Special RAS Events

RAS Town Hall

Wednesday, 22 May 2019 from 17:00-18:00

Room 517cd, the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

Calling all members of the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society. This year, we will be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine. All past Editors in Chief (EiCs) and some special guests, will conduct a lively Panel Session. We’ll talk about how the industry and the magazine have been evolving over time, and where the industry is heading in the future. There will also be a chance for our Members and Readers to engage in the conversation. Tell us what you like about the magazine, what you don’t like, and how we can improve it!

Panelists to include: Wolfram Burgard as Moderator. Past EiCs: Mike  Leahy, Kimon Valavanis, Peter Corke, Stefano Stramigioli, Eugenio Guglielmelli, and Bram Vanderborght. Early Staff Support: Roz Snyder, and some special surprises…..

Hope to see YOU there!


Photo Scavenger Hunt - ICRA 2019

Are you a student planning to attend ICRA 2019 in Montreal, Canada?  Join the IEEE RAS Student Activities Committee for a fun scavenger hunt!  Teams of 2-3 students will be emailed a super top secret list of objectives on the morning of 20 May.  Throughout the conference, teams will then take pictures demonstrating they achieved each objective - ranging from shaking hands with RAS leadership, visiting local sights near the conference venue, to doing funny poses.  Awards will be presented to teams which found the most items and teams with the most creative photos!

Who: Students attending ICRA 2019

What: A fun picture scavenger hunt

When: 20-24 May 2019

Where: ICRA in Montreal

Why: Because everyone needs a little fun!

If you already know a few other students attending, you can form a Team and register as a group. If not, please register yourself, and we will team you up with other enthusiastic roboticists. See you in Montreal!

Register here


RAS LUNCH WITH LEADERS (LwL)—for Students

Monday, 20 May from 12:00-13:30

Room 519, the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

This luncheon is open to student and young professional attendees offering the chance to meet and interact with Leaders from RAS and industry. Informal discussion over lunch will take place round table style. Join us for career advice, insights into where the field is headed, or general conversation to get to know Leaders in the field of robotics and automation.

Confirmed RAS Leaders include:  Wolfram Burgard, Allison Okamura, Venkat Krovi, Yasushi Nakauchi, Zhidong Wang, Bram Vandervorght, Eugenio Guglielmelli, Satoshi Takodoro, Seth Hutchinson, Jaydev P. Desai, Nancy Amato, Ayanna Howard, Dong Sun, Tony Maciejewski, Alessandro De Luca and others….

Space is limited, so please register in advance! Registration for this event is handled through ICRA 2019 Registration. Register today, or add to an existing registration.


RAS Women In Engineering (WIE) Breakfast

Tuesday, 21 May 2019 from 7:30-8:30

Room 519, the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

The Breakfast provides the opportunity to foster discussion on the role of women in robotics and automation, inspire girls and promote collaborations and initiatives to advance women in leadership.  As the goal for this event is to be more than a Breakfast for women, but a Breakfast with women.  Therefore, men are more than welcome to participate and enjoy the discussion.

Space is limited, so please register in advance! Registration for this event is handled through ICRA 2019 Registration. Register today, or add to an existing registration.


Lunch and Learn Keynote

Tuesday, 21 May from 12:00-13:30

Room 519 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

“Case Studies in Effective Science and Technology Communication”

Starting with a few brief but notable cases of science communication failures, we will work towards some key challenges for communicating effectively with the public. Through these failures, we examine some of the assumptions about the non-expert audience implied by the Deficit Model – a prominent but outdated and problematic model of scientific communication. Specifically, we interrogate the idea that the “public” is homogenous, with similar goals, background knowledge, and purposes for learning about technology. Acknowledging this, we introduce the idea of “Framing Science,” a concept that came to prominence in a 2007 Science editorial by Chris Mooney and Matthew Nisbet. They argue that in order to communicate effectively with the public, scientists and researchers need to do more than learn techniques for “dumbing-down” or “translating" their research while maintaining accuracy: they need to find ways to make complex topics more personally relevant. Without these connections, nonexpert audiences will not be compelled to learn about and understand technical information.

Returning to these case studies, we lay out key strategies for:

(1) understanding an audience’s needs and background;

(2) finding relevant approaches to engage non-experts; and finally,

(3) deploying the right rhetorical techniques (eg. narrative, metaphor, etc.) to communicate within that framework.

We will close by demonstrating how these techniques parallel those used by science journalists, and invite the audience to our workshops, where we’ll help them craft key messages about their own work.onference timelines,  Bank Accounts, Budgets, Whether to hire a meeting planner, Conference Closings, Hotel Contracts, Insurance, Tax Issues— organizing a conference can be a daunting task, especially a large


RAS Conference Organizers Workshop 

**Free Workshop**
Tuesday, 21 May from 13:30-16:30

Room 522a at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

Conference timelines,  Bank Accounts, Budgets, Whether to hire a meeting planner, Conference Closings, Hotel Contracts, Insurance, Tax Issues— organizing a conference can be a daunting task, especially a large conference like ICRA or IROS involving a thousand people or more. Anyone who is involved in organizing an IEEE Conference, or is thinking about organizing a conference, is urged to attend. Get answers to your questions about the organization, requirements, logistics and finances of conferences, both large and small. Speak with the experts for advice on how to make sure your conference is executed flawlessly!

Anyone who is involved in organizing an IEEE Conference is urged to attend and get answers to your questions about the organization, requirements, logistics and finances of conferences, both large and small.

Tentative Agenda

1.         Welcome and Opening Remarks – Torsten Kroeger

2.         Conference Committee Roles and Responsibilities – Torsten Kroeger/ Karinne Ramirez Amaro

3.         Getting Started (Requesting Sponsorship & Conference Application) – Helge Wurdemann

4.         Conference Publications – Zhidong Wang

5.         Managing a Technical Program – Seth Hutchinson

6.         Conference Finance (Budgeting through Conference Closing) – Venkat Krovi/ Helge Wurdemann

7.         Event Logistics Planning and Execution – Kelly Smith / Torsten Kroeger

8.         Working with IEEE Meetings, Conferences & Events – Kelly Smith

Space is limited, so we encourage you to register as soon as your availability is confirmed. Please register for this FREE workshop on-line


NETWORKING RECEPTION: Meet the RAS Technical Committees. Get Involved!

Tuesday, 21 May 2019 from 17:00-18:30

Room 527 (rooftop), the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

This event is open to attendees in the early stages of their career — young professionals and researchers. Chairs and Co-Chairs of the RAS Technical Committees will be available for informal conversation centered on new technologies in robotics and automation, future growth in the field, and how to get involved and contribute to RAS Technical Committee work.

Refreshments will be served! Come enjoy a snack and beverage, and meet some new colleagues!Space is limited. Please come early to avoid getting shut out. The event will close once room capacity has been reached.