IEEE Canada Newsletter

The IEEE Canada Board Meeting took place on Friday May 2nd, 2014 in Mississauga, Ontario. Delegates from across the country gathered for training workshops and strategic planning for the upcoming year.

Renew Your Membership for 2014

You can start renewing your membership for 2014. Remember, IEEE membership can connect you with professionals who can open doors to many opportunities. There are also many online resources available to members (e.g. online books and publications). Use your IEEE Web Account and password to renew online at http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/renew/index.html

Membership Dues in Special Circumstances

IEEE realizes that economic circumstances may impact some members' ability to pay the full amount of IEEE membership dues. For this reason, the following special circumstance categories have been established. Special circumstances are not available to Student members. Only one category may be claimed in any year.

- Minimum Income Provision

- Retired Provision

- Unemployed Provision

- Permanently Disabled

Ø IEEE Canadian Foundation

Donate by IEEE Membership Renewal

The IEEE Canadian Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the IEEE in Canada, is happy to accept your contributions when you renew your IEEE membership in the fall each year.

Just select the IEEE Canadian Foundation as your choice when you complete your annual IEEE membership renewal form (paper or web version).

Please note that this method enables you to make a contribution to the IEEE Canadian Foundation General Fund only. To make a contribution to one or more of our other funds, please consider donating online or donating by mail.

If you are a Canadian IEEE Life Member and wish to participate in our Canadian Life Member Fund "Thank You" program, please view this web page.

IEEE Canadian Foundation Needs Your Support

Is somebody close to your heart graduating this year from a Canadian University or College engineering or science? In recognition of their success, consider a donation to the IEEE Canadian Foundation (ICF) to support the vital role IEEE has in the professional development of so many students. Get an early start on your 2013 donations - your donation to ICF, a Canadian registered charity, is tax deductible.

IEEE Canadian Foundation Initiative/Campaign "20 for 20"

In 2014, IEEE Canadian Foundation (ICF) marks its 20th anniversary as a foundation in the present form. This occasion is a reminder of the importance to continue supporting ICF by donating online or donating by mail.

Your support of the ICF $20 for 20th anniversary recognition will help expand the ICF General Fund lead programs across Canada:

Sholarships for outstanding undergraduate IEEE engagement
McNaughton Learning Resource Centre Grants for enhancing the learning experience of students at Canadian universities and colleges
Special Grants for new and innovative projects th advance IEEE's core purpose to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity

For the first time contributors, please review the success stories and ICF tack record on the ICF website.

For recurring contributors, please consider this $20 incremental to your regular donation - special for the ICF 20th aniversary recognition.

A brief history of IEEE Canadian Foundation (ICF)

After Revenue Canada granted ICF charitable foundation status, ICF started operating under its new status in January 1994. Prior to that, the ICF existed in other forms. More about the ICF history can be found at http://ieeecanadianfoundation.org/EN/history/history.php.Since many small charities succeed in operating for only a few years, the ICF 20th anniversary, and still going stronger, is a remarkable achievement of the Foundation. It was made thanks to the continual support of many ICF donors/contributors over the past two decades and a large number of ICF volunteers and IEEE Canada members. This sustained success in providing benefits to IEEE Canada students, recognition and awards to IEEE Canada members, and to the engineering community in Canada is a cause worth celebrating.

IEEE Canadian Foundation Prizes - 2014 IEEE Canada Women in Engineering Prize Winner

IEEE Canada Women in Engineering Prize for 2014 was awarded to Lydia Chioukh of the IEEE Montreal Section, nominated by Dr. Anader Benyamin-Seeyar, an affiliate professor at Concordia University and a past Chair of the IEEE Montreal Section. This Prize in the amount of $1,000 is awarded to a female IEEE Canada member who received her first professional degree within the last fifteen years and who contributed significantly to IEEE activities.

Lydia Chioukh is a Ph.D. student in Electrical Engineering at the Poly-GRAMES Research Center of École Polytechnique de Montréal, expected to graduate in 2015. Her research work has been in the fields of radars, sensors, microwave circuits and RF technologies for biomedical applications. She received her M.Sc. degree in Biomedical Engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal in 2009, and her B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering from Constantine University and DEA Microwave and Microtechnology from Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, France.

