The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) is the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology. Today, the organization’s scope of interest has expanded into so many related fields that it is simply referred to by the letters I-E-E-E (pronounced eye-triple-E).
IEEE is organized into 39 societies and 5 technical councils representing the wide range of technical interests.
DEIS is the Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society whose field of interest includes the study and application of dielectrics from the molecular level, through nano-structured materials, to insulation systems in industrial, commercial, and power system equipment, to emerging applications such as those at high power levels and in biological and other small-scale systems. DEIS supports the entire scope of this field from advancing the basic science, to enhancing the ability of practicing engineers to use emerging dielectric materials, to the development of standards for the prudent application of existing and new insulation systems.
The IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society (DEIS) is committed to providing equal opportunity to students, scientists, engineers, and professionals, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Diversity is fundamentally about valuing human differences and recognizing diverse talents, and inclusion is embracing and welcoming these differences. Our policy is to continually improve our practices in order to build and maintain an environment that reflects the rich diversity of the community in the field of dielectrics and insulation. In support of these ideals, this society will not tolerate harassment of any kind, including sexual harassment or bullying behavior.
The objectives of the Society are technical, scientific, literary, and educational. DEIS strives for the advancement of the theory and practice of electrical and electronics engineering and the related arts and sciences, in consonance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the IEEE.
The Society’s interests lie in materials, measurements, numerical modelling, components, applications and systems pertinent to dielectrics and electrical insulation. These include solids, liquids and gases; small-scale systems such as nano-dielectrics and bio-dielectrics; high-voltage and high-field phenomena; and large-scale systems such as high-power insulation applied to electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. The Society supports the basic science of dielectrics and electrical insulation through practical applications and the development of relevant standards.
DEIS promotes the close cooperation and exchange of technical information among its members and to this end holds meetings for the presentation of papers and their discussion. Through committees DEIS stimulates research, develops appropriate studies and standards, and sponsor periodic and special publications in the field of dielectrics and electrical insulation.
This goal can only be achieved by supporting our members who do the work, publish the results in our Transactions, and present at our conferences. By serving the next generation of technical experts, we ensure our survival and relevance. We need to be inclusive and reach out to anyone who can be considered a dielectrician (engineers, physicists, chemists, etc.). You help us achieve this goal by actively participating in Society activities so we encourage you to take an active role.
Being seen as a center of excellence within IEEE can be accomplished by actively interacting with other Societies and Councils to address their needs related to our field of interest. We already do much of this work through participation in our Sister Society group and membership in several Councils (Nanotechnology, Sensors, Superconductivity and Transportation Electrification). We are always looking for volunteers who want to more actively participate in Council activities.
This is a job that requires constant vigilance by everyone. Our Technical Committees have the primary responsibility to follow new work, but we do not have committees covering all aspects of dielectrics. We need to be made aware when something new comes to light that requires our attention. Then we can form new Technical Committees as needed. If you discover a topic within our Field of Interest that is not being adequately addressed, please let contact the DEIS President or the VP-Technical.
Dielectrics and electrical insulation pervade nearly all aspects of life e.g. power systems, electronic circuits, sensors, materials, aerospace, electrification of transport, biomedical, superconductivity etc. As a society we would like to attract new industrial, research and academic Members from these thematic areas as we believe DEIS has a valuable and key role to play in advances and understanding better the application of dielectrics and insulation in these disciplines. We will therefore be looking at ways to improve DEIS engagement with other IEEE Societies and IEEE Councils to understand better future collaborations and joint activities.
Our society exists to serve our membership and humanity in general. Therefore, continually improving “the quality of services and offers to our members and to the worldwide community” is an obvious goal. We include this in the Strategic Goal statement because we want to be constantly reminded that providing these services is an ongoing process. We need to evolve because our constituents’ needs are constantly changing. Methods of communication and dissemination of information available today were unheard of only a few decades ago. What we do today may be totally inadequate tomorrow. When we are not meeting the needs of our members, we need you to let us know.
The final goal item relates to diversity, inclusion, and ethics. These are areas where the IEEE has insisted that its organizational units adhere to a high set of standards that are posted on the IEEE website. Our Society will fully support these standards and I expect all of our members to enthusiastically support them. It is simply the right thing to do.