Hamilton Events 2015

Administrative

Executive Meeting

A networking opportunity (as well as a chance for input on events)
This year we are trying conference calls to avoid the possibility of snow and nasty weather. Everyone is welcome to join us and listen in. If you have a point to raise, feel free to phone in, ask your question and leave. The joy and simplicity of telecommuting :-)

Date: Tuesday, 2015-Jan-27
Date: Tuesday, 2015-Feb-24
Date: Tuesday, 2015-Mar-31
Date: Tuesday, 2015-Apr-28
Date: ~~Tuesday, 2015-Aug-25~~ Tuesday, 2015-Aug-26
Date: ~~Tuesday, 2015-Sep-22~~ Tuesday, 2015-Sep-29
Date: Tuesday, 2015-Oct-13
Date: Tuesday, 2015-Nov-24
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

The conference call is usually enabled 5 minutes before meeting.
Dial 1.866.512.0904
When prompted for participant code enter 1126897#
State your name, enter #
Enter *6 to mute/unmute your phone if you just want to listen.
Hang up when done.

Place: Your phone
Cost: None
Limit: All members welcome

For more information contact Krishanth

Administrative

Executive Meeting

A networking opportunity (as well as a chance for input on events)

Date: Tuesday, 2015-May-26
Date: Tuesday, 2015-Jul-28 Room 5 With teleconference (see above)
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Cost: None (Free event parking area)
Limit: All members welcome
Location: Meeting Room 5, McMaster Innovation Park,
175 Longwood Road, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1
mcmasterinnovationpark.ca/ Directions

For more information contact Krishanth

Training

PCB Design Course

Everyone is welcome, no experience required!
Space is limited, so sign up quickly!

Topic: Introductory PCB Design Course
Speaker: McMaster IEEE Student Branch
Date: Tuesday 2015-Jan-27 Pcb Design Basics And Using KiCad
Date: Thursday 2015-Feb-03 Routing And Board Exporting
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: Information Technology Building Room A113B
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8
Cost: $16.00 (Paid parking on campus)

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Registration for the course is $10 and includes both sessions.
For an extra $6 ($16 total), students can have the board they designed in the course fabricated.
Registered IEEE members can save an additional $2 with proof of membership.

Any questions regarding the course, the free KiCad software used, or PCB milling can be addressed by email at sb.mcmaster@ieee.org or by visiting the IEEE Student Branch Office (ITB-141).

Technical Meeting

(Delayed - Speaker Not Available In February)
Computer Modeling of a Digestive System

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Computer Modeling of the Cow Digestive System
Speaker: David Seymour, M.Sc candidate, University of Guelph
Date: ~~Wednesday 2015-Feb-11~~
Time: 6:45 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Cost: None (Free event parking area)
Location: Meeting Room ??, McMaster Innovation Park, 175 Longwood Road, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1
mcmasterinnovationpark.ca/ Directions

Abstract:
The presentation will focus on the statistical methodology rather than the results.
Ruminants have developed a system of pregastric fermentation that sets them apart from monogastric species in regards to metabolism and nutritional requirements. Making use of a vast population of commensal microflora in the reticulorumen, they are able to make use of feedstuffs that would normally be indigestible by other animals.
Cattle have a naturally low nitrogen utilization efficiency, typically excreting 65-75% of the dietary nitrogen they consume (NRC 2001). Dietary proteins and other nitrogenous compounds can be broken down to ammonia in the rumen, a volatile compound both in the animal and the environment. While there is the potential for this ammonia to be recycled into a form that can be successfully utilized by the animal, this process is dependent on many factors.

Speaker's Biography:
Having recently started graduate studies at the University of Guelph, the majority of Dave's research to date has focused on improving nitrogen utilization efficiency in ruminant species, particularly through the use of phytochemical compounds. He is also interested in expanding into the field of functional foods & nutraceuticals, as well as knowledge transfer & translation in the sciences.
He believes that the agri-food sector will benefit most when research is targeted to meet market demands. In that respect, he believes future research should focus on increasing the value of existing products through the development of novel functional foods. He is currently seeking opportunities that will allow him to contribute to the advancement of the Canadian agri-food sector.

Meeting Agenda:
6:45 pm Refreshments & Networking
7:00 pm Technical Talk Presentation
8:00 pm Question & Answer Session
8:30 pm Refreshments and Networking

For more information contact Krishanth

Technical Meeting

Joint Meeting with IET (U.K) Toronto Section
Electrification for Electric Vehicles

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Electrification for Electric Vehicles
Speaker: Prof. Nigel Schofield
Date: Thursday 2015-Feb-26
Time: 6:45 PM - 9:00 PM
Cost: None
Location: Room 266, McMaster Automotive Resource Centre
200 Longwood Road South, Hamilton, ON L8S 1S6
MARC directions

Abstract: A substitute speaker since L. Polley was sick this evening.
A comparison of the effect of electric vehicles (new internal combustion engine cars are controlled with about 80 electric machines) on Green House Gases with respect to the power generation and distribution systems in England and Canada.

Speaker: Prof. Nigel Schofield is the chair of the IET Toronto Section, and chair of the IEEE Hamilton Power Chapter.

Please register with Dr. Schofield nigels@mcmaster.ca

Copy of presentation to be available soon.

Technical Meeting

Joint Meeting with IET (U.K) Toronto Section
Investigating Race Car Accidents

Topic: Experiences in Scrutineering and Investigating Race Car Accidents,
and Electrical Safety Considerations in Race Car Construction
Speaker: Laurence Polley, P.Eng.
Date: ~~Thursday 2015-Feb-26~~
Date: Wednesday 2015-Sep-16
Time: 6:30 PM - 7:45 PM
Cost: None, please confirm in advance via email to Prof. Nigel Schofield
Location: Room 266, McMaster Automotive Resource Centre
200 Longwood Road South, Hamilton, ON L8S 1S6
MARC directions

Abstract: This seminar will explore the somewhat murky world of Tech Inspection, some of the causal factors in typical racing incidents, and the importance of electrical safety during car construction and testing. Topics will include typical issues with:

Safety equipment belts, helmets and clothing.
Overall car presentation.
Welding.
Wiring and electrical stuff.
Wheels and suspension.
Steering.
Wings and things.

Speaker: Laurence Polley, P.Eng., President of C&R Engineered Solutions Inc. has 35+ years experience in the start-up, development and management of high growth, high tech companies in Canada and the USA, including development and implementation of business plans, financial strategies and regulatory compliance. Laurence received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Queen's University in 1968 and his M.B.A. from York University in 1976. He is a registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng.), has been granted a Certified Health & Safety Consultant (CHSC) designation by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE), and is a member of CSSE, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the International Society of Automation (ISA).

