IEEE Region 5

Balloting for the 2025 IEEE Annual Election will end on October 1, 2025, at 12:00 noon ET (16:00 UTC). Members on record holding Graduate Student Member grades or higher as of March 31, 2025, are eligible to vote. To view the full candidate slate and more information about the election visit the IEEE Annual Elections Web Page

The Legacy of Service: How Charles Stein Inspires with Humility and Action

Charles Stein’s journey with IEEE and HKN is a powerful story of leadership through service.

From Employee Advocate to Regional Leader

Charles’s IEEE leadership path began when he sought professional development opportunities for his colleagues. He attended an IEEE | Rutgers Online Mini-MBA for Engineers session and, seeing a need for greater accessibility, advocated for its integration into his company's tuition assistance plan. This initiative not only brought the program to a wider audience but also led to his appointment to the IEEE Educational Activities Continuing Education Committee. His engagement deepened after attending an IEEE-USA Congressional Visits Day. He saw how his policy expertise could benefit his local IEEE section and region, leading to his serving as the Region 5 Industry Relations Leader. In this role, Charles works to create scalable models for talent development, build bridges between different sectors and support future professionals in his region and beyond.

The Heart of HKN

As a proud member of HKN, Charles lives out its core values of scholarship, character, and attitude. His lifelong commitment to education - from tutoring students to working in higher education financing - drives his involvement. For Charles, HKN is more than a professional society; it’s a community rooted in shared humanity. At his induction, he made a personal commitment: to ensure every initiative he joins reflects HKN’s values. He believes that a sense of joy is essential to learning and is a passionate advocate for STEM outreach. Through programs like IEEE TryEngineering and IEEE MOVE, he helps connect young learners with compassionate and technically skilled engineers, giving students the confidence to pursue careers in STEM.

A Vision for the Future

For Charles, the strength of IEEE lies in communication, engagement, and kindness. He believes that every volunteer, regardless of their role, contributes to a shared purpose and should be valued equally. His recent elevation to IEEE Senior Member is a testament to this belief. He sees it not just as a recognition but as a badge of accountability that inspires others to step up and serve.
He also has a clear vision for the organization's growth. He believes that standardized volunteer training would better prepare members for leadership roles. He advocates for initiatives like the IEEE Entrepreneurship and IEEE Consultants Network to provide more robust professional development opportunities in today's fast-paced world.

Servant Leadership in Action

Charles's work has a tangible impact on the Houston community. By organizing a virtual career fair, he partnered with local leaders to arrange an IEEE MOVE deployment at a high school and a community college. This provided over 50 students with valuable hands-on experience and helped build a stronger pipeline for future IEEE members.

At the core of his philosophy is servant leadership. For Charles, it means embracing humility and working collaboratively to achieve a greater good. He offers a simple but powerful call to action for his fellow IEEE members: "Put your strengths to work." He believes that every member has a unique expertise that can elevate an initiative or program. By telling their section leadership what they are interested in, members can find the right place to collaborate and make a meaningful impact. Through his dedication and unwavering commitment to serving others, Charles Stein exemplifies the best of IEEE and HKN, inspiring a new generation of leaders to connect, contribute, and create positive change.

Every three years, IEEE volunteer leaders from around the globe gather for the premier leadership event of the Institute: IEEE Sections Congress. The next Congress will be held on August 21–23, 2026, at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, Scotland.

Sections Congress brings together hundreds of IEEE Section leaders from all ten Regions to network, share best practices, and help shape the future of IEEE. This flagship event provides a unique opportunity for volunteers to connect across Regions, learn from one another, and explore the tools, resources, and programs IEEE offers to strengthen local member engagement.

More than just a conference, Sections Congress serves as a global forum for innovation and leadership. Attendees collaborate on strategies to advance IEEE’s mission, exchange ideas to better serve members, and contribute to the direction of IEEE’s initiatives worldwide.

With Glasgow’s rich culture and history as the backdrop, this gathering promises to be an unforgettable experience. Volunteer leaders will return to their Sections equipped with new knowledge, skills, and connections to drive IEEE forward at the local, regional, and global levels.

Mark your calendars now and prepare to be part of this inspiring event that only happens once every three years.

Additional Information

- Visit the event website HERE

- For inquiries, contact: R5SectionsCongress2026 or your respective Area Chair

The IEEE Fort Worth Section, in collaboration with IEEE Region 5, proudly presents IEEE MetroCon 2025, taking place on November 13, 2025, in Hurst, Texas. To find out more: IEEE MetroCon 2025
This premier annual conference brings together professionals and innovators to explore the latest developments across eight key engineering and technology tracks:
Software & Systems Engineering
Cybersecurity and Privacy
Power & Energy Systems
Quantum, AI, and Computational Intelligence
Biotechnologies
Autonomous and Vehicle Systems
Photonics
Professional Development
We invite all Region 5 members and professionals to attend this impactful conference and help shape the future of our field.

