Click here to read the call for nominations.

Description

Established in 2003, the Marconi Award celebrates outstanding, sustained contributions to the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section over a period of at least 10 years. The award honors leadership, dedication, and service that support the growth and success of the section.

The award includes:

• A commemorative plaque for the recipient.
• Recognition on a perpetual plaque displayed in the IEEE McNaughton Centre at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
• Presentation at the Annual Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC) or a national/international IEEE event organized by the NL Section.

Eligibility Criteria

Nominees shall:

• Be a member of the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section.
• Be a Canadian resident (temporary work or study abroad is acceptable with maintained Canadian residency).
• Have been an IEEE Canada member in good standing for a minimum of the immediate past 10 years.

Award Criteria

Nominees will be evaluated based on demonstrated excellence in areas including:

• Leadership and Representation
• Strong Communication Skills
• Organizational and Management Abilities
• Commitment to Member Engagement
• Support for Professional Development

You can find a detailed award qualification description in the call for nominations.

Nomination Process

An active member of IEEE, with firsthand knowledge and familiarity with contributions of the candidate being nominated, must nominate a candidate for the award. The nomination package must include:

• a nomination letter, and
• endorsement letters (minimum: 1 letter, maximum: 3 letters)

Nomination and endorsement letters must discuss the nominee’s significant contributions that qualify them for this award. Be clear as to how the nominee meets the specific qualification mentioned above.

The nominator must create a single pdf file including the nomination letter and endorsement letter(s) and email it to the Award and Scholarship Chair (thumeerawa@mun.ca) of the IEEE NL Section. The subject line of the email must be set to “Nomination - Marconi Award for Outstanding Section Contribution.”

Self-nominations for the awards will not be accepted. Nominations submitted after the deadline will not be accepted

Nomination Deadline

Friday, May. 30, 2025.

For more information, please read the call for nominations.

Description

The IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Graduate Scholarship aims to acknowledge graduate students at Memorial University who have achieved high academic standing and have actively contributed to the IEEE. This scholarship is an annual award presented in the Winter semester, providing a financial grant of $1000 along with a certificate of recognition.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the IEEE Graduate Scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be a full-time graduate student at Memorial University.
• Hold IEEE membership.
• Have completed at least one year in their graduate program.
• Demonstrate high academic standing.
• Pursue a field of study aligned with the IEEE’s areas of interest.

Previous awards or scholarships received from the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section do not impact eligibility, and each student can only receive this scholarship once during their program of study.

Selection Process

A subcommittee of the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section, comprising the Awards Chair and up to two additional members, will be responsible for selecting the scholarship recipient. The committee will evaluate academic standing, including course grades and scholarly publications, as well as contributions to the IEEE community at various levels, such as local sections, conferences, technical societies, and more.

Application Deadline

The deadline for submitting applications for the IEEE Graduate Scholarship is February 29, 2024.

Application Package

Applicants are required to submit a comprehensive application package, including:

• A letter of application detailing research excellence, scholarly contributions to IEEE fields of interest, and other contributions to the IEEE community.
• A curriculum vitae.
• An academic transcript.
• A list of publications.

How to Submit

To apply, students must create a single PDF file containing their complete application package and submit it to the Scholarships and Awards Chair of the IEEE NL Section, Dr. Thumeera Wanasinghe, via email at thumeerawa@mun.ca.

The IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section encourages all eligible graduate students to take advantage of this valuable opportunity and submit their applications by the specified deadline. The scholarship not only provides financial support but also recognizes the dedication and contributions of graduate students to the field of electrical and electronics engineering. For more information, please read the call for submissions.

On Tuesday, Dec 12th, 2023, the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section, in collaboration with the Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland (MRCN) and the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club (PARC) in England, commemorated Guglielmo Marconi’s groundbreaking transatlantic wireless experiment, originally perfomed at Signal Hill. Hosted by the Johnson Geo Centre, the event paid tribute to Marconi’s historic 1901 experiment on Signal Hill.

Participating organizations included the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador, Johnson Geo Centre (Memorial University of Newfoundland), Poldhu Amateur Radio Club (Cornwall, UK), Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland, and Lakecrest Independent School.

The day commenced with a lecture on Marconi and the art and science of radio, followed by a hands-on crystal radio workshop. Participants constructed devices reminiscent of the early days of wireless communication.

