IEEE Canada Newsletter

This Issue's Content:

News of Interest
   - IEEE Canada Board of
     Directors
   - Section Events
   - Conferences
   - Awards & Recognition
   - IEEE News
   - Non-IEEE News
Upcoming Events
   - New Brunswick
   - Montreal
   - Ottawa
   - Toronto
   - Winnipeg
   - Calgary
   - Other
Submission Information

Subscribing
(for non-IEEE Canada members)

Issue: February 2007 IEEE Canada News Central

News of Interest

Ø IEEE Canada Board of Directors

- 2007 Spring IEEE Canada Board of Directors Meeting

- Renew Your Membership for 2007

- Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Winter 2007

Ø Section Events

- WIE Winnipeg (Canada) Leads Robot Building Workshop In China

- IEEE Electrical Safety, Technical and Mega Projects

Ø Conferences

- The 20th Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering - CCECE07

- Upcoming IEEE Conferences in Canada

Ø Awards & Recognition

o Fellows

- David Plant, Montreal Section

- Kamal Al Haddad, Montreal Section

- Fadhel Ghannouchi, Southern Alberta Section

o o Senior Member Upgrades

- Wail Gueaieb, Ottawa Section

- Francis Dawson, Toronto Section

- Jian Pei, Vancouver Section

- W. S. Vincent Wong, Vancouver Section

Ø IEEE News

- MyIEEE adds NEW FEATURES

- Take advantage of this unique member benefit! Post your profile and resume FREE on the IEEE Job Site

- IEEE Foundation Seeking 2007 Grant Applications

- Call for 2008 Fellow Nominations

- Get Certified With IEEE Computer Society's Certified Software Development Professional Program

- New IEEE Certification

- IEEE Student Branch Web Site Contest

Ø Non-IEEE News

- The 16th International World Wide Web Conference - WWW2007

News of Interest

Ø IEEE Canada Board of Directors

2007 Spring IEEE Canada Board of Directors Meeting

IEEE Canada Spring Board of Directors meeting will be held at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver, BC, on April 20 - 22, 2007. Representatives from all Canadian IEEE Sections will review current activities and discuss strategic plans to enhance organization's performance. IEEE Canada Board meeting will be held in conjunction with CCECE07 20th Anniversary Conference.

Renew Your Membership for 2007

There's still time to renew your 2007 membership if you haven't already done so. Remember, IEEE membership can connect you with professionals who can open doors to many opportunities. Use your IEEE Web Account and password to renew online at http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/renew/index.html

Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Winter 2007

This issue, the first of 2007, comprises seven regular peer-reviewed papers on various topics. The year ahead of us should see three more issues, including our special CCECE 2007 issue in the Fall. Needless to say, we encourage researchers, students, and industrial representatives to attend that CCECE conference in Vancouver (22-26 April). As with other CCECE conferences, it is already looking quite promising. You might not yet know that CCECE 2008 will be back to Niagara Falls. As for CCECE 2009, we know it will be in Eastern Canada, although the exact location is not yet decided. Quebec City, Halifax, and St. John's are among the possible hosting cities.

As a new year starts, it is always interesting to do planning and envisage new opportunities. Although globalization has become a buzz word, it can certainly provide interesting opportunities, especially for our students, who will have to work within this new paradigm. Consider, for instance, international cooperation. Canada and the provinces offer some programs allowing Canadian students to gain experience abroad as well as inviting foreign students to visit us for cooperative research stays. Some other countries also have interesting programs to offer. A very good example is Germany.

Germany has several institutions devoted to that purpose. It is obviously not possible to cover all the programs in this text; it is, however, worthwhile to provide some highlights (full details are available on the respective websites). Let us start with DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service (www.daad.de). DAAD has several programs dedicated to undergraduate students, graduate students, researchers/professors, and also to research groups. There is something for everyone, if we may say so! In most of the cases travel and living allowances are provided.

