Interview with 2011 ComSoc Superfan of the Year

Congratulations to Ana Maria Ospina Bolaños, 2011 IEEE ComSoc SuperFan of the Year! 

 Ana is a member of IEEE and Communications Society, and an Assistant Professor at Universidad de Medellin, and Chapter Coordinator at IEEE Medellin Subsection. 

With magic and speed, she has delivered 2012's first issue of the IEEE Communications Magazine to our members inboxes all over the world. She was delighted to answer following questions from our staff.

Q&A

What do you get out of ComSoc membership, when, why?

I'm an IEEE and ComSoc member since 2009. My profession is Electronic Engineer and my interest area always have been communications, that´s why I start with both memberships, but I decided to volunteer -- be an active member. In 2009 in Medellin (Colombia) two amazing things happened. 

First, the approval of the IEEE Medellin Subsection where I had the opportunity to meet Andrea Goldsmith, a ComSoc Distinguished Lecturer, who visited us. I experienced Professor Goldsmith’s insight in one technical presentation and I learned about what it meant to be a volunteer in ComSoc.

Second, the first LatinCom, a regional conference supported by IEEE Colombia Section and IEEE Medellin Subsection, was held. There I met some important ComSoc members such as Nelson Fonseca, Abbas Jamalipour, Stefano Bregni, Bob Shapiro, Miguel Labrador. For me it was a great opportunity that I never expected and, in this moment, I realized that I wanted to continue in this way. I was fortunate because my first year as a volunteer at IEEE and ComSoc gave me knowledge and a lot of new friends and colleagues around the world.

On the other hand, ComSoc offers a lot of resources such as tutorials, certifications and publications that everyone related with communications area can have easy access to. I use papers from the IEEE Communications Magazine for my classes and my research projects at the University.

What were the most interesting moments, presentations, tutorials, at IEEE GLOBECOM 2011?

IEEE GLOBECOM 2011 in December was a great experience for me because as a volunteer I was a part of one of the most important events of our Society. 

I attended three committee meetings: Member Relation Council, N2women and WiCE (Women in Communications Engineering) Panel and E-Health Committee.

In these activities a volunteer not only could be present and meet important members from ComSoc but also it's possible to make contributions and learn about the operation and decision making in some instances of the Society. I enjoyed the social events such as the Welcome Reception and Expo Opening, the Conference Banquet and the Awards Luncheon because it's the perfect environment to be in touch with everyone. You can meet a lot of people from everywhere around the world. I love the Awards Luncheon, in particular when the Past President Byeong Gi Lee gave significantly "the big globe" to the President Vijay Bhargava. It was a special moment that I'll never forget. GC attracts a lot of people but you can notice interesting and inspiring moments such as when you attend the Keynote Speaker's presentation.

Of course, GC covers all topics on communications and you can miss some presentations but it's a perfect opportunity to update your knowledge and meet people from industry and researchers who gave their presentations, workshops and tutorials.

How do you use Social Media in your role as a teacher?

The Social Media present creative ways to interact with students. I not only have my classes on the Web, but also use tools such as forums, Facebook and Twitter for sharing news, tutorials and short courses that support some topics that we learn in the classroom or that can be interesting for my students.