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With my new role as Group Editorial Director, I'm going to miss doing my column in each issue of Electronic Design. So here I am joining the "blogosphere." I want to continue to have a place to share what I learn in press briefings and at industry events, and, like everyone else blogging away, to offer my point of view. But I'll try to keep it focused on technological and societal trends as they affect the Electronic Design community.  

Also, because I'm in a new group position, I want this blog to be a source of info for what's happening across the Electronic Design Group. Beyond the "mothership" of Electronic Design, that group now includes Power Electronic Technology, Microwaves & RF, RF Design, Auto Electronics, Defense Electronics and myriad associated e-newsletters, conferences, supplements and events. (Speaking of which, are you registered yet for the Power Electronics Conference October 30 in Dallas?) 

Our group was well-represented at NI Week this year. We had the editors from RF Design (Ashok Bindra), Microwaves and RF (Nancy Friedrich), and Electronic Design (Lou Frenzel) keynoting the conference's RF and Wireless Communications Summit, providing engineers the latest on emerging wireless technologies. If you want to know anything about the latest revs of short-range wireless standards, just ask Lou, or better yet, be sure you're signed up for his WSD Update newsletter.  Ashok is really beating the drum about the potential for body-area networks (BANs) as the next big thing, and you can read all about BANs in the June issues of  RF Design. We also had a crew from Engineering TV at NI Week, so we'll soon be posting some cool programs on hacking your car and hacking your iPod, among others.  

I'm always amazed by NI Week. There are the throngs of LabVIEW users the event draws (in the heat of August to Austin!) There's  the organization, rehearsal, and professionalism reflected in all the keynotes and presentations. And, most importantly, there's the energy that flows from the user community's creativity and that is amplified via NI's culture, which encourages this user involvement. NI week manifests this ongoing exchange between NI staff, users, and management.   No wonder NI was among the top companies in our Top 100 Employers ranking. 

At the heart of this dynamism is NI cofounder James Truchard, a.k.a. "Dr. T," whose vision, hands-on enthusiasm, and unassuming manner are a joy to behold. Dr. T and Senior Vice President Tim Dehne set the stage with an opening keynote that evidenced their great satisfaction in seeing the creative application of LabVIEW in so many innovative uses. You can check out the keynotes on the NI Web site.  This year's main message: LabVIEW 8.5's multithreading capabilities are particularly powerful (and NI particularly prescient in taking this approach) as we move into the era of multicore processing. (See Bill Wong's Embedded in ED commentary.)  

The customer applications of LabVIEW programming presented during the keynote were pretty amazing:  Sanarus explained its cryogenic treatment for breast disease. Ambient stole the show with its "thought controlled" wheelchair and speech synthesis. The company's  Audeo technology allows  "unpronounced speech representing the thought of the mind to be translated from intercepted neurological signals." 

Tim Dehne gave a "thought reading" demo during the keynote and told me in a conversation afterward that it was an amazing feeling to train the system to recognize his "unspoken speech." Really remarkable. I also had  a chance to talk to company founder Michael Callahan after the keynote and to understand how neuron transmissions to the voice box are still in place even for many of those who can't speak and can be picked up via the sensors in a neck band. 

I also had a chance to sit down with another of the event's keynoters, Ray Almgren, NI's vice president of Academic Marketing.  NI is leading the charge on a number of programs that help get project-based learning into the classroom, from middle school up through universities. Ray and Andy Bell, K-12 Academic Program Manager, announced an NI partnership with Vernier that helps extend LabVIEW analytics to the science department. "Project Lead the Way" is a program that couples LabVIEW with Vernier sensors rolling out at 42 high schools in seven states this fall.  

Almgren's call for project-based learning made me stop and think about how outmoded many of our schools' current "hands-on" learning programs are. Nothing against shop teachers across the country, but for most kids forced into making a wooden desk caddy, woodworking will be a home hobby at best. Instead, giving kids hands-on learning experiences in engineering, with programming tools and robotics, would be a lot more interesting and would really prepare them for 21st century careers. This appeal is proven via kids' interest in Lego Mindstorms NXT and FIRST Robotics competitions, but it's often a select group of kids who have access to these programs. Getting these technologies inside classrooms funded by public dollars could make a real difference in getting more kids involved in engineering.   

Meeting "boy genius" Sam Majors, who joined The Long Tail author Chris Anderson on the NI Week's closing day keynote, brought home how some kids are going to be naturally drawn to engineering, regardless of what is happening in the schools. Still, if more kids participate in hands-on engineering, "the long tail" of engineering aptitude will undoubtedly be exposed. Almgren gave his audience a "homework" assignment to go out to the local community and talk to school board members and administrators about getting "hands-on" engineering programs into our schools. I'll let you know how it goes in my hometown of Sparta, N.J. In the meantime, I challenge you to do the same in your local community.