A particularly interesting program-dedicated only to Canada/U.S.A.-is called RISE (Research Internship in Science and Engineering) and is intended for undergraduate students with the goal of providing them with a German research or industrial research experience. The way the program works is unique in the sense that German doctoral students post projects on the RISE website (all received projects are posted as long as supported by the doctoral student supervisor). In a second step, undergraduate students apply to the posted projects, and the doctoral students who have posted projects then select for themselves the foreign undergraduate student they want to work with, the principle being that the undergraduate student will team up with the doctoral student for six weeks to three months. Interestingly, undergraduate students can apply up to late in the Winter for projects starting the next Summer! There is no quota, and the program is self-regulating: if no undergraduate students apply for a posted project, this project is simply not supported.

The well-known Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) also has a comprehensive set of programs to invite eminent scholars to Germany. Again the AvH website provides all necessary information (www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/). To conclude on German research cooperation, it is also important to note that a knowledge of the German language is not mandatory (English is the working language), while the cooperative programs usually provide German courses as well!

International research cooperation is an excellent opportunity to develop new science and write interesting papers … for the CJECE. We encourage you all to take advantage of it.

We wish you an excellent 2007, full of exciting new international research collaboration! Glückliches Neues Jahr (Happy New Year)!

To see abstracts of the articles published in the Winter 2007 issue in English and French, please click here.

Xavier Maldague and Witold Kinsner
Co-Editors, CJECE

Ø Section Events

WIE Winnipeg (Canada) Leads Robot Building Workshop In China

Contributed by Jennifer Jessop

In September 2006, WIE Winnipeg sponsored a robot building workshop at the Clifford International School in Guangzhou, China. In partnership with Manitoba Robot Games (MRG), WIE member Jennifer Jessop helped the students in Grades 5 and 6 to construct Robocritters, with the assistance of the Grade 5 & 6 teachers and their teaching assistants. The event was fully sponsored by the MRG and WIE.

The school children enjoyed the robot building experience and amazed their teachers at their ability to learn and adapt quickly. The students worked in groups of four to design and construct the robots. The teams divided themselves into design and construction sections and focused on their individual areas and then came together to assemble the final product. The elements of safety, team work and creativity were stressed as key areas to focus on for the students

A pre-robot building meeting was held with the teachers to construct a robot prototype, which was almost more challenging than the workshop itself.

The teachers are interested in future robot workshops. A possible workshop is being planned for April 2007.

Link to event photos:
http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/kathyj_maxin/album?.dir=/1f17scd&.src=ph&.tok=phbjxqFBzZzt297W

IEEE Electrical Safety, Technical and Mega Projects

In October of 2005, a very successful IEEE Electrical Safety, Technical And Mega Projects conference was held at the Edmonton convention center and attended by over 230 people. This conference will be held again, this time in Calgary in February of 2007. This conference will be held in conjunction with the IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop that follows at the same location. Complete information on each of the conferences can be found on the web sites listed below.

IEEE Electrical Technical and Mega Projects Workshop (ETMP)
February 26, 27, 2007 - Calgary Alberta
www.ieee.org/megaprojects

IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop (ESW)
February 27, 28, March 1, 2007 - Calgary Alberta
www.ewh.ieee.org/cmte/ias-esw/annual.htm

Ø Conferences

The 20th Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering - CCECE07

The 20th Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering will be held at the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel, Vancouver from 22-25 April 2007. Well over 400 contributions will be presented in 96 sessions over three days. In addition to the usual strong representation of areas such as Communications, Computers, Power, Signal processing and VLSI, there are sessions on Biomedical Engineering, Nano and Micro Systems and Software Engineering. Three special luncheon speakers are Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO of TELUS, the 2007 IEEE Canada McNaughton Gold Medal winner and a high profile speaker from BC Hydro (TBD). The IEEE Canada will hold their Award Gala at the Conference Banquet on 23 April 2007. Further details of the program may be found on the conference website located at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org.reg/7/ccece07/

Upcoming IEEE Conferences in Canada

All IEEE Conferences in Canada - please use this link.

