Dr. Alvin Chin of IEEE Chicago

Biography:

Dr. Alvin Chin is the Chair of the IEEE Chicago Section, Chair of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Chicago Chapter. Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Chicago Chapter, Chair of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Industry Engagement Committee and Chair of the ACM Chicago Section.  His expertise is in data science, machine learning and emerging technologies, where he worked as a Principal Data Scientist at RXO, IT Innovation Engineer at BMW Manufacturing, AI and Emerging Technology Researcher at BMW Group Technology Office USA, Senior Machine Learning Researcher at BMW Technology Corporation, and Senior Researcher at Microsoft and Nokia.  He also is an Adjunct Professor in the College of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in data science and machine learning.  A recognized industry thought leader; Dr. Chin holds ~20 patents, has ~60 publications, has spoken on international, national, and local panels, served on leadership boards for IEEE and ACM, and achieved a PhD, MASc, and BASc in computer science and electrical and computer engineering fields.

Email:

Dr. Gail Baura of Loyola University Chicago

Dr. Gail Baura is the Founding Director and the Chair of the Engineering Department at Loyola University Chicago.  

Biography:

Dr. Gail Baura is the Founding Director and Chair of Engineering at Loyola University Chicago.  Between her graduate degrees, earned at Drexel University and the University of Washington, she worked as a loop transmission systems engineer at AT&T Bell Laboratories. She then spent 13 years in the medical device industry conducting medical device research and managing research and product development at several companies. She holds 20 U.S. patents for patient monitoring technologies. In her last industry position, Dr. Baura was Vice President, Research and Chief Scientist at CardioDynamics. In 2006, she returned to academia as a Professor of Medical Devices at Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, which is one of the Claremont Colleges. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).  She has written four engineering textbooks, three of which are medical device textbooks. The second edition of her Medical Device Technologies textbook was published by Elsevier in 2021.

Yufei Feng of IEEE Chicago

Biography:

Yufei Feng is the Chair of the IEEE Young Professionals Group in Chicago. 

Dr. Kathleen Kramer, 2024 IEEE President-Elect of University of San Diego

Biography:

Kathleen A. Kramer is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. She is a Distinguished Lecturer for IEEE Aerospace & Electronics Systems Society (AESS) and chaired its technical panel on Cyber Security (2017-2019, 2020-2022). She has worked as a Member of Technical Staff at several companies including ViaSat, Hewlett Packard, and Bell Communications Research. Her technical interests are in multisensor data fusion and applications of neural and fuzzy systems to navigation and data security. She is also internationally known as a leader in accreditation and has been named a Fellow of ABET for contributions to engineering accreditation criteria in graduate programs, robotics and mechatronics, and cyber security. She is the 2024 IEEE President Elect, has a record of leadership across IEEE, and is a current officer of her own IEEE San Diego Section. She received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering magna cum laude with a second major in physics from Loyola Marymount University, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

Connie Kelly of IEEE Chicago

Region 4 is comprised of all or part of ten states in the upper Midwest from the Canadian border to the Great Plains to the Ohio Valley to the central plains.  Chicago Section is at the geographic center of Region 4 and is a vital part of the Region activities;  IEEE Day was established a dozen years ago to recognize our rich heritage and celebrate the ongoing contribution of the organization.  We recognize IEEE Day as a remembrance of past achievements and a call to carry on tradition of innovation, education, and cooperation that are the hallmarks of IEEE; Educational Activities is an essential part of the IEEE mission whether it is in ILN continuing education or pre-University programs.  As Humanitarian Activities is elevated to the level of a Board from that of a Committee, the added emphasis give higher visibility to programs like SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology), EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) and Humanitarian Grants.  Recognizing the need for rapid action, a committee on Climate Change and how IEEE can work to not only mitigate the effect of climate change, but work to address some of the root causes, has been empaneled.