A significant highlight of the event occurred at 12:25 PM NST when a direct 2-way High-Frequency radio contact was established with the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club in Cornwall, UK. This connection facilitated the exchange of the letter ‘S’ and the transmission of radio telegrams. Notably, students from Lakecrest Independent School’s Grade six class played an integral role in this endeavor. Teaming up with the Marconi group, these students engaged in conversations across the miles and crafted crystal radios, tuning in to local stations.

The IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section extends its gratitude to all participants.

The 32nd Annual Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC 2023) happened on November 14, 2023, at the Emera Innovation Exchange Conference Centre, located in the Signal Hill Campus of Memorial University. Organized by the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section in collaboration with Memorial University of Newfoundland, the conference provided a platform for professionals in electrical, electronic, and computer engineering, along with information technologies, to showcase their latest research and innovations to the province’s growing technical community.

Chaired by Kevin Murrant from the National Research Council Canada, this year’s conference focused on a range of technical concepts, innovations, and implementations within the field, covering topics such as Power and Alternative Energy, Computer Vision and AI, Circuits and Systems, Robotics and Control, and Other Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) subjects.

With the participation of over 100 attendees, NECEC 2023 featured a total of 49 oral presentations and 12 poster presentations. The event’s proceeds, along with those from past conferences, contribute to sponsoring IEEE Scholarships awarded to students in Terms 4 and 6 of the Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering programs at Memorial University.

NECEC 2023 featured compelling keynote addresses from distinguished speakers, each bringing a unique perspective to the conference. In the morning session, Wenwen Pei, CEO and Co-Founder of Marine Thinking, delivered an enlightening talk titled “Navigating Forward: Unleashing Potential with Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs).” Pei, offering insights from a startup standpoint, delved into the transformative nature of Uncrewed Surface Vessels, showcasing their autonomy and eco-conscious design. The keynote highlighted key technologies, applications, achievements, challenges, and the projected trajectory of USVs. Fueled by cutting-edge technologies and a commitment to sustainability, USVs demonstrated remarkable adaptability, versatility, and the potential for autonomous efficiency through AI-driven decision-making algorithms and advanced sensor fusion.

At the luncheon session, Marie-Chantal Ross, Program Director of Ocean at the National Research Council Canada, took the stage with her talk titled “The Ocean: What is it? Why We Care? and What NRC is doing about it?” Ross shared insights into the NRC’s Ocean Program, a seven-year, multimillion-dollar initiative supporting Canada’s blue economy growth. Addressing Coastal Resilience, Intelligent Marine Assets, Pollution Remediation, and BioAssets, Ross emphasized the importance of supporting technologies and business models that contribute to a cleaner ocean and healthy economic activity. Her talk underscored the role of innovation in fostering a sustainable and prosperous blue recovery for Canada. Both keynotes provided valuable perspectives and expertise, enriching the NECEC 2023 experience.

During the conference, several outstanding individuals were recognized for their contributions:

• Kusal Tennakoon received the Wally Read Best Student Paper Award for the paper titled “A Unified CNN Approach for Visual Place Recognition and Loop Closure Detection.”

• Hamid Jafarzadeh received the Wally Read Best Young Professionals Paper Award for the paper entitled “A Country-wide Wetland Benchmark Dataset for Canadian Ecozones using Sentinel-2 Imagery.”

• Murilo Silva received the T. David Collett Best Industry Paper Award for the paper titled “Magnetic Anomaly-Based Marine Mammal Detection in Challenging Ocean Environments.”

• Zahra Jafari received the Women in Engineering Best Paper Award for the paper entitled “A Novel Feature Extraction and Selection Approach for Discrimination of Ships and Icebergs in SAR Imagery.”

• Ahmed Talal Hashmat received the Byron Dawe Best Poster Award for the poster titled “DSP Based Digital Controller Design and Implementation for Energy Systems.”

The success of NECEC 2023 was made possible through the generous sponsorship of industry leaders, including Fortis Inc., World Energy GH2, Newfoundland & Labrador Hydro, Repair OnDemand, Solace Power, Verafin, Wood, Bell Alliant, C-CORE, The Electronic Centre, Newfoundland Power, and Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador (PEGNL). Special thanks also goes to the organizing committee of NECEC 2023: Kevin Murrant (Conference Chair, National Research Council Canada), Oscar De Silva (Technical Program Committee Chair, Memorial University), Samuel Robert Cove (Treasurer, Solace Power), Xianta Jiang (Secretary, Memorial University), David Green (Sponsorships Chair, C-CORE), Thumeera Wanasinghe (Awards Chair, Memorial University), Sarah Mansour and Rhonda Mercer (Local Arrangements, Memorial University), Jonathan Anderson (Student Branch Arrangements, Memorial University), Murilo Teixeira Silva (Website, C-CORE), Pedram Ghasemigoudarzi (Communications and Social Media, C-CORE)

NECEC 2023 marks another year of fruitful collaboration among professionals and researchers in electrical and computer engineering. The organizers extend their sincere appreciation to all participants, sponsors, and contributors who played a crucial role in its success. With optimism for the future, attention now turns to NECEC 2024, where the community will reconvene in November to explore the latest developments in the field. We look forward to another engaging and insightful edition in 2024!

The IEEE NL community is grieving the passing of Neil P. Riggs at the age of 74. A pioneering figure in oceanic research and engineering in Newfoundland and Labrador, Neil was part of the beginnings of the Newfoundland Oceans Research and Development Corporation (NORDCO) and an integral part of the development of commercial underwater acoustics projects in Newfoundland.

Neil was a dedicated volunteer of the IEEE NL Section, being one of the two founders of the NL chapter of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society, serving multiple times as its chair between 2010 and 2019. Neil was also a member of the executive committee in the IEEE International Oceans 2014 conference, held in St. John’s. He was also a keynote speaker in the 2018 edition of the annual Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC).

Funeral arrangements and memorial service details can be found at Carnell’s website. The engineering community is invited to pay their respects and share their memories of Neil P. Riggs, a true pioneer and advocate of innovation in oceanic engineering.

Ryan’s project, entitled “Equilibrium - it goes both ways. Simulating Le Chatelier’s Principle,” is a software for educational use that demonstrates the Le Chatelier’s Principle, written using Rust, Tauri, and SvelteKit.

An honourable mention was also given to Sophia Zhang, an intermediate student at St. Bonaventure’s College, for her project entitled “Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Wind Energy Harvesting,” in which she tested a novel wind energy system using static electricity. Sophia won the Best of Fair Award and will be part of the NL Science Team representing the province in the Canada-Wide Science Fair to be held in Edmonton from May 14 to 19, as reported by CBC News.

Congratulations to Ryan and Sophia, and to all students that participated in the Eastern Newfoundland Science and Technology Fair!

The IEEE NL Section is deeply saddened to hear the news of passing of Paul Thorburn, at the age of 76. Paul assumed various roles within the IEEE NL section executive over the years, being chair of the IEEE NL Section in 1992 and chair of the Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC) in 1995. For his “outstanding and longtime contributions to section and regional activities,” Paul received the J.J. Archambault Eastern Canada Merit Award in 2013.

Funeral arrangements and memorial service details can be found at Carnell’s website.

The MUN Robosub AUV team is an engineering student group at Memorial University, comprised of engineering students designing a bio-inspired AUV to represent Memorial University in the RoboSub Competition. RoboSub is an international student competition by RoboNation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote hands-on educational experiences that empower students. The competition is held each summer at the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific’s TRANSDEC Anechoic pool in San Diego, California. Student teams design and build autonomous underwater vehicles that can identify and distinguish objects through machine learning, pick up objects, drop markers, monitor subsea structures, collect data and touch buoys under the water, thus mimicking those of real-world systems. The aim is to challenge students and advance the field of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), which are widely used for underwater exploration, seafloor mapping, and sonar localization, amongst many others.

Phoenix Aerospace is an aerospce club run by Memorial University Students, with the goal of “creating a safe space that opens up new opportunities for students to explore the inner workings of UAVs and aerospace applications.” The team received the IEEE Canadian Foundation Special Grant to compete in the 2022 IEEE Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Competition. The goal of this year’s competition, named “Research Infrastructure for Real-Time Onboard Vision Enabled Robots” (Ri4rover), is to have “autonomous drones actively track one of several ground robots in a miniature city”.

According to their website, “[t]he IEEE Canadian Foundation awards “Special Grants” to an IEEE Student Branch, an IEEE Section, an IEEE Canada Committee, a non-IEEE entity such as a high school , or in rare cases an individual, all in Canada. Special Grants are intended to partially fund one-time new and innovative projects that advance IEEE’s core purpose to foster technological innovation and excellence to benefit humanity.”