Summary of Scheduled Meetings - Current Month and Beyond
please check this page regularly - updates posted as they are received

Oct 9, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.  Timothy Brown, Chief Technology Strategist at WireIE presents "WiMAX: The Future of Ubiquitous Broadband Wireless Internet Access," organized by our Engineering and Human Environment Chapter.  Click for details. Registration required.

Oct 15, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. "Toronto Aerospace Museum Lecture and Tour," organized by our Aerospace and Electronic Systems Chapter and the Central Ontario Section of SAE.  Click for details. Registration required.

Oct 23, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.  Prof. K. Max Wong of McMaster University presents "The QR Decomposition and the Decision Feedback Detectors: Applications to Block Data Transmission Systems," organized by our Signal Processing and Communications Chapters.  Click for details.

Oct 23, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.  The IEEE Toronto Engineering in Medicine & Biology Chapter presents the "EMBS Annual Wine & Cheese," with guest speakers: Dr. Elaine Biddiss, Scientist at Bloorview Kids Rehab; Dr. Fraser Shein, President/CEO of Quillsoft Ltd. and Researcher at Kids Bloorview Rehab; and Dr. Jacob Apkarian, Founder and Chief, R&D,  Quanser Consulting.  Click for details. Registration required.

Oct 23, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. "Investigating Safety Culture in the Chemical and Petroleum Industries in Ontario," Joint Conference/Forum organized by the IEEE Toronto Engineering and Human Environment Chapter, the ISA Chemical & Petroleum Industries and Management Divisions, and the Association of Polish Engineers in Canada. Click for details. Registration required.

Oct 23, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. Noreen E. Calderbank, Manager of Prelicensing Programs at Professional Engineers Ontario presents an interactive information session, "Professional Engineering Licensing in Ontario," organized by the GOLD Affinity Group. Click for details. Registration required.

Oct 24, 2008 at 5:30 p.m.  Special Guest Speaker, Dr. Ferial El-Hawary, presents "Winning In Life," in an event organized by our Women in Engineering (WIE) Affinity Group. The event will also include an Update on IEEE/Women In Engineering and Networking with other Women Engineers. Click for details. Registration required.

SOLD OUT Oct 25, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.   IEEE Toronto 2008 Annual General Meeting and Awards Dinner. This annual event is an opportunity for IEEE Toronto Section members to meet each other as well as the dedicated group of IEEE volunteers who give of their time to plan, organize and execute the wide range of programs offered within the Section and elsewhere in Canada. This year, the keynote speech will be "The History and Advances of Cardiac Pacemakers," presented by Dr. Neil Fraser, president of Medtronic of Canada Ltd.
Click for details. Registration required.

Nov 3, 2008 at 11:00 a.m.  Dr. Ali Khademhosseini from the Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, presents "Microengineered hydrogels for stem cell bioengineering and tissue regeneration," organized by our Signal Processing and Engineering in Medicine and Biology Chapters.  Click for details.

Nov 3, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. Prof. Walter Kellermann of the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany presents a Signal Processing Society Distinguished Lecture, "Acoustic Signal Processing for Next-Generation Multichannel Human/Machine Interfaces," organized by our Signal Processing Chapter.   Click for details.

Nov 4, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.  Dr. Daniel Fischer, Senior Engineer, Kinectrics presents, "Artificial Intelligence Stops the Car (so you don’t have to)," organized by our Signals and Computational Intelligence Joint Chapter.   Click for details.

Nov 7, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. Bruno Di Stefano presents "Adding Wireless Communication to Embedded Systems," organized by our Communications Chapter.  Click for details.

Nov 13, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. Professor Sanzheng Qiao of McMaster University presents "Sphere Decoding and the LLL Algorithm," organized by our Communications Chapter. Click for details.

Nov 20, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.  Prof. Thia Kirubarajan (Kiruba) of McMaster University presents "Passive Coherent Location: Tracking Aircraft Using Radio and TV Stations," organized by our Aerospace and Electronic Systems Chapter and Communications Chapter.  Click for details. Registration required.

Nov 25, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. Dr. Venkat Venkatramanan of the University of Toronto presents "Optical Amplifiers for Telecommunication Applications," organized by our Communications Chapter. Click for details.

Dec 5, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. Dr. Patrick Mitran from the University of Waterloo presents "Cognitive Radio: some perspectives on interference mitigation," organized by our Communications Chapter.  Click for details.

Local IEEE Educational Programs

IEEE Toronto Section Consultants Network Affinity Group Launches

The petition to form the IEEE Toronto Section Consultants Network was approved by IEEE HQs on 7-October-2008 and the Geo-code is CN70025.  Fasih Masood is the Founding Chair of the Consultants Network Affinity Group in 2008-2009 and he will be working with the Toronto Section Executive Committee to develop the strategy and the Action Plan in 2009.

Symposium on Alternate Energy and Global Synergy:
Proceedings and Presentations Slides Available for Download

On July 15, 2008, a highly successful one-day Symposium on Alternate Energy and Global Synergy was hosted by Ryerson University, co-sponsored the IEEE Toronto Section (represented by the WIE Affinity Group). The symposium proceedings and presentation slides have been made available here.