Ø Awards & Recognition

Congratulations!

o Fellows

David Plant

Montreal Section
Citation: for contributions to optoelectronic devices.

Professor - McGill University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering James McGill Professor - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Chair - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Winner of the NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation (2006) Winner of the Principal's Prize for Teaching Excellence (2006) Re-appointed for a second term as an IEEE/LEOS Distinguished Lecturer (2005-2007). Winner of the Samuel and Ida Fromson Award for Outstanding Teaching (2006). Recipient of the 2006 R.A. Fessenden Medal from IEEE Canada given for outstanding contribution to the field of telecommunications technology. Elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America (2006) for "contributions to the advancement of free-space optical interconnects and enabling optoelectronic-VLSI devices."

Research Interests: Photonic/Optoelectronic devices and systems; Optomechanics; Smart pixels; Optical interconnects.

Kamal Al Haddad

Montreal Section
Citation: for contributions to research and development of power electronics Converters.

Professor - Universite du Quebec, Department of Electrical Engineering École de technologie supérieure.

Research involves: Theoretical and applied research to design and test new power conversion systems.

Dr. Kamal Al-Haddad has gained extensive experience in designing and developing advanced energy conversion systems, including high efficiency, soft switching converters and high frequency power supplies for telecommunications, induction heating for manufacturing facilities, and other various industrial applications. As Canada Research Chair in Electric Energy Conversion - Power Electronics, Dr. Al-Haddad will focus on three key sectors: energy efficiency and electric power quality in electrical distribution networks; power supply sources for telecommunications systems; and electric traction systems for passenger transport. In addition to conducting fundamental and applied research to develop new technologies, Dr. Al-Haddad will train personnel with the aim of transferring them and the technology to industry. Dr. Al-Haddad and his Group on Power Electronics and Industrial Control have worked closely with industry in the past. He will continue to build alliances with industrial sectors that can provide the synergies necessary to transfer the results of his research into practical use to meet the growing demand for new energy sources.

Fadhel Ghannouchi

Southern Alberta Section
Citation: for contributions to advanced microwave amplification circuits and sub-systems.

Professor - The University of Calgary. iCORE Professor. Head, iRADIO Laboratory. He held several invited positions at several academic and research institutions in Europe, North America and Japan. He has provided consulting services to a number of microwave and wireless communications companies. He founded and developed an University sup-off company that offered linearization products and services to wireless and satellite communication equipment manufacturers. His research interests are in the areas of microwave instrumentation and measurements, nonlinear modeling of RF devices and communications systems, linearization and equalizations techniques, design of power efficient and linear RF amplification systems, Software Defined Radio (SDR) and design of intelligent RF transceivers for broadband wireless communications systems. His research led over 280 publications and 7 patents.

Professional Activities

Reviewer for IEEE Transactions on MTT, I&M and E&D, IEE journals and other scientific journals
Workshop organizer in IEEE sponsored conferences and symposiums
Session chair in IEEE sponsored conferences and symposiums
Member of technical and/or organizing committees for IEEE sponsored conferences and symposiums
Provide consulting services to several companies, which design and manufacture RF components and systems

Senior Member Upgrades

Wail Gueaieb

Ottawa Section

Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa. Ph.D., University of Waterloo, 2001. M.Sc., Bilkent University, 1997.

Research Interests: Machine Intelligence & Mechatronics. Robotics & Control Systems. Computational Intelligence: Theory & Applications

Francis Dawson

Toronto Section

Professor - University of Toronto. B.Sc.(Toronto), B.A.Sc.(Toronto), M.A.Sc.(Toronto), Ph.D.(Toronto), P.Eng.

Research interests encompass all areas associated with the delivery, transmission, distribution, utilization and management of energy at low (wireless, computers) and high power levels (utility, aerospace). Specific interests include: current limiting devices, power semiconductor applications, electrothermal modelling, signal processing and adaptive filtering in power engineering, electromagnetic compatibility, high frequency magnetics, control of power converters, and the application and modelling of novel light sources. Computational methods for the steady state analysis and for transients and dynamics in power systems.

