IEEE Region 5

From Ian MacMillan, Director – Elect

2026 is off to an incredible start. We recently wrapped up the 2026 Greentech Conference and the R5 Congress & Student Competitions in late March. As I noted during the R5 Congress Banquet, these events are a "labor of love" for our volunteers—heavy on the labor, but fueled by passion. Our dedicated teams worked tirelessly to make both events a success, and I think most of us have finally caught up on our sleep!

One of my highlights was dropping into the Robotics competition room at 11:00 PM the night before the event. Seeing so many teams hard at work was a testament to their dedication (though I hope they managed at least a few hours of rest!). The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, praising the student competitions, the R5 meetings, the venue, and the beautiful backdrop of Boulder, CO.

The synergy between the students and the R5 Committee members created an infectious energy that makes every volunteer hour worth the effort. A special thank you to the R5 Congress Awards, Program, and Student Competitions Committees for their exceptional work. If you haven't experienced an R5 Congress yet, I highly recommend attending; Fort Worth is our next stop next spring!

We are always looking for fresh hands to help with these cornerstone R5 events. Please consider getting involved and joining our volunteer community.

Celebrating the lives and legacies of Dr. Zafar Taqvi and George Dean, titans of IEEE service for over 50 years. From working with local sections to their global outreach, Dr. Taqvi's and George's leadership was defined by a tireless commitment to mentorship and professional excellence. Whether encouraging young engineers to join the ranks or serving in dozens of leadership roles across Region 5, their impact on our community is immeasurable.

Reflecting on a truly remarkable event, we are thrilled to announce that the IEEE Region 5 Annual Congress and Student Competitions 2026 in beautiful Boulder, CO, was a resounding success! From inspiring networking opportunities to the incredible talent displayed across all student competitions, the energy throughout the event was electric. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making our time in Boulder such an unforgettable experience.

As we look toward the horizon, our excitement is already building for next year. We cannot wait to welcome the entire region to Fort Worth for the 2027 Congress. We are hard at work planning to ensure it is a fantastic gathering—we look forward to seeing you all in Texas!

We are thrilled to celebrate Walt Downing, recipient of the 2026 IEEE Systems Council Outstanding Service Award! Walt’s leadership has left a lasting mark on our community. Reflecting on the honor, Walt shared his deep appreciation for the colleagues and friends he has worked alongside throughout his years of IEEE service, attributing this achievement to the power of professional collaboration.

The IEEE Denver Section Young Professionals hosted a sold-out Build Your Own Tamagotchi workshop using Raspberry Pi Picos. The enthusiasm was so high that the event quickly reached capacity with a growing waitlist, proving that the joy of caring for a digital pet transcends all professional boundaries.

The evening brought together a diverse group of students, electrical engineers, and brave non-engineers who spent their night wiring circuits and debugging code. After networking over Mediterranean cuisine, attendees heard from leadership representing IEEE Denver, Denver Young Professionals, and the Power Electronics Society (PELS).

The technical session was led by Jack Miller and supported by CU Boulder students. After ninety minutes of focused building, screens across the room began to light up with tiny digital pets—bringing that unmistakable dopamine rush that comes when a circuit finally works!

Events like this highlight why the IEEE community is so special—bringing people together to learn, build, and share the joy of engineering.

On Thursday 12 June the Central Texas Section Life Member Affinity Group in cooperation with Central Texas Discover Engineering (https://www.centexeweek.org/ ) were volunteers at STEAM Lab (https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/event-series/steam-lab/) held at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, TX. We have shared hands-on STEM experiences there with kids there on several occasions. At this event we had three tables for STEAM Lab set up in the main lobby. Our tables included the always popular Van de Graaf generators, a table on Electro Magnetism, and another on Light Energy. We used the Van de Graaf generators to talk about static electricity and electrons. For electromagnetism we demonstrated how magnets work, and how the flow of electricity can induce a magnetic field. For light energy, we demonstrated how long wave UV can be used to detect frauds in gemstones. Traffic was slower than on days during the school year. The only scheduled group for the museum that day was around 200 kids. I had 40 visitors to my table on electromagnetism, though the Van de Graaf table was a little busier with around 60. IEEE members at the event were Life Senior Members James Mercier and John Purvis. Other IEEE members were Bindu Mangalampalli and Yuna Kim. Tao Luo with Central Texas Discover Engineering manned the Van de Graaf table.

Congratulations to Team TacTile from the IEEE Houston Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) Chapter for achieving an outstanding milestone by winning the world level of the 2025–2026 IEEE CASS Student Design Competition. This remarkable accomplishment highlights the team's innovation, technical excellence, and dedication, while showcasing the exceptional talent within the Houston CASS community. Their success serves as an inspiration to students and young professionals across IEEE.