Among many awards that Lydia received for her academic achievements are: Best Poster Award at CREER symposium 2009, Rohde & Schwarz Award - CREER 2013, FQRNT Doctoral Fellowships 2009 & 2012, and Tuition free by Ministry of Education of Quebec 2007-2009. In addition, she organized numerous student activities 2007-2013, such as IEEE Xtreme Competitions, leadership symposia, and others. She was IEEE Student Branch Chair & Vice-Chair 2009-2011. Lydia served as Vice Chair 2011-2012, and since 2012 she has been WIE Affinity Group Chair in Montreal. For her contributions to IEEE, she received Larry K. Wilson Regional Student Activities Award 2011, and IEEE Montreal Section WIE Service Award in 2012.

Ø Your News

Section Events Online

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Kitchener Waterloo Section: http://www.ieeekw.com/activities.php

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Hamilton Section: http://ewh.ieee.org/r7/hamilton/currentevents.htm

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Kingston Section: http://sites.ieee.org/kingston/

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the London Section: http://london.ieee.ca/

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the New Brunswick Section: http://nb.ieee.ca/

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the South Alberta Section: http://sites.ieee.org/southern-alberta/

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Winnipeg Section: http://winnipeg.ieee.ca/calendar

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Northern Canada Section: http://northerncanada.ieee.ca/

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Northern Saskatchewan Section: http://northsask.ieee.ca/

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Vancouver Section: http://www.ieeecontact.org

Please find the IEEE Montreal Section Newsletter (Issue 6, January 2012): http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r7/montreal/files/IEEE_Montreal_Newsletter_Jan_2012.pdf

The IEEE Montreal Section ExCom would like to thank to all contributors and editors.

The previous issues (# 5, Nov. 2011) can be accessed through: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r7/montreal/files/IEEE_Montreal_Newsletter_Oct_2011.pdf

http://ewh.ieee.org/r7/montreal/index.php

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Ottawa Section: http://www.ieeeottawa.ca/

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the Toronto Section: http://toronto.ieee.ca/

Please refer to the following link for the latest activities hosted by the St-Maurice Section: http://www.sm.ieee.ca/evenactivites.html

Ø News of Interest

Call for CJECE Associate Editors

The Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (CJECE) board is currently looking for Associate Editors in the areas of computers, sofrware, communications, information theory, and signal processing.

The Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (CJECE) is the flagship IEEE technical journal of the area in Canada. The CJECE (ISSN-0840-8688), issued quarterly, has been publishing high-quality refereed scientific papers in all areas of electrical and computer engineering since 1976 and is indexed in ISI and IEEE Xplore. Each Associate Editor (AE) is appointed on a 6-month probationary term to be extended to a 2-year term. AEs will receive a small number of papers each year in their general areas of expertise. Successful volunteer candidates will be required to secure a minimum of 3 independent reviews for each paper in 4 weeks.

Interested researchers are invited to send their intents along with an up-to-date CV via email to s.yousefi at the domain queensu.ca or on LinkedIn. The CV is not required if the LinkedIn account contains the relevant information and the track record in research and publications.

For more information, please visit here.

Ø Your Career

New online tool - IEEE RésuméLab

To help you make a great first impression, IEEE partnered with OptimalResume, a career services company in Durham, N.C., to create IEEE RésuméLab, an online program that helps you with the many tasks needed for landing a job. This includes writing better résumés and cover letters, creating a portfolio or a video résumé, and improving your interviewing skills.

Launched in January, IEEE RésuméLab is free to all IEEE members.

Positions available from Engineering Careers!

For more information: look up a job under the following link http://www.engineeringcareers.ca/.

Ø Students' Corner

IEEE PES Scholarship Plus Initiative Application is OPEN

The IEEE PES is now accepting applications from undergraduate students in the US & Canada for the PES Scholarship Plus Initiative. This scholarship provides multi-year scholarships and career experience opportunities to qualifying U.S. & Canadian electrical engineering undergraduate students. As long as the scholar continues to meet renewal standards, he or she will receive up to three years of funding — US$2,000 the first year, $2,000 the second year and $3,000 the third year — interspersed with up to two years of valuable, hands-on career experience.

