The following individuals have volunteered to participate on the Section Executive for 2012. This is subject to ratification at the 2012 AGM currently schedule for January 13, 2012.
Chair: Dr. Vajira Pathirana
Short Biography:
Vajira Pathirana received his B.Sc. (Eng.) degree In Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa in 1996, and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Manitoba in 2004. He is currently the Chief Engineer at Teshmont Consultants LP in Winnipeg. He has been an active volunteer in IEEE and was the Chair of IEEE Power and Energy Society Chapter in Winnipeg in 2007. He has been a member of IEEE since 1999.
Position Statement:
In the office of President, I would work to expand and strengthen the ongoing effort of the IEEE Winnipeg Section to promote the advancement of technology in our society. I would strive to provide leadership for accomplishing the goals of our members and promote the ideals and objectives of our parent organization. I would also work hard to ensure that member voices are heard at the higher levels of IEEE so that the IEEE will offer products and services that bring real value to all of our members.
Vice-Chair: Dr. Sherif Sherif
Short Biography:
Sherif Sherif is an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Manitoba. He has a Ph.D. in Optics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.S. in Digital Image Processing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, he became a Lecturer in Applied Optics at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK. He also was a Research Officer at the National Research Council for 3 years. He has over 65 scientific publications, including 3 patents, and is the recipient of 3 teaching awards. He served as Vice Chair of IEEE’s Lasers-Electro-Optics Society (LEOS) Ottawa chapter and is currently Chair of IEEE’s Engineers in Medicine and Biology (EMBS) Winnipeg chapter.
Position Statement:
TBA
Treasurer: Mr. Samuel Kovnats
Short Biography:
Mr. Samuel M. Kovnats received a BSc in Electrical Engineering and BA in Economics from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario in 2008. He is an EIT working at Manitoba Hydro. At Manitoba Hydro, Mr. Kovnats has worked in project management, resource planning, distribution design and at the system control centre. He has been an active volunteer with the IEEE since 2010 when he was named Chair of the Graduates Of the Last Decade affinity group in Winnipeg.
Position Statement:
As Winnipeg Section Treasurer, Mr. Kovnats has a 3 pronged approach to banking. First, he plans to smoothly transition the Winnipeg Section operating accounts into the IEEE concentration banking system as the section has voted to do at section meetings in 2011. Second, he plans to prepare for the possibility of moving Winnipeg Section investment accounts into IEEE concentration banking, but not actually complete such a transition until such time as the section would approve. Third, he plans to seek greater returns on the money in the section investment accounts so that the funds can be maintained in perpetuity.
Secretary: Mr. Jordan Hiebert
Short Biography:
After attending high school in his hometown of Steinbach, Manitoba, Jordan Hiebert proceeded to Red River College and graduated with a diploma in Electronic Engineering Technology in 2010.
While a student at the college, Jordan became interested in the local IEEE Student Branch, and in January of 2010 agreed to volunteer as Chair of its executive committee. During his time with the student branch, its membership more than doubled and several new events were held for interested students.
Currently Jordan works as an Electronic Designer at E.H. Price where his duties include PCB layout, prototyping new products, and writing firmware for embedded systems.
Position Statement:
TBA
Secretary: Mr. Evan Thompson
Short Biography:
Evan Thompson completed his BSc in Electrical Engineering at the University of Manitoba in 2008. He is an EIT for the Bipole III Converter Station project at Manitoba Hydro. In the past, Evan worked as a Power Quality EIT at Manitoba Hydro and as an Electronic Designer at Bristol Aerospace. He has been a member since 2005 and his involvement in IEEE leadership started in 2007 when he became the Chair of the U of M IEEE Student Group. He is presently the Treasurer of the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) affinity group in Winnipeg where he recently led a strategic development process to refine the group’s mission, values & vision.
Position Statement:
The Secretary is responsible for the administrative affairs of the Section. From my experience, without an effective Secretary, time is wasted both inside and outside of meetings. Therefore, as Secretary, I will:
- Ensure that sufficient advance notice of upcoming meetings is provided to all members. The notice will include a pre-meeting package consisting of the meeting agenda, treasurer’s and committee reports and all supporting materials. This will allow the Section to spend its time in meetings making decisions.
- Provide meeting minutes as soon as possible after meetings to allow attendees the opportunity to verify the minutes while everything is still fresh in their minds. Meeting minutes are a legal record of the decisions made during the meeting and it is imperative that they are clear and accurate.
- Ensure that all reports are filed with IEEE, including those from our chapters and affinity groups. The IEEE MGA rewards active sections with a rebate (an “activity bonus”) and it is therefore in the Section’s best interest that the reports are filed in a timely and accurate manner.