Jian Pei

Vancouver Section

Jian Pei received the Ph.D. degree in Computing Science from Simon Fraser University, Canada, in 2002. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University, Canada. His research interests can be summarized as developing effective and efficient data analysis techniques for novel data intensive applications. Particularly, he is currently interested in various techniques of data mining, data warehousing, online analytical processing, and database systems, as well as their applications in bioinformatics, privacy preservation, software engineering, and education. His current research is supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States, IBM, Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). He has published prolifically in refereed journals, conferences, and workshops, has served regularly in the organization committees and the program committees of many international conferences and workshops, and has been a reviewer for the leading academic journals in his fields. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). He is the recipient of the British Columbia Innovation Council 2005 Young Innovator Award.

W. S. Vincent Wong

Vancouver Section

Assistant Professor - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of British Columbia. Vincent Wong received the B.Sc. (with distinction) degree from the University of Manitoba in 1994, M.A.Sc. degree from the University of Waterloo in 1996, and Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in 2000, all in electrical engineering. From 2000 - 2001, he was a systems engineer at PMC-Sierra, Inc. His current research interests are in localization of wireless sensor networks, routing and scheduling in wireless mesh networks, mobility management in heterogeneous wireless networks, and cross-layer optimization in wireless networks. He received the NSERC postgraduate scholarship and Fessenden postgraduate scholarship from Communications Research Centre, Industry Canada, during his graduate studies.

RELATED LINKS:

- To check on the status of Senior Member applications:

http://www.ieee.org/ra/md/smappstatus.html

- For the Nominate a Senior Member Initiative: http://www.ieee.org/nsmi

- To check how your Region, Section or Society is doing on Senior Member

elevations and nominations: http://www.ieee.org/ra/md/smstats.html

Ø IEEE News

MyIEEE Adds New Features

The IEEE's membership portal, myIEEE, recently updated its career development features. Members will now be able to get listings from the IEEE Job Site, which is updated daily from the Professional Desktop. In addition, new modules will link members to IEEE's Mentoring Connection site and IEEE-USA's Career Navigator site where they can access career advice. Members also will now be able to access their subscriptions, launch IEEE.tv, and manage their membership account from the IEEE portal site. Log in at: www.ieee.org/myieee

Take advantage of this unique member benefit!
Post your profile and resume FREE on the IEEE Job Site at www.ieee.org/jobs

The IEEE Job Site is updated daily with exclusive postings from leading global companies in a broad range of industries -ATI, RIM, Nokia, STMicroelectronics and Google, just to name a few. IEEE Region 7 recommends that you register with the site to encourage more Canadian companies to post positions -even if you are currently employed.

Take the next step to finding your ideal job:

· Create a personal, confidental job profile

· Post your skills, desired salary and job location

· Receive e-mail when an employer posts an opening that matches your requirements

· Search job postings at your convenience

· Connect with prospective employers instantly

Post your job profile FREE today at www.ieee.org/jobs
If you have any questions, please contact us at candidatejobsite@ieee.org
IEEE Members who use the IEEE Job Site say:
“I found many openings I did not see on other job search engines.”
“It allows me to find jobs in my specific field of engineering.”
“It took the hassle out of searching for the "right" company/organization for my skills."

Job Opportunity - Executive Director, Power Engineering Society

PES Executive Director Bob Dent has announced his plans for retirement in Mid 2007. The Society has initiated a search for a replacement. What follows is the text of the ad for the position:

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE), the world's largest technical professional organization, is seeking a uniquely qualified individual to lead and manage the Executive Office (6 staff members) of our Power Engineering Society (PES). This individual will work with the PES Governing Board in developing the business and strategic plans of the 21,000-member Society and is fully responsible for the implementation of these plans. A minimum of five years of increasingly responsible management experience and excellent leadership qualities are required. The management experience should include financial responsibility for an operating unit, strategic planning, organizational development, and management of a department-level staff group including associated HR processes. The required management skills include the ability to perform effectively in a volunteer-led organization that operates by consensus and the ability to conduct effective negotiations involving financial and policy matters on behalf of the Society. A degree in Engineering or Science and demonstrated technical competence in the areas of energy and power engineering are highly desirable.

