Anatomy of an Accident:How Sloppy work and a Lack of Documentation Caused Massive Payouts!On Thursday morning, January 7, 1999, a woman walking to work died on the sidewalk in front of UTSA downtown. The cause was ruled as electrocution from an energized metal lid in the sidewalk. The resultant investigation revealed a lack of final inspection on the original work and many problems with subsequent work. Enough that San Antonio’s Central Power Supply (CPS) and others paid out a combined $6.4M. James Mercier, who was at that time an engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation, will present and discuss the various errors discovered from his investigation for TxDOT and in the court records. Long after the court case was settled, James may have figured out what really happened that day!Speaker(s): James, Agenda: - Introduction- Presentation by Mr. James MercierVirtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/482904

Abstract:Vulnerabilities in OS and application software, although hard to eliminate, are well known. This talk will look a couple layers down in the stack to securing the lowest-level software in a device, often referred to as firmware, with the intent of blocking hard-to-find and hard-to-eradicate attacks classified as Advanced Persistent <a href="http://Threats.The" target="_blank" title="Threats.The">Threats.The talk covers why firmware is uniquely-difficult to protect, introduces the Root of Trust concept, and goes on to describe technology such as the Trusted Computing Group’s Trusted Platform Module (TPM), as a component to enhance a device’s ability to defend itself against APTs. Although low-level security issues can exist in any computing environment, this talk focuses on IoT and Industrial IoT <a href="http://applications.Speaker's" target="_blank" title="applications.Speaker's">applications.Speaker's Bio:Guy C. Fedorkow is a Distinguished Engineer at Juniper Networks. He received the BASc in Engineering Science and MASc in Electrical Engineering at University of Toronto, and went on to develop both packet-switching technology and high-throughput parallel computer architectures at Bolt, Beranek and Newman in Cambridge, MA. At Cisco Systems, he did hardware design and system architecture for cell-switching and high-scale internet service provider routers. Continuing at Juniper Networks, he has served as system architect for high-throughput Internet service provider products. Guy is currently working on trusted computing technologies to protect underlying computational infrastructure in router, switch and firewall products at Juniper Networks, and is a Fellow in the MIT Connection Sciences group. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-fedorkow-3b65151/Room:" target="_blank" title="https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-fedorkow-3b65151/Room:">https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-fedorkow-3b65151/Room: SF B560, Bldg: Sanford Fleming Building, University of Toronto, 10 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3G4

This is a joint meeting of Canadian Society of Senior Engineers and IEEE Life Members Affinity <a href="http://Groups.This" target="_blank" title="Groups.This">Groups.This series of presentations has been occurring for more than 20 years and is now being also advertised to the IEEE Northern Canada Section (NCS) Life Members Affinity Group (LMAG) through vTools and other IEEE LMAG's and IEEE members depending upon the topic. At the same time the Canadian Society of Senior Engineers (CSSE) is using their national organization to provide information, the subject and speaker to members across <a href="http://Canada.The" target="_blank" title="Canada.The">Canada.The next meeting will be held on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The meeting will open at 12:30 pm MDT (2:30pm Eastern), with the presentation starting at 12:45 (2:45 pm EDT). The meeting will be held via the Zoom platform with the actual invitations sent the afternoon of Wednesday, June 18 If you plan to attend and be included on the Zoom invite for this meeting please respond to Tom Madsen, [email protected], before noon on Wednesday, June 18.Please note the meeting originates in Alberta which is in the Mountain Time Zone, so if you are in another province you must account any necessary time <a href="http://shift.Title:" target="_blank" title="shift.Title:">shift.Title: From Geothermal to Vertical Farming: An Engineer’s Journey into Food Security and AgTech InnovationPresenter: Shlok Srivastava, P.<a href="http://Eng.Summary:" target="_blank" title="Eng.Summary:">Eng.Summary: With rising climate volatility, energy constraints, and supply chain disruptions, Canada faces an urgent need to develop resilient, locally grown food systems. In this talk, Shlok Srivastava, P.Eng., shares a compelling journey that began with a geothermal feasibility study at the Canadian Energy Centre and evolved into a bold venture in year-round strawberry production within a total controlled environment facility in Edmonton, <a href="http://Alberta.This" target="_blank" title="Alberta.This">Alberta.This transformation gave rise to GroHERE Harvest Ltd., an agri-tech company at the intersection of engineering, sustainability, and food innovation. The team recently repurposed an ex-cannabis facility into Alberta’s first commercial-scale vertical strawberry farm, marking a breakthrough for the <a href="http://Prairies.Attendees" target="_blank" title="Prairies.Attendees">Prairies.Attendees will get a behind-the-scenes look at the engineering challenges and breakthroughs of shifting from the energy sector to advanced food production — offering a fresh perspective on how Canada can reimagine its agricultural future and emerge as a net producer of premium fresh <a href="http://produce.Bio:" target="_blank" title="produce.Bio:">produce.Bio: Shlok Srivastava, P.Eng. is the Director of Operations at GroHERE Harvest Ltd., an agri-tech company advancing vertical farming for year-round strawberry production in Alberta. With over eight years of experience across the energy and agricultural sectors, Shlok has led innovative projects at the intersection of engineering, sustainability, and food security. His technical expertise spans O&G reservoir analysis, HVAC design, industrial energy audits, and data analytics. At GroHERE, he oversees engineering, QA/QC, and crop analytics, enabling high-efficiency cultivation within a fully controlled environment. Shlok is deeply committed to applying engineering innovation to strengthen local food systems and foster collaboration among industry, government, and regulatory <a href="http://partners.Virtual:" target="_blank" title="partners.Virtual:">partners.Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/487614

