Bi-Monthly Newsletter
ISSUE: June 2026
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REGION 6 DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
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Dear Region 6 Volunteers and Members,
As we move through another exciting year, I want to thank all of our volunteers, members, students, and leaders for your dedication and contributions to Region 6. Your efforts continue to make a positive impact through conferences, outreach activities, technical programs, and collaborations across our IEEE community.
After a year of hard work from our dedicated Region 6 volunteers, I’m excited to share the new Region 6 website: https://www.ieeer6.org/. Let’s continue to contribute great contents to share on the new Region 6 website.
Thank you for your continued support and involvement. I look forward to seeing all that we accomplish together in the months ahead.
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Congratulation to the IEEE Region 6 members honors with 2026 IEEE Awards🎉
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IEEE Region 6 is proud to celebrate distinguished innovators and technology leaders whose achievements were recognized through the prestigious 2026 IEEE Awards. These honorees represent the exceptional research, innovation, and impact emerging from institutions within our region, demonstrating how Region 6 continues to help shape technologies that transform the world. Congratulations to these outstanding individuals on this remarkable achievement! 🎉
- Scott Shenker — University of California, Berkeley (California)
Recipient of the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal for groundbreaking contributions to computer networks and internet architecture that continue to shape modern cloud computing and networking systems.
- Steven P. DenBaars — University of California, Santa Barbara (California)
Recipient of the IEEE Nick Holonyak, Jr. Medal for Semiconductor Optoelectronic Technologies for pioneering advancements in gallium nitride semiconductors and LED technologies powering today’s energy-efficient lighting and display systems.
Their achievements showcase the incredible talent, innovation, and global impact fostered within Region 6 and continue to inspire future generations of engineers, researchers, and technology leaders. 🚀✨
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Congratulations Naznin on Joining the IEEE YP Mentoring Committee!
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Please join us in congratulating Naznin on joining IEEE Young Professionals (YP) Mentoring Committee!
This role reflects her dedication to empowering the next generation of engineers and technology professionals through mentorship, leadership development, and community engagement. Her passion for supporting students and early-career professionals continues to make a meaningful impact across IEEE. We are proud to see Naznin representing IEEE Region 6 at the global level and contributing to initiatives that help foster professional growth, networking, and lifelong learning opportunities for young professionals worldwide.
Congratulations, Naznin, and thank you for your continued leadership and service to IEEE! 👏🌟
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✨ Welcoming New Chapters and Affinity Groups ✨
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IEEE Region 6 continues to grow and strengthen its vibrant technical community through the formation of new chapters and affinity groups. These new organizations create valuable opportunities for members to connect, collaborate, develop leadership skills, and expand technical engagement within their local communities and student branches.
Please join us in congratulating the newest additions to the Region 6 family:
- IEEE Albuquerque Section Electron Devices Society (EDS) and Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) Joint Chapter
- Stanford University Power & Energy Society (PES) Student Branch Chapter — Santa Clara Valley Section
- Stanford University Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S) Student Branch Chapter — Santa Clara Valley Section
- University of Washington Tacoma Communications Society Student Branch Chapter — Seattle Section
The continued establishment of new chapters and affinity groups reflects the passion and dedication of IEEE volunteers and members throughout Region 6. We look forward to seeing the innovative activities, technical programs, and member engagement opportunities these groups will bring to our community.
Congratulations and welcome to the Region 6 family! 🎉
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IEEE Region 6 Leaders Participate in the 2026 IEEE Honors Ceremony
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On April 24, 2026, IEEE Region 6 leaders participated in the 2026 IEEE Honors Ceremony in New York City, an inspiring celebration recognizing the outstanding individuals and achievements advancing technology for humanity. As part of the larger IEEE Laureate Forum (April 22–24, 2026), the event brought together leaders, innovators, and members from around the world to honor excellence across engineering, science, and technology.
