IEEE Spectrum

The four candidates share their plans for increasing student membership; expanding science, technology, engineering, and math education programs; and attracting more members from industry.The annual IEEE election process begins in August, so be sure to check your mailbox for your ballot. To help you choose the 2022 IEEE president-elect, The Institute is publishing the official biographies and position statements of the four candidates, as approved by the IEEE Board of Directors. The candidates are Life Fellow Thomas M. Coughlin, Life Senior Member Francis Grosz, Life Fellow Saifur Rahman, and Fellow S.K. Ramesh.Thomas M. CoughlinLife Fellow Thomas M. CoughlinNominated by PetitionCoughlin is founder and president of Coughlin Associates in San Jose, Calif., which provides market and technology analysis as well as data storage, memory technology, and business consulting services. This IEEE Life Fellow has more than 40 years of experience in the data storage industry and has been a consultant for 20 years.Before starting his own company, Coughlin held leadership positions in companies such as Micropolis, Syquest Technology, and Ampex.Coughlin publishes several industry reports including the Digital Storage Technology Newsletter, the Media and Entertainment Storage Report, and the Emerging Non-Volatile Memory Report. He is also the author of Digital Storage in Consumer Electronics: The Essential Guide, which is now in its second edition. Coughlin is a regular contributor on digital storage for the Forbes blog and other news outlets.He has held several leadership positions in IEEE including 2019 IEEE-USA president as well as chair of the IEEE New Initiatives Committee, the IEEE Public Visibility Committee, andIEEE Region 6. He is also an active member of the IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section and has been active with several societies, standards, and the Future Directions Committee.Coughlin, who is an IEEE-HKN member, is the recipient of the 2020 IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Leadership Award.He is on the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers' Conference Program Committee and has published articles in several of the organization's journals. Coughlin is also the founder of the Storage Networking Industry Association's Solid State Storage Initiative, the Storage Visions Conference, and the Creative Storage Conference. The events highlight the latest trends in digital storage and their applications.He was the general chair of the annual Flash Memory Summit Conference and Exhibition for 10 years. The event brings together storage industry engineers to network, learn about upcoming technologies, and meet with various organizations in the industry.CANDIDATE'S POSITION STATEMENTThe COVID-19 pandemic impacted our members and IEEE operations. The lessons learned can help us improve IEEE's reach, relevance, and value. I believe that IEEE is a community that must engage our members. This should start at the section level, but the idea of community should pervade IEEE, helping us be inclusive, efficient, and effective.I feel strongly that IEEE should advance and promote its members, increase student membership and Young Professional retention, make senior member advancement easier, and find more ways to recognize our heroes.As IEEE president,

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