June 2021 Issue

Announcements

• Nominations are open for The President’s Make-a-Difference Award

  Established in 2017, this distinct IEEE Canada (IEEE Region 7) award is presented to extraordinary IEEE Canada volunteers who have made significant and sustained contributions to make IEEE Canada a better place to grow and contribute to the profession and to the public.

  This is a recognition for IEEE Canada volunteers who have made significant contributions to IEEE Canada in specific areas, including (but not limited to):

  • Student Activities
  • Young Professionals
  • Women in Engineering
  • Industry Relations
  • Membership Services
  • External Relations
  • Publications and Communication
  • Education (e.g., Teacher in-Service Program, TISP)
  • Outreach (e.g., pre-university and pre-college students)
  • IEEE Canada Conferences (e.g., organization of successful CCECE, EPEC, IHTC)

  Nominations may be submitted by current and past IEEE Canada Board of Directors and IEEE Canada Committee members only. There are two opportunities per annum to submit nominations.

  Nomination deadlines: February 15th, 2021 and August 15th, 2021.

  2020 Award Winner: The 2020 President's Make-a-Difference Award was presented to Jeffrey Arcand for his significant contributions to IEEE Canada, IEEE activities in Ottawa, and the engineering field as a whole.

• Call for Nominations: IEEE Technical Field Awards and Eric Herz Staff Award

  Nominations are open in early July IEEE Technical Field Awards (TFA) and the IEEE Eric Herz Outstanding Staff Member Award.

  Nomination guidelines, award-specific criteria, and components of a nomination form for TFAs and the Herz Award can be downloaded from https://ieee.secure-platform.com/a/page/ieeemedals_recognitions_techfieldawards/ieee_technical_field_awards and http://www.ieee.org/about/awards/recognitions/recognitions_herz.html. Nominations are due 15 January. All nominations must be submitted through the online nomination portal.

  Since 1917, the IEEE Awards Program has paid tribute to technical professionals whose exceptional achievements and contributions have made a lasting impact on technology, society, the engineering profession, and humanity. By this means, the image and prestige of the organization, its members, and the profession are all enhanced.

  For more information about IEEE Awards, visit https://corporate-awards.ieee.org/corporate-awards/ or e-mail awards@ieee.org.

IEEE Member Benefit for June 2021

IEEE Member Group Insurance Program - Professional Liability Insurance

The Professional Liability Insurance Program* for IEEE members counters risks you face and protects you for negligent acts, errors & omissions. Plus now, the IEEE Member Professional Liability Insurance Program has been enhanced! IEEE members have access to a Choice Platform, which provides members with a choice of coverage options from leading IEEE-approved insurers: Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London and/or Beazley Insurance Company.

For more information, please visit this link.

Articles and Resources

• IEEE educational activities continue to offer online instruction and IEEE's pre-university educational resources may be of assistance to families of students whose classroom activities have been disrupted. Home-schooling parents and students can explore the IEEE TryEngineering database to learn about a wide variety of concepts.

• Free Virtual Events to Help You Transition to eLearning

• Helping Students Learn via Online Delivery: Considerations for Pandemic Pedagogy

• Online Networking 101: Five Etiquette Tips for Successful Engagement

• The no-contact temperature screening systems can be off as much as four degrees, according to IEEE Senior Member Erik Beall. Continue Reading.

Scholarships and Prizes

IEEE Canadian Foundation Grants

• IEEE McNaughton Learning Resource Centre Grants
  • Eligibility: Canadian IEEE Student Branches.
  • Purpose: To enhance the learning experiences of IEEE student members at Canadian Universities and Colleges, as well as encouraging IEEE membership and activities, and interaction between the IEEE Student Branch and the local IEEE Section.
  • Deadline: November 15, 2021
  • Link: http://www.ieeecanadianfoundation.org/EN/cen_grnt.php
• IEEE Canadian Foundation Special Grants
  • Eligibility: An IEEE Student Branch, an IEEE Section, an IEEE Canada Committee, a non-IEEE entity such as a high school, or in rare cases an individual, all in Canada.
  • Purpose: To partially fund one-time new and innovative projects that advance IEEE's core purpose to foster technological innovation and excellence to benefit humanity.
  • Deadlines: August 15, 2021 and November 15, 2021.
  • Link: http://www.ieeecanadianfoundation.org/EN/sp_grnts.php
• IEEE Canada Vehicular Technologies Travel Grants Two travel grants each year, each one not to exceed $1,200.
  • Eligibility: IEEE Student Members in good standing in a Canadian University or College (at a college, undergraduate or graduate level).
  • Purpose: To support IEEE student members to attend and present a paper at a Vehicular Technologies Conference or other IEEE Conference related to Vehicular Technologies.
  • Deadline: August 15, 2021 and November 15, 2021.
  • Link: http://www.ieeecanadianfoundation.org/EN/vt_award.php

IEEE Canadian Foundation

• IEEE Canadian Foundation Special Grant Reports

  • Special Grant Aug 2020; Memorial University
    (ICF Ref# 322)
    

    This Special Grant was awarded to a group of students at Memorial University building a subsea resident AUV. This type of vehicle is intended to provide autonomous surveillance and monitoring of undersea structures such as pipelines. A unique aspect of this project was its undersea residency – i.e. not having to return to the surface for charging or to transfer data. The project was very successful, especially considering an ambitious design and the limitations of a pandemic. The design team was one of three finalists at a local IEEE competition, being awarded 1st place for both their presentation and demo video.

    Their full demo video and presentation can be seen at the following links:

    • Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Z9sVuU5DQ (3:59)
    • Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXqgjFvW4HE (27:36)
    
    
    
  • Special Grant Nov 2019; University of British Columbia
    (ICF Ref# 310)
    

    This Special Grant was awarded to the UBC Orbit Satellite Design Team – for their ASPECTU satellite. Their mission was to push the boundaries of satellite technology and prepare students with the skills they need for a career in the aerospace industry. This project was to design a 3U (10 x 10 x 30 cm) Cubesat that will allow any amateur radio operator on Earth to take pictures of their location from space. While the 2020 competition was indefinitely postponed due to the pandemic, work continued on design and planning. They have now secured the first-ever launch for their CubeSats, scheduled for 2021, and have started working on the framework to operate this and future missions.

    
    
    
  • Special Grant Nov 2020; Memorial University of Newfoundland
    (ICF Ref# Nov2020_SG-2)
    

    This Special Grant was awarded to students from Memorial University to organize and run a “hackathon” called “Winter WonderHack NL 1.0” (now known as “Hack Frost NL”). This first ever event saw 200 students (140 from MUN) registered. This event provided the opportunity for students to work on over 25 projects related to the recovery from COVID19. Resources such as online databases, workshops and industry mentors were made available. Participants could also win sponsored prizes such as IBM cloud credits, a Bounce Innovation start-up partnership, Gift Cards from Verafin, techNL memberships, and Hack Frost’s prizes.

    Organizers reported that the grant from the IEEE Canadian Foundation was their first sponsorship and instilled the confidence to ultimately obtain $10,000 in sponsorship, plan the 48-hour collaborative event, secure resources such 12 experienced mentors, 7 workshops, 7 sponsor booths for networking, 3 mini-games, judging, $3,000 in prizes, and free swag for participants.

    
    
    

• Governance

  At the recent AGM, audited 2020 Financial Statements were received, the external Auditor appointed for 2021 and annual budget approved. Directors Eric Holdrinet – Montreal Section, Dave Kemp – Winnipeg Section, Maike Luken – London Section, Luc Matteau – Peterborough Section were reappointed for three year terms.

  Current Officers continue for the standard one year Officer terms.

  New Member and Section Liaison representative appointed is Yves de Villers – Quebec Section.

• Scholarships, Grants, Awards

  All programs continue to operate normally, supporting students and others within IEEE Canada.
  • IEEE Canadian Foundation Scholarships - $5,000 each
    • Nate Berzolla, University of Saskatchewan, nominated by Robert Johanson
    • Rafid Dewan, Carleton University, nominated by Winnie Ye
    • Michal Ridner, University of Ottawa, nominated by Sawsan Abdul-Majid
  • IEEE Canadian Foundation Raymond D. Findlay Scholarship - $1,000
    • Anuj Mathur, Carleton University, nominated by Winnie Ye
  • Special Grants
    • University of Alberta Autonomous Robotic Vehicle Project - $1,250
    • UBC Orbit Satellite Design Team - $1,000
  • IEEE Canada Major Awards
    • 2021 endowed awards

• Volunteer Opportunities

  Opportunities for volunteer engagement are available, or if an individual wishes to contribute in other areas, please reach out.
  • Web Master(s)
  • Historian/Archivist
  • Section Liaison representatives for Vancouver and Windsor Sections




COVID-19: The IEEE Canadian Foundation remains committed to supporting our programs, donors and grantees. Thank you for your ongoing support during these unusual and challenging times.

IEEE Canadian Foundation is a registered charity in Canada and a public foundation. All Canadian individual donors receive CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) approved tax receipts. The IEEE Canadian Foundation remains committed to supporting our programs, donors and grantees. Thank you for your ongoing support during these unusual and challenging times. Please visit ICF Facebook page

Conferences

• Call for papers: 2021 5G World Forum

  The 2021 IEEE 4th 5G World Forum (5GWF’21) seeks contributions on how to nurture and cultivate future network technologies and applications beyond 5G, and how they can benefit society. This will be a virtual event similar to 5GWF’20, but we are also planning an in-person event in Montreal, Canada (around October 13, 2021) that will be an official part of 5GWF’21. Physical attendance is not expected or required for authors and presenters.

  • Website: https://ieee-wf-5g.org/call-for-papers/
  • Sign up for alerts about the event.

Events

• IEEE Canada Technology Leadership Monthly Webinar

  IEEE Canada is hosting a webinar series on Technology Leadership. We are inviting professional associations, learnt societies, think tanks, governmental agencies, and other institutions to participate and contribute speakers. This webinar series is a platform bringing our thought leaders from different stakeholders, from all walks of life to present their views and advocate their positions on science, technology, society, and future economy. It will be open and free to the general public. Many, among the audience, will be members of IEEE.

  For more information or to inquire about speaking opportunities, please contact, Dale Tardiff, IEEE Canada Outreach and Partnership Committee Chair, dale@innovativepower.ca

  • Speaker: Peter MacKinnon
  • Topic: An Introduction & Overview of Smart Cities in a Changing World
  • Date/Time: July 13, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM (EDT)
  • Duration: 1 hour
  • Registration Link: Click here for more information.