This year’s theme, “Intersections,” highlighted the connections between people, ideas, and innovation that continue to drive meaningful impact across industries and communities. Through participation in this special event, Region 6 leaders had the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of IEEE award recipients while strengthening connections across the global IEEE community🌟.
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IEEE Region 6 Engagement at Region 3, Region 7 and Region 8 Meetings
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IEEE Region 6 continues to strengthen partnerships and build meaningful connections across IEEE through active cross-region engagement and collaboration. As part of these ongoing efforts, Scott Tamashiro, IEEE Region 6 Director-Elect, participated in the IEEE Region 3 Meeting in Alabama (March 13–15, 2026) and the IEEE Region 8 Meeting in Helsinki, Finland (March 28–29, 2026).
These visits provided valuable opportunities to exchange ideas, share best practices, and explore future collaborations among regions. As a symbol of friendship and partnership, Scott presented Region 6 backpacks to Region 8 Director Dusanka Boskovic and Region 3 Director Sonya Dillard, reflecting the spirit of connection and collaboration that strengthens the IEEE community. Together, these activities are building meaningful relationships, expanding opportunities, and inspiring the next generation of technology leaders.
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On May 18, 2026, IEEE Region 6 Director Joseph Wei and IEEE Region 6 Director-Elect Scott Tamashiro participated in the IEEE Region 7 Young Professionals Panel Discussion and Networking Session held during the IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The event brought together students, young professionals, industry leaders, and IEEE volunteers to discuss career growth, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the transition from academia to industry.
During the meeting, the Region 7 Director – Wahab Almuhtadi presented Region 7’s strategic direction, highlighting priorities aligned with IEEE and MGA objectives and supported by clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs). At the event, Mary Ellen Randall delivered an inspiring address to the Young Professionals community in Region 7, emphasizing leadership, engagement, and professional growth. Following her remarks, Scott Tamashiro shared insights from the Rising Stars program and highlighted opportunities for greater collaboration between Regions 6 and 7 to support and empower the next generation of IEEE members.
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IEEE SusTech 2026 Brings Together Innovation, Sustainability, and Community
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On April 19–22, 2026, IEEE SusTech 2026 was successfully held in Santa Ana, California, bringing together researchers, industry professionals, educators, students, and IEEE volunteers dedicated to advancing sustainable technologies. The conference was made possible through the efforts and support of many IEEE Region 6 volunteers and members, creating valuable opportunities for technical exchange, professional networking, and collaboration.
The conference featured a diverse program of technical sessions and engagement activities focused on sustainability-driven innovations and emerging technologies. Highlights included a Women in Engineering (WIE) and Young Professionals (YP) panel, which fostered meaningful discussions on leadership, career growth, and inclusion in engineering, as well as student awards and recognition activities that celebrated the creativity and achievements of the next generation of innovators.
Congratulation to the 2026 Virtual Student Poster Contest Winners:
- First Place: “Edge AI for 24-Hour Soil Moisture Forecasting Using Low-Cost Sensors for Sustainable Irrigation“; Aastha Grover, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Urbana Champaign, IL, USA and and Shivansh Grover, Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, CA.
- Second Place: “Intermittent Machine Learning on Battery-Less Solar-Powered IoT Systems“; Diya Gangwar and Angelina Tsai, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA, USA.
- Third Place: “Multi-zone Sensor Fault Detection for Reliable and Sustainable Smart Buildings“, Mostafa Zaman, Salma Ghafouri-Varzaneh and Sujay Saha, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
- Honorary: “TALOS: Democratizing Safe Micro-Mobility via Energy-Efficient Edge AI“, Kevin Davidson, Santa Monica College. Los Angeles, CA, USA.
SusTech 2026 reflected the strength of IEEE collaboration and community engagement, while continuing to inspire conversations and solutions that support a more sustainable future. Region 6 extends appreciation to all organizers, volunteers, speakers, and participants whose contributions made the event a success. 🌎✨
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IEEE Milestone for a Pioneering Medical Information System
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Thursday, May 14, an IEEE Milestone for a Pioneering Medical Information System (MIS) was dedicated at El Camino Hospital (ECH) in Mountain View, CA, where the system was first installed.
