WaveGuide

Subscribe

Although we’re only in early August and there’s plenty of summer left, we’re already in serious planning mode for the annual European Microwave Week event. This year’s show will take place in Amsterdam during the last week of October and all signs point to a successful event.

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable July 4th, Canada Day or found some reason to take some extra time off this month to recover from the hectic schedules we all endure. I certainly found the brief respite helpful after a busy Microwave Week in Montreal and the normal digging-out upon my return.

When I first joined Strand Marketing back in February, I took over our key accounts in the RF/microwave industry and, I’ll admit, I was a little concerned that I might not fit in at IMS in Montreal. While my previous position was in the complex financial services industry, now I’m managing more technology-type shows and I was a little lost with all of the new terminology that was being thrown around when I arrived—diodes, modules, cable assemblies, attenuators… What? I’ve learned a lot in the last few months leading up to my first IMS show, not the least of which is that engineers do, in fact, have a great sense of humor and are more open to creative marketing ideas than one would think. While I’ll admit to being relieved to have June behind me, nothing could have felt more gratifying than to witness all of our hard work pay off in the form of stopping some incredibly smart people in their tracks.

The Microwave Journal team is on the road this week, with representatives in Shenzhen, China for the MWIE show and New Orleans for the CTIA Wireless event. In Shenzhen, Editor Pat Hindle will be working with our China-based editor Katie Huang to solicit articles for MWJ China print and online, and will be distributing copies of the just printed May/June issue from our booth at the show.

Recently I completed an assignment to help technical managers and engineers speak better. The problem? They had adopted a culture of techno-speak. Even colleagues within the company couldn’t figure out what was being said without an acronym dictionary. Acronyms are a way of life in technology. Yet the problem wasn’t just the acronyms. Meaningless jargon was getting in the way, along with a number of bad habits. 

Can you believe another year has passed and we are once again preparing for the MTT-S International Microwave Symposium? Avez-vous été en pratiquant votre français à Montréal, Canada? * This is a fantastic city with great food, culture, interesting sites and in the very near future - an influx of a few thousand microwave professionals. Celebrating the MTT-S’s 60^th anniversary with a symposium held for the first time outside the U.S. may be unfamiliar territory, but our upcoming May issue promises to make everyone feel right at home.

I’m just back from a road trip to Montréal, where we scouted party venues and familiarized ourselves with the downtown area. I had not had the pleasure of visiting Montréal for many years, and I have to say, it’s a really nice city. The Old Port area feels very European, with cobbled streets and little shops and pubs. The Sainte Catherine Street area is a more upscale mix of retail and entertainment, with a bustling nightlife. The convention center is situated between these two areas, with a fairly short walk to either. I was glad to see Chinatown close by the CC, offering the opportunity for my favorite lunch selections during the show. I think that Montréal is going to be an enjoyable venue for attendees of this year’s IMS.