This position is located at the IEEE facility in Piscataway, New Jersey, and the expected start date is in the May/June 2007 timeframe. Salary and benefits are competitive with industry norms.

A complete job description and application will be found at this URL: https://home.eease.com/recruit/?id=11920. Only resumes that are submitted through this URL will be considered. NO AGENCIES PLEASE. Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V.

IEEE Foundation Seeking 2007 Grant Applications

The IEEE Foundation is seeking grant applications for 2007 projects in

accordance with its mission to improve the technological literacy of society

from childhood through adulthood.

During 2007, unsolicited applications will be accepted in three cycles from

IEEE units and other organizations working in areas of relevance and importance

to the IEEE and its membership.

Projects should achieve one or more of the following objectives:

Improve primary and secondary science, technology, and math learning
Encourage pre-university students to consider engineering as a career path
ncrease the public’s understanding of the role of engineers and technology in society
Preserve the history of IEEE associated technologies
Tap the technological expertise of IEEE members
Demonstrate ability to be replicated

Application deadlines are 13 April and 7 September 2007.

To learn more about the IEEE Foundation’s grant guidelines, and to submit an

online application, visit www.ieeefoundation.org.

Call for 2008 Fellow Nominations

Nominations are being accepted for the IEEE Fellows class of 2008. The rank of

IEEE Fellow is the institute’s highest member grade, bestowed on IEEE senior

members who have contributed “to the advancement or application of engineering,

science and technology.” The deadline for nominations is 1 March 2007.

Senior members can be nominated in one of four categories: application

engineer/practitioner, research engineer/scientist, educator or technical

leader.

The Fellows Web site contains additional information on the nomination process

including access to the Fellows Nomination Kit, lists of Fellows who may be

available as references as well as the history of the IEEE Fellows program.

Please visit the Fellows website at http:/www.ieee.org/fellows.

Get Certified With IEEE Computer Society's Certified Software

Development Professional Program

The IEEE Computer Society's Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) program, a certification program for mid-level software engineers, will offer two testing windows in 2007. The application deadline for the 2 April - 30 June testing window is 2 April. The application deadline for the 1 September - 30 November testing window is 1 September. For more, visit:

www.computer.org/certification

New IEEE Certification

The IEEE Communications Society is developing a wireless communications engineering certification program. Interested in learning more or volunteering to help in the development process? Please e-mail Jack Howell, ComSoc Executive Director, at j.howell@comsoc.org

IEEE Student Branch Web Site Contest

The deadline for the IEEE Student Branch Web Site Contest is 15 March 2007. All student branches and chapters are eligible to apply. Judging will be based on six categories: content, navigability, originality, overall presentation, portability and load time. Contact your Regional Student Activities Committee Chair to enter. For more information, and to see a list of last years’ winners, visit:

http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/students/scholarshipsawardscontests/IEEE_Student_Branch_Web_Site_Contest.html

Ø Non-IEEE News

The 16th International World Wide Web Conference - WWW2007

The 16th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW2007) will take place in Banff, Alberta on May 8-12, 2007. This annual conference is a global event that brings together the

key innovators, decision-makers, technologists, businesses, and standards bodies shaping the future evolution of the Web. This is only the second time that the WWW conference has

been held in Canada. For more details about the conference, including registration information, see http://www2007.org

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events – Calgary

IEEE Electrical Technical and Mega Projects Workshop (ETMP)

February 26, 27, 2007 – Calgary, Alberta

http://www.ieee.org/megaprojects

IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop (ESW)

February 27, 28, March 1, 2007 – Calgary, Alberta

www.ewh.ieee.org/cmte/ias-esw/annual.htm

Upcoming Events – Montréal

International Symposium on Signals, Systems, and Electronics

(ISSSE 2007)