Biography:

Constance Kelly (Connie) has been interested in technology her entire life.  Connie got her ham radio license as a preteen after reading a book on a young girl’s introduction to ham radio.  The electronics involved led her to numerous extra-curricular STEM programs, putting her on a path to an engineering school scholarship, unheard of for girls at that time. She has been a member of the Air Force Auxiliary starting as a teen-aged Cadet. AS a Senior Member she certified as an Incident Commander and a Master Communicator.  A LtCol, she has sat on committees at all levels in cadet program, communications, and aerospace education.  In the 90’s her engineering experience led her to introducing Cadets to STEM programs and activities outside CAP. In addition to IEEE and CAP, Connie is a member of Hamfesters Radio Club, Chicagoland Flight Instructors Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, and American Radio Relay League.

Kevin McQuown of Windy City Labs

In this talk, Kevin McQuown from Windy City Lab provides an overview of various paths in STEM education and consultancy, including an insight into courses offered at Northwestern University's Center for Talent Development. The primary focus will be the introduction of 'The Turing Guild,' a new online initiative for high school students and young adults. Modeled after the Scout BSA concept, this program aims to provide a structured environment for skill development in STEM fields. Through a system of skill tokens and designations, students can track their progress and achieve milestones. Learn how this approach aims to guide the next generation in their educational journey.

Biography:

Kevin McQuown is a seasoned software developer and consultant based in Chicago, with a Computer Science degree from IIT. Starting his career in 1984 at General Dynamics, he specialized in avionics software for the F-16 and later advanced Object-Oriented Design concepts using the Ada language for defense contractors. An expert in iOS development since Apple opened its OS to developers in 2008, Kevin consults for the University of Chicago and Fermi Lab on various research programs and provides software and hardware consulting services to Mayo Clinic researchers focused on epilepsy. As an educator, he's crafted curricula for iOS development for Chicago-area high schools and teaches advanced courses in IoT engineering and CPU architecture at Northwestern. Kevin is also a private pilot.

Balaji Sankarshanan of IEEE Region 4

Region 4 IEC is focused on creating a vibrant forum for active engagement between the industry and IEEE members spread across the Midwest region. R4 IEC regularly organizes webinars focusing on critical technologies of interest to the region through experienced speakers from the industry. The committee also undertakes initiatives like identifying focus industry domains relevant to the region and developing programs around those themes for skill based and knowledge development.

Biography:

Balaji Sankarshanan received his B.E. degree in electronics and communication from Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India in 2000 and M.Tech. degree in VLSI Design from SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, India in 2005. Since 2017 he has been with GE HealthCare Technologies Inc’s Science & Technology Organization -Advanced Technology Group working as Signal Integrity Engineer. He has over 21 years of industry academia experience in various engineering roles across organizations such as IBM labs, Qualcomm, AMI, and University of Western Australia. His research interests and areas of specialization are microelectronics, semiconductor materials, computational modelling & simulation, signal, and power integrity analysis. He is a recipient of Australian Research Council Postgraduate Award, a Senior Member of IEEE, Member Engineers Australia and Chartered Engineer, The Institution of Engineers (India).

Dr. Brook Abegaz of IEEE Chicago

The IEEE Chicago Industry Engagement Local Group has industry meet-ups twice a year. It maintains a database of industry professionals in the Chicagoland area, has industry engagement plans for the coming years, recognizes companies with the most involvement in IEEE Chicago, and recognizes industry professionals with the most engagement in the Chicago Section.

Biography:

Dr. Brook Abegaz is an Associate Professor at Loyola University Chicago and is the Advisory Chair of IEEE Chicago. He served as the Treasurer of IEEE Chicago in 2020, the Vice-Chair of IEEE Chicago in 2021, and the Chair of IEEE Chicago in 2022. He founded and is currently serving as the Chair of the Chicago Section Industry Engagement Local Group. He is also the Advisory Chair of the IEEE Chicago Section for 2023 and 2024.

Email:

John Zulaski of IEEE Chicago

Since 2009, the Chicago Section’s Science Kits for Public Libraries (SKPL) program has been enabling libraries to create circulating science kit collections. As a result, kids are able to borrow science kits just like a book.

