IEEE Boston Section

News & Announcements!

Catch up on news and upcoming events in the January/February 2025 eReflector

Save the Date! March 16 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Boston Section Awards @ Tufts University – Joyce Cummings Center

June 24 2025 IEEE International Conference on AI and Data Analytics @ Tufts University

Professional Development Course Listings

Upcoming Events!

Jan
27
Mon
Productive Writing of Lab Reports
Jan 27 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Tufts University School of Engineering Graduate Programs
Ron Lasser, Professor of the Practice
Learn to craft impactful lab reports with Professor Ron Lasser, Ph.D., in this workshop designed to bridge the gap between academic and industrial audiences.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a distinguished educator and industry expert!
In-person and virtual options available.   For more information:  Register now.
Jan
29
Wed
Revitalize Your Networking Skills for 2025 – Networking for the New Year! (Online) – MDG Boston
Jan 29 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Event Description

Join MDG Boston’s virtual networking event on Wednesday, January 29th, 2025, from 7:00–8:00 PM EST, where expert coach Lisa Sasso will guide you in mastering this essential skill. Whether you’re looking to expand your professional circle, land new opportunities, or reignite old connections, this event will help you:

  • Make a memorable first impression that stands out.
  • Identify the right people to help you achieve your goals.
  • Maintain meaningful connections that last.
  • Perfect your digital networking strategy for both virtual and in-person interactions.

Best of all, you’ll walk away with a polished elevator pitch for 2025, ready to use at your next meeting or event. Plus, you’ll practice your pitch live during interactive Zoom breakout sessions, gaining valuable feedback and confidence.

Don’t miss this opportunity to reawaken your networking game and set yourself up for success in the year ahead.

More information and registration: https://www.mdgboston.org/event/revitalize-your-networking-skills-for-2025/

Feb
12
Wed
Generative AI and Codeless Test Automation @ Zoom
Feb 12 @ 6:20 pm – 8:00 pm

IEEE Boston Consultants Network – 6:20PM, Wednesday, February 12

Location:  Zoom

The speaker, Paul Grossman, is an experienced software test automation engineer with vast experience in Test Automation and AI.

About the event:

Note: February 12, 2025 is the tentative date; this date may change so please check back 2 weeks before the event.

Open to the public.

Networking from 6:20PM – 6:40 PM

Presentation starts at 6:40 PM till 8:00 PM, includes Q/A

Optional discussion with the speaker: 8:00 PM till 8:15 PM

Your registration confirmation email contains the zoom link.

Please read the email confirmation completely.

Registration:  https://www.bostonconsultants.org/event-details/february-meeting-generative-ai-and-codeless-test-automation

Feb
13
Thu
Integrated Photonics in Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) @ MIT Lincoln Laboratory - Cafeteria
Feb 13 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Photonics Society

Upcoming technical seminar and announcements

We will be holding our monthly seminar series in-person, on Thursday February 13. Light meals will be served (free of charge, registration required).

Time (Eastern Standard Time):

6:00 PM:  Networking starts
6:15 PM:  Light meals served.
7:00 PM:  Seminar starts

Speaker:  Christian Reimer, PhD (HyperLight Corporation)

This presentation will provide an introduction into integrated photonics in thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonics and its applications, including technical status and ongoing development. Over the past years, TFLN has transitioned from a research-centered new material platform to becoming the leading platform to provide practical solutions for next generation applications. In particular datacom, telecom and high-performance applications such as radio-over-fiber and measurement and test can benefit from TFLN attributes such as ultra-high electro-optic bandwidths, low driving voltages, compact size and cost-effective volume production.

Biography:

Dr. Christian Reimer is a physicist and entrepreneur working in the fields of nonlinear optics, integrated photonics and quantum optics. He received graduate degrees from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, and the National Institute of Scientific Research in Canada. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, before becoming Co-Founder and Chief Architect of HyperLight Corporation. HyperLight, a Venture-Capital funded scale-up, is specialized on scalable integrated lithium niobate technologies for ultra-high performance photonic solutions.

Feb
20
Thu
Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for Software Radio @ Zoom
Feb 20 @ 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for Software Radio

Course Kick-off / Orientation 6:00PM – 6:30PM EDT; Thursday, February 20, 2025

First Video Release, Thursday, February 20, 2025.   Additional videos released weekly in advance of that week’s live session!

Live Workshops:  6:00PM – 7:30PM EDT; Thursdays, February 27, March 6, 13, 20, 27

Registration is open through the last live workshop date.  Live workshops are recorded for later use.

Course Information will be distributed on Thursday, February 20, 2025 in advance of and in preparation for the first live workshop session.  A live orientation session will be held on Thursday, February 20, 2025.

Attendees will have access to the recorded session and exercises for two months (until May 27, 2025) after the last live session ends!

IEEE Member Early Rate (by February 6):  $190.00

IEEE Member Rate (after February 6):  $285.00

IEEE Non-Member Early Rate (by February 6):  $210.00

IEEE Non-Member Rate (after February 6):  $315.00

Decision to run/cancel course:   Thursday, February 13, 2025

Speaker:  Dan Boschen

This is a hands-on course combining pre-recorded lectures with live Q&A and workshop sessions in the popular and powerful open-source Python programming language.

