The first 2011 issue of MIle HIgh Spark (a quarterly newsletter from the Denver chapter of IEEE) has an article on Ben Franklin Academy. Please go to Page 3 for reading the article.

1. Mile High Spark
Volume 2, Issue 1
JANUARY 2011 From the Chair
Hello, and welcome to the all of the fun and interesting events
Inside this issue: January edition of the Mile High that you may hear about through the
Spark. I am excited to be your Den- email distribution.
IEEE President 2 ver Section Chair this year along
with a whole team of volunteers If you would like to know more
New Officer 2 listed below. First, I would like to about the IEEE and what your section
Training
thank all of the officers and volun- does locally, statewide, or even IEEE
Ben Franklin
teers that helped make last year a internationally, just come to a meeting.
3
Academy success, and I am delighted to see We would love to see you as often or
that many of them have stayed on to as little as you would like. We’ll even
Fall Social Recap 4 help as we go into this next year. feed you dinner! Just send me an
email so we can get an accurate count.
Communications 5
The IEEE is a dynamic or- The executive committee meets the
Society ganization, and the Denver section second Tuesday of each month at the
thrives because of volunteers like DeVry Institute in Westminster.
IEEE e-Learning 5 many of you, that are constantly bal-
Library
ancing their family and work lives. I Bob Faus
Colorado 6
became involved by simply attend- 2011 Denver Section Chair
Government ing a local meeting to try and under-
stand more and to meet folks in my
field. It was quite refreshing to talk
with engineers that share similar
problems both within my area and
across different industries. Soon, I
Special points of began to help where I could. There
interest: was never any pressure, and the sec-
tion happily took whatever help I
2011 Officers
could give. This can be as simple as
lining up a speaker or a caterer, or
just bringing ice water to an event
held in the summertime. This is how
Official newsletter of Bob Faus
our executive committee and our bob.faus@asdi.com
IEEE-Denver Section
Published Quarterly technical societies are able to hold
Denver Section 2011 Officers
Editor:
Sharon Vaninger 2011 Chair: Bob Faus
Submit articles for
consideration to: 2011 Vice Chair (and 2012 Chair-Elect): Louis Tsai
svaninger@ieee.org
2011 Treasurer: Cliff Alston
2011 Secretary: Tim Weil

2. Mile High Spark Page 2
Denver Section Member Elected IEEE IEEE Denver Officer Training
President 2011!
For the second time in six years, a member of The IEEE-Denver ExCom is coordinating
the Denver Section has been elected by the Officer Training for the morning of
worldwide membership to be President of the Saturday, January 22, 2011 at
IEEE. Gordon Day (Fellow ’99, LM ’10) was
elected to the highest position in the IEEE in DeVry University,
October. He will be President-elect during Westminster Campus
2011 and then take over as President in 2012. 1870 W. 122nd Avenue
Gordon is a long term member of the Denver Westminster, CO 80234
Section. He spent most of his career at the
National Institute of Standards and Technol- Start Time: 8:00 AM
ogy (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado. While he
was there, he made groundbreaking advances As we have done in previous years, we
in laser technology and fiber optics. More re- will review the roles and responsibilities
cently, he served as science advisor to Senator of the chapters, section, and their officers.
Jay Rockefeller and Director of Government This will include four breakout sessions
Relations for the Optoelectronics Industry focusing on specific areas for treasurers,
Development Association. He was also Presi- secretaries, chairs, and Student chapters.
dent of the IEEE-USA in 2009.
This year’s event is scheduled to be
Gordon follows Michael Lightner, who was
kicked off by Gordon Day, IEEE Presi-
the previous Denver Section member to be
dent-elect during 2011 and President in
elected as IEEE President (2006). – Jim Look
2012.
Chapter officers as well as members inter-
esting in becoming officers are strongly
encouraged to attend. This annual event
is an excellent networking opportunity. It
is well attended and well received with
great information for all members of the
IEEE-Denver Section.
Email invitations have already been sent.
If you have not received one or if you
have questions, please send an email to
secretary@ieee-denver.org.
Gordon Day, IEEE 2011 President Elect
– Rick Robinson