Through the generosity of Chicago Section members and the companies they work for, over 50 SKPL Grants of up to $2,000 each have been awarded. Today’s talk will focus on the Impact of these Science kit collections on the city of Chicago’s Communities.

Biography:

John Zulaski is a Senior Life member of IEEE, former Chair of the Chicago Section, and Region 4 Science Kits for Public Libraries Committee Chair.

George Thomas of Chicago Engineers Foundation

The Chicago Engineers’ Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a mission to encourage and empower Chicago students to become the next generation of engineers.  Thanks to dozens of volunteers who generously share their time and talents, the organization proudly supports students across the city, with K-12 learning opportunities, scholarship awards, and career resources to help college students achieve their engineering career goals.  This discussion will share information for students and prospective volunteers on how to get involved in the organization’s mission and programs. 

Biography:

George Thomas is a life senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is the current History Chairman of the IEEE Chicago Section. He has held several positions at the IEEE sectional and regional levels. He was a co-chair of the IEEE Chicago Section’s Centennial Celebration in 1993. While serving as History Chairman, the Chicago Section has sponsored three milestones administrated through the IEEE History Center that honor significant technical achievements in the Chicago area. Currently, he is a director of the Chicago Engineers’ Foundation at the Union League Club of Chicago. He received his BSEE and MSEE from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Chris Foote of Amazon

Outlook on the job market in the tech sector for new college grads

Biography:

Chris Foote is a Sr. Manager with 6.5 years of tenure at Amazon Web Services and over 13 years of experience in enterprise IT solutions architecture. He currently leads the Compute Specialist team focused on creating and executing the Go-to-Market Strategy for Modern Applications and Hybrid architectures, including Analytics, High Performance Computing, and AI/ML use cases. Chris is an alumni of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Kiran Lakkireddy of Amazon

Outlook on the job market in the tech sector for new college grads

Biography:

Kiran Lakkireddy is a Principal Solutions Architect, with 5 years of tenure at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and over 15 years of experience in Enterprise IT Strategy, Architecture, and Alanning. Kiran helps AWS customers with technology strategy and helps financial services organizations make the right architecture decisions in AWS. Kiran has a Masters degree in computers.

Mark Werwath of Northwestern University

This talk will focus on practical aspects of how talented engineers can successfully transition to a management role. Some basic advice and lessons learned as well as educational options for Masters degree in Engineering Management.

Biography:

Mark Werwath, (PMP), has a history of managing complex system (software) and product development, IT, and manufacturing and system implementation projects in 4 continents. Most of Mark’s career has been spent program managing high tech RandD and change management programs in large Fortune 500 firms. Mark’s main accomplishments include:

-Successfully building the program management office and portfolio management process for a variety of companies in high tech industries

-Working as a program manager in the Northrop Defense systems division for 3 years, delivering the Marconi Zeus and ALQ 162 support programs on time and on budget                       

-Managing major new product and system development projects for Motorola for 23+ years, including raising their process maturity levels from SEI level 1 to level 3 over a 3 year period of time

-Mark was on the IEEE EMS board of governors for 3 years and was VP of education for 2, VP of publications for 3 years and conference chair for TEMSCON 18

- Mark was an executive director of the PMO for WMS Gaming focused on new product development, 6 years.

- Mark’s work includes consulting with firms such as Abbott and Baxter.

- Mark is also an investor and sits on the boards of startups in the Chicagoland area

- Mark now is a clinical associate professor with Northwestern University. Mark is currently the director of the Master of Engineering Management program at Northwestern University. Mark has a BSME degree from the University of Illinois, a Masters in Engineering Management degree from Northwestern University, and his Ph.D. in Organizational Development and Change from Benedictine University. Mark’s dissertation topic concerned organizing for technological innovation.

- Mark is married and a father of three children.