IEEE GHTC focuses on technology for the benefit of humanity. This cross-disciplinary annual conference provides the perfect venue for those interested in humanitarian engineering to join their peers in October 2025 at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado USA
The 15th IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (IEEE GHTC 2025) is a flagship international conference sharing effective approaches, best practices, and practical and/or scholarly technology-enabled interventions that address the needs of underserved communities in resource-constrained environments around the world. This year IEEE GHTC 2025 will highlight and explore “Technologies in Context” as its annual theme. This theme encourages authors to assemble diverse teams including community members articulating the need and/or desire for technology, relevant policymakers, and/or interdisciplinary academic teams to describe their technological intervention in social, cultural, environmental, economic, and/or political contexts. Submissions should discuss work done and interventions designed to address resource-constrained and/or development contexts, build local capacity, promote local involvement through decolonial and critically conscious practices, provide educational opportunities and connectivity, and/or create equitable and just access to water, energy, and food with minimal negative impact on the planet and environment.

IEEE is excited to announce the first-ever USA Virtual Career Fair, taking place on October 30, 2025. This nationwide virtual event will connect IEEE students, young professionals, and members with employers across the United States.

The Career Fair will feature opportunities in AI, semiconductors, power, aerospace, robotics, software, and more. Employers can participate at no cost, making this a unique opportunity to both recruit and gain brand visibility within IEEE.

📅 Date: Thursday, October 30, 2025

🔗 Learn more & register: careerfair.ieee.org

🔗Looking for hiring talent? Apply as a recruiter: careerfair.ieee.org/exhibitors

The IEEE R5 Transformers Academy is a leadership initiative designed to bridge generations by uniting experienced veterans and dynamic emerging professionals. Its mission is to foster collaboration and co-create solutions that advance technology for the benefit of humanity.

Over a focused weekend (November 14-16, 2025), participants will engage in mentorship and work in interdisciplinary teams. We are looking for individuals—from established leaders to rising stars—who have implemented innovative solutions or taken on the mantle of leadership. Whether you are an established leader or a rising star, we encourage you to apply.

Participation in this inaugural year is extremely limited, and the selection process operates on a rolling admissions basis.

Multiple Avenues for Support

We believe in a strong network of support. We have many avenues for getting involved, from industry to IEEE Organizational Units (OUs). This program is made possible by the dedicated support from our community.

• What: IEEE R5 Transformers Academy
• When: November 14 - 16, 2025
• Where: DFW Area

Learn More and Apply

To learn more about the program, find out about sponsorship opportunities, and submit your application, please visit:

https://r5.ieee.org/conferences/ieee-transformers-academy/

Learn about RazorHack, a weekend long jeopardy-style capture-the-flag cybersecurity competition where ambitious students and professionals connect. https://www.razorhack.org. The 2025 RazorHack will be held on November 7 - 9, 2025, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Pixar has some amazing new community events to share with you, including a recap of the RenderMan Art & Science Fair during Siggraph, a recent trip to ESMA's Graduation Show in France, and of course their latest RenderMan Art Challenge, where you can participate to win amazing prizes, including a Dell Pro Max 16 mobile workstation powered by NVIDIA!

New Art Challenge

­With awesome assets from Kitbash3D, new mentorship opportunities, and extended software trials from SideFX, Foundry, and SpeedTree, the new RenderMan art challenge is the perfect chance to expand your skillset and create a brilliant portfolio piece for a chance to win amazing prizes!

­Learn More

Renderman Art Challenge

Renderman Art and Science Fair 2025

Available through the MGA Scoop: https://mga.ieee.org/news

IEEE Educational Activities is currently accepting candidate applications and nominations for 2026 committee positions (representative, committee chair, committee member, and liaison positions), until September 30, 2025. Learn about available positions and submit nominations here: EA Nominations & Appointments . Available positions include:
IEEE Educational Activities Board Treasurer
Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Board, Region 1- 6 Representative
Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Board, Region 7-10 Representative
Standards Association Representative (SA)
Technical Activities Board (TAB) Representatives
Committee Chairs or Members

• Continuing Education Committee (CEC)
• Credentialing Program Committee (CPC)
• Educational Products Editorial Committee (EPEC)
• University Resources Committee (URC)
• Engineering Projects in Community Service Committee (EPICS) in IEEE
• Pre-University Education Coordinating Committee (PECC)
• Awards & Recognition Committee (ARC)
• Section Education Outreach Committee (SEOC)

Educational Activities Liaisons for:

• IEEE Conference Committee
• IEEE Future Directions Committee (FDC)
• IEEE Member Engagement and Life Cycle Committee (MELCC)
• IEEE Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB)
• IEEE Technical Activities Board/PSPB Products and Services Committee
• IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB)
• IEEE Industry Engagement Committee
• IEEE Al Coalition