Pre-Recorded Videos:  The course format includes pre-recorded video lectures that students can watch on their own schedule, and an unlimited number of times, prior to live Q&A workshop sessions on Zoom with the instructor. The videos will also be available to the students for viewing for up to two months after the conclusion of the course.

Course Summary

This course builds on the IEEE course “DSP for Wireless Communications” also taught by Dan Boschen, further detailing digital signal processing most applicable to practical real-world problems and applications in radio communication systems. Students need not have taken the prior course if they are familiar with fundamental DSP concepts such as the Laplace and Z transform and basic digital filter design principles.

This course brings together core DSP concepts to address signal processing challenges encountered in radios and modems for modern wireless communications. Specific areas covered include carrier and timing recovery, equalization, automatic gain control, and considerations to mitigate the effects of RF and channel distortions such as multipath, phase noise and amplitude/phase offsets.

Dan builds an intuitive understanding of the underlying mathematics through the use of graphics, visual demonstrations, and real-world applications for mixed signal (analog/digital) modern transceivers. This course is applicable to DSP algorithm development with a focus on meeting practical hardware development challenges, rather than a tutorial on implementations with DSP processors.

Now with Jupyter Notebooks!

This long-running IEEE Course has been updated to

include Jupyter Notebooks which incorporates graphics together with Python simulation code to provide a “take-it-with-you” interactive user experience. No knowledge of Python is required but the notebooks will provide a basic framework for proceeding with further signal processing development using that tools for those that have interest in doing so.

This course will not be teaching Python, but using it for demonstration. A more detailed course on Python itself is covered in a separate IEEE Course routinely taught by Dan titled “Python Applications for Digital Design and Signal Processing”.

All set-up information for installation of all tools used will be provided prior to the start of class.

Target Audience:

All engineers involved in or interested in signal processing for wireless communications. Students should have either taken the earlier course “DSP for Wireless Communications” or have been sufficiently exposed to basic signal processing concepts such as Fourier, Laplace, and Z-transforms, Digital filter (FIR/IIR) structures, and representation of complex digital and analog signals in the time and frequency domains. Please contact Dan at boschen@loglin.com if you are uncertain about your background or if you would like more information on the course.

Benefits of Attending/ Goals of Course:

Attendees will gain a strong intuitive understanding of the practical and common signal processing implementations found in modern radio and modem architectures and be able to apply these concepts directly to communications system design.

Pre-recorded lectures (3 hours each) will be distributed Friday prior to each week’s workshop dates.  Workshop / Q&A sessions are 6:00PM – 7:30PM on the dates listed below.

Kick-off / Orientation:  Thursday, February 20, 2025

Topics / Schedule:

Class 1: Thursday, February 27:  DSP Review, Radio Architectures, Digital Mapping, Pulse Shaping, Eye Diagrams

Class 2:  Thursday, March 6:  ADC Receiver, CORDIC Rotator, Digital Down Converters, Numerically Controlled Oscillators

Class 3: Thursday, March 13:  Digital Control Loops; Output Power Control, Automatic Gain Control

Class 4: Thursday, March 20:  Digital Control Loops; Carrier and Timing Recovery, Sigma Delta Converters

Class 5: Thursday, March 27:  RF Signal Impairments, Equalization and Compensation, Linear Feedback Shift Registers

Speaker’s Bio:

Dan Boschen has a MS in Communications and Signal Processing from Northeastern University, with over 25 years of experience in system and hardware design for radio transceivers and modems. He has held various positions at Signal Technologies, MITRE, Airvana and Hittite Microwave designing and developing transceiver hardware from baseband to antenna for wireless communications systems and has taught courses on DSP to international audiences for over 15 years. Dan is a contributor to Signal Processing Stack Exchange https://dsp.stackexchange.com/, and is currently at Microchip (formerly Microsemi and Symmetricom) leading design efforts for advanced frequency and time solutions.

For more background information, please view Dan’s Linked-In page at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/danboschen

IEEE Boston Section recognized for Excellence in Membership Recruitment Performance

 

IEEE HKN Ceremony

IEEE Boston Section was founded Feb 13, 1903, and serves more than 8,500 members of the IEEE. There are 29 chapters and affinity groups covering topics of interest from Aerospace & Electronic Systems, to Entrepreneur Network to Women in Engineering to Young Professionals. The chapters and affinity groups organize more than 100 meetings a year. In addition to the IEEE organization activities, the Boston Section organizes and sponsors up to seven conferences in any given year, as well as more than 45 short courses. The Boston Section publishes a bi-weekly newsletter and, currently, a monthly Digital Reflector newspaper included in IEEE membership.

The IEEE Boston Section also offers social programs such as the section annual meeting, Milestone events, and other non-technical professional activities to round out the local events. The Section also hosts one of the largest and longest running entrepreneurial support groups in IEEE.

More than 150 volunteers help create and coordinate events throughout the year.