The 16th Annual IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) returns to Boulder, Colorado, from October 7–10, 2026. This flagship conference shares evidence-based technology interventions for underserved communities worldwide.

The 2026 theme, 'Technologies in Context,' encourages research situated within social, cultural, and economic contexts.

Key Technology Themes:

• Healthcare & Well-Being
• Education, Communication, & Connectivity
• Equitable Access to Water, Food, & Energy
• Disaster Mitigation & Climate Resilience

Call for Submissions:

We invite Full Papers, Abstracts, Poster Presentations, and Special Session proposals.

Matt Francis

Past Director, Region 5 & 2026 Vice Chair, IEEE Industry Engagement Committee

In March, Region 5 had the honor of being the host site of the IEEE Industry Engagement Committee annual meeting in Denver Colorado, ahead of the Region 5 congress in Boulder. Being co-located, we had the opportunity to share the exciting work we have been doing in working with Industry in Region 5, as well as invite local and regional volunteers and leaders to share their best practices that led to this success. Myself, Director Sanderson, Jim Jeffries (IEEE-HKN President, IEEE Past President, Past Region 5 Director), Art Depoian, Region 5 Secretary and David Baunderant, Pikes Peak Section Chair and Computer Society Industry Chair for 2026 all joined in the conversations with IEEE IEC leadership and volunteers from around the world.

Why is industry engagement important? Today, IEEE membership is growing rapidly, exceeding 500,000 members in 2025. Region 5, which includes states across the U.S Southwest, ended 2025 as the second fastest growing IEEE Region in the world. What is driving this growth? Region 5 has one of the highest populations of industry members; professionals working in and leading sectors ranging from power to energy, semiconductors and related services. Region 5 continues to lean into these trends, focusing on events and initiatives supporting these fast-growing sectors.

Region 5 has worked with IEEE-USA to help develop and support Industry Workforce and Research Conference (IWRC) events, including the inaugural event in Little Rock Arkansas in 2023. IWRCs are designed to bring industry, academia and government together to solve our biggest technical and regional challenges. In 2025 we supported the Next Generation Microelectronic Manufacturing (NGMM) summit, collaborating with the Texas Institute Electronics (TIE) to highlight the Texas semiconductor ecosystem. The Texas Student Semiconductor Summit (Texas A&M, College Station), a student-led event, is now in its second year, attracting students from over 10 universities and attendance exceeding 200 annually. Industry participation has been key – in partnership with Region 5 and IEEE-USA, the student branch has attracted speakers and sponsors from companies spanning semiconductor manufacturing, design and packaging. The next major IWRC event will be in Dayton, OH (Region 2) on 2 June, under the theme of “Digital Twins”.

One trend that has continued is working with industry on our workforce. Beginning in 2023, volunteers from Region 5 began collaborating with Educational Activities on bridging the gap from K-12 to career paths for semiconductors. The project grew into a middle-school centered teacher training program for the manufacturing sector, curriculum development complete with videos and an eBook. With the generous support of the onsemi foundation , this program has developed teachers from coast to coast and across the globe. Through a joint agreement Disney’s Pixar and collaboration with IEEE Region 6, IEEE became the theme sponsor for Pixar’s Renderman open competition to support the role of technology in the arts. With a kickoff in Denver, the judging was completed in fall of 2024.

Region 5 has leaned heavily into innovation and opening paths for new thought leaders and innovators. In 2025, as part of our annual meeting, we launched SparkTank, an open forum for volunteers to pitch their new ideas for IEEE. We then launched Transformers Academy, a strategy retreat in which all participants – from new leaders to experienced – had to apply and be accepted on the basis of their ideas for change. Over the course of 2 days, the participants developed programs that are already bearing fruit in Region 5 and across IEEE. SparkTank and Transformers continued into 2026, beginning with our annual student competitions and regional meeting in Boulder, Colorado this month.

Executing these activities required collaboration. For those within IEEE looking to build better relationships with industry, start by looking across the broader IEEE. Are you working with the right stakeholders in IEEE? Is someone already doing something that you can add to? The Industry Engagement Committee can help connect your ideas to these stakeholders. The next level of collaboration is outward facing – working with key stakeholders in industry and other non-profits and agencies. Our activities in Region 5 would not have been possible without our network of volunteers, and the energy of new ideas from members spanning from students to life members.

Available through the IEC Newsletter: https://www.ieee.org/about/industry/newsletter

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

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