Balloons to Broadband: Centuries of Innovation Enabling Canada’s Future NetworksAbstract:Lighter-than-air (LTA) and communications technologies have evolved side-by-side for centuries. From 19th century balloon-borne airmail and telegraph-enabled spotter balloons, to stratospheric mesh networks and tethered “flying towers,” these platforms have repeatedly extended the reach of terrestrial communications networks. Each generation of LTA technology has supported operational communications while enabling the early deployment of new network <a href="http://technologies.This" target="_blank" title="technologies.This">technologies.This presentation traces the historical arc of LTA communications and situates them within current research on high-speed connectivity. It then introduces a demonstration project supported through collaboration between Lux Aerobot, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), and McMaster University. The project leverages Lux's high-altitude platforms (HAPs) for early deployment and characterization of next-generation optical communication technologies for resilient, high-throughput connectivity tailored to Canada’s unique constraints and network <a href="http://needs..------------------------------------------------------------------------Des" target="_blank" title="needs..------------------------------------------------------------------------Des">needs..------------------------------------------------------------------------Des ballons au haut débit : des siècles d’innovation au service des futurs réseaux du CanadaRésumé:Les technologies des plus légers que l'air (PLA) et des communications ont évolué parallèlement au cours des siècles. Des ballons de courrier aérien et de télégraphie du XIXe siècle aux réseaux maillés stratosphériques et aux « tours volantes » captives, ces plateformes ont constamment étendu la portée des réseaux de communication terrestres. Chaque génération de technologie PLA a soutenu les communications opérationnelles tout en permettant le déploiement précoce de nouvelles technologies ré<a href="http://seau.Cette" target="_blank" title="seau.Cette">seau.Cette présentation retrace l'histoire des communications PLA et les situe dans le contexte des recherches actuelles sur la connectivité haut débit. Elle présente ensuite un projet de démonstration soutenu par la collaboration entre Lux Aerobot, le Conseil national de recherches du Canada (CNRC) et l'Université McMaster. Ce projet s'appuie sur les plateformes haute altitude (HAP) de Lux pour le déploiement et la caractérisation précoces de technologies de communication optique de nouvelle génération, afin d'offrir une connectivité résiliente et haut débit adaptée aux contraintes et aux besoins réseau uniques du <a href="http://Canada.Liam" target="_blank" title="Canada.Liam">Canada.Liam Graham, Systems & Montreal Team Lead, Lux AerobotAbout / A proposThe High Throughput and Secure Networks (HTSN) Challenge program is hosting regular virtual seminar series to promote scientific information sharing, discussions, and interactions between <a href="http://researchers.https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/research-collaboration/programs/high-throughput-secure-networks-challenge-programLe" target="_blank" title="researchers.https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/research-collaboration/programs/high-throughput-secure-networks-challenge-programLe">researchers.https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/research-collaboration/programs/high-throughput-secure-networks-challenge-programLe programme Réseaux Sécurisés à Haut Débit (RSHD) organise régulièrement des séries de séminaires virtuels pour promouvoir le partage d’informations scientifiques, les discussions et les interactions entre <a href="http://chercheurs.https://nrc.canada.ca/fr/recherche-developpement/recherche-collaboration/programmes/programme-defi-reseaux-securises-haut-debitNEW:" target="_blank" title="chercheurs.https://nrc.canada.ca/fr/recherche-developpement/recherche-collaboration/programmes/programme-defi-reseaux-securises-haut-debitNEW:">chercheurs.https://nrc.canada.ca/fr/recherche-developpement/recherche-collaboration/programmes/programme-defi-reseaux-securises-haut-debitNEW: In order to promote more open discussions/interactions, at the end of the presentation and Q/A, we will allow other experts in this field (quantum comm) to present very briefly their work (1 slide, 2 min max) or their company. / Afin de favoriser des discussions/interactions plus ouvertes, à la fin de la présentation et des questions/réponses, nous permettrons aux experts de ce domaine (communications quantiques) de présenter très brièvement leurs travaux (1 diapositive, 2 min max) ou leur <a href="http://compagnie.Co-sponsored" target="_blank" title="compagnie.Co-sponsored">compagnie.Co-sponsored by: National Research Council, Canada. <a href="http://Optonique.Speaker(s):" target="_blank" title="Optonique.Speaker(s):">Optonique.Speaker(s): Liam Graham, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/499915