Beginning in 1965, the MIS was a joint effort between ECH and Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. to computerize the strictly manual process by which doctors, nurses, and medical staff handled patient records. The MIS ran on an IBM mainframe computer with only 128KB of memory, and a light pen was used to make selections on a monitor’s screen. Today’s cellphones have over a million times as much memory as that mainframe computer. The MIS first went live in 1972. Interestingly, nursing staff were initially much more enthusiastic than doctors about using this system. However, with increased efficiency and improved patient outcome, there was no looking back. Other hospitals began installing the system in 1973, and the systems now used throughout the world owe their success to the early work done by ECH and Lockheed.
The dedication event featured speakers from ECH, Lockheed, IEEE, and several government officials. At its conclusion, the words of the MIS bronze Milestone plaque were recited to the audience. Officiating at the dedication event were Jill Gostin (2026 IEEE President-Elect) and Brian Berg (R6 History and Milestone Chair, who was History Center Advocate for the Milestone). Its proposal was written by Rich Clewett and Tom Gardner. This was Region 6’s 43rd Milestone, and the 27th for the IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section. Further details are on the MIS Milestone webpage . The plaque is being mounted in the lobby of ECH at 2500 Grant Rd, Mountain View, CA, where it can be seen during normal business hours. A duplicate plaque is now the 30 th IEEE plaque on the front wall of the Computer History Museum.
💡Thanks Brian Berg for sharing this.
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Project STRIDE: A big STEP in the right direction
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Earlier this year a submission to the 2026 MGA Regional Strategic Initiative Projects fund was made by a joint task force consisting of representatives from the region’s student activities committee (RSAC), young professionals committee (YP), and Professional Activities Committee (PA).
Funding was approved and the project is well on it’s way to being a HUGE success. Already twelve events have been held throughout the region celebrating the success of our graduates and encouraging them to continue to grow from strength to strength will IEEE’s wind in their sails. Join us in honoring our students by encouraging any graduating students you know to apply for the graduation stole and by hosting a graduate celebration event in your section.
A special thanks to the RSAC, YP and PA leadership for making this project a reality.
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IEEE-USA Congressional Outreach Program to Hawaii!
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On April 24, IEEE Hawaii had the opportunity to collaborate with IEEE-USA to bring the IEEE-USA Congressional Outreach Program (ICOP) to Hawaii!
ICOP events empower Young Professionals and Student Members to engage directly with congressional staff, discussing key technology policy issues that impact our local communities. Through these conversations, participants help advocate for innovation, research funding, and the future of engineering at the federal level.
We are excited to continue building relationships with the offices we connected with, as well as strengthening our collaboration with IEEE-USA on Capitol Hill. Mahalo to everyone who helped make this event a success!
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STEM4ALL Event – May 17 at Fremont Downtown Event Center in Partnership with IEEE
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On May 17, the STEM4ALL event at the Fremont Downtown Event Center, California organized in partnership with IEEE, welcomed more than 350 attendees, including middle and high school students, IEEE judges, educators, and family members. The event began with an exciting mathematics competition featuring sprint, team, and relay rounds that challenged students’ problem-solving, analytical, and collaborative skills. The second half of the program showcased a wide range of science and engineering projects, which were evaluated by IEEE senior members who provided valuable feedback and mentorship. The event fostered curiosity, creativity, and technical excellence while strengthening connections between students, families, and the engineering community.
Through this collaboration, IEEE reinforced its commitment to advancing technology for humanity and inspiring future innovators through education, mentorship, and hands-on learning experiences.
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IEEE Santa Clara Valley Hosts a Panel Discussion
on AI-Powered Robotics
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A successful event hosted by the IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) Silicon Valley Chapter brought together nearly 100 in-person attendees and more than 50 virtual participants for an engaging discussion on “Human + Machine: AI-Powered Collaborative Robotics Shaping the Future.”
