The2016IEEEEMCSymposium:OhOttawa!
MikeViolette,IEEEEMCSociety
Oneofthechallengesfacingourdistributedindustryisfindingwaystomakethe
community,er,bondwitheachother.OurSocietyisglobalandcrossesmany
industries.Soitisalwaysfortunatetobeabletogettogetherandsharesometime
withourcolleaguesfromeverycorneroftheworld.
OneoftheflagshipeventsoftheyearfortheEMCSocietyistheIEEEEMC
Symposium,thisyearheldinthebosomofOttawa,thecapitalofCanada.Thisisthe
firstinathreeyear(unplanned)stringofconferencesthatlandinNations’capitals,
as2017and2018eventswillbeheldnearWashingtonDCandinSingapore,
respectively.Now,somewouldpointouttheobviousthatSingaporeisanationstate
andwhere-else-would-a-nation-beexceptinit’smajorcity,butthataside,wehave
ourtriple“capitalcities”Symposiaandwe’redamnhappyaboutit.
Inanyevent,the2016Ottawaeventwasablastandwebrokeoutinstylewitha
packedtechnicalprogram,asold-outexhibithallandliveentertainment,featuringa
fewtunesfromGeneralChairKrisHatashitaandafewcompanionsledbythe
inimitablemulti-talentedJeffSilberberg.
Kris,JohnandChuckWarmUptheCrowd
Themusiccontinuedthroughtheweekfeaturingsultrysoundsofsmoothjazzand
popfavoritesperformedbythelovelyLeeAnneFredericksonJazzQuartetinthe
TrilliumRoomattheShawCentre.
LeeAnneFredericksonJazzQuartet
Ottawaisafunplacewithloadsofhistoryand,thissummer,awildlightshow
projectedagainsttheParliamentbuildingthattellsthestory—inimages,musicand
bilingualism—ofthefoundingofCanada.BeingofFrench-Canadianextraction,Iwas
fascinatedbytheretellingofthefoundingofthisNation,animmigrantanddiverse
countrythathasnotforgottenitspastandisfirmlyfocusedonthefuture,building
infrastructureanddoingpositiveconstructionactivitiesthatwillyieldeconomic
benefitsforfuturegenerations.Thecityalsofeaturessomefunart,whimsicaland
evocative,likethisgiantspidernexttotheMuseumofModernArt.
SpiderandMuseumofModernArt
Canadaisauniquecountry,connectedtohertwomothers(yes,sheisprogressive)
EnglandandFranceininterestingways“borninthelilies,raisedintheroses.”
Forinstance,aspartoftheCommonwealth,profilesofmonarchsfromEnglandare
stillfeaturedontheobverseofthecurrency,withtheprofileflippingrighttoleft
whenthemonarchchanges.Currently,long-reigningQueenElizabethisupto
Revision4or5,aginggracefullyasitwereand,inthelatesteffigy,inahumblenod
tothecommoners,shehasdoffedhercrown.1
MyforebearslandedontheEasterncoastofLouisburgin1749afewdecadesafter
itsfoundingbyFrenchmilitaryforcesandthedeepconnectionbacktoFranceis
compelling.DuringatriptothewestcoastofFrancetotheporttownofLaRochelle,
InotedtheCanadianflagwavinghighaboveoneofthetowersguardingtheoldport,
indicativeofthewavesofimmigrationfromFrancethatoccurredduringthe1700s
whenEnglandandFrancewerebitingoffandfightingoverpiecesoftheterritory
thatwouldultimatelybeboundtogetheronJuly1,1867.(Inthemid1850s,were
myancestorsnotabletoscrambleintothewoodsandavoidtheforcedexpulsion
fromAcadiato,eventually,Louisiana,Imaylikelybetypingthesewordswitha
Cajuntwang:“Acadia”à”Acadian”à”Cajun”).Anyway,wemanagedtomissthe
massdeportation(whichshouldreallybeoutlawed)andstayedNorthoftheSt
LawrenceRiverforahundredorsoyears,eventuallyleakingintotheMainewoods,
becominglumberjacksandshirtmakersforacompanycalledHathaway.
1ThiswealllearnedatavisittheRoyalMintinthemiddleofOttawa,which
producesmanymillionsofdollarsofveryfinegold(99.999%)everyweek,which
arepurchasedbyinvestorsinCanadaandabroad.Theywerenothandingout
samples.
AcrosstheOttawaRiveristheprovinceofQuébecwherethe“Muséecanadiende
l’histoire”(IhavetowriteitinFrench,parcequec’estauQuebec),designedby
DouglasCardinal,afamousAboriginalarchitect.Themuseumisavisual
masterpiece,organicandnaturalwithexhibitsandprogramsforallages.Thisalso
happenedtobelocationfortheTuesdayeveningreceptionfeaturingabunchofold
guysinredshirtsplayingdatedrockandrolltunes.
AdditionalhomagetoScotland,Ireland,EnglandandFranceappearinthecity’s
soaringcathedral,asfigurescarvedintocolumnsoneithersideofthesacristy
(thistle,shamrock,roseandfleur-de-lis).Allofthishonoringofthepastmaybe
summedupinQuébec’sProvincialMotto“Jemesouviens”whichtranslatesto“I
remember”which,tosome,maymeansimply,thatwerecallthepast,weremember
itslessonsandweareinformedforthefuture.Otherinterpretations*may*takeona
gravermeaning.
SpeakingofScotland,Ottawaisalsohometoameccaofsorts,forScotchaficionados.
TheHighlanderPubisaquaintwoodedspotonRideauStreet“WhereMenWear
Kilts”featuringovertwohundredsinglemaltscotches.Afewvisitsaresuggestedto
properlysurveytheIslaysandSpeysides.Thewallofwhiskyisknownas“The
VaticanofScotch.”Nowthattitlepaysanecumenicalhonorific,ifyouaskme.
ScotchChoices?
OnetakeawayfromaweekinOttawa,asidefromthesmoky,peatymemoriesofthe
singlemalts,istheinclusivenessthatwecanexperienceinourlittlecommunity.At
theChapterChairdinner,hostedbyCarolineChan,weheardsummariesfromChairs
aroundtheworld,withacommonvisionofbringingandkeepingournetworksalive
withmeaningfulandproductivecommunicationsandsharing.
GoodNightOttawa
Thepastisalwaysprologueandgiventhesuccessofthe2016OttawaSymposium,
wehopetomake2017asgoodas2016.Somakeyourplansfor2017andseeyouin
WashingtonDC,August7-11,2017.
SpecialEditionEarrings