UC Electrical and Computer Engineering

This week's department seminar will be presented by Prof Arvin Agah from the Unviersity of Kansas and is entitled "Mobile Robots: History, Locomotion, Applications, and Trends". Come along to Link 309 at 2pm on Friday to check it out!!

Congratulations to ECE postgrads Matthew Suter and Jorden Nom who won first and second prize respectively in the Presentation Competition for the IEEE Australia New Zealand Student and Young Professionals Congress (ANZSCON 2024) held on 7th July.
Great work guys!!!🥳👏

Don't miss our ECE department seminar tomorrow afternoon in Link 309 Lecture theatre!
It will be presented by Associate Professor Rong Liu from Dalian University of Technology and is entitled "Bridging Neuroscience and Technology: EEG Applications from Robotics to Health" - further details are below.

Congratulations to Daniel Mak on passing his PhD oral this morning!!

Daniel's senior supervisor was Prof Volker Nock, his Co-supervisor was Prof Renwick Dobson, and Associate supervisor was Dr Tanya Rutan. Daniel’s thesis was examined by Prof Rosanne Guijt, Deakin University and Prof Charles Henry, Colorado State University.

Assoc. Prof Chris Hann was the chair of the exam and is pictured on the right below with Prof Nock (left), Daniel, and Prof Dobson.

We wish Daniel the best of success with his future career.

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news-and-events/news/2024/new-health-tech-aims-to-save-lives--time-and-money

Hey ECE Thesis students! Could you explain your entire thesis in three minutes?

The annual 3MT Challenge is part of a global competition for UC postgraduate research students. Please note there is prize money $$$ to be won, both at the heats and the finals!!

With the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competitions coming up, Chris Hann has organised two free workshops for postgrad ENG students. PLACES IN THE WORKSHOPS ARE LIMITED TO 4 STUDENTS PER DEPARTMENT, links to register are below.

These workshops are incredibly valuable, and past attendees have continued through to finals & beyond.

Links to the Humanitix registration:
Workshop #1: https://events.humanitix.com/thesis-in-three-workshop-1
Workshop #2: https://events.humanitix.com/thesis-in-three-workshop-2

For more info on the 3MT please see the UC 3MT Page: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news-and-events/regular-events/research-student-showcase/3mt #:~:text=UC%20Thesis%20Master's%20and%20Doctoral,at%20a%20non%2Dspecialist%20audience.

Congratulations to ECE department alumnus Dr William Howell Round, who was appointed to be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King's Birthday Honours recently. Dr Round undertook his PhD here from 1979-1982. Please see below for further details.

ROUND, Dr William Howell (Howell)
For services to medical physics and biomedical engineering

Dr Howell Round is internationally respected in the fields of medical physics and biomedical engineering over four decades.

Dr Round has presented at numerous conferences, consulted on expert panels and advised government on a wide range of policy issues pertaining to his field. He has chaired the University of Waikato’s Department of Physics and Electronic Engineering, transforming the department through various initiatives into an innovative, internationally respected team. At Waikato University, his research has focused on medical ultrasonics, radiation therapy, exercise science and EEG analysis. He has represented Waikato University on national committees including the National Electronic Development Association and Innovative Healthcare Technologies. He has volunteered with the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM) since the 1980s, organising conferences and contributing to information documents for government, training documents and committees for guiding workplace professional development. He held almost every position at Branch and Australasian level over a 30-year period, including ACPSEM President. He initiated and led research that identified and quantified the Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering workforces for New Zealand and Australia, providing data informing government policy and funding decisions. Dr Round has served terms as Secretary-General of both the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics and the International Union of Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine.

Kia ora koutou,
Join us on Friday 31 May at 3pm in E5 Lecture theatre for a seminar featuring Leonardo Bolstad and Toby Smillie as they share their experiences from the Global Hydrogen Case Competition at the Canadian Hydrogen Convention. This prestigious event brought together leading hydrogen companies and diplomats from around the world, including representatives from Japan, South Korea, Poland, and many more.
Leonardo and Toby will provide an insider's view of their journey, from preparation to securing sponsorships, and the lessons learned along the way. Discover how their participation has opened doors for future university projects and the potential benefits for students interested in the burgeoning hydrogen sector.

Kia ora koutou, this week's department seminar will be presented by PhD student Will Sloane, who recently passed his PhD oral exam. During his PhD studies Will spent time at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, USA. Don't miss this opportunity to hear him speak about his research into mm-wave channel measurements and modelling, and his time in the States. Come along to Link 309 tomorrow at 2pm, all welcome.

Dr Sierra Hickman was also presented with her pounamu toki in celebration of her graduation at our postgraduate meeting on 14th May. Sierra is pictured below with her senior supervisor Associate Professor Richard Clare. Her thesis is entitled 'The GeometricWavefront Sensor and Atmospheric Tomography for Satellite Imaging from Ground-based Telescopes'. Sierra is now working at UC as a lecturer in the department of Chemical and Process Engineering. Congratulations Sierra!

Congratulations to Dr Zac Heywood on graduating with his PhD in March!
Zac's thesis was entitled "Percolating Networks of Nanoparticles for Neuromorphic Computing". He is pictured below receiving a pounamu toki from his senior supervisor, Emeritus Professor Phil Bones, at our Postgraduate meeting last week.

Come along to Link 309 tomorrow at 2pm for our Department seminar, it will be presented by recent PhD graduate Dr Zac Heywood, further details are below, all welcome!

