The IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Society has organized an annual symposium each year since 1959. Over the years, attendance has grown to some 1,500 to 2,000 engineers, technicians, and exhibitors representing industry (65%), academia (25%), and government (10%) organizations.
Recent technical programs have featured over 200 peer-reviewed papers, 25 tutorials and workshops, as well as dozens of hands-on experiments and demonstrations. Popular technical sessions include the “Fundamentals of EMC” full-day tutorial and the multi-day “Clayton R. Paul Global University” which features in-depth presentations by noted industry experts. New additions to the technical program include “Standards Week” created so engineers can quickly learn about updates to and future changes planned for EMC-related standards published by IEEE, IEC, CISPR, ISO, and ANSI C63, to name a few of the global Standards organizations that address EMC. The technical program typically features five parallel sessions held from Monday to Friday of the symposium week. In addition to general EMC topics proposed by the EMC Society’s technical and special committees, current technical program topics address emerging technology areas such as Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), Signal Integrity/Power Integrity (SIPI), Automotive, and Wireless. Numerous standards-related technical committee and working group meetings are held during the symposium week; these are “open” meetings that registrants can freely attend should they have an interest in the technical content.
A highlight of the Symposium is the exhibition that features some 100 companies showcasing the latest in EMC, HEMP, SIPI, Automotive, and Wireless products – as well as related services. Some organizations will secure booths to recruit engineering talent. Spanning some 75,000 sq ft with multiple booths, many of which have instrumentation as well as hands-on hardware/software demonstrations on display, the exhibition runs 2.5 days of the Symposium week.
The social events (Welcome Reception, Gala Banquet, and Awards Luncheon) planned in conjunction with the symposium provide the networking opportunities registrants claim as one of the most important reasons to attend the symposium.
