Events of previous years.

Activities and Events

(Page Updated 2008-Feb-29)
Social Event

Golf Tournament

Golf Tournament 2008-June-07. Open to members and guests.

The IEEE Hamilton Section is pleased to invite you to the Second Annual Golf Tournament. Tee off times will be assigned the week before the tournament. The format for the day will be best ball, so every team has an opportunity to win bragging rights for winning this prestigious tournament.

Date: Saturday 2008-Jun-07
Time: TBD
Location: Chedoke Martin Golf Club is located at:
563 Aberdeen Avenue
Hamilton, Ontario Canada, L8P 2S8
Pro Shop: (905) 546-3116
Cost: TBD (includes 18 holes of golf, cart and dinner)
Limit: 36

Contact Blair at blair.maccuish@arcelormittal.com
Ceremony

IEEE Significant Milestone

Speaker: Mr. Chris Maryan and Mr. Ron Potts
Topic: Placing the Plaque for the Bell Milestone
Date: Saturday 2008-May-10
Time: TBD
Location: Old Telegraph Office,Paris, ON
Cost: None
Limit: International representatives and press only
Non-IEEE Event

Toronto/Markham Eptech Regional Show

Speaker: N/A
Topic: EPTECH is the only series of coast-to-coast national electronics shows in Canada. The series is sponsored by EP&T, Canada's largest professional electronics trade publication, and is produced by LVP Media Inc., a leading technology-information provider.
Date: April 17, 2008
Time: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location: Le Parc, 8432 Leslie Street, Thornhill, ON
Cost: None
Mailer
Registration
Non-IEEE Event

30th Annual Bell Canada Lecture

Speaker: Dr. Waguih Ishak, Corning Inc.
Topic: The Digital Society of the 21st Century
Date: Wednesday 2008-March-26
Time: 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Location:
       Information Technology Building (ITB) - Room AB102
       McMaster University
       1280 Main St. W.
       Hamilton, ON
Cost: None (but paid parking at McMaster)

Mailer
For info from McMaster try vespi@mcmaster.ca
Non-IEEE Event

ISA EXPO 2008

Instrumentation & Process Technology Exhibition & Conference

Speaker: Michel Ruel of TOP Control Inc.
Topic: Process Control & Profitability
Date: Tuesday 2008-March-18
Keynote Speaker: 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Exhibition: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location:
       Royal Botanical Gardens
       680 Plains Road West
       Burlington, ON
Cost: None

More Information: Download the information flyer covering EXPO 2008 PDF File Format (160 KB)
Non-IEEE Event

24th Annual J.W. Hodgins Lecture

Speaker: Mr. Howard Shearer (B.Eng, McMaster), President and CEO, Hitachi Canada Ltd
Topic: The Nuclear Renaissance
       Concerns over climate change, increasing energy demand, and our dependency on overseas supplies of fossil fuels support the case for nuclear power. Increased public awareness of the effects of global warming and climate change has led decision makers, the public, and media to understand that the use of fossil fuels must be reduced and replaced by low-emission sources of energy, such as nuclear power. Increasing fossil fuel prices have greatly improved the economics of nuclear power for electricity. In addition, as carbon emissions reductions are encouraged through various forms of government incentives, the economic benefits of nuclear power will increase further.
       In the last several years there has been much discussion about a nuclear revival or "renaissance". Today, nuclear energy is back on the policy agendas of many countries, with projections for new power reactors to be build around the world.
Date: Wednesday 2008-March-12
Time: 7:00 pm
Location:
       Information Technology Building (ITB) - Room 137
       McMaster University
       1280 Main St. W.
       Hamilton, ON
Cost: None (but paid parking at McMaster)

Mailer
For more information contact Terry Milson at 905.525.9140 ext. 27391 or milsont@mcmaster.ca
Social Event