Aline McNaull of IEEE-USA

IEEE-USA government relations is involved in many issues; from AI and quantum to patents, space, defense, small business development, immigration, and energy, IEEE-USA staff weighs in on legislation and works to improve federal STEM policy on behalf of the engineering and technical professionals in the United States.   Staff work with agencies and congress to ensure that rules, regulations, and laws help rather than hinder the progress of research.  This talk will provide an overview of those activities.  IEEE-USA has many policy committees.  The talk will also provide information about joining these discussions so vital to our policy process.  In August of 2022, President Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill addressing policies and programs at the National Science Foundation, NIST, NASA, Department of State and other agencies of the federal government.  The goal of that law was to boost American research, development, and programs to benefit the semiconductor industry while also strengthening other technology sectors in the US.  The talk will provide a summary of how IEEE-USA played an instrumental role in the crafting of that law.  One of the goals of the law is to spread out the federal STEM resources to many areas of the country that have historically not received the same level of investment as the prominent technology hubs in this country.  IEEE-USA is currently working with Congress and the agencies to ensure that the law receives the strongest possible funding through the federal appropriations process.  We are also working with Congress on implementing the many federal programs in the law. 

Biography:

Aline McNaull is a senior legislative representative in the IEEE-USA Washington Office.  In her role, she works on energy, space, defense, and research and development policy.  She staffs four IEEE-USA policy committees including the Space Ad Hoc Committee, Energy Policy Committee, Committee on Aerospace and Transportation, and the Research and Development Policy Committee.  She represents IEEE-USA in the broader STEM coalitions in Washington including the Coalition for National Security Research, Energy Sciences Coalition, Coalition for National Science Funding, and the Task Force on American Innovation.  Prior to joining IEEE-USA, Aline worked in policy at the American Institute of Physics and prior to transitioning to policy, she was a multi-disciplinary engineer for Raytheon and a patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Bryn Mawr College.

Anne Lee of Nokia

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm and the “winds” are not letting up.  ChatGPT is built by a company called OpenAI leveraging their foundational AI Large Language model, GPT – Generative Pre-trained Transformer.  Since its release on November 30, 2022, ChatGPT has accelerated an arms race in the AI field with many companies and organizations announcing their own models, some of them open-sourced.  The best known open source model being Meta’s LLAMA.  This talk will cover – what is GenAI/LLMs, how did we get here, where are we, what are the concerns, and what may the future hold?

Biography:

Anne Y. Lee is a Bell Labs Fellow currently working as a Senior Technology Advisor in the Technology Leadership Office on Technology Strategy and Architecture supporting the CSTO and CEO by analyzing the evolution of key technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence) and the overall network architecture to identify new directions for the industry and the impact and requirements on the company's portfolio.
Anne has over 30 years of experience at Nokia (AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent, and Nokia).  She is the original IMS technical team leader for Lucent Technologies working closely with the standards team from the beginning – circa 1999 – to pioneer the multi-access, globally interoperable IP communications system being deployed worldwide today. 2019 was the 20 th anniversary of IMS and
today there are roughly four billion devices deployed utilizing VoLTE, VoWiFi, fixed voip, and RCS services. IMS has just gone cloud native and adoption continues around the globe into 5G and beyond evolving to features beyond voice with the integration of WebRTC into IMS Data Channel to revolutionize the phone call.  Anne is a technologist at heart and an electrical engineer and computer scientist by training. She
became a Bell Labs Fellow in 2005 and has multiple patents and publications.

Anne’s blog posts:
- https://onestore.nokia.com/asset/212898
- https://www.bell-labs.com/institute/blog/putting-ai-historical-perspective/
- https://www.nokia.com/about-us/careers/life-at-nokia/employee-blogs/2020-ada-lovelace-
honoree-anne-lee-pioneering-software-engineer-in-telecommunications-technology/
- https://www.bell-labs.com/institute/blog/today-we-celebrate-invaluable-contributions-women-
technologists-nokia-bell-labs/?
- https://www.bell-labs.com/institute/blog/lets-put-women-back-into-the-history-books-of-
computing/?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=linkedin&utm_campaign=nbl-iwd22-1