IEEE Toronto Section Participates in Sections Congress

IEEE Sections Congress is a triennial gathering of Section leadership sponsored by the Member and Geographic Activities Board. This year, it was held on September 19–22 in Quebec City. More details and event photos can be found here.

Tesla, An Evening With Genius – Nov. 6, 7 and 8, 2008 *updated dates
Play organized by: Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Toronto Section

He discovered alternating current, wireless and radio.  And no, he is not Marconi.  In fact, in 1943, the Supreme Court granted full rights to Tesla for the invention of radio, nullifying the claims of Marchese Gugliemo Marconi who had patented a two-tuned-circuit design and a more practical four-tuned-circuit modeled after Tesla's. Marconi's patent on the invention of radio was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court because Tesla's work predated it (Case #369, 6/21/43).  Nikola Tesla is known as the forgotten genius although we know him too well through his inventions.

In a unique event, IEEE Toronto Section and PEO have organized an evening with Tesla! This one-man play about Tesla's life is written by J. Michael Newlight and Frank Tabbita, with Frank Tabbita as Nikola Tesla. 

The play already had a number of successful performances in the USA, Europe, Australia and Vancouver, Canada. People from all walks of life - artists, dancers, new agers, musicians, janitors, lawyers - have enjoyed An Evening With Genius. Suitable for all ages, this play has enraptured children and adults alike.  So bring your entire family including your children and grandchildren.

You can buy tickets through TicketWeb Canada. Online: CLICK HERE or call 1-888-222-6608.

• Thursday, November 6th at 8:00pm - $20 (students and seniors $15)
• Friday, November 7th at 8:00 pm - $25 (students and seniors $20)
• Saturday, November 8th at 8:00 pm - $25 (students and seniors $20)

The above prices include all applicable taxes and fees. For more information visit the event web site: http://www.vasicweb.com/tesla/

Testimonials:
"Frank, I very much enjoyed your performance at the MMM conference in Tampa. After a day of meetings presenting our ideas on magnetism to our colleagues, we could well relate to the passion and struggles of Tesla. Many of us, of course, knew about the inventions and odd ideas of Tesla. However it was interesting to learn of his enigmatic character and personal life. It was amazing how you, in a one-man show, were able to portray the tensions and altercations between Tesla and his backers, Edison and Westinghouse. A wonderful treat for engineers and lay audience alike! "

"I had the enormous privilege of attending Saturday's performance at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. As a long-time fan of Tesla, I extend my sincerest complements to the writers and performer for their impressively thorough research and dedication.  Cheers! "

IEEE Communications Society Offers Free Free Webinars/Tutorials

1. Free online tutorials available... Commercial Wireless Networking (3 hs, 220 slides) joins WiMax: Mobilizing the Internet (2 hrs 7 min; 89 sldes) and Next Generation Cellular Networks (2 hrs 40 min, 93 slides) as complimentary online tutorials.  See them now; limited time access.
2. VIEW a Webinar on the WCET Certification Program to learn more about it!
3. Watch the commercial on WCET brought to you by IEEE.tv

PQ Logic Corporation Training Seminars Practical Short Circuit Analysis
This two-day course has been specifically designed to meet one objective: To Simplify Short Circuit Calculations. Instead of using traditional methods based on phasors, complex algebra, and the Per Unit System; it approaches the analysis from a different angle. You will learn how to use and combine equipment kVA ratings to obtain accurate fault currents at any point of a power network. All that you will ever need is a pencil and a calculator.....that's it. Upon completion you will be able to make an immediate contribution to your facility and possess the understanding and skills necessary to perform accurate short circuit calculations.

Seats are limited.
Register now at http://www.pqlogic.com

Summary of Local IEEE Conferences

May 12–15, 2009 — Canadian Conference on Climate Change – CCTC 2009 will be held in Hamilton, Ontario.

Oct 19–21, 2009 — Product Safety Engineering Society Symposium – PSESS 2009 will be held in Toronto, Ontario.

All IEEE Conferences in Canada - please use this link.

Pas Pasupathy: Meeting Challenges Head On

IEEE Life Fellow and Toronto Section member, Prof. Subbarayan "Pas" Pasupathy, was recently profiled in the IEEE publication "The Institute":

"A lunch with co-workers and perhaps a fancy watch or a piece of luggage are typical retirement gifts for many people. But those weren’t adequate to mark the career of IEEE Life Fellow Subbarayan “Pas” Pasupathy. Instead, his students and colleagues at the University of Toronto, in Canada, devoted an all-day workshop to honor his contributions as teacher, pioneering researcher, and international authority on wireless digital communications, detection and estimation theory, and biomedical signal processing."

Read the full article by Kathy Kowalenko and visit the official workshop web page.

IEEE Milestone - First External Pacemaker   The IEEE Toronto Life Members affinity group has successfully nominated the "Hopps First External Pacemaker" as an IEEE Milestone.