UBC IEEE ExCom meeting to discuss hiring, next year plan and upcoming events, as well as the new UBC IEEE AESS <a href="http://Chapter.Room:" target="_blank" title="Chapter.Room:">Chapter.Room: 3009, Bldg: MCLD, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Free Registration (with a Zoom account; you can get one for free if you don't already have it. This requirement is to avoid Zoom bombing. Please sign in using the email address tied to your Zoom account — not necessarily the one you used to register for the <a href="http://event.):https://sjsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/i6n2sgjLQFelwXCNz4-YGQSynopsis:As" target="_blank" title="event.):https://sjsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/i6n2sgjLQFelwXCNz4-YGQSynopsis:As">event.):https://sjsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/i6n2sgjLQFelwXCNz4-YGQSynopsis:As large language models (LLMs) evolve from static, prompt-based tools into autonomous, agentic systems capable of reasoning, planning, and acting with minimal human oversight, organizations face an exciting yet complex frontier. These advanced systems hold the potential to revolutionize enterprise workflows, developer tools, and customer-facing applications—but realizing that potential requires navigating a host of technical and ethical <a href="http://challenges.This" target="_blank" title="challenges.This">challenges.This panel brings together leading voices from AI research, infrastructure engineering, and real-world application domains to discuss how agentic LLM systems are moving from lab experiments to production-grade deployments. Panelists will explore critical topics such as orchestration, safety, observability, and evaluation, while offering hard-earned lessons from deploying these systems at <a href="http://scale.Whether" target="_blank" title="scale.Whether">scale.Whether you're building tools for developers, integrating LLM agents into enterprise pipelines, or shaping the next wave of intelligent products, this discussion will equip you with the strategic and technical know-how to bring agentic AI into impactful, everyday use. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn what it truly takes to operationalize the future of <a href="http://AI.---------------------------------------------------------------By" target="_blank" title="AI.---------------------------------------------------------------By">AI.---------------------------------------------------------------By registering for this event, you agree that IEEE and the organizers are not liable to you for any loss, damage, injury, or any incidental, indirect, special, consequential, or economic loss or damage (including loss of opportunity, exemplary or punitive damages). The event will be recorded and will be made available for public <a href="http://viewing.Speaker(s):" target="_blank" title="viewing.Speaker(s):">viewing.Speaker(s): Yubin Kim, Gautam Solaimalai, Shaleen Kumar Gupta, Vishal Jain, Abhay Khosla, Rahul Raja, Harsh VarshneyVirtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/494702

Time & Date: 6 p.m., Wednesday, August 17th, 2025Location: ZoomDraft Agenda: <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xVNFswJQ8IxuzbxFiIWpNN1aPPpCv53Vvbxpw5XZuAs/edit?usp=drive_linkRoom:" target="_blank" title="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xVNFswJQ8IxuzbxFiIWpNN1aPPpCv53Vvbxpw5XZuAs/edit?usp=drive_linkRoom:">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xVNFswJQ8IxuzbxFiIWpNN1aPPpCv53Vvbxpw5XZuAs/edit?usp=drive_linkRoom: TBA, Bldg: TBA, 1000 KLO Rd. , Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, V1Y 4X8, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/501283

Electric vehicles first appeared in the mid-19th century. EVs held the land speed record until around 1900. The high cost, low speed, and short-range of battery electric vehicles, compared to 20th century internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, led to a worldwide decline in their use as private motor vehicles, although electric vehicles have continued to be used in the form of loading and freight equipment and public transport – especially rail <a href="http://vehicles.Now" target="_blank" title="vehicles.Now">vehicles.Now in the 21st century, interest in electric vehicles has increased due to growing concern over the problems associated with fossil fuel vehicles, including damage to the environment caused by their emissions, and the sustainability of the current hydrocarbon-based transportation infrastructure as well as improvements in EV <a href="http://technology.We" target="_blank" title="technology.We">technology.We will explore all of these aspects and a quick glimpse in the current state of the art, as well as developments around the <a href="http://corner.Speaker(s):" target="_blank" title="corner.Speaker(s):">corner.Speaker(s): , Sharan KalwaniVirtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/498207