Please register with Dr. Schofield nigels@mcmaster.ca

Printable Event Notice

Technical Meeting

Clinical Advances in Neuro-technology

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Clinical Advances and Research in Neuro-technology and Future Directions
Speaker: Dr. Hubert deBruin
Date: Wednesday 2015-Mar-11
Time: 6:45 PM - 9:00 PM
6:45 pm Refreshments & Networking
7:00 pm Technical Talk Presentation
8:00 pm Question & Answer Session
8:30 pm Refreshments and Networking
Cost: None
Location: Conf Room 1B
175 Longwood Road South, Hamilton, ON L8S 1S6
mcmasterinnovationpark.ca/ Directions

Abstract: During the last two decades great strides have been made in the understanding of brain function and brain therapies other than pharmacology. Electrical Engineering has been at the forefront of these developments because the advances in microelectronics, inexpensive and powerful computational platforms, and signal processing and machine learning. Biomedical engineers in the neurophysiology/neurology area of research and development are increasingly effective in harnessing technology to both understand brain function and provide new modalities of treatment. IEEE has had a number of feature articles in this field with the most recent in the February edition of Spectrum, “Building a Bionic Nervous System”. This talk will present some of the clinical advances and research in neuro-technology and future directions.

Speaker: Hubert de Bruin Ph D, P Eng received his Ph D in Electrical Engineering (biomedical research thesis) from McMaster University in 1976, and following further training as a MRC Research Fellow in Medicine at McMaster, joined the Department of Medicine as an assistant professor in 1979 and associate member of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1980. He was engaged in teaching and research in biomedical engineering and medicine till 2001. As well, from 1984 to 1995 he was Director of Biomedical Engineering for Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals (now part of Hamilton Health Sciences) and Coordinator of Rehabilitation Medicine/Engineering Research from 1995 to 2001. In 2001 he joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McMaster, chaired the development and became the Coordinator of the new B Eng/M Eng program in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, with the first class graduating in 2006. He is currently Professor of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, and a Senior Life Member of the IEEE with appointments in Medical Sciences (Neuroscience) and the School of Biomedical Engineering . His areas of research are electromyography, neuromuscular stimulation and more recently magnetic brain stimulation and electroencephalography.

Non-IEEE Event

ISA Hamilton Expo

Experience the future of Instrumentation, Systems & Automation

Date: Tuesday, 2015-Mar-24
Time: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Location: Royal Botanical Gardens, 680 Plains Road West, Burlington, ON
Registration: On site
Free parking! Free lunch for all attendees! Door Prizes! No preregistration required. Walk-ins welcome.

Download/View ISA Hamilton Expo 2015 Brochure

Superchapter Meeting

Multimedia Communication: An Information-Theoretic Perspective

Topic: Delay-constrained Multimedia Communication: An Information-Theoretic Perspective
Speaker: Dr. Farrokh Etezadi
Date: Wednesday 2015-Mar-25
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Cost: None (Paid parking on campus)
Location: Information Technology Building, Room A113B
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract: The recent proliferation of mobile devices has truly revolutionized our day-to-day activities and has opened up new possibilities for collaboration, communication and social networking that we could have not imagined just a few years ago. Naturally such a phenomenal growth has significantly increased the stress on wireless communication infrastructure and created an unprecedented demand for high quality multimedia streaming over both wireless and wired networks. A short-term solution for service providers to satisfy this increasing demand is to acquire more wireless spectrum. A longer term solution however is to develop fundamentally new techniques for efficient multimedia streaming over the Internet as well as wireless networks.
Real-time streaming applications require both sequential compression and playback of multimedia frames under strict latency constraints. When the underlying channel introduces packet losses, there exists a fundamental trade-off between compression efficiency and error propagation. In this talk we take a closer look at such a trade-off, to design delay-constrained streaming schemes with high efficiency and robustness to packet losses."

Speaker: Farrokh Etezadi is a postdoctoral scholar in department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Toronto. He received his PhD from University of Toronto, B.Sc. from University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, in 2007 and M.Sc. from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada 2010, all in Electrical Engineering. He was a research intern at Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent at Stuttgart, Germany, during summer 2012. His research interests include information theory, wireless and streaming communication. During his graduate studies, Dr. Etezadi was a recipient of the NSERC postgraduate fellowship, Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and Concordia Graduate Scholarship.

Non-IEEE Event

Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair

Annual Sciece Fair for students in Grades 7 to 12 see www.basef.ca

Public Viewing: Saturday 2015-March-28
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Location: Mohawk College, David Braley Athletic Centre

2014 year's winners of IEEE Hamilton prizes for best use of electricity/electronics:


Project R02 iDry Kyle Thompson and Kyler Swanson	Project C16 The Pull and Buzz Nathan Buggeln

If you want to be a judge see BASEF Judging
Training in March, Judging Day is Thursday 2015-Mar-26

2015-May-09 to 15 Canada-Wide Science Fair

Non-IEEE Event

Webinar: Introduction to Electrical Safety
NFPA 70E, 70 NEC, & OSHA Standards

One of the free weekly EasyPower webinars, this one by Robert Webber.

They will cover the following relative to NFPA 70E, 70 NEC, & OSHA Standards:

What they are and how they relate to each other.
Why and when do we need them.
How we use them.

Date: Thursday, 2015-Mar-26
Time: 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM (10 AM - 11 AM Pacific)
Location: Your computer
Registration: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8160112772059775490

Past Webinars:
Power Engineering https://easypower.com/videos/power-engineering-video.php
Renewable Energy Studies https://easypower.com/videos/renewable-energy-video.php

Non-IEEE Event

Complimentary Seminar: Advanced Measurements Lab

Agilent's Electronic Measurement Group is now Keysight Technologies

The Advanced Measurements Lab, part of Keysight's Insight Seminar Series, is a full day of hands-on workshops featuring oscilloscopes, signal sources, spectrum analyzers and network analyzers. This is your chance to work side-by-side with Keysight engineers who will guide you through the workshops, sharing tips, techniques and best practices for getting the most from your test equipment.

Date: Thursday, 2015-Mar-26
Time: 8:30 AM to 4:45 PM
Location: Delta Meadowvale Hotel & Conference Centre
6750 Mississauga Road
Mississauga, Ontario L5N 2L3
Registration: keysightevents.distributech.ca/registration.asp?seminarid=592&Track=FEeVite
For more information contact Tim Coll tim_coll@keysight.com

Technical Meeting

A Brief Overview of the History of Electric Power

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: A Brief Overview of the History of Electric Power
Speaker: Dave Hepburn, retired Hatch Engineering
Date: Tuesday 2015-Apr-07
Time: 6:45 PM - 9:00 PM
6:45 pm Refreshments & Networking
7:00 pm Technical Talk Presentation
8:00 pm Question & Answer Session
8:30 pm Refreshments and Networking
Cost: None
Location: Conf Room 1A
175 Longwood Road South, Hamilton, ON L8S 1S6
mcmasterinnovationpark.ca/ Directions

Dave's presentation

Abstract: The origins of this small presentation was one of the lesson plans for TISP (IEEE Teacher In Service Program) - "Basic Electricity and Magnetism". Subsequently worked up into something a little more elaborate. Starts with Luigi Galvani and works on up through Volta, Faraday, Maxwell and Tesla et al. Some hopefully interesting photos of early electrical machinery. Concludes with illustrations of very large modern equipment including transformers, generators (900 MW) and circuit breakers.

