2017 IEEE Vision, Innovation and Challenges Summit and Honors Ceremony

April 19, 2017

On 25 May 2017 in San Francisco, Calif. IEEE will host the inaugural Vision, Innovation, and Challenges Summit (VIC Summit) culminating with the 2017 IEEE Honors Ceremony.

The IEEE Vision, Innovation, and Challenges Summit brings together leading innovators, visionaries, and disruptors in technology to discuss, explore, and uncover what is imminent, what is possible – and what these emerging technologies mean for our future.

Attendees will also benefit from the unique opportunity to meet, mingle and network with peers and some of the top technology ‘giants’ in the engineering world in an intimate setting. Students and young professionals are also invited to join a dedicated networking reception to connect directly with industry leaders and mentors.

The day will kick off with a keynote presentation by Dean of Stanford University’s School of Engineering, James D. Plummer, IEEE Fellow. Plummer has changed the way engineering research and teaching is carried out, influencing industry and academia worldwide. Other speakers include leaders from the fields of internet security, AI and autonomous vehicles, innovations in healthcare, and more.

The summit culminates with an evening’s festivities that will include the celebration of the contributions of some of the greatest minds of our time who have made a lasting impact on society for the benefit of humanity at the IEEE Honors Ceremony.

The highest recognition of the evening will be the IEEE Medal of Honor, sponsored by the IEEE Foundation. Since 1917, the award has been presented to candidates who have exceptional achievements and extraordinary careers in the fields of science and technology. The 2017 IEEE Medal of Honor recipient is Kees Schouhamer Immink, President of Turing Machines, Inc., Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Immink is regarded as the most prolific contributor to the world’s consumer electronics of the late 20th Century, by pioneering coding techniques that have provided the foundation for all generations of optical storage media, from the compact disc (CD) to the Blu-ray disc (BD).

Immink’s eight-to-fourteen modulation (EFM) technique for digital recordings improved playing time and was more robust against dust, fingerprints, and disc damage such as scratches, leading to the creation of the CD. Immink developed an advanced channel coding method called EFMPlus, which was integral to the design of the digital versatile disc (DVD).

IEEE Life Fellow, Immink has had milestone contributions to optical storage technologies that ushered in the digital revolution of consumer electronics, changing the way people all over the world store data and enjoy audio and video content.

Seating is strictly limited, so reserve your place early to this must-attend the event. Please visit the event website for more details about the Summit and IEEE Honors Ceremony. Tune into the live broadcast of the ceremony on 25 May 2017 at 7 p.m. PST, courtesy of IEEE.tv on IEEE Transmitter.