The distinguished panel explored how AI-powered robotics is transforming industries and enabling new forms of collaboration between humans and machines. Discussions highlighted the importance of partnerships among researchers, industry leaders, startups, educational institutions, and professional organizations in driving innovation and responsible technology development.
This event demonstrate the power of IEEE in creating opportunities for knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration across the technology community. Together, we continue to build the future of human-machine collaboration and advance technology for humanity.
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IEEE Volunteer Leadership Training (VoLT) Program
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🚀 The MGA Training Committee is pleased to announce the launch of the 2026 Volunteer Leadership Training (VoLT) Program. The VoLT Program invites volunteers who have a desire to continue growing as IEEE volunteers, and lead their local units, to complete the program’s prerequisite courses, and to apply for the program.
📅 The program starts in early September and ends in early December. During the program, participants will attend weekly virtual webinars, focused on a variety of leadership topics. Some of the webinar topics covered will be: Time Management; Stress Management; Leadership Skills; Dealing With Difficult People; vTools; and Collabratec. Participants will also be encouraged to connect with a dedicated mentor, to guide them through the VoLT experience. And to help with any academic or career concerns they may have.
🎯 Applications will be accepted from 1 May 2026 through 30 June 2026.
📌 For complete application requirements, please review our Application Checklist.
If you have questions about VoLT, please feel free to reach out to us at: volt@ieee.org.
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2026 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference
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📢 Join the IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference 2026, a global community of researchers, practitioners, and innovators working to develop technology solutions for underserved communities worldwide. This year’s theme, “Technologies in Context,” highlights the importance of designing solutions that reflect real-world social, cultural, and economic environments.
📍 Location: University of Colorado Boulder, USA
📅 Conference Dates: October 7–10, 2026
We welcome contributions from academia, industry, government, and nonprofits across areas such as:
💡 Healthcare & well-being
🌐 Education, communication & connectivity
⚡ Water, food & energy access
🌱 Climate resilience & disaster response
🤝 Community collaboration & humanitarian engineering practices
Whether you’re sharing research, case studies, or field experiences—this is your opportunity to make a meaningful impact through technology.
🔗 Learn more about the conference at: https://ieeeghtc.org/
Let’s work together to advance technology for humanity 🌍
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CASPA × IEEE Summer Symposium 2026
Paving the AI Superhighway: Where Power Meets Intelligence
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📢 As part of our 2026 year-round symposium series themed “AI Super-Highway”, this symposium will focus on advanced power technologies for AI era and will be held at Intel SC-12 Auditorium.
📅 Saturday, July 18, 2026
🕐 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
📍 Intel SC-12 Auditorium, 3600 Juliette Lane, Santa Clara, CA 95054
🔗 Register at this link
This summer symposium concentrates on the critical power and energy infrastructure that underpins the continued evolution and scaling of artificial intelligence. Particularly, it will explore how the rapid expansion of AI is reshaping the global power landscape. The symposium aims to bring together leading pioneers from industry and academia to discuss key challenges, recent innovations, and future opportunities at the intersection of AI and the power sector.
🚀 More details, speakers, and registration information coming soon. Stay tuned!
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Booking Now Open | IEEE-USA Bahamas Cruise
(Oct 5–9, 2026)
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IEEE-USA is excited to announce that booking is now open for the 2026 IEEE-USA Bahamas Cruise—a unique opportunity to network, learn, and relax in a truly unforgettable setting.
📍 Sail Details
🚢 Carnival Glory
⚓ Port Canaveral, Florida → Nassau & Celebration Key
📅 October 5–9, 2026 (4 days)
💰 Starting at $575 per person
This cruise blends professional development with exploration and connection, offering IEEE members and guests a chance to engage with peers while enjoying beautiful destinations and a relaxed learning environment.
🔗 Book your spot today: https://bit.ly/4ascfAf
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Please follow Region 6 LinkedIn page for real-time updates
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