Speaker: 1952 Graduate in Electrical Engineering, University of Stafford UK. 1954 - 59, Transformer Design Engineer, Ferranti Ltd, Toronto. 1959-65, Power System Planning Engineer, Hydro Quebec, Montreal. 1965-95. Project Manager, Acres Consulting Services, Ltd. Niagara Falls, mostly, long-term power system planning and economic studies in over 30 different countries. 1995-2004, independent consultant in similar work. 2004- date, active in IEEE/TISP Education Outreach activities. Has written four TISP Lesson Plans. Still a registered member of PEO.

Non-IEEE Event

McMaster Manufacturing Forum (Annual Industry Open House)

This year the Annual Industry Open House includes: a light lunch and networking opportunity, a panel discussion on Advanced Manufacturing, dynamic lab tours and student projects and a special lecture by Dr. Karim Lakhani, Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School, called “The Digital Ubiquity: How Connections, Sensors and Data are Revolutionizing Business".

Date: Thursday, 2015-Apr-09
Time: 12:00 Noon to 6:00 PM
Event details are posted at: mmri.mcmaster.ca/mfgforum

Please register at: www.eng.mcmaster.ca/ecomm/mmri/event/mforum2015 Registration is free.

Non-IEEE Event

Café X featuring Karim Lakhani, "Digital Ubiquity: How connections, sensors and data are revolutionizing business

Engineering invites students, faculty and staff to attend Café X. Café X will be open for business for one hour, starting with a presentation, followed by questions and answers. Refreshments will be available at the start and conclusion of the event

Date: Thursday, 2015-Apr-09
Time: 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Location: John Hodgins Engineering Building (JHE) Room 101

Non-IEEE Event

Niagara Region Science and Engineering Fair

Annual Science Fair for students in Grades 5 to 12 www.niagarasciencefair.org

Public Viewing: Sunday 2015-Apr-12
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: Niagara College

Pictures on Flickr:

If you want to be a judge see Niagara Call for Judges
30% of Fair projects are French speaking, so that is a plus
Judging Day is Saturday 2015-Apr-11 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
2014 Judges Manual

Administrative Conference

IEEE Canada Board Meeting

This semi-annual conference is the place to have your opinions voiced to the higher ups in IEEE. We send one person to vote at the meeting, and a second executive person goes for experience.
The spring meeting also has training for executive.
If you have any comments, let us know, so we can pass them on.

Date: Thursday-Saturday, 2015-Apr-23 to 26 Vaudreuil, QC
Date: Friday-Saturday, 2015-Oct-23 to 25 London, ON
Location: varies (see date)

For more information contact Krishanth

Technical Meeting Distinguished Lecturer

Low-cost Nanotechnologies for Biosensing

Topic: Low-cost Nanotechnologies for Biosensing
Speaker: Professor Lluis F. Marsal, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain
Date: Thursday 2015-May-14
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Information Technology Building Room A113
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8
Cost: none (Paid parking on campus)

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract:
This talk will explore the application of low–cost technologies based on micro- and nanoporous silicon and nanoporous alumina in biosensors. The structural engineering of porous silicon and alumina and its surface and interface functionalization in the micro-nanoscale regime allow for development of new optical biosensing platforms.

Speaker's Biography:
Lluís F. Marsal is Full Professor at the Department of Electronic, Electric and Automatic Engineering of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Physics in 1997 from the Universitat Politčcnica de Catalunya. Between 1998 and 1999, he was postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Since 2013, he is the Chair of Spain Chapter of the IEEE Electron Devices Society. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and of the Optical Society of America (OSA) and also an active member of the Electrochemical Society (ECS). Dr. Marsal serves as a member of the Distinguished Lecturer program of the Electron Devices Society (EDS-IEEE) He has been member of advisory and technical committees in several international and national conferences and has been visiting professor at several universities and research institutions.

For more information contact Krishanth

Printable Event Notice

Technical Meeting

Electric Machine Design Using Ferrite Permanent Magnet

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Electric Machine Design Using Ferrite Permanent Magnet
Speaker: Mizan Rahman, McMaster Automotive Resource Center
Date: Tuesday 2015-May-19
Time: 6:45 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Cost: None (Free event parking area)
Location: Meeting Room 1A, McMaster Innovation Park, 175 Longwood Road, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1
mcmasterinnovationpark.ca/ Directions

Abstract:
Brushless dc (BLDC) motors are penetrating the market of home appliances, HVAC industry, and automotive applications in recent years because of their high efficiency, silent operation, compact form, reliability, and low maintenance. Nowadays, electrical motors account for 65% of the worldwide energy consumption. The increasing availability of cost effective rare earth permanent magnet (PM) materials continues to spread PMDC machines into more applications. Spoke type BLDC motors are receiving significant attention from industries in the last decade. They are extremely inexpensive, reliable and less weight than other machines of comparable power outputs. Although the design principles of the machine are available as a concatenation of many different sources, the need for a unified, step-by-step design procedure from first principles of electromagnetics is an absolute requirement.
An approach is presented to the analytical design of spoke type permanent-magnet machines. The design model developed in this study incorporates facilities to include both the electromagnetic design and analytical design of the machine as well as to take into consideration the complexity of the permanent-magnet shapes, which is a typical requirement for the design of high-performance permanent-magnet motors. This research explores the advantages of the inexpensive spoke style PMDC machine topology. Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to explore intricate electromagnetic performance characteristics.

Speaker's Biography:
Mohammad Mizanoor Rahman (Mizan) was born in Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in 1987. He received his Bachelor’s (B.Sc.) degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) from International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC), Chittagong, Bangladesh, in 2011 and Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree from University of Ulsan (UOU), Ulsan, South Korea in 2013. Mizan was awarded scholarship for Master’s by the research fund of University of Ulsan (UOU). Other than that he was also granted by prestigious Korean government scholarship of Brain Korea 21(BK21) program and also the prestigious grant of National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea. During his masters he worked as a research assistant for Energy Mechatronics Laboratory (EMLAB), where his research field includes the motor design, motor analytical analysis and numerical analysis of BLDC motor. While working there he had designed an analytical model of several Spoke type motors for neodymium permanent magnet free which are published as journals in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. Since 2014, he has been working towards his Ph.D. under Canada Excellence Research Chair in Hybrid Powertrain Program (CERC) at McMaster Institute for Automotive Research and Technology (MacAUTO) in McMaster Automotive Resourse Center (MARC), Canada. He is a vice chair of power chapter in IEEE Hamilton Section, Canada. He holds one of the prestigious scholarships of Canada known as International Excellence Award. His current research interest includes the field of Electric Machines.

Meeting Agenda:
6:45 pm Refreshments & Networking
7:00 pm Technical Talk Presentation
8:00 pm Question & Answer Session
8:30 pm Refreshments and Networking

For more information contact Krishanth

Printable Event Notice

Social Meeting

Hamilton & KW Sections
IEEE Life Member
Semi-annual Lunch

Date: 2015-May-20 (Wednesday)
Time: 12:00 Noon
Location: Hamilton Air Force Association (HAFA)
The Air Force Club 128 King St. East, Dundas, ON, L9H 1C5 map
Cost: Pay for your lunch

Arrive early and meet with your comrades before lunch. Good coffee available at the bar for $1.25.