Topic I: Ubiquitous Sensing in 6G Cellular NetworksRecently, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has identified integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) as a primary usage scenario for the sixth-generation (6G) cellular networks in IMT-2030 Framework. As a result, future cellular networks will provide not only communication services, but also sensing services such as localization and tracking. However, how to exploit the existing communication infrastructure to effectively achieve sensing functions remains an open problem for 6G. In this talk, we will introduce the methodologies to leverage various types of communication nodes in cellular networks as anchors, including base stations, user equipments, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, to perform ubiquitous sensing. Specifically, the advantages and disadvantages of each type of anchors will be listed, and the efficient solutions to overcome these disadvantages will be outlined. Apart from theoretical works, this talk will also present our latest achievements in building a 6G ISAC platform that operates at the millimeter-wave band. We will conclude this talk by discussing some promising future directions that will be beneficial to the transformation of the world’s largest communication network into the world’s largest sensing <a href="http://network.Topic" target="_blank" title="network.Topic">network.Topic II: ISAC Exploiting Prior Distribution Information: Optimized Beamforming and How Many Sensing Beams are Needed?In wireless sensing or integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems, the exact values of the parameters to be sensed are generally unknown before sensing is performed. This leads to unknown channels associated with the sensing targets, which pose new challenges for the beamforming design. On the other hand, the distribution of the parameters to be sensed can be practically acquired a priori based on target properties or statistical analysis. This talk will present a new beamforming optimization framework for wireless sensing or ISAC systems based only on the prior distribution information about the parameters to be sensed. Specifically, we are going to discuss a series of interesting questions as follows. Firstly, for a sensing-only system, with various possible values for each parameter to be sensed, each with a potentially different probability, how to design transmit beamforming and how many sensing beams are needed? We will unveil a novel “probability-dependent power focusing” effect in the optimized beamforming design. Secondly, for an ISAC system with dual-functional beams for sensing and communication, how many dual-functional beams are needed for achieving an optimal trade-off between sensing and communication? Thirdly, for an ISAC system with potentially dedicated sensing beams, when are sensing beams needed and how many sensing beams are needed? Finally, we will reveal the role of such prior distribution information in various other practical problems such as the placement design of sensing anchors as well as the beamforming designs in systems with limited radio frequency (RF) chains, reconfigurable surface, physical-layer security consideration, or networked <a href="http://sensing.Speaker(s):" target="_blank" title="sensing.Speaker(s):">sensing.Speaker(s): Dr. Liang LIU, Dr. Shuowen ZHANGRoom: ACEB 1415, Bldg: Amit Chakma Engineering Building, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

