IEEE Region 5 April 2025 Newsletter
Editor: Raphael Chabaneix
Director's Corner
 | Dear IEEE Region 5 Members, Spring has sprung! March concluded with a massive splash in Wichita, Kansas, as we concluded a very successful 2025 Region 5 Congress, Student Competitions, and Green Technologies Conference. We had attendees from all 27 sections spanning the US Southwest, and our special guests included IEEE President Kathleen Kramer, Treasurer Gerardo Barbosa, IEEE-USA President Tim Lee, Past Technical Activities VP Fred Shindler and Region 9 Director Jen Castillo. We introduced our first “Spark Tank”, where volunteers pitched ideas for improving IEEE and their sections, as well as panels covering topics from leadership development to conferences. We honored volunteers and members with over 300 in attendance at our annual awards banquet, and finally ended the weekend with a multi-chapter HKN induction ceremony and a well attended STEM workshop. While this was a lot, April is shaping up to be even busier! Stay tuned, and follow us on our LinkedIn page to stay up to the minute. The breadth of IEEE is truly amazing – from technology to policy, and anything that our volunteers imagine. As always, thank you all for being part of our IEEE community, and doing your part to advance technology for humanity. A. Matt Francis, PhD IEEE Director, Region 5 |
R5 Partner Conferences
 | Region 5 is thrilled to co-sponsor and host PCIC 2025 in the vibrant city of Dallas, TX! Get ready for the Annual IEEE IAS-PCIC Conference—a dynamic gathering of top electrical professionals focused on cutting-edge innovations in installations, operations, and safety. |
R5 News
 | The 2025 Region 5 Meeting in Wichita, Kansas, saw a tremendous surge in attendance, with over 330 people attending. We were thrilled to welcome IEEE dignitaries Kathleen Kramer (IEEE President), Tim Lee (IEEE USA President), Gerardo Barbosa (IEEE Treasurer), Drew Lowery (Membership & Geographic Activities Vice President-elect), Jenifer Castillo (Region 9 Director), Scott Tamashiro (Region 6 Director-elect), Jim Jefferies (IEEE Past President), Fred Schindler (Technical Activities Board Past Vice President), Kelly Smith (Conferences, Events & Experiences Senior Business Services Manager) and James Ramirez (IEEE Senior Corporate Development Manager). We are honored that delegates from all of Region 5's 27 sections were able to join us. Many thanks to our gracious host, the Wichita Section, and to all the volunteers who made the event such a resounding success! |
 | The 2025 Region 5 Meeting held the Region's inaugural Spark Tank awarding seed money for innovations benefiting professional activities within the Region. Congratulations to our winners: 1st Place – Evan Glover 2nd Place – Art Depoian, Case Kirk 3rd Place – Ben Hand |
 | On March 30th, 2025, the R5 Annual Meeting Banquet in Wichita, Kansas, celebrated the achievements of our members, sections, student branches, industry partners with regional awards and director's awards. We recognized the winners of the circuits, cyber, ethics, presentation and robotics student competitions. Congratulations to our competition and award winners! Visit here for the full list of winners. |
DARPA Spark Tank
 | DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) is hosting its inaugural MTO Spark Tank on July 24-25 in Aurora, Colorado. This is an opportunity for interested organizations and individuals to learn more about MTO’s mission and thrust areas (which spans photonics, quantum, biologically-inspired microsystems, advanced manufacturing, and beyond), meet with our leadership and program managers, and learn about how to work with DARPA. An invitation-only Pitch Day on July 25 will allow selected participants to pitch revolutionary concepts directly to MTO program managers for potential funding of up to $400,000 for short-term exploratory efforts. To be considered, interested parties must submit an abstract outlining their concept by April 23. More information on Spark Tank and Pitch Day can be found here. |
IEEE MGA
| Available through the MGA Scoop: https://mga.ieee.org/news |
Relevant Links
R5 Roster can be viewed here
IEEE: http://www.ieee.org/
View IEEE Benefits: here
Renew IEEE Membership: renew
MGA: https://www.ieee.org/communities/geographic-activities.html
IEEE USA: https://ieeeusa.org/
IEEE Region 5: https://r5.ieee.org/
vTools: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/
Collabratec: http://ieee-collabratec.ieee.org/
Thank you for being part of IEEE Region 5.
Stay engaged and share your news at news@r5ieee.org.
Southwestern USA - Region 5 : https://r5.ieee.org/
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Stay engaged and share your news at news@r5ieee.org.
Southwestern USA - Region 5 : https://r5.ieee.org/
Manage your IEEE Communication Preferences at the IEEE Privacy Portal