Agenda: A Short History of the Welland Ship Canal & the St. Lawrence Seaway Project
Ron Potts will talk about the St. Lawrence Seaway system, an expansion on his earlier presentation on the Welland Canal.

Please RSVP: by May 18, 2015 to Barry Butwell Phone 905.873.3305

Note: The Air Force Club is at the eastern outskirts of Dundas rather than at the other end of Dundas where 2011 meetings were held.

For printable event notice, please click here.

Technical Meeting

The Golden Age of Telephone Set Development

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: The Golden Age of Telephone Set Development
Speaker: John Harris, LSMIEEE
Date: Wednesday 2015-Jun-10
Time: 6:45 PM - 9:00 PM
6:45 pm Refreshments & Networking
7:00 pm Technical Talk Presentation
8:00 pm Question & Answer Session
8:30 pm Refreshments and Networking
Cost: None
Location: Conf Room 1A
175 Longwood Road South, Hamilton, ON L8S 1S6
mcmasterinnovationpark.ca/ Directions

Presentation

Abstract: In 1970, we had slide rules and black rotary-dial telephone sets. In 1990 we had a new world; smart telephones, caller ID, ring tones, credit card payphones, cell phones, personal computers and the internet. This talk is about the development of land line telephone sets.

Speaker:John Harris was an employee of Northern Electric in London, Ontario where he developed telephone sets from 1973 to 1990.

International Bio-Electric Tour

Joint Hamilton-Buffalo Event:
Aria Energy Power Plant &
H2Gro Greenhouse Tour

Aria Energy's Model City Power Plant uses 3,500 cubic feet of landfill gas per minute to supply 11 generators that convert the energy to electricity and heat. A portion of the electricity and heat are used by H2Gro Greenhouses and the rest is sold and supplied through the grid.

H2Gro Greenhouses is a hydroponic greenhouse that produces over 5 million pounds of vine-ripened tomatoes per year. It's electricity and heat are provided from a landfill gas to energy system and no herbicides or pesticides are used. More information is available at moderncorporation.com/h2gro-greenhouses.

Speaker: Guided Tours
Topic: Tour of H2Gro Greenhouses
Topic: Tour of Aria Energy's Model City Power Plant
Date: Saturday, 2015-Jun-13
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon (followed by lunch)
Location: H2Gro Greenhouses is located at
1430 Pletcher Rd,
Youngstown, 14174 with parking access off Pletcher Road.
Directions: Take QEW and 405 to Queenston/Lewiston Continue onto I-190 S
Exit onto UpperMountain Rd.
Keep left at the fork for NY-104 W, Robert Moses Parkway N
Exit onto PletcherRd E (toward Hwy 18)
Problems: Call Katy at 716-474-8902 (Buffalo number)

Dinner at: Brickyard Pub and BBQ
432 Center Street, Lewiston, NY 14092 www.brickyardpub.com Cost: Pay for your own dinner
Limit: 35

To register contact Judy Moskal in Buffalo by noon 2015-Jun-12 jmmoskal@ieee.org

Printable Event Notice

Technical Meeting

Automatic Video Matting and Segmentation for Visual Content Analysis

Topic: Automatic Video Matting and Segmentation for Visual Content Analysis
Speaker: Muhammad Alrabeiah
Date: Wednesday 2015-Jul-22
Time: 6:45 PM - 9:00 PM
Cost: None (Paid parking on campus)
Please contact Sivathmican s.sivakumaran.ca@ieee.org for information
regarding parking tickets.
Location: ITB Room A113.
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract: The on-going development of object detection and recognition in visual data has recently taken an interesting turn toward one of its classical concepts, object extraction by means of automatic segmentation or matting. Despite of the impressive results obtained with some newly developed techniques that do not use segmentation or matting, many researchers argue that the incorporation of an object extraction method provides the needed boost toward context-aware visual-data analysis, the targeted technology for visual-data processing. Thus, in the last decade, many publications have come out to propose different methods integrating the concepts of object extraction, detection, and recognition. Most of the work relies on the rich literatures of segmentation and machine learning to build an extraction method, and few papers consider the matting concept for that end.
In this seminar, light will be shed on the latest proposed object extraction techniques and the possible ways of improving them. Their strengths and shortcomings will be highlighted, with emphasis on performance compared to other techniques that are not using object extraction. Then, a conceptual comparison between automatic matting and segmentation as means to object extraction will take place, within which some ideas for improving the extraction process will be presented

Speaker: Muhammad Alrabeiah received his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering–Communications and Electronics from King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 2010. Upon his graduation, he was hired as a Teaching Assistant (T.A.) in the Electrical Engineering Department, KSU, and following his first year at the job, he received the KSU Scholarship for graduate studies abroad.
In September 2013, Mr. Alrabeiah started his M.A.Sc program in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Generally, his research interests are in the fields of wireless communications and signal processing. During the master's program, his research is focused on addressing the problem of automatic video matting and objects extraction.

IEEE Conference

IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

This conference will bring together top researchers, practitioners, and students from around the world to discuss the latest advances in Computational Intelligence and other areas of Artificial Intelligence, as applied to real world problems in biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, medicine, bioengineering, and related fields.

Date: Wednesday 2015-Aug-12 to Saturday 2015-Aug-12
Location: Crowne Plaza Niagara Falls - Fallsview, 5685 Falls Avenue, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6W7

Conference website www.cibcb.org

For additional information, contact the General Chair, Sheridan Houghten, Department of Computer Science, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario. Email: houghten@brocku.ca.

Technical Meeting

Joint Meeting with IET (U.K) Toronto Section
Standalone Microgrids: Electric Aircraft

Topic: Stabilization of Standalone Microgrids: Application to More Electric Aircraft
Speaker: Dr. Babak Nahid-Mobarakeh, University of Lorraine, France
Date: Thursday 2015-Sep-17
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Cost: None, please confirm in advance via email to Prof. Nigel Schofield
Location: Room 266, McMaster Automotive Resource Centre
200 Longwood Road South, Hamilton, ON L8S 1S6
MARC directions

Abstract: On-board energy management in small optimized microgrids is an important issue in the next generation of electrified transportation systems. On one hand, design engineers are looking for minimizing the size and weight of power systems and the passive components. Inductors and capacitors are a part of the first elements that should be reduced. On the other hand, it is known that unstable oscillations on the microgrid may appear under overload conditions when small capacitances are used. This seminar focuses at first on the stability analysis of interconnected power converters in a microgrid. Linear and nonlinear tools will be presented and applied to a DC microgrid developed for a transportation system. This practical example allows attendees to derive the relationship between the stability (small and large signal) and the passive components of the system. Then, the same microgrid will be stabilized using passive and active stabilizers. Discussions on how each stabilizer improves the stability margins of the system will conclude the seminar.

Speaker: Dr. Babak Nahid-Mobarakeh is a "Maître de Conférences HDR" (Associate Professor) at "Université de Lorraine", Nancy, France. He received the Ph.D. degree from “Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine” (INPL, France) in 2001 in electrical engineering. From 2001 to 2006, he was with "Université de Picardie" as an Assistant Professor. In September 2006, he joined GREEN Lab. at "Université de Lorraine". He is a Senior Member of IEEE and author or coauthor of more than 100 international journal and conference papers. Currently, he is a Paper Review Chair of IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications and an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification.

