of course, unless your company or organization is willing to pay for your attendance at a conference, this too can be an expensive proposition. However, there is still another avenue by which you can show off your work and that is through the trade press. Specifically, you might consider submitting an article for possible publication in ElectronicsCooling. We are always looking for articles that are technically informative, interesting and maybe even provocative. You might consider submitting either a full-length feature article or a shorter length Technical Brief. Please feel free to contact any of the Associate Technical Editors (listed on this page) for more details.
So dear reader, I hope that you will give some thought to my suggestions and formulate your own professional resolution(s) for the coming year. I wish you success in whatever they may be. As for me and my colleagues on the editorial staff, we resolve to do our best in 2011 to continue to provide you the reader with the top-quality publication you have come to expect.