3. Volume 2, Issue 1 Page 3
Ben Franklin Academy – A Mile High Spark in Douglas County
The year 2011 will finally see the fruition of a dream of another
tuition free charter school in Douglas County – Ben Franklin
Academy (www.benfranklinschool.org). The school board has
come a long way after several discussions with different groups
– model charter schools, Douglas County school district, and
many others. As of this writing, the location has been finalized
(County Line Road and Lucent Blvd). In parallel, the board has
finalized a contract with a developer in Utah for construction.
The developer, who has the experience of building several hun-
dred schools, has assured the board of having the school ready
for its new students by August 2011, even if they start in late
Jason Sanders - Board President March or early April. Jason Sanders, President of the Founding
Board, is very confident about the success of the school. The fact that he is modeling the school after
a few successful charter schools in the area (American Academy, Skyview Academy and Northstar
Academy) is a big assurance to many parents who could otherwise be concerned in enrolling their
children into something totally new and untested.
Named after America’s founding Renaissance man, the academy has a vision to develop young
adults like Benjamin Franklin - “well read, scientifically curious, and civically engaged.” Relying
on the thirteen virtues followed by Ben Franklin, the academy will provide a balanced, character
education program by adopting a differentiated instructional approach. Ben Franklin Academy’s
emphasis on science and mathematics distinguishes itself from the other charter schools in the dis-
trict. In conjunction with the Core Knowledge Curriculum, the student curriculum will integrate sci-
ence instruction every day. Regular project-based science activities, such as science days, science
fairs, science-based field trips, and special science events will provide students several opportunities
to learn and apply their knowledge in a hands-on environment. The extensive use of technology
ranging from promethean interactive White Boards (Smart boards) to Dell’s HV-110U Document
readers (more commonly known as ELMO) will provide teachers and students an eco-friendly and
interactive environment for teaching and learning. A mobile lab (with 30 Apple MacBook laptops)
and a technology lab with 28 iMac computers will provide opportunities to students to use the latest
technology tools as an integral part of their learning process.
The school’s construction is, of course, the most crucial element, but is surely not the only one. As
the board waits for the first brick to be laid on the ground, they are working hard on several tasks –
hiring the most eligible teachers, completing the curriculum, finalizing the books in the library, set-
ting up of the tech lab – just to name a few. One of the key tasks lies on the shoulder of Steve Der-
dowski, who is leading the fundraising activities for the Academy’s board. With several technology
companies based in the Denver area, Steve is very confident that he would be able to sell naming
rights for the library and tech center, amongst pursuing other fundraising opportunities.
Continued on Page 4

4. Mile High Spark Page 4
For now Ben Franklin is a Mile High Spark. But, in a few years, as students graduate in pursuit of
further academic excellence we will see the light spread to distant horizons. – Abhijit Sur
Denver Section 2011 Appointed Positions
Membership Development Abhijit Sur
Electronic Communications Richard Rew
Pre-College and Education Activities Abhijit Sur
University Student Branch Activities Jennifer Kramer
Professional & Career Activities (PACE) Bill Emery
Awards and Recognition Katie Blair
Publications & Website (webmaster) Sharon Vaninger
Public Relations and Publicity Krista Hasling
Government Liaison Matt Oetting
Finance & Audit Rick Robinson and Bob Wilson (2010 Treasurer)
Fall Social Recap
Our Fall Event this year was held at “Wings over the Rockies” at the old Lowry
Air Force base in Denver (http://www.wingsmuseum.org/). The Wings museum
contains many aircraft on display, from vintage jets to a B1-A Lancer (Bomber).
Over 50 IEEE members and their families were served a hot lunch from Qdoba
followed by an excellent presentation given by Russ Harrison, Senior Legislative
Representative
for Grassroots
Activities for
IEEE-USA.
Russ opened
with the results of the recent elec-
tions and how this would impact the
IEEE now and in the future. The
audience asked many questions and
there were even a few lively de-
bates. Afterwards, everyone dis-
persed into the museum to look at
all the displays. – Bob Faus