Please register with Dr. Schofield nigels@mcmaster.ca

Printable Event Notice

Technical Meeting

Improving on the Cut-Set Bound via Geometric Analysis of Typical Sets

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Improving on the Cut-Set Bound via Geometric Analysis of Typical Sets
Speaker: Dr. Xiugang Wu, Stanford University
Date: Tuesday 2015-Oct-06
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Cost: None (Paid parking on campus)
Location: ITB Room A113.
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract: In this talk, we consider a symmetric primitive relay channel and develop two new upper bounds on the capacity of this channel that are tighter than the cut-set bound. Our approach significantly deviates from the standard information-theoretic approach for proving upper bounds on the capacity of multi-user channels. We build on the blowing-up lemma to analyze the geometric probabilistic relations between the typical sets of the n-letter random variables associated with a reliable code for communicating over the channel. These relations translate to new entropy inequalities between the n-letter random variables involved.
Our new bound can be extended to the Gaussian case, which shows that the cut-set bound is not tight for Gaussian relay networks in general. Combined with a simple tensorization argument, it further implies that the current capacity approximations for Gaussian relay networks, which have linear gap to the cut-set bound in the number of nodes, are order-optimal.

Speaker: Xiugang Wu is a postdoc research fellow in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He received the B.Eng. degree in electronics and information engineering from Tongji University, Shanghai, China, in 2007, and the M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, in 2009 and 2014 respectively. His research interests are in information theory and wireless networks.

IEEE Day Event

IEEE Day Event

The official theme for IEEE Day 2015:
See www.ieeeday.org

We are having a contest to design a new logo for our website. It was too late in the planning to have the judging today. Judging will occur in December, but you can work on your designs now and submit it by 2015-Nov-30.

Logo Competition for Students

IEEE Hamilton section is launching a logo competition to design the IEEE Hamilton Section Logo to be displayed on websites, publicity, flyers, activities, events and more.

1st prize – Gift card ($100)
2nd prize – Gift card ($50)
3rd prize – Gift card ($25)

Deadline: 30th November 2015!
Rules: The competition is open to students reside within Hamilton section area (Hamilton Section covers areas between Niagara Falls, Oakville, and Brantford). The logo must follow the rules detailed in the attached IEEE visual guidelines PDF – in particular pages 23 and 24.
IEEE visual guidelines

For more information contact Krishanth

Technical Meeting
Joint Chapter Power Engineering Society and Power Electronics Society

Joint Meeting with IET (U.K) Toronto Section
Transformer Manufacturing Processes

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Transformer Manufacturing Processes
Speaker: Ronnie Minhaz, P.Eng., President Transformer Consulting Services Inc.
Date: Thursday 2015-Oct-15
Time: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Cost: None
Location: Room 266, McMaster Automotive Resource Centre
200 Longwood Road South, Hamilton, ON L8S 1S6
MARC directions

Abstract: The presentation will be on the industry wide manufacturing process to build a transformer in the shop floor. Processes will cover core construction, insulation, windings, core and coil, processing, tanking, testing and shipping.

Speaker: Ronnie holds B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Manitoba, Canada. Before founding his own company "Transformer Consulting Services Inc. (www.tc-servicesinc.com)", Ronnie worked as Transformer Designer at Pauwels Canada (Manufacturer), as Equipment Engineer at SNC Lava Lin (EPCM) and Enmax Power(Utility), as Substation Lead Engineer at McGregor Construction (Substation Construction).

Please register with Dr. Schofield nigels@mcmaster.ca
Register here

Printable event notice

Superchapter Meeting
Joint Chapter of Communications, Information Theory, and Signal Processing Societies
Distinguished Lecturer

Foundations of security in cyber-physical systems

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Foundations of security in cyber-physical systems
Speaker: Prof. Suhas Diggavi from UCLA
Date: Monday 2015-Oct-19
Time: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Cost: None (Paid parking on campus)
Location: Information Technology Building, Room A113
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract: Cyber-physical systems (CPS) such as automobiles, electrical grids, transportation networks and water networks, are increasingly controlled through (distributed) cyber-systems, which make them vulnerable to attacks. To secure CPS systems, just protecting bits (cyber-security) is insufficient: a sensor attack can feed wrong inputs to sensors and thus manipulate the physical signals before they get converted to bits. By drawing insights from error correction, we develop CPS defense strategies that leverage the physical dynamics of CPS to protect against attacks. We demonstrate such strategies for the state estimation problem in the presence of attacks on sensors and actuators. We characterize the resilience of the system, which corresponds to the maximum number of attacks that can be tolerated while successfully reconstructing the state from observations. When there is measurement and process noise, these ideas enable design of (optimal) MMSE estimation under adversarial attacks.
Parts of this talk are joint work with S. Mishra, Y. Shoukry, H. Fawzi, Y.Yona, P. Tabuada, M. Srivastava and N. Karamchandani

Speaker: Suhas N. Diggavi received the B. Tech. degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, in 1998. After completing his Ph.D., he was a Principal Member Technical Staff in the Information Sciences Center, AT&T Shannon Laboratories, Florham Park, NJ. After that he was on the faculty of the School of Computer and Communication Sciences, EPFL, where he directed the Laboratory for Information and Communication Systems (LICOS). He is currently a Professor, in the Department of Electrical Engineering, at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he directs the Information Theory and Systems laboratory.

For more information contact Jun Chen junchen@mail.ece.mcmaster.ca

Social Meeting

Hamilton & KW Sections
IEEE Life Member
Semi-annual Lunch

Date: ~~2015-Oct-14~~ 2015-Oct-21(Wednesday)
Time: 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Location: Southcote 53 Tap and Grill New Location.
534 Garner Road East, Ancaster, ON, L9G 3K9 map
Cost: Buy your own lunch (approx $15.00)

Arrive early and meet with your comrades before lunch. We shall be in the private room. Lunch will purchased from dining room menu.

Agenda:

Speaker: Andy Frame
Topic: HYDRO ONE FOR SALE! DO WE BENEFIT?
Reports on the year's activities, elections, etc.

