TEC to become an IEEE Technical Council

The IEEE Transportation Electrification Community will transition into an IEEE Technical Council in 2023, with this taking effect on 1/1/2024.  The main significance of this is that TEC will now be on par with IEEE Societies and other Technical Councils, with official representation on IEEE boards, as opposed to being just an interest group within IEEE.

 

Technical Councils differ from Societies in two ways:  While Societies have focused fields of interest (a specific subset of electrical engineering), Technical Councils have a broader range and overlap in terms of field with a number of IEEE Societies.  This is very much the case with transportation, where the focus is an application leveraging many IEEE technologies:  Power electronics, connectivity, controls, circuits and computers, power grid connections, isolation and EMI, reliability, transportation systems, and many more.

 

At some level, for volunteers or transportation engineers, this may feel like a very abstract or remote change that concerns only IEEE aficionados.  There is some truth to this.  However, behind the scene, this elevated status will enable TEC to have its own independent budget and more importantly to develop new programs for members, such as local chapters, conferences and symposia, publications, etc.  Eventually, this will give transportation its rightful place within IEEE, reflecting the major technical and societal transition we are experiencing with a shift with more electric, if not full electric, modes of transportation.

 

In 2023, TEC will be preparing its structure for the Council and start to develop new programs to address the need of engineers in the field.  This is therefore a perfect time to start volunteering or, if you wish, start your own initiative such as a local TEC chapter in your area or more.

 

In terms of membership, you can be a member of TEC now.  It is free if you are a member of one of TEC’s member societies (see the Membership page for more details).  You can join TEC when renewing your IEEE membership, or anytime by going to the IEEE membership page on the IEEE website.