IEEE Sections Congress 2011 Opening Ceremony Part 2

To succeed as a technology entrepreneur, you need two things, passion and willingness to risk it all.  The bottom line for all engineers is that if you are passionate about something and convinced of its value, success will ultimately come.  The way to make a difference in this world is through innovation.  That's probably why engineers are seen as the real celebrities in emerging economies like China.  They are not stereotyped as geeks and misfits, but instead are viewed as society's natural leaders.  In China, for instance, eight of the top nine political posts are held by engineers or scientists are engaged in high-level politics.

The truth is that it is harder to solve the world’s most pressing problems if engineers are misperceived and underappreciated.  That’s why an organization like IEEE is so important – it helps to raise the profile of the engineering community and ensure our voice is heard in key public policy decisions.

Making a positive impact on society is one of the main reasons I continue to drive myself as an engineer and an entrepreneur.  If you truly want to help the human case, you can’t sit on the sidelines hoping your time will come – you have to seize the moment.  You need to proactively put your ideas into action, because if you don’t there is a good chance no one else will.  The only way to ensure greatness tomorrow is by pursuing innovation today.

The MGA awards recipients will be recognized, as well as representatives from Sections celebrating significant anniversaries  Grant Imahara will provide a high-energy talk that discusses the application of his electrical engineering background to the non-conventional fields of movie special effects and the hit science-based Discovery Channel television series, Mythbusters