Talk based on Spectator Article
Additional background for talk in Globe and Mail Article

Please RSVP: by 2015-Oct-15 to Barry Butwell

Printable event notice

Conference

IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference

Call for Papers Deadline 2015-Apr-22
Call for Tutorials Deadline 2015-Apr-22
See information at EPEC2015

The 2015 IEEE Electrical Power & Energy Conference (EPEC2015): SMARTER RESILIENT POWER SYSTEMS will be held in London, Ontario, Canada from October 26th to 28th, 2015 at the London Convention Center.
EPEC2015 is an opportunity for electric power and energy systems experts from industry, academia, and other interested organizations to discuss the latest developments in the field: academic and industrial research, industrial/business trends and challenges.
Tutorials: Monday 2015-Oct-26
Date: 2015-Oct-26 to 2015-Oct-28
Location: London, ON

Go back to Activities and Events list

Annual General Meeting

2014 Dinner

Social Dinner and Annual General Meeting

Date: Saturday 2015-Nov-14
Time: 5:30 PM Reception (cash bar): 6:00 PM Dinner; 7:00 PM Speaker
Speaker: Dr. Bal Randhawa
Topic: Tracking Ships From Space
Location:: Royal Botanical Gardens, Room 1 (upstairs)
(Last year Café Annex was on ground level)
680 Plains Rd, Burlington, ON L7T 4H4
Restaurant details - www.rbg.ca directions
Cost: $20.00 Members (including students), $30.00 Guests Cost: Free, if you come after dinner just for the meeting Limit: 50 Register by 2015-Oct-30 and pay by credit card at (Don't forget if your member number starts with a '0'): vTools Registration Each attendee must register so we have information for a name tag.
Or by mail: Make cheques payable to "IEEE Hamilton Section"
Mail cheque to:
IEEE Hamilton Section,
c/o Krishanth Krishnan
307-160, Market Street
Hamilton, ON L8R-3J6

Printable Event Notice

Dinner Speaker Information: Dr. Bal Randhawa, D. Phil, M. Sc., B. Sc.
Bal Randhawa has been at exactEarth for 5½ years. Employed as the Director of Product Development, he currently leads a team of Software Developers specializing in Big Data solutions for Maritime AIS data. Bal's current work interests include Pattern Recognition and Classification techniques.
Bal's last role before joining exactEarth was a RF Consultant Engineer in London working with technologies such as LTE, UMTS, DVB-T, Wi-MAX, GSM and radar.
In the past, Bal has worked in academia as a Research Fellow at the University of York. He has also worked for several start-up companies mainly in R&D and Telecommunications. In total, Bal has over 20 years of R&D experience in Industry and Academia.
Bal was educated in England and has a degree in Physics, a Masters in Electromagnetic Compatibility as well as a D. Phil in Electronics.
Bal Randhawa has published several papers in Computational Electrodynamics a particular branch of Computational Physics. His areas of expertise are in mathematical modelling, signal processing, radio propagation and error control coding.
In the past Bal has given lectures and in-house seminars on:
1. Basic antenna design principles,
2. Radio propagation models used for fixed links and mobile and satellite communications,
3. Signal processing, i.e., digital modulation, FFTs, Z-transforms and filter design, coding and decoding signals.
Bal is also currently a member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Abstract:
What does it take to track ships from space? This presentation will talk about how LEO satellites detect AIS signals transmitted by ships around the globe and in particular how they are extracted, transformed and streamed to customers all over the world. The key topics will be:

What type of satellite receiver system is required to capture the AIS signals?
How is the data downloaded?
How are the raw AIS signals processed?
How are these processed AIS signals used to track ships themselves?
What opportunity does this open up for global value added maritime information?

Superchapter Meeting
Joint Chapter of Communications, Information Theory, and Signal Processing Societies
McMaster ECE Distinguished Speaker Series

5G Media-based Modulation

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Research Results on Media-based Modulation - Outperforming Known Limits in Wireless
Speaker: Prof. Amir K. Khandani, Canada Research Chair (Tier I), University of Waterloo
Date: Thursday 2015-Nov-19
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Cost: None (Paid parking on campus)
Location: Information Technology Building, Room A113
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract: The idea of Media-based Modulation (MBM) is based on embedding information in the variations of the transmission media (channel state). This is in contrast to legacy wireless systems where data is embedded in a Radio Frequency (RF) source prior to the transmit antenna. MBM offers several advantages vs. legacy systems, including “additivity of information over multiple receive antennas”, and “inherent diversity over a static fading channel”. MBM is particularly suitable for transmitting high data rates using a single transmit and multiple receive antennas (Single Input-Multiple Output Media-Based Modulation, or SIMO-MBM). It is shown that a 1xK SIMO-MBM over a static multi-path channel asymptotically achieves the capacity of K parallel Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channels, where for one unit of energy sent over the single transmit antenna, the effective energy for each of the K AWGN channels is one.
See the printed report.

Speaker: Amir K. Khandani is a professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the University of Waterloo. He holds a Tier I CRC on Information Theory for Wireless Networks, and an NSERC-Ciena IRC on Information Theory for Backbone Networks.

For more information contact Jun Chen junchen@mail.ece.mcmaster.ca

Printable Event Notice

Technical Meeting

Power Chapter
Joint Meeting with IET (U.K) Toronto Section
Professional Skills Presentation: Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Professional Skills Presentation: "Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)"
Speaker: Gonzalo Pineros, M.Eng. EIT.
Date: Thursday 2015-Nov-19
Time: 6:30 PM - 7:45 PM
Cost: None (paid parking on campus)
Location: Engineering Technology Building (ETB). Room ETB 535
McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S4L8

Abstract: Through the Professional Engineers Act, Professional Engineers Ontario governs licence and certificate holders and regulates professional engineering in Ontario to serve and protect the public.
Established on June 14, 1922, Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) is the licensing and regulating body for engineering in the province. It fulfils the same role for engineers as the College of Physicians and Surgeons for doctors or the Law Society of Upper Canada for lawyers.

Professional Engineers SMP & EIT Programs
Work Term/ Co-op Experience for your P.Eng.
Licensure Process upon graduation
Why should I obtain my P.Eng.?

Speaker: Gonzalo Pineros holds a Master Degree in Engineering and Public Policy from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Diploma in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of New Brunswick. During his undergrad Mr. Pineros worked as an Electrical Engineering Intern at New Brunswick Power Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. During his time at McMaster Mr. Pineros worked as a Research Assistant and Seasonal Lecturer in the Engineering Department. Mr. Pineros also sits on the board for the Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education.

Please register with Dr. Schofield nigels@mcmaster.ca

Printable Event Notice with map

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

Zero-Delay Coding of Markov Sources and Approximation Results

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: Zero-Delay Coding of Markov Sources and Approximation Results
Speaker: Prof. Serdar Yuksel
~~Date: Wednesday 2015-Dec-09~~
Date: Tuesday 2015-Nov-10
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cost: None (Paid parking on campus)
Location: Information Technology Building, Room A113
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract: The traditional information theory of data compression allows for asymptotically large decoding delays, but in many applications real-time operation is essential and even moderate delays may not be tolerated. In this talk we will focus on real-time (zero-delay) coding of Markov sources. We will first investigate, through a stochastic control formulation, the structure of optimal real-time coders for Markov sources. The sources considered include finite sources, and a large class of multi-dimensional real sources including the important setup with linear systems under a quadratic distortion criterion. Our formulation will consider finite, discounted and average cost formulations. For real sources, we will assume that the quantizers allowed are ones with convex codecells, and under this assumption construct a controlled Markov process that facilitates the treatment of this problem. For a finite-horizon problem we will show the structure and existence of an optimal zero-delay coding scheme. For the infinite-horizon (average cost and discounted) problem we will establish the optimality of possibly randomized stationary Markov coding policies. When the source is an irreducible finite state Markov process, we will also establish the optimality of stationary and deterministic coding policies for infinite horizon problems. For such sources, in addition, we establish the approximate optimality of finite memory encoders. In particular, we show that the performance loss due to using a sequence of periodic encoders of memory T is of order 1/T, when compared with an optimal zero-delay encoder. We will also discuss some numerical examples, an application in networked control, and extensions to coding over noisy channels with feedback.
The talk is based on joint work with Richard Wood and Tamas Linder.