The deadline to submit an application is June 30, 2014. For detailed up-to-date information about this new initiative, including application requirements and how to apply, please visit the PES Scholarship website.

Dmitry Klitshch keynote speaker in Association of Canadian Community Colleges 2014 Conference

Dmitry Klitshch, Vice Chair of IEEE Algonquin College Student Branch, presented keynote address "Panel: Students Making a Difference in the World" at 2014 conference of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges.

Photo Credit: Albert Di Tullio, Algonquin College.

Ø Our Members in the Spotlight

Newly elevated senior members in Region 7

Mahajan Aditya from Montreal Section was elevated in May.
Congratulations on the achievement!

Dr. Anis Haque receives Minerva Canada Education Award of Honour

Dr. Anis Haque, senior instructor and associate director of students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Schulich School of Engineering - University of Calgary, has been awarded the Minerva Education Award of Honour in recognition of his work advancing health and safety education in post-secondary institutions in Canada.

Dr. Anis Haque has been associated with Minerva Canada for the past 6 years and has been instrumental in leading three very successful H&S Learning Forums at the University of Calgary for engineering, business professors from various universities, colleges across Alberta. He has developed a case study for Minerva on managing Safety, Health and Environment by profiling some leading practices of a major Canadian corporation. He is currently overseeing the development of student teaching modules on Electrical Safety and Nanotechnology and the work to date is being presented by him to engineering students and engineering professors.

Dr.Anis has been an active member of the Dr. Anis Haque with Tony Pasteris, President and CEO of Minerva Canada (left)
Teacher In-Service Program since 2009 and and Renzo Dalla Via, Director of Minerva Canada (right)
is now TISP Canada Chair.

Dr. Jamal Deen Receives Top Spanish honor

The Indo-Guyanese and Canadian academic, Professor Jamal Deen of McMaster University, received the highest degree and honor - Doctor Honoris Causa, from Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain, in recognition of his exceptional achievements as a scholar and educator and as well as for extra-ordinary collaborations with colleagues at URV.

The Universitat Rovira i Virgili is a major academic and intellectual center in Spain, and is regularly ranked among the top three universities in Spain in terms of its scientific production and impact. URV is also a significant contributor to the "economic, social and cultural development of the southern regions of Catalonia by creating value based on scientific and research excellence."

Professor Jamal Deen is welcomed into the URV community by Professor Frances Xavier Grau Vidal (Rector)

Ø Your Benefits

The Personal - Home and Auto Group Insurer for IEEE members

A partnership you can trust
The Personal is proud to partner with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to bring you home and auto insurance designed to suit your needs. Since 1974, members and employees of over 600 professional organizations like yours have made The Personal their trusted partner.

Exclusive group rates and discounts
As a member of IEEE, you are entitled to exclusive group rates plus a suite of discounts on both your home and auto insurance. What's more, your spouse and dependants can benefit from your group offer.

An accurate quote in minutes
Get a home or auto insurance quote in as little as 10 minutes. They'll ask the right questions to provide you with the best insurance protection.

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MEET YOUR MATCH CONTEST - $50,000 in prizes available to be won!*
You could instantly win 1 of 100 $150 gas cards and also be entered into the grand prize draw to win your choice of a Ford Explorer, Ford Fusion Hybrid or a Ford Super Duty Truck! Get a home or auto insurance quote to enter or click here for more details: thepersonal.com/meetyourmatch.

The Personal refers to The Personal General Insurance Inc. in Quebec and The Personal Insurance Company in all other provinces and territories. Certain conditions apply. Auto insurance is not available in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or British Columbia due to government-run plans. No purchase required. Contest closes December 31, 2013. For instant prizes: one entry per person per e-mail address. For the grand prize: one entry per person per type of insurance. The grand prize draw to take place on January 17, 2014.* Total prize value is $50,000: car valued at $35,000, plus $15,000 in gas cards. Complete rules available at thepersonal.com/meetyourmatch. Vehicles may not be exactly as shown. Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited is not affiliated with this contest or with The Personal.

MBNA Credit card for Members of IEEE- Canada

Every time you use your card for a purchase, a financial contribution will be made to the IEEE on your behalf!