ExCom Meeting of the Northern Canada SectionRoom: Elm room, Bldg: Holiday Inn Hotel, 4485 Gateway Blvd NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6H 5H5, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/488634

AR/VR devices promise a new era of immersive computing, where our everyday experience is augmented with helpful information (Augmented Reality), or where we are immersed in fully virtual worlds (Virtual Reality). These systems fuse the physical world, and the virtual world, through computing resources to provide these immersive experiences rendered on the user's headset. As a result, it allows new opportunities for attackers to compromise the security and privacy of users that are not well understood. Towards understanding the security and privacy challenges in these systems, this talk presents a number of recent attacks we developed on AR/VR systems. One threat model exploits the shared computing resources used by multiple applications on a headset to extract information through side channels; we show attacks that spy on user activity or compromise privacy. Another threat model exploits the shared state among multiple users in a multi-user application, allowing malicious users to inject compromised information or to recover information they are not allowed to access. Other threat models include those that interfere with applications and cause the virtual model to become out of sync with the physical world, causing user motion sickness or bypassing safety guardrails. I will conclude with discussion of potential defenses and ways to build more security AR/VR <a href="http://experiences.Co-sponsored" target="_blank" title="experiences.Co-sponsored">experiences.Co-sponsored by: IEEE Montreal SectionSpeaker(s): Dr. Nael Abu-GhazalehAgenda: 20:00 Hours - START of Distinguished Lecture21:00 Hours - END of Distinguished Lecture21:00 Hours - Start of Q&A, Discussions, Thoughts, etcALL times are in EDT/EST formatVirtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/485331

The rapid expansion of electric vehicles (EVs) reflects the global push towards sustainable and eco-friendly transportation solutions. Major global economies have set ambitious plans for the coming decades to significantly develop EV infrastructure. However, the existing electrical infrastructure often cannot provide the high power required for EV fast charging without significant upgrades. Additionally, the upfront and maintenance cost of power electronics in high-power EV charging remains a critical <a href="http://concern.To" target="_blank" title="concern.To">concern.To address these challenges, the ELITE Grid Lab at the University of Alberta is advancing research into innovative charging solutions based on hybrid AC/DC microgrid structure. This presentation highlights recent advancements and emerging trends in EV charging technology, and some of the ELITE Grid Lab’s latest research work aimed at improving the performance, flexibility, and grid integration of fast-charging systems. Key focus areas include novel structural designs, converter topologies, power and energy management control strategies, and grid support mechanisms. These innovations not only support the accelerating adoption of EVs but also contribute to a more robust and adaptable electric <a href="http://grid.Co-sponsored" target="_blank" title="grid.Co-sponsored">grid.Co-sponsored by: Resilience and Clean Energy Systems (RCES)Speaker(s): Pasan GunawardenaVirtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/489299

Dear IEEE NCS PELS and RCES Team Members,We’re excited to invite you to PELS Day 2025 — a fun and informal get-together featuring a networking session and lunch, hosted right here at the University of Alberta! This year, we’re celebrating PELS Day in collaboration with members of the Resilient and Clean Energy Systems (RCES) <a href="http://group.Join" target="_blank" title="group.Join">group.Join us to connect with fellow students, researchers, and members of the PELS and RCES communities. Several of UofA’s leading power electronics research groups will be present. Whether you're interested in learning about ongoing projects, expanding your network, or simply enjoying lunch with like-minded peers, this is a great opportunity to get involved and celebrate five years of community, innovation, and <a href="http://collaboration.Event" target="_blank" title="collaboration.Event">collaboration.Event Details:Date & Time: Friday, June 20, 2025 | 12:00 PM – 1:30 PMLocation: University of Alberta, DICE 8A-222 East MezzanineLunch: Sandwiches, cakes, coffee and tea, <a href="http://etc.Mark" target="_blank" title="etc.Mark">etc.Mark your calendar — we look forward to seeing you there!Cheers,IEEE NCS PELS ChapterCo-sponsored by: Resilience and Clean Energy Systems (RCES)Room: DICE 8A-222 East Mezzanine, Bldg: Donadeo Innovation Centre for Engineering (DICE), 9211 116 St NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 1H9