Speaker: Prof. Serdar Yuksel received his B.Sc. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Bilkent University in 2001; M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003 and 2006, respectively. He was a post-doctoral researcher at Yale University for a year before joining Queen's University as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Engineering in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, where he is now an Associate Professor. He has been awarded the 2013 CAIMS/PIMS Early Career Award in Applied Mathematics. His research interests are on stochastic and decentralized control, information theory and applied probability. He is an Associate Editor for the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUTOMATIC CONTROL.

For more information contact Jun Chen junchen@mail.ece.mcmaster.ca

Family Event

Children's Painting/Drawing Contest

This is an event sponsored by the "Women in Engineering" chapter of the Hamilton Section, but all members' children and grandchildren are encouraged to participate.

Do not miss this fun opportunity to learn, enjoy and create! All artworks will receive a gift for participating.

Artworks will be judged by IEEE Hamilton Section Executive committee members.
Paintings/colored drawings will be judged in two age groups: under 7 and ages 8-11.
The best artwork from each age group will receive a bigger prize! A $25.00 gift card from Chapters.
The rest of participants: a $10.00 gift card from Chapters.
Artworks may be displayed online, identified by first name only.

Eligibility:

Parent/grandparent should be an IEEE member of Hamilton Section (not necessarily WIE member)
Children aged 11 and under
Paintings/colored drawings should be scanned for submission
One painting/colored drawing per one child

Topics for Painting/Colored Drawing (pick one only):

Electricity and Transportation
Electricity and Sport

Deadline: ~~Sunday 2015-Nov-15~~ Tuesay 2015-Dec-15

Do not miss this fun opportunity to learn, enjoy and create! ALL artworks will receive a gift for participating.

Please email the following:

A scan of the painting/colored drawing - pdf, jpeg, jpg, png or gif format
The name and age group of your child/grandchild
the name of parent/grandparent IEEE member
Mailing address for the participation gift

to wie.hamilton@ieee.org AND divakakp@mcmaster.ca

Printable Event Notice

2015 Entries Winners
Age Under 7	Age 8 to 11
Andrew 2	Air Travel Jeremy 8
Bradley 2	Electrical Car Matthew 8
Electronic Truck Christopher 6	Electrical Car Tony 8
Car Laura 6	Tank Mackenzie 9
	Back to the Fututre William 10

Non-IEEE Event

Café X featuring Greig Mordue, "What is the formula for manufacturing prosperity in Ontario?"

Engineering invites students, faculty, staff and the broader community to attend Café X. Café X will be open for business for one hour, starting with a presentation, followed by questions and answers. Refreshments will be available at the start and conclusion of the event

Date: Wednesday, 2015-Nov-18
Time: 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Location: Engineering Technology Building, Room 535, McMaster University
Free admission, however seating is limited. Registration required.

Abstract: In the period following World War II, manufacturing became the foundation for Canada’s economic success. It was the engine for our economy, providing jobs for Canadians and revenue for its policy makers. We rode that wave for generations. Recently though, it would appear that manufacturing in Canada has come under pressure. Manufacturing growth in Canada is stagnant, while many developing countries have grown their capabilities. To some, manufacturing has become something “other countries do”. Is that right? Should policy makers devote limited time and resources to reinforcing the country’s manufacturing base? Join the conversation as we discuss the current policy landscape, international best practices, possible effects of the Trans Pacific Partnership, and much more.

Toronto Meeting, IEEE Seminar

Free spectrum – Unlicensed options for service providers

Topic: Free spectrum – Unlicensed options for service providers
Speaker: Dr. Srikanth, CKO, Nanocell Networks AU-KBC Research Centre, MIT Campus, Chennai, India And Ryerson Communications Lab
Date: Wednesday 2015-Nov-25
Time: ~~1:00 PM - 2:00 PM~~ 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Cost: None
Location: Room ENG 460
George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre
Ryerson University
245 Church St., Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3
Location: Room EPH 229
Eric Palin Hall
Ryerson University
87 Gerrard Street E., Toronto, Ontario

Abstract: The use of unlicensed bands by operators has been looming for quite some time with no clear approaches prevalent across the globe. Wi-Fi technologies have been thought of as the only way for operators to use unlicensed band due to its popularity in devices. Recently, many companies have evinced interested in standardizing LTE-technologies in the unlicensed bands as this can solve the teething problems with respect to using Wi-Fi based technologies.

Speaker: Srikanth began his career as a research associate at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada working in the area of DSL and CDMA Systems. After this Ph. D., he joined Harris Corporation and worked on baseband algorithms for various wireless standards including IS-136 and 1S-95 systems. He has consulted on various areas of OFDM systems and has also been involved in the setting up of a test lab for 802.11.

Printable Event Notice with old time and location

Non-IEEE Event

Café X Breakfast featuring Dr. Natalia Nikolova, "'SMART' Radar for Stand-off Security in the Making at MAC"

Engineering invites students, faculty, staff and the broader community to attend Café X. Café X will be open for a continental breakfast, networking and engaging speakers!

Date: Thursday, 2015-Dec-03
Time: 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM
Location: McMaster Innovation Park, Hamilton, ON
More details at morning lecture series

Abstract: Engineers have always been in the front lines of solving humanity’s predicaments. Terrorist attacks and gun violence at public places are a man-made predicament of modern times. Technology for security screening is out there but is deemed slow and inefficient. It is particularly inefficient in situations where one cannot ask the people to cooperate—place is crowded, time is short, or some persons are just not the kind pf persons who would cooperate. Can radar technology help? A research team at McMaster University looks for answers by prototyping a custom radar for the stand-off detection of threats hidden under clothing. What makes the radar unique is its “cognitive” ability. It is trained before deployment and it continues to learn after deployment, getting better and smarter at detecting hidden weapons with each screening instance.

Technical Meeting

IEEE Hamilton Young Professionals Chapter
IEEE Hamilton Power Chapter
Joint Meeting with IET (U.K) Toronto Section
The Integration of Wind and Solar Generation into Ontario's Power System

Topic: Integration of Wind and Solar Generation into Ontario's Power
Speaker: Gordon Drake, Supervisor, Market Development, IESO
Date: Thursday 2015-Dec-03
Time: 6:30 PM - 7:45 PM
Cost: None (paid parking on campus)
Location: Engineering Technology Building (ETB). Room ETB 535
McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S4L8

Abstract: The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) works at the heart of Ontario's power system – ensuring there is enough power to meet the province's energy needs in real time while also planning and securing energy for the future. As part of its mandate, the IESO is tasked with the reliable and efficient integration of wind and solar generation into Ontario’s power system and wholesale electricity market.