Annual Dinner Evening

Annual Dinner Evening at the Old Mill
Date: Saturday 2008-February-09
Time: 6:00 PM…Reception (cash bar)
7:00 PM…Dinner
Distinguished Speaker: Dr. Yaser Haddara
Topic: Understanding in the Blink of an Eye
Location:
The Ancaster Old Mill, 548 Old Dundas Road, Ancaster, Ontario
Restaurant details - https://www.ancasteroldmill.com
Cost: $15 Members, $20 Non-Members Guests
Limit: 50
RSVP by 2008-Jan-31 to Jim Kozlowski at
Mail cheque to 503 Dorland Road, Oakville, ON L6J 6A9
Event Notice
Meeting

IEEE Significant Milestone

Speaker: Mr. Ron Potts
Topic: Bell Milestone
(Revealing the difficulties of getting IEEE to recognize that Alexander Graham Bell actually made a telephone call in Canada)
Date: Thursday 2008-Jan-10
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location:
       ArcelorMittal (Dofasco) Main Office
       Conference Room E.
       1330 Burlington Street (at Ottawa Street),
       Hamilton, ON L8N 3J5
Cost: None (Parking is free)
Limit: Everyone Welcome

Please join us for a presentation on the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Historical Milestone. This presentation will first focus in on Bell’s achievement that took place in Branford in 1876. Thanks to some hard work by the Hamilton Section Life Members, the IEEE has decided to place a commemorative plaque at this site outlining this Historical Achievement.
Ron Potts will be presenting the research that the Life Members did to achieve this Milestone. Mr. Potts who is the Region 7 Life Member Chair will also bring us up to date on the Banting Pacemaker Milestone which the Toronto Section has under development.
Along with the updates and background on these two important Milestones, Ron will also be discussing the Ontario Power Niagara Tunnel Project. He will be able to give details of the route this tunnel is taking, what machines are being used to excavate and overall progress of this project.
The presentation will take place at the ArcelorMittal Main Office, formally the Dofasco Main Office, Conference Room E. Parking is free.
For additional information contact Blair Maccuish blair.maccuish@arcelormittal.com
Event Notice
Annual General Meeting

Multiple Target Tracking for Maritime Surveillance

Speaker: Dr. Zhen (Jack) Ding, Defense Scientist – Defence Research and Development Canada, Ottawa
Topic: Multiple Target Tracking and Data Fusion Techniques for Integrated Maritime Surveillance
       (Reminisces and photos from a working vacation with CESO)
Date: Thursday 2007-November-29
Time: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm (Speaker at 7:00 pm)
Location:
       Information Technology Building (ITB) - Room A113
       McMaster University
       1280 Main St. W.
       Hamilton, ON
Cost: None (but paid parking at McMaster)
Limit: Everyone Welcome
Technical Meeting

Joint Chapter of Communications, Information Theory, and Signal Processing Societies Inaugural Event

Joint Chapter of Communications, Information Theory, and Signal Processing Societies Inaugural Event

Date: Tuesday 2007-Nov-19
Time: 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Subject: "Cognitive Radio: Fundamental Issues and Research Challenges"
Speaker: Prof. Simon Haykin, University Professor, McMaster University
Location: Room - ITB/A113, McMaster University
Cost: None
Limit: none

Agenda:
6:30pm - 7:00pm: Refreshments and Introductions.
7:00pm - 8:00pm: The talk.

(For further details, please contact Chapter chair Dr. Steve Hranilovic at hranilovic@mcmaster.ca)

Event Notice
Membership Benefits

Upgrade to Senior Member Status Night

Meeting: Thursday 2007-Nov-08 in Burlington at 8:00 PM

Have you ever considered upgrading to IEEE Senior Member status? It is free.The requirements for elevated status are:
 1. 10 years since graduation, or equivalent,
 2. 5 years of significant engineering performance,
 3. Reference letters from Senior Member or Fellow grade IEEE members.
The two problems usually encountered are:
 1. Getting discouraged by the paperwork,
 2. Finding Senior Members to act as references.

The IEEE Hamilton Section frequently hosts meetings which eliminate the two problems. You bring a resume showing five years engineering experience (an old one will do, if you don't keep an up-to-date one in your desk drawer or are retired) and the section will bring the forms and the Senior Members to act as references.