Plus you can enjoy the benefits of:

No annual fees
Low introductory promotional rate
Around-the-clock fraud protection
Unparalleled 24-hour customer service

To learn more about this card and to apply in English or in French, go to https://www.applyonlinenow.com/CACCapp/Ctl/entry?sc=cgpt&lc=en_CA

Canada Professional Liability Insurance

Thanks to recent insurance carrier negotiations, IEEE members residing in Canada (except Quebec) now have access to a comprehensive and competitive alternative for their professional liability coverage. The new plan provides coverage for technology-related services and is ideal for Canadian members who are self-employed, moonlight, or work for a firm. For more information, visit: www.ieeeinsurance.com/canadapl or call Erin Flett at 1-416-865-3353.

This coverage is available to residents of Canada through R&Q Risk Services Canada Limited. Scott Saddington, Chief Executive Officer of R&Q Risk Services Canada Limited, acts as an agent with respect to residents of Canada.

IEEE has selected Certain Lloyd’s Underwriters for this insurance program. Alternative insurance products may be available in the insurance market place. R&Q Risk Services Canada Limited is providing this single insurer option on behalf of IEEE.

Name Change for IEEE Member Group Insurance Provider

The IEEE Member Group Insurance Program administrator changed its name effective January 1, 2014. Members will see the rollout of the administrator's new business name from Marsh Consumer, a service of Seabury & Smith, Inc. to Mercer Consumer, a service of Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC. This name change reflects a transfer of business channels to an affiliate company under the parent company, Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC). (www.ieeeinsurance.com/canada):

Mercer Consumer will continue to deliver the same level of service and dedication members have come to expect. Under the new name, the company will still operate at the same location with the same dedicated team and notable integrity.

Please note there will be no change to the customer service toll-free number. It will continue to operate at 1-800-493-IEEE (4333). However, going forward the customer service email address will change to IEEE.service@mercer.com. The old email address will continue to operate with all emails being routed to the new email box.

IEEE Member Group Insurance Program administered by Mercer Consumer, a service of Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC.

New Professional Liability eTool for IEEE Members-ProLiabilitySmart

Today's business world can look like a lawsuit "war zone." Disgruntled former employees. Dissatisfied customers. Project errors leading to missed completion dates and cost over-runs.

But there are some simple strategies you as a technology professional can put in place today-to help you and your firm avoid the headaches and expenses of a potential lawsuit tomorrow.

They're outlined in an easy-to-use, interactive quiz on the NEW ProLiabilitySmart eTool. In addition to helping you understand strategies to protect your firm against a lawsuit, ProLiabilitySmart highlights the exclusive coverage available to technology professionals in Canada (excluding Quebec) through the IEEE-sponsored Professional Liability Insurance Plan, underwritten by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London.

To learn more, visit http://IEEEInsurance.com/CANPLguide.

Ø Call for Papers/Presentations

CTFG Workshop 2014 - The Fourth Canadian Tracking and Fusion Group Workshop

Date: September 9-11, 2014
Location: Ottawa

Canadian researchers and practitioners working on target tracking and sensor fusion for surveillance, with applications in civilian and defence domains, are invited to present their work describing advances, applications, and ideas. Presentations on all aspects of multitarget tracking and multi-sensor/multi-source information fusion, both theory and application, with submissions on both established and emerging topics, are encouraged. Accepted presentations will be included in the workshop CD. This workshop will also feature keynote speeches by distinguished experts in the field and new technology demonstrations by industry participants.

The Canadian Tracking and Fusion Group (CTFG) is a group of professionals working in the field of target tracking and data fusion. Currently, there are over 70 members from government, industry, and academia. For more information about the group please visit its website at www.ctfg.ca. To join, please visit the Google Groups site: http://groups.google.ca/group/ctfg .

Important dates:
Submission of proposals: 30 June 2014;
Decision on proposals: 31 July 2014;
Final presentations: 2 September 2014.

CCECE 2015

Date: May 3-6, 2014
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

The 2015 Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada from May 3rd to 6th, 2015. CCECE 2015 provides a forum for electrical and computer engineering research and development from Canada and around the world. All papers accepted by CCECE 2015 will be indexed by EI and included in IEEE Xplore.

