Section News

Holy Trinity Student Receives IEEE Award at the 2023 Eastern Newfoundland Science and Technology Fair

Published: Apr 4, 2023 by IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section

Ryan Cullen, a senior student at the Holy Trinity High School, received the IEEE Award in the 2023 Cenovus Energy Eastern Newfoundland Science and Technology Fair. The IEEE Award at the Eastern Newfoundland Science and Technology Fair is given to the best senior project in an Electrical and Computer Engineering-related field, selected by a judge for the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section.

Ryan’s project, entitled “Equilibrium - it goes both ways. Simulating Le Chatelier’s Principle,” is a software for educational use that demonstrates the Le Chatelier’s Principle, written using Rust, Tauri, and SvelteKit.

An honourable mention was also given to Sophia Zhang, an intermediate student at St. Bonaventure’s College, for her project entitled “Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Wind Energy Harvesting,” in which she tested a novel wind energy system using static electricity. Sophia won the Best of Fair Award and will be part of the NL Science Team representing the province in the Canada-Wide Science Fair to be held in Edmonton from May 14 to 19, as reported by CBC News.

Congratulations to Ryan and Sophia, and to all students that participated in the Eastern Newfoundland Science and Technology Fair!


In Memoriam: James Paul Thorburn (1946–2022)

Published: Dec 8, 2022 by IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section

The IEEE NL Section is deeply saddened to hear the news of passing of Paul Thorburn, at the age of 76. Paul assumed various roles within the IEEE NL section executive over the years, being chair of the IEEE NL Section in 1992 and chair of the Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC) in 1995. For his “outstanding and longtime contributions to section and regional activities,” Paul received the J.J. Archambault Eastern Canada Merit Award in 2013.

Funeral arrangements and memorial service details can be found at Carnell’s website.


Applications to the IEEE NL Term 6 Scholarship are now open

Published: Sep 15, 2022 by IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section

The Awards committee of the NL Section has released the call for applications to the Term 6 Scholarship for IEEE Student Members. For more information, click here to read the call for applications.


NL Student Teams Receive Grants from IEEE Canadian Foundation for Autonomous Vehicles Competitions

Published: May 3, 2022 by IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section

In their April AGM and Board meetings, the IEEE Canadian Foundation approved the awarding of three Special Grants, two of them to NL student groups aiming to participate in international competitions for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The MUN Robosub AUV team is an engineering student group at Memorial University, comprised of engineering students designing a bio-inspired AUV to represent Memorial University in the RoboSub Competition. RoboSub is an international student competition by RoboNation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote hands-on educational experiences that empower students. The competition is held each summer at the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific’s TRANSDEC Anechoic pool in San Diego, California. Student teams design and build autonomous underwater vehicles that can identify and distinguish objects through machine learning, pick up objects, drop markers, monitor subsea structures, collect data and touch buoys under the water, thus mimicking those of real-world systems. The aim is to challenge students and advance the field of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), which are widely used for underwater exploration, seafloor mapping, and sonar localization, amongst many others.

Phoenix Aerospace is an aerospce club run by Memorial University Students, with the goal of “creating a safe space that opens up new opportunities for students to explore the inner workings of UAVs and aerospace applications.” The team received the IEEE Canadian Foundation Special Grant to compete in the 2022 IEEE Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Competition. The goal of this year’s competition, named “Research Infrastructure for Real-Time Onboard Vision Enabled Robots” (Ri4rover), is to have “autonomous drones actively track one of several ground robots in a miniature city”.

According to their website, “[t]he IEEE Canadian Foundation awards “Special Grants” to an IEEE Student Branch, an IEEE Section, an IEEE Canada Committee, a non-IEEE entity such as a high school , or in rare cases an individual, all in Canada. Special Grants are intended to partially fund one-time new and innovative projects that advance IEEE’s core purpose to foster technological innovation and excellence to benefit humanity.”