Date: Held On Request
Time: 7:00 PM to 8:00 or 9:00 PM (depends how much talking we do about the good old days)
Location: To be determined

Pop, coffee and cookies provided.

To request a night, or volunteer to host one, please contact
Technical Meeting

Joint Chapter of Communications, Information Theory, and Signal Processing Societies

When: 08 November 2007 at 12:30pm
Where: Room - ITB/A113, McMaster University
Subject: Is SP BP?
Speaker: Prof. Yongyi Mao, University of Ottawa

For further details, see 20071108.htm
(For further details, please contact Chapter chair Dr. Steve Hranilovic at hranilovic@mcmaster.ca)
Training

The Development of Leadership Skills

A Workshop on The Development of Leadership Skills

Date: Saturday 2007-Sept-29
Time: 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM
Speaker: Dr. Ray Findlay, P.Eng., FIEEE, FEIC
Location: Hamilton Convention Centre, Hamilton, Ontario
Cost: (light lunch included)
     $150.00 (Non-member)
     $100.00 (IEEE Member)
Limit: 60
Special: Payment required in advance.

RSVP to Jim Kozlowski at
Mail cheque to 503 Dorland Road, Oakville, ON L6J 6A9

Background Information:

This workshop will prepare participants in interpersonal, group, team and leadership skills. The format for the workshop is through interactive participation, using several exercises and case studies.
The skills developed are ideal for application in management or leadership positions in various types of organizations, including business, industry or volunteer activities. This seminar was originally developed for those getting started in management in industry and has expanded to include a variety of aspects of leadership training.

Event Notice

About Dr. Ray Findlay:
Ray Findlay is a professor emeritus at McMaster University, where he taught electrical machines at both the graduate and undergraduate level. He is the former Director of the Engineering and Management program at McMaster. For the past several years, Ray has also taught a course on communication skills, including interpersonal, group and team skills, conflict resolution and technical writing.
Dr. Findlay has worked within the IEEE for over 40 years: founding the New Brunswick Section in 1970, serving as IEEE Canada President and as IEEE President in 2002.

Technical Meeting

Algorithms to Interpolate Single and Multiple Frame Image Data

Date: Wednesday 2007-Sept-12
Time: 5:00 PM
Speaker: Xiangjun Zhang (Maggie)
Location: McMaster University
    Information Technology Building (ITB) - Room: A113B
    1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, ON
Cost: none (paid parking on campus)
Limit: Everyone welcome

Abstract:
Due to physical limitation and/or cost effectiveness of image sensors, the resolution of digital images is often below the ideal level in many applications. In these situations image interpolation is a useful tool to reconstruct a high resolution (HR) image from the captured low resolution (LR) image(s). This talk will present new algorithms from Multimedia Signal Processing Lab at McMaster University for both single and multiple frame interpolation. For single image interpolation, the talk will focus on a new algorithm based on piecewise 2D autoregressive model. The model parameters and the missing pixels are estimated jointly. This task is formulated as nonlinear optimization problem. Although computationally demanding, the new technique produces superior results than current methods in both PSNR and subjective visual quality. Moreover, the non-linear optimization problem can be approximated by breaking into two sub-problems of linear least-squares estimation, which is fast and effective. For multiple frames interpolation, an algorithm based on a fast motion estimation technique is presented. Two stages of the algorithm, namely, motion estimation and HR reconstruction, rely on an area-based interpolation scheme that involves intersecting two pixel grids in arbitrary orientation, displacement, and scaling. A fast approximate solution is developed. Also, gradient descent algorithm is used for fast convergence of the motion estimation algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate the good performance of the proposed algorithm as well its robustness to noise.

Speaker Bio:
Xiangjun Zhang is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McMaster University. She completed the M.Eng. degree in Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University in China and the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at Xian Jiaotong University in China. Her research interests are in image/video processing.

Event Notice

For more information please contact Sathyan saji@grads.ece.mcmaster.ca.

