Join us for the IEEE Thompson Okanagan Section Emerging Developments in GHz Engineering (EDGE) 2025: IEEE MTT-S Thompson Okanagan Inauguration & Tech Summit

This event marks a significant milestone for our IEEE community in the Thompson-Okanagan region, and we look forward to celebrating with you.

Emerging Developments in GHz Engineering (EDGE) 2025: IEEE MTT-S Thompson Okanagan Inauguration & Tech Summit

Date: Tuesday, August 12th, 2025
Time: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: EME 0050, 1137 Alumni Avenue, UBC Okanagan Engineering, Management and Education Building, Kelowna, BC

Register here: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/494402.

Abstract: 

Emerging Developments in GHz Engineering (EDGE) 2025 marks the official inauguration of the IEEE MTT-S Thompson Okanagan Chapter. This full-day event is dedicated to advancing knowledge and collaboration in microwave, RF, and GHz-frequency engineering. EDGE 2025 brings together academic leaders, industry experts, researchers, and students for an engaging program featuring keynote talks, panel discussions, technical sessions, lab tours, and project demonstrations. The summit aims to establish a strong regional hub for innovation and excellence in GHz technologies, providing valuable networking and learning opportunities.

The day begins with remarks from the executive members of the IEEE Thompson Okanagan Section and interim officers of the MTT-S chapter, followed by the formal inauguration ceremony. Attendees will enjoy a range of activities, including an industry panel, a Distinguished Microwave Lecture, a Young Professionals talk, and a networking lunch. Lab visits, project demonstrations, and a poster session offer hands-on experiences, while invited talks and industry presentations explore advanced microwave topics. The event concludes with student and technical presentations showcasing innovative research by emerging engineers and scientists.

Morning Session

Afternoon Session

This is an excellent opportunity to connect with IEEE members, learn more about IEEE benefits, and participate in discussions about the section’s future.

Bios:

Prof. Mohammad H. Zarifi (Ph.D., PEng, PRC Tier II, SMIEEE) received the B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Tabriz, Iran, in 2004, 2006, and 2009, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor and Tier II Principal’s Research Chair (PRC) in Sensors and Microelectronics at the School of Engineering at the University of British Columbia, and the director of Okanagan MicroElectronics and Gigahertz Applications laboratory (OMEGA Lab), Canada. Prior to joining UBC, Dr.Zarifi was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, Canada, from 2013 to 2017. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and holds six issued or pending patents. Dr. Zarifi received the CMC-NRC first-place award for industrial collaboration for the innovative microwave sensors in Canada in 2015. Dr. Zarifi’s research focuses on Applied Electromagnetics and Circuits and Systems for Communications and Sensing Applications. Dr. Zarifi is the chair and a member of IEEE MTT-S TC-26 “RFID, Wireless Sensor, and IoT,” as well as a member of IEEE MTT-S TC-4 “Microwave Passive Components and Transmission Line Structures.” He is also a senior member of both the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society and the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society. Additionally, Dr. Zarifi has served as a reviewer for several journals and conferences. Dr. Zarifi has received the Emerging Researcher Award and the Best Teaching Award at the School of Engineering in 2020 and 2021, respectively. He is also an IEEE MTT-S Distinguished Microwave Lecturer for the class of 2024-2027.

Dr. Youry Khmelevsky is a professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department at Okanagan College, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley. With over 30 years of experience in academia and applied research, his work focuses on systems engineering, software development, cloud computing, data systems, and health informatics. Dr. Khmelevsky has led numerous industry-funded and grant-supported R&D projects across North America, Europe, and the South Pacific.

For further information, please get in touch with us
vishal.balasubramanian [at] ubc.ca
Youry Khmelevsky (email: tok-section [at] ieee.org) and
Subscribe to the news at NEWS-THOMPSONOKANAGAN@listserv.ieee.org

Refreshments and a lunch will be provided

IEEE Okanagan Section Year End Winter Social Event (Thurs Dec 19 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.)

Time & Date: 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., Thursday, December 19th, 2024
Location: Room HS 101 and online in Zoom at Okanagan College (in-person and online)
Registration (is open now): https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/454022 (IEEE Okanagan Section) and https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/453118 (IEEE OK SB)

Bios:

Martin Mallinson: With a lifetime of experience in electrical engineering, designing and developing devices worldwide, Martin would like to share his thoughts and experiences. These are very relevant to the new IEEE in the valley. The past 30 years of his work have taken place in companies in Okanagan. How can that be achieved in our beautiful valley while remaining connected to customers worldwide? We’ll hear how Martin manages to do that, the compromises, and the opportunities.

Kristina Cormier is a third-year Computer Science student at Okanagan College. She has recently discovered a passion for machine learning algorithms. Kristina is the Chair of the Okanagan College IEEE Student Branch. She assists with organizing events and volunteering. Kristina truly enjoys being a mentor and helping others.

