Remembering IMS 2000 - Looking Toward IMS 2009
By
Dr. Glenn Thoren
General Chairman IMS 2000
When the MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS) 2009 Chairman Fred Schindler asked me to write this article I wondered why anyone would be interested in reminiscences from the IMS 2000. Then it dawned on me, many microwave engineers and scientists may not have been there. That is too bad. The IMS 2000 was in Boston and Boston has a long tradition of simply outstanding and excellent microwave events. 2009 is right around the corner. Friends who missed 2000 wished they hadn’t. IMS 2009 will be better by far, because that is the tradition of the Boston IMS Steering Committee. Boston has a special gift for you; A symposium prepared by the most experienced Steering Committee in the world under the leadership of a Chairman, Fred Schindler, that served the symposium in other key roles for many years. And so it was in 2000.IMS 2000 really started seven years earlier, shortly after IMS 1991 in Boston. Boston won the bid to carry on the tradition of the IMS as it did in 1991 and in 1983 before that. As the Chairman in 2000 I previously served as a digest editor and co-chairmen of the technical program in earlier Boston symposia. And in 2000 it was the whole ball of wax. The technology had changed remarkably over the years, but that’s why we hold these events. We must stay up to date. The internet bubble was still expanding and the enthusiasm for RF and microwave technology was exceeded only by the photonic industries and the ”.com” world. It was a “heady” time.
Three things were remarkable about IMS 2000. It was the end of a century of technology and the beginning of a new one. Many of the early pioneers of our industry were still with us, attended the meeting, accepted our appreciation and let us know that now we had the responsibility to “carry on”. The attendance set a new record, as did the number of exhibitor booths (803), all the result of the Boston IMS Steering Committee’s unbelievable dedication and work. The team at Horizon House and the Microwave Journal put in long hours organizing the exhibitors and exhibit floor so that all companies could show their new achievements. There were booths in the halls of the Hynes Convention Center because we had simply run out of exhibit space, we were too large an event and getting larger. I had to lead a large contingent of workshop attendees on a last minute hike from the convention center to the Sheraton hotel because of the huge interest in one workshop. It was a long walk and I felt like the Pied Piper apologizing for the inconvenience all the way. The workshop turned out well so I was forgiven.
There were many tours and events for the family of the attendees that wanted to combine the trip to Boston with a family vacation. New England is rich with heritage, Concord and Lexington tours, Newport, Rhode Island mansions, the Faneuil Hall marketplace and stores, walking around beautiful Boston and much more. This added dimension to the symposium experience was spoken of for years. Our banquet speaker was noted presidential historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin. She astounded some with her anecdotes about the Kennedy’s and Roosevelt’s. Others would have preferred a more technical presentation and speaker, but I loved it. Earlier we recognized one of the Pioneers of the industry and of the Boston microwave traditions, Ted Saad. For those of you that know Ted, you know the honor it was for me to be able to honor him.
Then if you were one of the hardworking volunteers or the Administrative Committee of the society there were the mysterious ”white buses”. As a “thank you” for the sweat, dedication, long hours of planning and commitment these tireless workers were treated to a bus ride to dinner through the streets of Boston with a full police escort and sirens blaring. Four unmarked white buses left the Marriot hotel with eight police motorcycle escorts traveling unimpeded through the streets of Boston as hundreds of people on the sidewalk looked at the smoked glass bus windows wondering what dignitaries deserved this treatment. Everyone on those busses earned that ride through many years of work. No one remembers what they had at that dinner; they remember the bus ride that even took them the “wrong way” up one way streets in downtown Boston. For 15 minutes during this brief trip spirits soared as a once in a lifetime police escort guided the way.
Over seventy members of the Steering committee know that they did the small and often unseen things that made the IMS 2000 successful. This microwave career is a passion for many of us. We work, we achieve, and the world is a better and smaller place because of this.
We made many mistakes at IMS 2000 and more were queued up each hour during the event. The real skill is to make the problems invisible to the attendees. Rooms were overbooked, too few meals were ordered at some meetings, attendees were constantly looking for rooms or their colleagues, and some companies and their exhibits were placed in meeting rooms or halls I recall the sign operation that was constantly making new signs to direct the attended to the right location as we shifted meeting rooms to accommodate larger the than expected audiences.
Every square inch was booked. We had to fix each challenge on the spot as quickly as possible. The space challenge will not happen in 2009 because the new convention and exhibition center is HUGE. But we do occupy most of it in 2009 with room to spare.
There are simply too many Steering Committee members to thank personally in these “rememberings”. They were and are a unique group of dedicated individuals that made up the winning Boston team. I was “blessed” to have them at my side because, as you should know, they “made it happen” and truly did all the work. I held the meetings, made a few decisions, and watched. The good news is that you will see them and may meet them at IMS 2009. Yes they are still at it. Some are retired, some busier than ever at their jobs, some passing on valuable information to new members of the IMS Boston team as they resume their roles as volunteers as members of the team. I especially remember the tireless dedication of co-chairmen of the Technical Program Committee, first Peter Stacker the Chairmen of IMS 1991 when I was Co-Chairman of the 1991 Technical Program Committee (we switched roles for IMS 2000) and his fellow co-chairman of the TPC, Fred Schindler. Fred is now Chairman of IMS 2009. You see how that goes in Boston. Both Peter and Fred were real leaders in getting the most comprehensive and educational microwave technology program together. And as you can see they are both involved today.If you have read this far, pat yourself on the back because of your persistence is exactly what has made our industry a success. You are part of a great industry and can be part of a great team attending the International Microwave Symposium wherever it is held, but especially in Boston.
What does looking backward mean? It means you have much to expect from IMS 2009. And you will get it. Fred Schindler and his team will raise the bar. They will make IMS 2009 so memorable for you, the attendee, that ten years from now you will look at your colleagues or your family that accompanied you to Boston and say, ”Remember when we were in Boston in 2009? That was a really great time.”