5. Volume 2, Issue 1 Page 5
Communications Society
Dr. Victor C.M. Leung, from The University of Brit-
ish Columbia gave a Distinguished lecture to an ani-
mated group of people November 3 at Devry Uni-
versity. The topic was Access and Service Con-
vergence over Next Generation Networks. He
indicated that next generation networks will consist
of a conglomerate of access network technologies
integrated by broadband IP-based core networks.
Various subtopics were discussed regarding the re-
quirements – multi-service, multi-protocol, multi-
access, IP based networks, roaming, configurations,
interoperability, and regulatory challenges. A con-
vergent network architecture was presented show-
ing both the advantages and technical and societal
challenges that it presents. – Jill Arnson Dr. Victor C.M. Leung
University of British Columbia
IEEE eLearning Library
The IEEE eLearning Library is an online collec- Signal Processing and Analysis
tion of short courses and conference workshops. Sustainable Green Engineering
IEEE members can purchase individual tutorials Vehicular and Wireless Technologies
from the collection through the IEEE Shop.
and more
You can view the entire IEEE eLearning Library
catalog at http://ieee-elearning.org/course/ There are even Free Tutorials!
index.php.
The tutorials require a live connection to the host
Tutorials are available in the following topics: site to play correctly. You cannot download a
tutorial and run it later.
Aerospace
Antennas and Propagation Continuing Education Credits are available for
Bioengineering each tutorial based on length. The CEU is a unit
Communications that measures a person's participation in a for-
Components, Circuits and Devices mal, non-credit continuing education program.
Computational and Artificial Intelligence IEEE is an Authorized Provider of Continuing
Computing Education by the International Association of
Engineering Profession Continuing Education & Training (IACET).
Fiber Optics
Fields, Waves and Electromagnetics Visit the IEEE eLearning Library at
Microwave Theory and Techniques http://ieee-elearning.org/
Photonics and Electro-Optics
Power and Energy Keep up with the latest information in the fields
Reliability of Engineering. – Sharon Vaninger
Robotics and Control Systems

6. Mile High Spark Page 6
Colorado Governmental Affairs
2010 proved to be another contentious and busy
year for state politicians and while the state and
rest of the country grapples with the effects of aerospace and energy technologies in the metro
the Great Recession and reconciling budget area. The pilot initiative is believed to generate
woes, 2011 should be another eventful year. But thousands of jobs in the state over the next five
before looking ahead, a recap of governmental years.
activity for the past quarter: • CSU and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar an-
nounced CSU will head up a new regional Cli-
• State employers added 3,800 jobs in No- mate Science Center.
vember, 5,200 job in October, and 3,300 • In November, Governor Bill Ritter launched the
jobs in September. In December, the month long Complete College Colorado (CCC)
state’s unemployment rate was 8.6%. initiative. The goal is to encourage Coloradans
• The combination of the (Federal Level) who have earned college credits but left school to
State Small Business Credit Initiative re-enroll and complete their degrees.
and (State Level) Colorado Credit Re- • State budget shortfalls reduced funding for K-12
serve Program will yield approximately Education by $156.3M. However, schools will
$172M in new small business. receive funds from (Federal Level) Education
• $23M in grants and tax credits from the Jobs Acts to hire teachers and staff.
(Federal Level) Affordable Care Act
were awarded to more than 60 Colorado The political landscape looking forward to 2011 will be
bioscience companies. dominated by closing the state’s $1B budget shortfall.
• An agreement between NASA and the The state assembly, budget committee, and newly elected
Colorado Association for Manufacturing governor John Hickenlooper will undoubtedly be busy.
and Technology will encourage the ac- And as a reminder, the state assembly will convene in
celeration and commercial rollout of early January until mid May. – Matt Oetting
IEEE Denver Section
Mission Statement
Enrich the professional and
personal lives of the Rocky
Mountain Region members,
developing them into valued
The IEEE Denver Section is comprised of over
contributors to society through 3600 engineers and technical professionals in the
quality programs, continuing Denver - Boulder area.
education, career development
and community service; in
collaboration with IEEE, industry,
government and academia.
http://www.ieee-denver.com/