Speaker: Gordon Drake, Supervisor, Market Development, Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), Ontario. In this position, Mr. Drake is responsible for the evolution of Ontario’s physical and financial energy markets to promote efficiency and facilitate competition from a wide range of sectors. Prior to his current role, he served as Supervisor of the IESO’s Renewables Integration Initiative, tasked with the reliable and efficient integration of an expected 10,000 MW of wind and solar generation into Ontario’s electricity market.

Please register with Dr. Schofield nigels@mcmaster.ca

Printable Event Notice with map

Technical Meeting

Accipiter Radar Developments

Topic: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Providing Radar Solutions For Security and Safety Applications in the Homeland
Speaker: Dr. Tim J. Nohara (President & CEO at Accipiter Radar)
Date: Wednesday 2015-Dec-09
Time: 6:45 PM - 9:00 PM
Cost: None (Paid parking on campus)
Location: Room ITB A113
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L8

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract: Radar is a well-established technology for providing wide-area situational awareness in military applications, and for mission critical applications such as air traffic control. Highly trained operators who can interpret meaning from blips moving across the screen are part of the system. The environments in which these radars operate facilitate interpretation because they are either restricted to friend or foe, or they are controlled so that cooperative targets such as passenger aircraft follow pre-determined rules.
Novel and affordable radar solutions are needed if radar’s wide-area surveillance capability is to be successfully exploited in civilian, security and safety applications in the homeland, where the environment is neither restricted nor controlled, and where operators are not skilled in radar. And surveillance solution providers must rethink how they design and deliver radar surveillance if they are to profitably help safety and security personnel keep us safe.
This talk will discuss how engineers at Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc. pioneered a new breed of surveillance technology they refer to as "Radar Intelligence Networks" to profitably bring radar to these new applications. The story is both a technical one as well as business one, covering the two decades of Accipiter’s existence.

Speaker: Tim J. Nohara, P.Eng, M.Eng, Ph.D
Dr. Nohara is an internationally-recognized radar expert, a professional engineer and the founder of Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc.
After completing an undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1985, followed by a Masters and Ph.D in radar under Professor Simon Haykin in 1987 and 1991, he spent his earlier career at Raytheon advancing space-based, airborne, ground-based and naval radar systems.
He left Raytheon on 1994 and assembled a world-class team of radar professionals to pioneer affordable, high-performance radar intelligence networks that operate unattended and provide real-time and historical target behaviour information, serving as force multipliers for security and safety personnel. A focussed R&D effort for over a decade added connectivity, target data persistence and an application infrastructure to lacking defense solutions. Tim led the transition to a product and services company in 2005 and has been building the company and its markets ever since.
Tim is the author of numerous technical publications and patents.

Conference

IEEE Global Conference on Signal and Information Processing

Call for Papers Deadline 2015-May-15
See information at GlobalSIP Website

The IEEE Global Conference on Signal and Information Processing (GlobalSIP) is a flagship conference of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. GlobalSIP'15 will be held in Orlando, Florida, USA, December 14-16, 2015.
The conference will focus on signal and information processing with an emphasis on up-and-coming signal processing themes. The conference will feature world-class speakers, tutorials, exhibits, and sessions consisting of poster or oral presentations.
Date: 2015-Dec-14 to 2015-Dec-16
Location: Orlando, FL

Technical Meeting Distinguished Microwave Lecturer

RF Aspects of Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Free coffee and cookies.

Topic: RF Aspects of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Speaker: Prof. Robert Caverly of Villanova University
Date: Monday 2015-Dec-14
Time: 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Cost: None
Location: ITB-A113

Campus Map
ITB is Bldg 49

Abstract:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners are an important diagnostic tool for the medical practitioner. MRI provides a non-invasive means of imaging soft tissues and to obtain real-time images of the cardiovascular system and other dynamic changes in the human body. MRI scanners rely heavily on a number of topical areas of interest to Electrical Engineers: image processing, high speed computing and RF (radio frequency) systems and components. This presentation will focus on some of the RF aspects of the MR process and MR scanners. A primer on the physical phenomenon behind magnetic resonance will start the presentation and include a discussion of the origin of the MR signal. The need for the high static magnetic field (B0), the use of gradient coils for MR signal location, simple RF pulse sequences and how they are used in image construction will be covered. This MR image construction process and the control of the various steps that manipulate the atomic nuclei to generate the final MR diagnostic image put demanding constraints on RF equipment capabilities and these will be discussed, along with a high-level overview of the various components making up conventional MRI systems. This high-level overview will include a look at various examples of transmit and receive RF systems and examples of transmit and receive coils that make up MR scanners and system diagrams for both the RF transmit and receive paths. The talk with then narrow in scope to look at how these RF coils are modeled and controlled in both transmit and receive states and how these components are used for transmit/receive switching and patient and equipment protection.

Speaker's Biography:
Robert H. Caverly robert.caverly@villanova.edu received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, in 1983. He received the M.S.E.E and B.S.E.E degrees from the North Carolina State University, Raleigh, in 1978 and 1976, respectively.
Dr. Caverly has been a faculty member at Villanova University in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 1997 and is a Full Professor. Previously, he was a Professor for more than 14 years at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (formerly Southeastern Massachusetts University). In 1990, with support from The National Science Foundation, he was a Visiting Research Fellow with the Microwave Solid-State Group at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Dr. Caverly's research interests, funded by several government agencies and private industry, are focused on the characterization of semiconductor devices such as PIN diodes and FETs in the microwave and RF control environment. He has been involved with a number of IMS workshops, including co-organizing workshops in the magnetic resonance area, and has published more than 100 journal and conference papers in these and other technical and educational areas. He is the author of CMOS RFIC Design Principles from Artech House. Dr. Caverly has been co-chair of the IEEE Topical Conference on RF/microwave Power Amplifiers (PAWR) twice, in 2012 and 2013. He is on the editorial board of the IEEE Transactions of Microwave Theory and Techniques and Microwave and Components Letters, an associate editor of the IEEE Microwave Magazine, and past chairperson and current member of MTT-17, the HF-VHF-UHF Technology Technical Committee. An IEEE Fellow (2013), he is also a recipient of the Dow Outstanding Young Faculty Award from The American Society of Engineering Education and a two-time recipient (2007, 2013) of the Fr. Farrell Service Award from the College of Engineering at Villanova University. During his career, he has been a consultant for a number of microwave industries working on various microwave control element projects.

Meeting Agenda:
4:00 PM Technical Talk Presentation
5:00 PM Question & Answer Session

For more information contact Krishanth or Natalia Nikolova nikolova@ieee.org

Printable Event Notice

Conference

IEEE IAS Electrical Safety Workshop

Call for Papers Deadline 2015-Apr-01
Call for Tutorials Deadline 2015-Apr-01
See information at ESW Website

The IEEE IAS Electrical Safety Workshop (ESW) is dedicated to changing the electrical safety culture.
The Technical Program typically offers more than 25 presentations from subject matter experts and serve to push the envelope in human factors, technology, standards, safe work practices, and managing systems that reduce risk of electrical injuries. Tutorials emphasizing practical applications are offered before and after the Technical Program, on Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning, and Friday afternoon.
Date: 2016-Mar-07 to 2016-Mar-11
Location: Jacksonville, FL