IEEE UK and Ireland Section | 2024 Achievements and a Happy New Year!

Dear IEEE UK and Ireland Section Members,

I hope you had a enjoyable break over the holidays. On behalf of the IEEE UK and Ireland Section I would like to wish you and your families a very Happy, Peaceful, Prosperous and Productive New Year.

I would like to provide you with a summary of Section achievements during 2024, which has been a very busy and productive year with a strong focus on increasing local engagement with members living, working and studying across the Section.

IEEE Week 2024

The IEEE UK and Ireland Section had the pleasure of hosting the 2024 IEEE President, Dr Tom Coughlin from 26 September to 04 October 2024.

The Section organised three public IEEE Week meetings focused on Artificial Intelligence (London, 30 September); Diverse Engineering & Technology Workforce of the Future (Liverpool, 01 October); and Technology, Sustainability and Climate Change (Dublin, 04 October 2024).

These public and IEEE member engagement focused events were complemented by three regional Meetings with Student Branch leadership and Student Branch Counsellors in London on 01 October, Liverpool on 02 October and Dublin on 03 October, providing an opportunity for Students and Counsellors to meet with the IEEE President, Dr Tom Coughlin and UK and Ireland Section Chair, Paul M Cunningham. The Section Executive Committee also had the opportunity to meet with the 2024 IEEE President on 04 October to learn more about IEEE priorities.

Around these public, member and volunteer focused meetings, the IEEE President, Dr Tom Coughlin and UK and Ireland Section Chair, Paul M Cunningham met with: Laura Burke (President, Engineers Ireland and Director General, Environmental Protection Agency) and Damien Owens, (Director General, Engineers Ireland) on 26 September; Prof. Linda Doyle, Provost, Trinity College Dublin on 27 September; and Ed Almond (Chief Executive and Secretary), The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), UK on 30 September 2024.

On 04 October, IEEE President Dr Tom Coughlin delivered a Royal Irish Academy Discourse (first in a Series focused on Artificial Intelligence) which was moderated by Dr Orla Feely.

This series of public and private meetings across IEEE Week 2024 facilitated the Section and the organisational units reporting to it (Chapters, Councils, Affinity Groups, Student Branches) to raise greater awareness of their activities and future plans, and to network with peers across different geographic regions of the Section. The IEEE UK and Ireland Section would like to acknowledge and thank both volunteers who presented their achievements and those who kindly assisted in organising or hosting these events.

Senior Member Elevation

Senior Member is the highest grade for which IEEE members can apply.

The IEEE UK and Ireland Section would like to congratulate the 130 Section Members who were elevated to Senior Member Grade during 2024. We would also like to thank their Nominators and Referees who made this public recognition possible.

Chapters, Councils and Affinity Groups

The IEEE UK and Ireland Section Chapters, Councils and Affinity Groups support engagement across a rich and very diverse range of technical areas.

These Organisational Units organise a range of virtual and physical technical meetings every year, which are promoted to members via eNotices.

We invite you to follow up with the Organisational Units where you are a member to participate in their activities and learn more about potential volunteer opportunities.

2024 Elections within the Section

The contribution and dedication of all local IEEE Volunteers is recognised and very much appreciated by the UK and Ireland Section and our Members. Nevertheless, IEEE encourages an orderly and regular turnover of Organisational Units (OU) Officers, Committee Chairs and Committee Members as a routine feature of IEEE volunteerism. This helps ensure a healthy flow of new ideas, invigorates OUs, creates opportunities for individuals to progress on their IEEE Volunteer Journey, supports fostering talent and facilitating an active volunteer pipeline.

Under the IEEE MGA Operations Manual, all IEEE organisational units (including Sections, Chapters, Councils and Affinity Groups) are required to run open and transparent elections of Officers every two years, with a volunteer Elections Committee established, a Call for Nominations circulated to all eligible voting members of OUs, followed by Electronic Voting via eBallot.

