IEEE Buenaventura
August 2025 Newsletter

In This Issue

Announcements

• July 17 : Amazing Antennas, Recording - IEEE Buenaventura Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society(AESS)

• August 8: IEEE Buenaventura Section Mixer + NASA Mission to Asteroid Psyche - In-person and Virtual, IEEE Buenaventura Section

• August 12: Distinguished Lecture: Machine Learning in NextG Networks via Generative Adversarial Networks-Virtual, IEEE Santa Clara Valley and Buenaventura Computer Society(CS)

• August 19: The Sketches of Infinite Data and Algorithms for Real-Time Data Insights - Virtual, IEEE Santa Clara Valley and Buenaventura Computer Society (CS)

• August 21: Silverplate Project, Weaponization of the Atomic Bombs - In-person and Virtual, IEEE Buenaventura Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society(AESS)

• August 29: IEEE SCV WIE AI Summit 2025 - In- Person, IEEE Santa Clara Valley Women In Engineering and Buenaventura Computer Society (CS)

• September 17: Panel Discussion - From Prompt to Production: Operationalizing Agentic LLM Systems - Online, IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section and Buenaventura Computer Society (CS)

• Volunteers Needed: First Lego League Robotics Tournament

• Volunteers Needed: Newbury Park High School Robotics Team, FIRST Robotics Competition


Job Opportunities and Sponsors

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Syntesis GlobalManagement Consulting

Announcements

August 8, 2025

IEEE Buenaventura Section Mixer + NASA Mission to Asteroid Psyche
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM PT
Cal Lutheran Center for Entrepreneurship(HUB101), Westlake Village

Speaker: Dr. Timothy Weise, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Register at: https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/ieee- buenaventura-section-mixer-nasa-mission-to-asteroid-psyche- registration-1439884907519

Join the IEEE Buenaventura Section for the Annual Summer Mixer. Connect with fellow engineers and learn about the Psyche mission.
Psyche is the first mission to explore an asteroid with a surface that contains substantial amounts of metal rather than rock or ice. The mission will improve our knowledge of iron cores, a previously unexplored building block of planet formation.
Mission Manager Dr. Weise will give an overview of the NASA mission Psyche named after the Metal asteroid Psyche.

About the Speaker

Dr. Timothy Weise is a senior mission operations leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, currently serving as Mission Manager for the Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid. With over 25 years of experience, he has played key roles on missions including Dawn and InSight, leading teams through spacecraft operations and deep space navigation.
He holds a Ph.D. in Astronautics from USC and degrees in Aeronautical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Agenda
6:00 - 7:15 PM Reception and Networking: Stonefire Grill buffet
7:15 - 8:15 PM Psyche Mission – A Journey to the Metal World


August 12, 2025

Distinguished Lecture: Machine Learning in NextG Networks via Generative Adversarial Networks
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM PT

Speaker: Dr. Vishnu S. Pendyala, San Jose State University
Register at: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/493301

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) implement Machine Learning (ML) algorithms that can address competitive resource allocation problems, together with detection and mitigation of anomalous behavior. In this talk, the speaker will discuss their use in next-generation (NextG) communications within the context of cognitive networks to address i) spectrum sharing, ii) detecting anomalies, and iii) mitigating security attacks. GANs have the following advantages. First, they can learn and synthesize field data, which can be costly, time-consuming, and non-repeatable. Second, they enable pre-training classifiers by using semisupervised data. Third, they facilitate increased resolution. Fourth, they enable recovering corrupted bits in the spectrum. The talk will provide basics of GANs, a comparative discussion on different kinds of GANs, performance measures for GANs in computer vision and image processing as well as wireless applications, a number of datasets for wireless applications, performance measures for general classifiers, a survey of the literature on GANs for i)–iii) above, some simulation results, and future research directions. In the spectrum sharing problem, connections to cognitive wireless networks are established. Simulation results show that a particular GAN implementation is better than a convolutional autoencoder for an outlier detection problem in spectrum sensing.

About the Speaker

Vishnu S. Pendyala, PhD, is a faculty member in Applied Data Science and an Academic Senator with San Jose State University, current chair of the Santa Clara Valley Chapters of IEEE Computer and Computational Intelligence Societies, Area 4 Coordinator for Region 6, and a Distinguished Contributor of the IEEE Computer Society. As a past ACM Distinguished Speaker, researcher, and industry expert, he gave nearly 100 talks and tutorial sessions in various forums such as faculty development programs, the 12th IEEE GHTC, IEEE ANTS, 12th IACC, 10th ICMC, IUCEE, 12th ACM IKDD CODS and 30th COMAD to audiences at venues such as Stanford University, Google, University of Bolton, Computer History Museum, Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Lima, Peru, IIIT Hyderabad, KREA, IIT Jodhpur, University of Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIIT Bhubaneswar. Some of these talks are available on YouTube and IEEE.tv. He is a senior member of the IEEE and ACM. He has over two decades of experience in the software industry in the Silicon Valley, USA. His book, "Veracity of Big Data," is available in several libraries, including those of MIT, Stanford, CMU, the US Congress and internationally. Two other books on machine learning and software development that he edited are also well-received and found place in the US Library of Congress and other reputed libraries. Dr. Pendyala taught a one-week course sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, under the GIAN program in 2017 to Computer Science faculty from all over the country and delivered the keynote in a similar program sponsored by AICTE, Government of India in 2022. Dr. Pendyala served on a US government's National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal review panel in 2023. He received the Ramanujan memorial gold medal and a shield for his college at the State Math Olympiad. He also played an active role in the Computer Society of India and was the Program Secretary for its annual national convention.


