Meet the Candidates: 2019 IEEE Division IX Director-Elect

The IEEE annual election began on 15 August and ends on 1 October at 1 p.m. EDT USA/17:00 UTC.  Vote now.  The IEEE Signal Processing Society is committed to ensuring that its members are prepared with sufficient information about the candidates in order to make their best informed decisions. In this month’s issue of Inside Signal Processing, we invite you to meet the two candidates for the Division IX Director-Elect: Ferial El-Hawary and Rabab Kreidieh Ward.

For more information about the IEEE election, visit their website at http://www.ieee.org/elections.

Your vote counts: don’t forget to cast your ballot by 1 October!

2019 IEEE Division IX Director-Elect Candidates

Ferial El-Hawary
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President, BH Engineering Systems Ltd.,
Former Professor, Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Email: f.el-hawary@ieee.org

My record serving on the IEEE Board, the MGA Board, and the Oceanic Engineering Society Board, allows me to promote and share with you some initiatives for Division IX:

• SPS is the largest society within the Division IX, its scope is pervasive, I will focus on building bridges between SPS and the rest of Division IX Societies with guidance of SPS leadership for the benefit to all.
• Based on my multi-disciplinary background, I will propose joint cross-disciplinary initiatives for collaboration between Societies focusing on their overlapping Technical Fields of Interest, such as, joint individual Memberships/ Conferences/Publications in society clusters.
• Foster the overall growth in Division IX Societies services particularly in membership and expanding the role of the Young Professionals and Students, and embracing membership from IEEE ten Regions on Chapters Development based on my experience as Membership Development Chair
• Reach out to Conference participants who are non-IEEE members to grow memberships
• The challenge for Division IX is finding educational products and services and leverage benefits to members responding to their needs and aspirations.
• Develop relationships with Industry for corporate memberships and Scholarships.
• Follow up on TAB and Division IX efforts made on Strategic Planning and work on implementing the necessary action items

I have the experience, enthusiasm and abilities to contribute to IEEE and will be honored to have your vote as Division IX Delegate/Director (2020-2021), https://ieee.org/elections.

IEEE Life Fellow
(M'82-S'86-F'99-LF’13)
(Nominated by IEEE Division IX)
IEEE-Board of Directors 2008-2009
IEEE-Canada President 2008-2009
IEEE-OES AdCom 1986-2000, 2002-2017, and 2019-2021

Thank you All for your Continuous Support!
 

Rabab Kreidieh Ward
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Professor Emeritus
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
University of British Columbia (UBC)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

IEEE is a superb global organization with student, academic and industry members from all world regions. My priorities are to promote the technical leadership and the career advancement of all our members regardless of their country, gender, age, or cultural background. During my Presidency of SPS, I emphasized the importance of serving our members and their technical disciplines.

If elected I will work towards:

• Providing our members the means for becoming leaders in their field by:
  
  • Upgrading their technical expertise with tutorials on existing and emerging technologies, industry courses, hands-on training, online courses with completion certificates, and creating more publications for industry engineers.
  • Enhancing their leadership skills through workshops for communication and managerial skills for professional development.
  • Expanding their networks via mixed-audience Chapter events, industry mentoring of students, and strengthening local Chapters.
• Expanding awareness about the importance of Division IX technologies to broader audiences through media coverage and demonstrative application videos.
• Addressing both the common and unique needs of each of the seven Division IX societies and facilitating mutual exchange among them. We range from deep information theory to fast growing smart transportation systems, while keeping eyes on planet Earth.

I have been an IEEE volunteer for 30 years, serving on international, technical, and educational Boards. I led the IEEE TAB effort for Africa and Education. In SPS, I drove policies to accommodate prospective conference attendees impacted by travel bans. We also introduced special programs for women, industry engineers, and young professionals. I co-founded the thriving Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology.

I have the experience and leadership skills to enable improvements that benefit our members. I lead by consensus, consulting others, listening to all viewpoints and fostering an open, collaborative, and inclusive environment. Write to me and keep me informed of matters important to you!