IEEE Canadian Foundation Extends Deadlines for Scholarships

Published: Apr 18, 2022 by IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section

In their April AGM and Board meetings, the IEEE Canadian Foundation extended the deadlines of four different scholarships, as reported in IEEE Canada’s April Newsletter. Of the four scholarships, IEEE NL Undergraduate and Graduate student members are eligible to three: the IEEE Canadian Foundation Dr. Raymond D. Findlay Scholarship, the Nick Cercone Graduate Scholarship in Computer Science, and the Gargantini-Strybosch Scholarship. More information on the scholarships can be found below:

  • IEEE Canadian Foundation Dr. Raymond D. Findlay Scholarship: One scholarship each year, value $1,000.
    • Eligibility: The nominee must be an undergraduate IEEE Student Member in good standing, registered in their penultimate year of an accredited Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or Engineering Science/Engineering Physics undergraduate program offered in a Canadian university, a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, enrolled as a full-time student.
    • Purpose: To encourage leadership, creativity and enthusiasm for the engineering profession.
    • Deadline (EXTENDED): August 15, 2022
  • Nick Cercone Graduate Scholarship in Computer Science: This scholarship is sponsored by the Friends of Nick Cercone One prize each every second year, the initial value of $6,000.
    • Eligibility: PhD students in computer science at a Canadian university.
    • Purpose: To recognize a computer science PhD student at a Canadian university.
    • Deadline (REVISED): May 31, 2022
  • Gargantini-Strybosch Scholarship: This scholarship is sponsored by the Gargantini Fund, one scholarship each year, value $5,000.
    • Eligibility: A student member of IEEE (or agree to apply for membership), enrolled full-time in his or her second undergraduate year, first generation in the family university student, completing a Canadian university program in a field of interest to IEEE.
    • Purpose: To recognize a student who shows brightness, integrity, engagement with community and enthusiasm for undergraduate study.
    • Deadline (EXTENDED): August 15, 2022

All application and nomination forms are consolidated at the IEEE Canadian Foundation Website.


Latest News

IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section Announces Call for Applications for 2024 Graduate Scholarship

Active IEEE graduate student members can compete for a one-time $1000 scholarship. Deadline is Feb. 29, 2024.

The Awards committee of the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section is pleased to announce the call for applications for the IEEE Graduate Scholarship for the year 2024. This scholarship is designed to recognize outstanding graduate students at Memorial University who have demonstrated academic excellence and made noteworthy contributions to the IEEE community.

IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section Participates in Celebration of Marconi's Transatlantic Wireless Experiment

Lakecrest Students Join Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland and Poldhu Amateur Radio Club in Transatlantic Radio Commemoration

Marconi raising the kite at Signal Hill for the transatlantic experiment. Published by Newfoundland and Labrador History in Colour and colorized by The Photo Mender.

On Tuesday, Dec 12th, 2023, the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section, in collaboration with the Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland (MRCN) and the Poldhu Amateur Radio Club (PARC) in England, commemorated Guglielmo Marconi’s groundbreaking transatlantic wireless experiment, originally perfomed at Signal Hill. Hosted by the Johnson Geo Centre, the event paid tribute to Marconi’s historic 1901 experiment on Signal Hill.

Participating organizations included the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador, Johnson Geo Centre (Memorial University of Newfoundland), Poldhu Amateur Radio Club (Cornwall, UK), Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland, and Lakecrest Independent School.

NECEC has its 32nd Annual Conference at Memorial University

NECEC 2023 Celebrates Technological Advancements and Recognizes Outstanding Contributions in Electrical and Computer Engineering in Newfoundland and Labrador

The 32nd Annual Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC 2023) happened on November 14, 2023, at the Emera Innovation Exchange Conference Centre, located in the Signal Hill Campus of Memorial University. Organized by the IEEE Newfoundland and Labrador Section in collaboration with Memorial University of Newfoundland, the conference provided a platform for professionals in electrical, electronic, and computer engineering, along with information technologies, to showcase their latest research and innovations to the province’s growing technical community.

In Memoriam: Neil P. Riggs, P. Eng. (1948–2023)

Co-Founder of IEEE NL OES Chapter and Former IEEE NL Executive Member, Neil Riggs passes away at 74

The IEEE NL community is grieving the passing of Neil P. Riggs at the age of 74. A pioneering figure in oceanic research and engineering in Newfoundland and Labrador, Neil was part of the beginnings of the Newfoundland Oceans Research and Development Corporation (NORDCO) and an integral part of the development of commercial underwater acoustics projects in Newfoundland.

Neil was a dedicated volunteer of the IEEE NL Section, being one of the two founders of the NL chapter of the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society, serving multiple times as its chair between 2010 and 2019. Neil was also a member of the executive committee in the IEEE International Oceans 2014 conference, held in St. John’s. He was also a keynote speaker in the 2018 edition of the annual Newfoundland Electrical and Computer Engineering Conference (NECEC).

Funeral arrangements and memorial service details can be found at Carnell’s website. The engineering community is invited to pay their respects and share their memories of Neil P. Riggs, a true pioneer and advocate of innovation in oceanic engineering.