Congratulations to UC Engineering PhD students Alex McKendry and Narottam Royal who have been awarded internships at NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration 🚀🌌

Alexandra and Narottam will embark on three-month internships, partnering with NASA scientists who will serve as their mentors.

Students will complete designated projects and gain educational experience in their fields of study, while also contributing to NASA missions and science – incredible! 🙌

They will join four other top New Zealand tertiary students and be based in the NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

What an experience!

www.linkedin.com

Come along to Link 309 tomorrow at 2pm to hear Emeritus Professor Maan Alkaisi speaking about photolithography and photography.
Prof Alkaisi has been able to pursue his passion for wildlife photography since his retirement two years ago. Please see below for further details, don't miss this!

This Week's department seminar is presented by Dr Thiaza Thasthakeer, Systems Engineer, Tait Communications Ltd
and is entitled "Stochastic Geometry Approach to Modelling
Finite Millimetre Wave Outdoor Cellular Networks" - come along to Link 309 at 2pm on Friday to check it out!!

Congratulations to Alaa Omar who graduated today with his PhD. He is pictured below being presented with a pounamu toki by his senior supervisor, Associate Professor Paul Gaynor. Well done on your outstanding achievement Alaa!

This Week's department seminar is presented by Prof Sri Krishnan from Toronto University and is entitled "Wearables and Biomedical Signal Analysis for Digital Health" - come along to Link 309 at 2pm on Friday to check it out!!

Come along on Friday afternoon at 2pm to Link 309 for this week's department seminar presented by visiting Erskine Fellow Dr Matt Pavlina from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University!

The Annual ECE Resistor Run was held yesterday afternoon, Congratulations to the winning teams! (and to the postgrads/staff who managed to hit their targets).

Congratulations to Hailong Wang who passed his PhD oral exam on 14 September; his completion was confirmed on 18 October. Hailong’s thesis is entitled “Control of Grid-side Converter for Type-IV Wind Turbine Connected to AC Systems”.
His supervisors were Prof. Neville Watson, Dr Yonghe Liu and Dr Jeremy Watson. The Chair of Hailong’s exam was Assoc. Prof Alan Wood, and his examiners were Assoc. Prof Abhisek Ukil, University of Auckland, and Prof Michael Negnevitsky, University of Tasmania. We are very pleased that Hailong has taken up a role as a post-doctoral fellow here in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering!

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news/2023/awards-given-to-exceptional-uc-teachers-and-mentors.html

Awards given to exceptional UC teachers and mentors Improving access for diverse learners is a common theme among the 2023 winners of Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury’s annual ...

Congratulations to Professor Philippa Martin who was presented with a Te Whatu Kairangi Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Award on the 26th September at Parliament.
Professor Martin was the winner of the category "Progressing seamless ākonga transitions between contexts". Further details are available at this link: https://ako.ac.nz/programmes-and-services/te-whatu-kairangi/awardee-community/2023-te-whatu-kairangi-awardees/professor-philippa-martin/?mc_cid=62c7c653fd&mc_eid=94835dec60

Congratulations to Zubia Ishrat who passed her PhD oral exam on 22nd September! Zubia’s thesis is entitled “Frequency Reuse Planning with Directional Relays in Utility Field Area Network”.
Her supervisors were Dr Graeme Woodward, Professor Philippa Martin and Dr Le Yang.
Dr Adriel Kind was the Chair of Zubias’ exam, and her examiners were Dr Sudhir Singh, Callaghan Innovation, and Dr. Alagan Anpalagan, Department of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering,Toronto Metropolitan University. Zubia is planning to work in the telecommunication industry as a RAN engineer and is currently seeking opportunities. We wish Zubia all the very best for her future career.

Come along to this week's department seminar presented by Master's candidate (and ECE Electronics and Mechanical Systems Technician) Diego Ramirez. Check out the details on his fascinating research below!

Congratulations to Liam Sycamore who recently completed his PhD! Liam’s thesis is entitled “Development of Real Time Model Based Rocket Navigation Algorithms”. His supervisors were Assoc. Prof Chris Hann and Assoc. Prof Paul Gaynor.
Prof Maan Alkaisi was the Chair of Liams’ exam, and his examiners were Professor Graeme Wake, Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University; and Professor Arvin Agah, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Kansas, Lawrence USA. Below are photos from Liam’s PhD oral exam which was held on 26th July.
Liam is planning to move into research and development of GNC and electronics in the aerospace industry. We wish him all the very best for his future career.

Kia ora koutou, please see below for details of the Department seminar to be held on Friday 8th September at 2pm - don't miss out!

https://ako.ac.nz/about-us/ako-aotearoa-news/top-tertiary-educators-and-groups-in-aotearoa-new-zealand-announced-for-2023/?mc_cid=62c7c653fd&mc_eid=d5f4ec7fad
Congratulations to Prof Philippa Martin who will be receiving a Te Whatu Kairangi Aotearoa Tertiary Teaching Award on the 26th September in the category 'Progressing seamless ākonga transitions between contexts'. Please see the two posts below for further details.

Top tertiary educators and groups in Aotearoa New Zealand announced for 2023 Eleven awards involving 26 awardees have been announced today for the 2023 Te Whatu Kairangi – Aotearoa Tertiary Educator Awards.

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news/2023/improving-equity-in-engineering-to-benefit-everyone.html

Improving equity in engineering to benefit everyone UC’s first female Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering has been recognised for her trailblazing work to transform engineering education ...