Ajitesh Parihar is a four-year Computer Science student and a Research Assistant at Okanagan College. He is a tech enthusiast who enjoys learning about innovations and technologies and is passionate about software engineering, cyber security, and algorithms. Ajitesh is the Vice Chair of the IEEE Student Branch and enjoys meeting and working with talented individuals.

Dolcy Sareen is a third-year Computer Science student at Okanagan College and the Okanagan College IEEE Student Branch webmaster. She is passionate about learning new technologies and strongly focuses on data. She enjoys connecting with people and continuously learning from new experiences.

Keona Gagnier is a third-year Computer Science student at Okanagan College.

Thais Damasceno is the past chair of the Okanagan College IEEE Student Branch.

Photos from the event:

We are glad to share great news: The IEEE Okanagan Subsection elevation to the IEEE Thompson Okanagan Section was officially approved on 23 November 2024. We just received a confirmation today, 11 December 2024, at 1:28 pm:

Time & Date: 5 p.m. – 5 p.m. (24 hours), October 25 th, 2024
Location: Room E301, E302, E303 and E108 (lunch room), Computer Science Department, Okanagan College (in-person)

Okanagan College IEEE Student Branch and Okanagan Subsection are hosting IEEEXtreme 18.0

IEEEXtreme is a global challenge in which teams of IEEE Student members – advised and proctored by an IEEE member and supported by an IEEE Student Branch – compete in 24 hours against each other to solve a set of programming problems https://ieeextreme.org/

In previous years, over 6,000 teams, just under 15,000 participants, and 65 Countries competed. This includes over 600 Student Branches, over 700 Ambassadors, and approximately 2,500 volunteers.

Many kind sponsors and volunteers are contributing to help ensure the success of this event. Registration is open until Oct 12, 2024.

Castanet: “Okanagan College students tackle 24 problems in 24 hours” https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/521987/Okanagan-College-students-tackle-24-problems-in-24-hours

Photos from the Event:

The Computer Science department at Okanagan College is looking for project proposals for its capstone CIS and BCIS project courses in 2024-2025

In the capstone courses, second-year students in teams of 3 to 5 and fourth-year students in teams of 7 to 13 work on projects proposed by industry or other organizations. Each team is supervised by a faculty member acting as the technical director and assisting or pointing the students to appropriate technical expertise; you’ll act as the client. The projects can be general in software development or specialized in software engineering.

The Computer Science department invites you to submit a project for our students to prepare them for industry better.

There are numerous benefits to your organization:

• Exploration of research/development opportunities utilizing the expertise of OC faculty, staff and students.
• Access to world-class research facilities and expert technical personnel at OC.
• Engagement with the next class of new graduates to facilitate recruitment and networking.
• Exploration of products or services outside your organization’s current business plan.
• Introduction of your organization to the OC academic community.

Participation: How would you participate? You would submit your project requirements to capstones [at] Okanagan [dot] BC [dot] ca, and our students and faculty would work with you to develop potential solutions. You will have ample opportunity to be actively engaged in developing solutions.

The following outlines the curricular parameters of this final-year project courses (second and fourth years of study), what we have committed to the course, possibilities of participation with you, and suggestions for development going forward. Instructions and a fillable PDF form, COSC_OC_CapstonePartnerProposalForm.docx (please save the DOCX file to your computer before filling the form out), as well as a sample proposal, are available to help you submit your project (please contact by email for a sample).

Curricular Parameters: These courses will form a significant portion of the final-year diploma and degree requirements, representing six credits of coursework spread over two academic terms (usually September to April) in courses COSC 236/224, COSC 470/471 and COSC 436/437/419. Working in teams of 3 to 5 in COSC 236/224 and 7 to 15 in COSC 470/471, students will be expected to commit around 10 hours per week to complete this component, resulting in approximately 260 hours per student.

Our Commitment to Resources: The Computer Science department will commit instructional resources to support these students as they become highly competent and enthusiastic professionals. We will provide each student with support and instruction in design, project management, communication, solution quality assessment, life cycle analysis, and more.

Suggestions for Further Development: We believe that offering our students a solid and progressive integrative design experience in their final year of study can best be met in partnership with the community, whether for profit or not. The strength of this program will come from community involvement inside and outside Okanagan College, in which we hope to include you and your organization.

We understand that some issues still need to be addressed. One is that of Intellectual Property, and we are working to introduce easy-to-use templates for all parties to use.

Another is that of resources. The Computer Science department will commit a significant amount of financial resources. Still, to make this a successful partnership and a sustainable model, we hope you and your organization will commit similarly, if feasible. How this might take shape is currently open for discussion, and we welcome your thoughts.

We are very excited about offering our students this learning opportunity to work in partnership with individuals and organizations that have a significant stake in the current and future successes of software development and engineering. With your support and active contribution, we strongly believe this will be a successful undertaking that will benefit all parties involved.

We are very interested in hearing from you regarding this proposal and invitation. We hope that you will be interested in receiving further information about our initiative and that you will consider becoming an active participant in the program. We welcome any suggestions or input you might have, which can all be submitted to Capstones [at] Okanagan [dot] BC [dot] ca. We look forward to hearing from you.