During 2024, to date 24 Organisational Units (Chapters, Councils, Affinity Groups) who report to the IEEE UK and Ireland Section have successfully completed elections for OU Leadership.

We would like to congratulate these Organisational Units for successfully undertaking this process, which facilitated extensive engagement with their members over a number of months. This process facilitated members to be actively involved in nominating and electing their OU leadership.

We would like to acknowledge and thank the Officers whose terms have ended and encourage them to continue their IEEE Volunteer Journey by exploring other opportunities to contribute to IEEE and the communities we serve, whether at Chapter, Council, Affinity Group, Section, Region or Society level.

We would also like to acknowledge and express our appreciation to the volunteer Chapter, Council and Affinity Group Election Members who issued Calls for Nominations, prepared the Slates of Candidates, launched Election Processes via eBallot and reported the Election Results of their respective OUs.

We would like to congratulate the elected Officers and wish them well in their term. We would like to thank all candidates who self-nominated and encourage them to continue to volunteer with their Organisational Unit.

Click here to review Election Results to date.

Student Branches / Student Branch Chapters

During 2024, the UK and Ireland Section has intensified engagement with Student Branches, Student Branch Chapters and Student Branch Counsellors as part of our member engagement strategy for 2024 – 2025.

Student Branches / Student Branch Chapters have been actively involved in the 2024 Region 8 Student and Young Professional Congress, R8 2024 Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition, IEEEDuino Student Hardware Contest and R8 2024 Robot Championship. We wish to congratulate the Student Branch (SB) members who participated in these various events and all SB Members and Counsellors for the support they provide to their local communities. Click here to read more about Student Branch 2024 Achievements.

We wish to welcome newly formed Student Branches and Student Branch Chapters and wish them well in their activities during 2025.

IEEE Milestones

IEEE Milestones recognize the technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity found in unique products, services, seminal papers & patents that are at least 25 years old, have benefited humanity, and have had at least regional importance.

Recent successful IEEE Milestones submitted from individuals in UK and Ireland Section include:

Development of the Cavity Magnetron (1939 – 1941) (Inaugurated) – This device facilitated the rapid development of airborne radar by the Allies in WW2 and is the basis of the modern microwave oven. The plaque was placed on the Poynting Building at the University of Birmingham, where the work was done.
The Anderson Bridge (Approved) enabled the measurement of the self-inductance of coils. The plaque will be unveiled at the University of Galway during 2025.

Proposal Stage

Colossus – The Colossus computer was one of the most important tools in the WW2 effort to break German codes. If/when approved, the plaque will be placed at Bletchley Park.
LEO Computer – the world’s first business computer built by J. Lyons & Co., a catering company, to meet its own needs and which was subsequently commercialised and sold to others. If/when approved, the plaque will be placed at the Queen’s Head pub in Hammersmith.
Manchester Code – Manchester Code or Phase Encoding is a line code that enables digital data to be transmitted through channels that will not pass DC, including inductive systems for the storage of digital data on magnetic materials. Whilst more advanced codes are now available, it is still widely used in simpler applications like remote controls. If/when approved, the plaque will be placed at Manchester University where the work was done.
The Travelling Wave Tube – Another important WW2 development. The proposal is still in early development. The concept was put forward by an exiled Austrian called Rudi Kompfner. Work was done at Birmingham University before he moved to Oxford. Recent contact with the Bodleian would indicate if/when approved, the plaque should be placed in Birmingham.

2025 Plans

During 2025, the IEEE UK and Ireland Section will continue to cooperate with local volunteers to organise Regional Member Engagement Meetings in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. We will continue to support stronger integration of activities facilitating interaction between Student, Young Professional and Life Members across both industry and the education and research sector.

If you or your organisation wishes to cooperate with the Section to achieve these goals, please contact me.

We encourage you to engage with the Section and its organisational units during 2025.

Wishing you and your families a very Happy, Peaceful, Prosperous and Productive New Year.

Yours sincerely

Paul M Cunningham
Chair, IEEE UK and Ireland Section