Edward C. Niehenke
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As your Ombuds Officer, I received 18 inquiries (10 non-US) from IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S) members from 1 June to 31 August 2023. All inquiries were typically acted upon within one week, and replies were sent to all MTT-S members.
2022 represented the MTT-S 70-year anniversary. All MTT-S members received a pin, and in addition, some members received a 2-in-diameter medallion to commemorate this event. I had three complaints from overseas members that the customs requested fees and some local taxes to obtain the medallions with a U.S. cost of about US$10.
A member has requested suggestions for over-the-counter microwave ovens. I noted to the member that this does not fall into our present area; however, I sent the member the latest Consumer Reports on this area. Finally, a member had questions about WebEx accounts, and information was supplied.
One member was interested in his membership grade. I informed the member that one should sign into IEEE with their username and password and then click on “Membership Information.” Next, click on “Membership and Subscription Information,” and one will find their membership status. This will show up as Member, Senior Member, or Fellow Member. For a Life Member category of these membership statuses, one’s years of membership in IEEE plus 65 needs to add up to 100.
For IEEE Senior Member status, a member can self-nominate. Please visit https://www.ieee.org/membership/senior/senior-requirements.html for requirements and application. Please remember that one needs to be a Senior Member to be considered as a Fellow. If you know someone who you feel deserves to be an IEEE Fellow and you wish to nominate that person, please visit https://www.ieee.org/membership/fellows/fellows-nomination.html.
One member reported to me concerns about the recent MTT-S Tunisia election process for the 2023/2024 mandate. I sent this information to the IEEE Ombuds Officer for investigation.
One member reported to me that the member’s IEEE Microwave Magazine delivery has stopped. I reported this to IEEE, and they corrected the situation; all the missing issues were sent, and future delivery was scheduled.
A member wished to join a particular MTT-S technical committee. I sent the request to the chair of this technical committee. The MTT-S has the following 26 Core Technologies and Techniques areas with five broad clusters:
If you are interested in a particular technical committee, please visit https://mtt.org/technical-committees-list/ and click on the technical committee of interest, where you will find the members of the committee, including the chair.
One member paid for the IMS2023 Boot Camp and a particular workshop, and the member could not attend and requested the workshop information. The member was sent all the requested material. Two locations, Japan and Malaysia, were interested in bringing the Asia Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC) to these locations. I provided the contact person for the APMC to these individuals for them to contact.
Two people were interested in receiving the MTT-S Guidelines and Procedures Manual. The manual was sent to them. This manual was developed for the purpose of establishing a concise set of guidelines, schedules, checklists, and procedures that can be used by incoming IMS Steering Committee members to effectively run their IMS Symposium and reduce the learning curve.
I also received a request to build or improve the MTT-S website. I thanked the inquirer and sent the request to our webmaster. Another agency representing a few clients was interested in increasing their online presence on the MTT-S website by providing sponsored posts or links. I explained to the interested person that we do not promote advertising on our website.
Additional IEEE contact information is as follows: toll free in the United States and Canada +1 800 678 4333 or worldwide at +1 732 981 0060, fax: +1 732 562 5445, attention member services; e-mail contactcenter@ieee.org. To add a new service electronically, please visit IEEE at www.ieee.org and click on “Renew.” To purchase an IEEE product by e-mail, contact customercenter@ieee.org or call the numbers listed previously.
Please feel free to contact me by letter, telephone, or e-mail concerning any complaint you may have or any assistance you may need in obtaining membership services from IEEE and the MTT-S. My contact information can be found on the first page of this column.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2023.3321551