Speaker: Douglas CromeySubject: Kingston Area Electric Ferries Plus...Abstract:Doug will talk about his investigations into electric ferries in Kingston; how they were designed and will be <a href="http://powered.This" target="_blank" title="powered.This">powered.This is part of the TALK series organized by Carl Zanon of Vancouver Section LMAG. Times are Vancouver, 9:45 AM PDT is 12:45 PM <a href="http://EDT.All" target="_blank" title="EDT.All">EDT.All Life Members and anyone else interested is welcome to <a href="http://attend.Registration" target="_blank" title="attend.Registration">attend.Registration is optional, but we want to know who to <a href="http://expect.TALK" target="_blank" title="expect.TALK">expect.TALK series talks are not recorded, but sometimes the speaker makes the powerpoint presentation available. Only registered participants may request <a href="http://presentation.Future" target="_blank" title="presentation.Future">presentation.Future Talks planned:2025-Sep-20 TALK #34 Dr. Gordon Lovegrove Topic: Electric Trains 2.0Speaker(s): S.Douglas CromeyAgenda: <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/49125402539:45" target="_blank" title="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/49125402539:45">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/49125402539:45 AM PDT Zoom opens 15 minutes of introductions, general discussion and computer <a href="http://help.10:00" target="_blank" title="help.10:00">help.10:00 AM PDT Welcome and speaker introduction10:05 AM PDT SpeakerVirtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/486568

IEEE Summer School On Game Development Day 1835 University Dr, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, V2C 0C8, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/489316

Overcoming Efficiency and Linearity Challengesin 6G RF Power AmplifiersDr. Anding Zhu,School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,University College Dublin, IrelandAbstract:Radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs) are fundamental components in nearly all wireless transmitters, from tiny sensors and mobile phones to high-power base stations. Their primary function is to boost RF signals by converting DC power into amplified radio waves, ensuring reliable transmission over distances. As 6G aims to enable transformative applications such as ultra-high-speed communication, massive IoT, and immersive experiences, PAs must address challenges in energy efficiency, broadband operation, and linearity under high peak-to-average power ratios and dynamic <a href="http://traffic.This" target="_blank" title="traffic.This">traffic.This talk explores the critical obstacles and emerging solutions in 6G PA development, including advanced architectures, novel materials like Gallium Nitride (GaN) MMICs, new frequency bands (e.g., FR3), and AI-driven optimization techniques. It also highlights innovations in linearity enhancement, system integration, and system-level co-design. By bridging theoretical insights and practical applications, this talk provides guidance for researchers and engineers working to meet the stringent requirements of 6G, paving the way for a more connected and efficient wireless <a href="http://future.BiographyProfessor" target="_blank" title="future.BiographyProfessor">future.BiographyProfessor Anding Zhu received his Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland, in 2004. He is currently a Full Professor with the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at UCD. His research focuses on high-frequency nonlinear system modelling, device characterization, and high-efficiency power amplifier design. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed <a href="http://publications.Prof" target="_blank" title="publications.Prof">publications.Prof. Zhu is an IEEE Fellow and has held several leadership roles in the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S), including Secretary of the Administrative Committee (AdCom) in 2018, Chair of the Budget Committee, and Track Editor for IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques (2020–2022). He received the 2021 IEEE MTT-S Microwave Prize and is currently the IEEE MTT-S President-Elect, slated to serve as President in 2026.Room: EIT 3142, Bldg: EIT , ECE Department, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L3G1

[]Celebrate International WIE Day with Us! 🌍🌸Join us for a special Networking & Lunch Event in honor of International Women in Engineering Day! Connect with fellow engineers, share stories, and build meaningful professional relationships in a warm and welcoming <a href="http://setting.350" target="_blank" title="setting.350">setting.350 Legget Dr, Kanata, ON K2K 3N1, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada