Celia Desmond

Biography:

Celia Desmond is President of World Class – Telecommunications, providing telecommunications management training. Celia established and ran the PMO for Echologics. Her team managed all proposals, contracts and project management processes, She has lectured internationally on programs for success in today’s changing environment.  As Director at Stentor Resource Center Inc., she was instrumental in establishing governance, culture and service/product development processes. At Bell Canada, Celia provided strategic direction to corporate planners, ran technology/service trials, standardized equipment, and supported large business clients.

Celia was 2016-1017 IEEE Division III Director. She has held numerous IEEE positions including, Secretary, IEEE VP – Technical Activities, ComSoc President, IEEE Canada President, VP Technology and Engineering Management Society and Project Director for ComSoc’s Wireless Engineering Certification.

Celia holds MSc. Engineering,  B.Sc. Mathematics & Psychology, Ontario Teaching Certificate and PMP certification. Celia has taught kindergarten, high school, and at 5 universities. She is author of 2 Project Management books.

Jason Gu

Biography:

Dr. Jason GU received the bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Science from the University of Science and Technology of China, in 1992, the master's degree in Biomedical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1995, and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Alberta, Canada, in 2001.

He is currently a Full Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering with Dalhousie University, Canada. He is also a Cross-Appointed Professor with the School of Biomedical Engineering for his multidisciplinary research work. He has over 26 years of research and teaching experience and has authored over 350 conference papers and articles. His research areas include robotics, biomedical engineering, rehabilitation engineering, neural networks, and control. He is a fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada and Canada Academy of Engineering. He has been the Associate Editor of the Journal of Control and Intelligent Systems, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics, IEEE SMC Magazine, the International Journal of Robotics and Automation, Unmanned Systems, the Journal of Engineering and Emerging Technologies, and IEEE Access. Dr. Gu is currently IEEE Canada Past President for 2022-2023.

Anader Benyamin-Seeyar

Biography:

ANADER BENYAMIN-SEEYAR (IEEE Member 1975, Senior Member 1991, Fellow EIC 2012, Senior Life Member 2016)

Anader is a Senior Project Manager of Transportation Systems – Rail & Transit Canada. WSP Canada Inc. since 2019.  He was Senior Telecommunications Specialist at Le Groupe SM International, leading expert for Telecommunications and Security Systems development involved with Telecom pre- and post-sale projects and project management for many National and International programs for many years.  He received the B.Sc. degree from Iran University of Science & Technology, the M.Sc. degree from McGill University and the Ph.D. degree from Concordia University (1985) all in Electrical Engineering. He is an Affiliate Associate Professor at Concordia University, where he taught for many years as part-time teacher & researcher.  Since 1985, he worked for advanced technology and engineering companies such as WSP Canada, Le Groupe SM International, Apollo Microwave, ISR Technologies, PolarSat, ART Advanced Research Technologies, Harris Corporation (Montreal), Vistar Telecommunications, Spar Aerospace/ ComStream (or MDA Corporation), and Bell-Northern Research (BNR) in the areas of satellite and terrestrial communications.

He has been with the IEEE Montreal Section as Section Secretary and Section Chair (2006-2008).  He initiated and chaired the IEEE Teachers In Service Program (TISP) Committee of Canada (2009-2013).  He is Nomination & Awards Committee Chair of the Montreal Section.  He is VP of IEEE Canadian Foundation Committee (ICF) Development Committee program.  He was Coordinator of the Global IEEE ComSoc Distinguished Lecture Tour (DLT/DSP) and presently represents Regon7 (Canada) for the IEEE ComSoc.  Further, he was involved in many National and International conferences, such as Microwave Theory & Technology (MTT) 2012 and ICC 2021 both in Montreal. He was actively contributing to the development of IEEE 802.16 Standardization.

He is Chairing Communications & Information Theory Chapter of the Section, since 2009 and was instrumental in helping the chapter to win the North America Award and the Global IEEE Communications Society Chapter-of-the-Year Award in 2012. He is vice-President, IEEE Foindation's Development Committee.  He led IEEE Montreal Section to win IEEE Canada's Large Section Award for 2008 and he was awarded with the IEEE MGA Leadership Award for 2008.  He won the 2014 IEEE J.J. Archambault Eastern Canada Service Award. Winner of 2019 IEEE Canada W.S. Read Outstanding Service Medal.

Raghav Thanigaivel

Biography:

Raghav Thanigaivel is a Senior Engineer at Telus Mobility and is responsible for the automation of their 4G and 5G Wireless Core Networks. Previously he was stationed at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA, to develop software for Wireless R&D activities in the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) division. He is also a former employee of IBM India, where he worked on Systems Engineering software development for AT&T USA.

He holds a Masters Degree in Telecommunications from University of Colorado Boulder, USA and a Bachelors Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Amrita University, India. He is an IEEE Senior Member, a Professional Engineer in Canada and has obtained multiple certifications, including IEEE's very own Wireless Communications Professional (WCP) credential.

In his spare time, he volunteers with various entities such as the IEEE and the York Region Amateur Radio Club. He is currently the Chair and Coordinator for IEEE Canada Young Professionals Committee. He possesses an Advanced Qualification Ham Radio License and is also an Advanced Operations Drone Pilot & Flight Reviewer in Canada.