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The slides from this year’s AGM, including Dr. Mark Alexiuk’s presentation on applied machine learning, are available below!
Archive for the ‘Section Event’ Category
2019 AGM Slides now available
Tuesday, February 19th, 2019IEEE Winnipeg Section Annual General Meeting – Jan. 29, 2019
Friday, January 4th, 2019***** The date of the AGM has been changed to Tuesday January 29 *****
The 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the IEEE Winnipeg Section will be held on Tuesday January 29 from 6-9 pm at the Best Western Plus Airport Hotel. All local IEEE members are invited and encouraged to attend this event and a buffet dinner will be provided. Section highlights from 2018 will be shared and the 2019 Executive Committee will be elected. The minutes from last year’s AGM and the agenda for the business portion of the meeting are available below.
The evening’s keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Mark Alexiuk, CTO of Sightline Innovation Inc:
Title: Applied Machine Learning – A Prairie Perspective
Bio: Mark Alexiuk is a graduate of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Program (BSc, MSc, PhD) at the University of Manitoba.
Throughout his career he has worked with Manitoban companies, including those in the fields of medical devices (IMRIS) and identity/information services (IMT).
Currently, as CTO of Sightline Innovation, he leads a 24 person developer team to provide a data trust environment and enterprise applied machine learning solutions for challenging problems in manufacturing, healthcare and agriculture. His research interests include exploratory data analysis, pattern recognition and applied machine learning.
Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) has matured over many decades. Early technologies included rule-based systems and perceptrons. Significant effort is currently being invested in reinforcement learning, deep learning and generative adversarial networks. Superhuman mastery has been obtained in selected areas (checkers, chess, Jeopardy, Shogi), practical applications have been deployed to the mass market (machine translation) while artificial general intelligence (AGI) remains elusive. Software scalability, distributed but connected devices, inexpensive storage and computation together amplify into a seemingly imminent and immense power of AI that excites the imagination (universal prosperity and social good!) while simultaneously engendering fear (loss of control; loss of livelihood through automation!). Tempering these thoughts are observations: AI is yet brittle and can be fooled; technical systems have residual complexity; goal setting has its own challenges; emergence can be observed but not necessarily planned. This talk explores selected opportunities to apply technology and frankly discusses challenges in data acquisition, annotation, optimization and robustness, for applications in manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture.
IEEE Winnipeg Section Meeting – February 13, 2018
Tuesday, February 6th, 2018The monthly meeting of Section, Chapter, and Affinity Group representatives to discuss issues and the operation of the IEEE Winnipeg Section. This meeting is open to any IEEE members that are interested in becoming more involved. The details of the meeting are:
Date: February 13, 2018
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Room E2-351, Engineering and Information Technology Complex (EITC), University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB
The minutes from the previous meeting and the proposed agenda for this meeting are available below.
IEEE Winnipeg Section Annual General Meeting – Jan. 16, 2018
Friday, January 5th, 2018The 2018 Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the IEEE Winnipeg Section will be held on Tuesday January 16 from 6-9 pm at the Best Western Plus Winnipeg Airport Hotel. The meeting is open to all IEEE members and a buffet dinner will be provided for all attendees. Highlights from events held in 2017 will be shared along with an introduction of the nominees for the 2018 Executive Committee. Attached below are the minutes from last year’s AGM and the agenda for this year’s AGM.
The keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Philip Ferguson, the NSERC / Magellan Aerospace Industrial Research Chair in Satellite Engineering at the University of Manitoba.
Keynote Abstract: Technology advances and grows all around us. From drones to deep learning, additive manufacturing to adaptive control, universities and journals are brimming with innovation and invention. Some industries such as the mobile communications and entertainment industries are quick to adopt new electronic and manufacturing technologies. Other industries, such as the aviation and agricultural industries are a little slower adopters of technology, while the space industry adopts new technologies on a near glacial timescale in comparison. Perceived risk and deployment cost usually play roles in the rate of technology adoption, but those are not the only factors. How can we target our research towards effective and responsible adoption within industry? Dr. Philip Ferguson’s keynote address will explore this topic as he reviews how certain key technologies either made their way into industry or not and how those lessons learned could help direct our research programs in the future.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Philip Ferguson received his Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Toronto in Engineering Science. He holds a Masters and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Aerospace Engineering, under the supervision of renowned space engineering and policy professor, Dr. Dava Newman (who served as the Deputy Administrator of NASA under the Obama administration). Dr. Ferguson’s doctoral research focused on astronaut brain modeling to predict control adaption in microgravity. Following graduate school, he developed attitude control systems for small space telescopes at Microsat Systems Canada Inc., eventually becoming the Engineering Manager for all altitude control systems products. Dr. Ferguson then took a position at Magellan Aerospace, Winnipeg, where he grew into the position of Engineering Manager for the electrical and software engineering teams in support of Magellan’s Space and Defense contracts. At Magellan, he was also the University research programs’ Principal Investigator and the spacecraft power subsystem lead for the RADARSAT Constellation Mission satellites. From 2014 until 2017, Dr. Ferguson was the Vice President of Product Development at PrecisionHawk Inc., where was responsible for all aircraft and payload systems engineering as well as production. He was also active in many of the industrial research programs PrecisionHawk conducted to improve the state of the art in UAV systems, remote sensing and airspace safety. Presently, Dr. Ferguson holds the NSERC / Magellan Aerospace Industrial Research Chair in Satellite Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Ferguson’s research focuses on new spacecraft manufacturing and control technologies that can improve satellite reliability while simultaneously reducing the cost and design cycle times, thereby improving the accessibility of space. Dr. Ferguson lives on a small hobby farm in Vivian, Manitoba with his wife and two daughters.
IEEE Winnipeg Section Meeting – November 21, 2017
Friday, November 17th, 2017The monthly meeting of Section, Chapter, and Affinity Group representatives to discuss issues and the operation of the IEEE Winnipeg Section. This meeting is open to any IEEE members that are interested in becoming more involved.
The minutes from the previous meeting and the proposed agenda for this meeting are attached.
Date: November 21, 2017
Time: 5:30
Location: SPC-305 Stanley Pauley Centre, University of Manitoba Fort Garry Campus