For detailed up-to-date information, please visit: http://www.ccece2015.org/

Ø Conferences

Upcoming IEEE Conferences in Canada

12th IEEE International New Circuits and Systems Conference (NEWCAS) 2014

Date: June 22- 25, 2014
Location: Trois-Rivières, Québec

For detailed up-to-date information, please visit the NEWCAS2014 Conference Web site:
http://www.newcas2014.org/

2014 IEEE 15th International Conference on High Performance Switching and Routing (HPSR)

Date: July 1 - 4, 2014
Location: Vancouver, BC

2014 IEEE 15th International Conference on High Performance Switching and Routing will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from July 1 to July 4, 2014. Vancouver is world renowned for its diversity of many cultures and ethnicities. It is an ideal place for scientists and engineers from around the world to gather and share their ideas. Past HPSR events were held in Heidelberg (2000), Dallas (2001), Kobe (2002), Torino (2003), Arizona (2004), Hong Kong (2005), Poznan (2006), New York (2007), Shanghai (2008), Paris (2009), Dallas (2010), Cartagena (2011), Belgrade (2012), and Taipei (2013). With the unprecedented growth of the Internet as a backbone for communications and information services, it is essential that researchers gather to share their ideas and progress on solving the future challenges that the Internet faces. They include bridging the digital-divide and providing advantages of the Internet to developing countries; handling the bandwidth and delay requirements of multimedia, P2P, and cloud computing applications; implementing IPv6 and migrating from IPv4; deploying large data centers and enhancing their switching capabilities; and achieving energy efficiency of switching and routing equipment. These are only a few of the topics that have demanded switching and routing capabilities that are more intelligent, efficient, and reliable then ever before.

For detailed up-to-date information, please visit the HPSR 2014 Conference Web site: http://www.ieee-hpsr.org/

INTELEC 2014 - Resilient Communications Energy for our Connected World

Date: September 28 - October 2, 2014
Location: Vancouver Convention Centre (East), BC

INTELEC 2014 announces that registration is now open for the 36th annual conference held September 28 - October 2 in the Vancouver Convention Center in Vancouver. To register for the conference go to www.intelec2014.org/registration

This year's technical program will focus on communication power systems, energy storage, power conversion equipment and site support. From batteries to power supplies, disaster recovery to renewable energy, INTELEC 2014 is the place to see where the industry is heading, what new products are being introduced and will be the place to personally interact with the key suppliers and decision makers in the industry.

INTELEC©, the International Telecommunications Energy Conference, is the annual world-class technical forum which presents the latest developments in communications energy systems and related power-processing devices and circuits. This Conference, which serves the broad community of researchers, suppliers and operators, explores new technologies of power conversion, energy storage and systems for telecom applications and environment.

For more information including Conference Venue, Technical Program, Exhibition and Social Program please go to :
http://www.intelec.org

2014 Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC)

Date: November 12-14, 2014
Location: Calgary, AB

Fourteenth annual Electrical Power and Energy Conf erence (EPEC 2014) will take place in Calgary, AB, Canada from November 12 to 14, 2014. The objective of EPEC 2014 is to provide a forum for the exchange of electrical applications technology rela ted to electrical power and energy generation, distribution systems and utilization. The focus for this year ’s conference will be on partnerships between industrial users and power providers by bringing togeth er industrial users, power providers, ma nufacturers, consultants and academia to discuss cutting edge topics of interest to all stake holders

In addition to making technical contri bution to EPEC 2014, bring your family to enjoy the culturally diverse, creative and cosmopolitan city with a warm welcoming spirit.

For detailed up-to-date information, please visit:
http://sites.ieee.org/epec2014/

All IEEE Conferences in Canada

Find information about these and all IEEE Conferences in Canada here.

Upcoming Events

Many IEEE Canada sections maintain their own listings of upcoming events:

Canadian Atlantic

Hamilton

Kingston

Kitchener-Waterloo

London

Montreal

Newfoundland and Labrador

New Brunswick

Northern Canada

Ottawa

Southern Alberta

Toronto

Vancouver

Winnipeg

Submission Information

I look forward to receiving news/article(s) from your sections and/or yours or other IEEE colleagues' achievements for the newsletter. Please forward any such correspondence by the 20th of the month to the Editor at
newsletter@ieee.ca