Tour

Seaway Control Centre

Tour of the Seaway Control Centre in St. Catharines

Date: Saturday 2007-Aug-11
Time: 10:30 AM
Speaker: n/a
Location: St. Catharines, Ontario
Cost: None
Limit: 20
Special: sold out - We are trying for another one.

RSVP by 2007-Aug-01 to Ron Potts -

Background Information:

A tour of the automated control facilities of the Welland Canal. Come out to see the technical side of this busy portion of the St. Laurence Seaway.

Technical Meeting

Power Electronics

Distinquished Speaker Meeting has been delayed until the fall. Our speaker and his grad students were not harmed during the shooting at Virginia Tech. Professor Krishnan Ramu from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) will talk about Power Electronics, "Propulsion With and Without Wheels".

Tour

Independent Electricity Supply Operator

Tour of the IESO centre in Clarkson

Date: Thursday 2007-June-28
Time: 3:00 PM
Speaker: details later
Location: Mississauga, Ontario
Cost: None
Limit: 20
Special: Photo ID and a signed non-disclosure form is required

RSVP by 2007-Jun-14 to David Hepburn -

Background Information:

Total installed capacity n Ontario is about 30,000 MW. With about 75% owned and operated by Ontario Power Generation (OPG). The remainder is owned and operated by various commercial enterprises, of which the Bruce Nuclear Power Co. is by far the largest. Total peak demand on a hot summer's day is about 25,500 MW. Hydro One owns and operates all EHV and HV transmission lines in the province.

Event Notice

Hamilton Chapter Communications Society

CMOS Integrated Circuits for Ultra-Broadband Optical Wireless Communication

Announcement of Seminar

Date: Friday 2007-June-08
Time: 10:30 AM
Speaker: Prof. Valencia M. Joyner, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University
Location: Information Technology Building Annex, Room 113B (ITB/A113), McMaster University
Cost: None
Limit: None

Abstract:

The explosive growth of performance in the microprocessor/computing industry coupled with the escalating user demand for internet services and information technology has made the development of broadband wireless communication systems a national imperative. For broadband communication, wireless links based on optical transmission offer several advantages over conventional radio frequency (RF) wireless systems in terms of connection speed, power efficiency, networking security, and unregulated bandwidths in the terahertz range. Optical wireless technology will have significant broader impacts in a wide variety of arenas, including homeland security efforts to reduce wireless network vulnerabilities; health-care networks that transfer, dense high-content digital imaging, process high-bandwidth applications in the midst of critical equipment sensitive to electromagnetic interference; and energy-constrained autonomous sensor systems that require ultra-low power transceivers with millimeter dimensions. This talk will present an overview of research work conducted in the Tufts Advanced Integrated Circuits and Systems Lab focused on developing novel optoelectronic integrated circuit architectures for broadband communication systems. We present a custom flip-chip integrated imaging receiver for use in a tracking line-of-sight optical wireless links operating in the 1.3µm - 1.55µm near-infrared band. A novel selector-combiner circuit architecture implementing optical diversity combining has been demonstrated with good eye diagrams up to 310 Mb/s. In addition, we present the design and experimental results of a CMOS optical receiver front-end amplifier for use in 1Gb/s free-space channels.

Speaker Biography:

Dr. Joyner is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts University. Prior to joining Tufts, she held an appointment as a VLSI Research Engineer at the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute. She completed the B.S . and M.Eng. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT and the Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2003. Her research interests are in silicon-based analog/mixed-signal integrated circuits with a particular focus on circuits that interface with photonic devices for imaging, sensing, and wireless communications. Dr. Joyner is a former Marshall Scholar, Intel Foundation Scholar and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

Event Notice

For more information please contact chapter chair, Dr. Steve Hranilovic hranilovic@mcmaster.ca.

Social Event

Golf Tournament

Golf Tournament 2007-June-02. Open to members and guests.

The IEEE Hamilton Section is pleased to invite you to the First Annual Golf Tournament. The tournament will be held at the Chedoke Martin Golf Course on Saturday June 2, 2007. Tee off times will be assigned the week before the tournament. The format for the day will be best ball, so every team has an opportunity to win bragging rights for winning this prestigious tournament.

Date: Saturday 2007-Jun-02
Time: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (But this is only a guess!)
Location: Chedoke Martin Golf Club is located at:
563 Aberdeen Avenue
Hamilton, Ontario Canada, L8P 2S8
Pro Shop: (905) 546-3116
Cost: $70.00 (includes 18 holes of golf, cart and dinner)
Limit: 36

Please RSVP by May 17, 2007
Todd Hodge - 905-651-1345
Or
Blair MacCuish - 905 664-7664

Please make your cheques payable to IEEE Hamilton Section and send them to:
Blair MacCuish
293 King St. E.
Stoney Creek, ON L8G 1M2

Contact Blair at .
Event Notice

Technical Information

Product Safety Society

Chapters of a technical society are normally affiliated with a Section. The Product Safety Engineering Society is trying to form an Ontario-wide Chapter. The formation committee was announced in a press release.

The Product Safety Engineering Society, one of 39 technical societies within the IEEE, is seeking new and existing members to form a new Chapter in the Province of Ontario, Canada. The PSES has a history stretching back to 1985, although it has only been a formally recognized society within IEEE since 2004. This society targets design professionals and design engineers interested in electrical product safety.

The 2009 PSES Symposium will be held in Toronto and they are looking for volunteers

Doug Nix gave an information preentation to the executive. Here are copies of his powerpoint presentation and handout notes.

For more information please contact Doug Nix at , or by phone at 519.729.5704.

The society web site is located at https://www.ieee-pses.org
Training

PCB Layout Course

PCB Layout Course
Date: Saturday 2007-April-21
Time: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Presenter: John Harris
Location: McMaster University, ITC Building, Room 201
Cost:
Members $ 75.00
Student Members $ 40.00
Non Members $100.00
Limit: 20
Based on Cadsoft Eagle Freeware Suite
Event Notice
RSVP to
Technical Meeting and Tour

Photonics Laboratory

Tour of the Photonics Lab at Niagara College and a demonstration of laser machining

Date: Tuesday 2007-March-20
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Distinguished Speaker: Professor Alex McGlashin
Organized by the Niagara Student Branch
Location: Niagara College, Welland, Ontario
Cost: None
Limit: 40
RSVP to

Event Notice


Pictures of tour

About Niagara College Photonics Lab:
https://niagarac.on.ca/studying/programs/fulltime/batp_6001/
Niagara College boasts leading-edge optics, fibre-optics and laser labs and a unique clean-room fabrication facility with a curriculum that integrates math, electronics, computing and business with optical engineering skills.

Directions https://niagarac.on.ca/howtofindus.htm
From Toronto & Hamilton:
Exit QEW at Hwy. 406 south to Welland.
Take Woodlawn Road exit.
Turn right on First Avenue.
Turn left into the College.

For additional information contact Todd Hodge
Social Event

Annual Dinner Evening

Annual Dinner Evening 2007-February-17 at the Ancaster Old Mill
Date: Saturday 2007-February-17
Time: 7:00 PM…Reception (cash bar)
7:30 PM…Dinner
Distinguished Speaker: Mr. Wally Read
Location:
The Ancaster Old Mill, 548 Old Dundas Road, Ancaster, Ontario
Restaurant details - https://www.ancasteroldmill.com
Cost: $25.00
Limit: 50
RSVP by 2007-February-02 to Jim Kozlowski at
Mail cheque to 503 Dorland Road, Oakville, ON L6J 6A9
Annual General Meeting
No election required - Executive acclaimed.

Power Systems in Honduras

Speaker: Dave Hepburn
Topic: Power Systems in Honduras
       (Reminisces and photos from a working vacation with CESO)
Date: Tuesday 2006-November-28
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (Speaker at 7:30 pm)
Location:
       Information Technology Building (ITB) - Room A113
       McMaster University
       1280 Main St. W.
       Hamilton, ON
Cost: None (but paid parking at McMaster)
Limit: Everyone Welcome
2006 Events