August 19, 2025

The Sketches of Infinite Data and Algorithms for Real-Time Data Insights
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM PT

Speaker: Dr. Vishnu S. Pendyala, San Jose State University
Register at: https:// events.vtools.ieee.org/ m/482936

How are machine learning algorithms able to answer questions from any nook and corner of the World Wide Web? How are trending hashtags from the near infinite microblog posts, unique visitors and other distinct counts in the near infinite website traffic determined? How do blogging websites avoid recommending articles a user has previously read? In general, how can we answer complex queries about enormous data streams without storing them entirely, in real-time? The answer often lies in clever approximation algorithms and data "sketches" that capture essential properties using vastly reduced space. The relentless flow of data in modern systems indeed presents significant challenges. These data streams are often too large to store and too fast to process exhaustively with traditional methods. This talk introduces key sketching and approximation techniques that help generate real-time data insights by processing data streams.

About the Speaker

Vishnu S. Pendyala, PhD, is a faculty member in Applied Data Science and an Academic Senator with San Jose State University, current chair of the Santa Clara Valley Chapters of IEEE Computer and Computational Intelligence Societies, Area 4 Coordinator for Region 6, and a Distinguished Contributor of the IEEE Computer Society. As a past ACM Distinguished Speaker, researcher, and industry expert, he gave nearly 100 talks and tutorial sessions in various forums such as faculty development programs, the 12th IEEE GHTC, IEEE ANTS, 12th IACC, 10th ICMC, IUCEE, 12th ACM IKDD CODS and 30th COMAD to audiences at venues such as Stanford University, Google, University of Bolton, Computer History Museum, Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Lima, Peru, IIIT Hyderabad, KREA, IIT Jodhpur, University of Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIIT Bhubaneswar. Some of these talks are available on YouTube and IEEE.tv. He is a senior member of the IEEE and ACM. He has over two decades of experience in the software industry in the Silicon Valley, USA. His book, "Veracity of Big Data," is available in several libraries, including those of MIT, Stanford, CMU, the US Congress and internationally. Two other books on machine learning and software development that he edited are also well-received and found place in the US Library of Congress and other reputed libraries. Dr. Pendyala taught a one-week course sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, under the GIAN program in 2017 to Computer Science faculty from all over the country and delivered the keynote in a similar program sponsored by AICTE, Government of India in 2022. Dr. Pendyala served on a US government's National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal review panel in 2023. He received the Ramanujan memorial gold medal and a shield for his college at the State Math Olympiad. He also played an active role in the Computer Society of India and was the Program Secretary for its annual national convention.

August 21, 2025

Silverplate Project, Weaponization of the Atomic Bombs
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM PT
Cal Lutheran Center for Entrepreneurship(HUB101), Westlake Village

Speaker: Dr. Robert (Bob) L. Eisenhart, IEEE Life Fellow
Register at: https:// events.vtools.ieee.org/ m/491884

A discussion of Scientific and Engineering accomplishment to cause an abrupt end to WWII in the Pacific. This story is the event's 80 years Anniversary to the month of the Japanese surrender. The presentation is a brief overview of the People, Places and Events that had to do with taking a complex laboratory experiment and turning it into what was used as a weapon of war, culminating in the Japanese surrender in WWII. Did you know that the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan were totally different designs? And that the plane with the second bomb barely made it? Lot's of interesting stuff.

About the Speaker

Dr. Bob Eisenhart has a deep connection to the military through family and his own service. Born in San Antonio, Texas, into an Air Force family, his passion for military aviation, especially the B-29 bombers that helped end WWII—action his father was directly involved in—shaped his early interests. A 1960 Distinguished Army ROTC graduate with a Bachelor's in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Bob served two years of active duty with the U.S. Army Security Agency in Arlington, Virginia, followed by three years in the reserves in Frankfurt, Germany. At the Agency, he managed critical Electronic Monitoring Equipment, earning a special Letter of Commendation from the Assistant Secretary of Defense for his impactful work in Europe. After earning a Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1970, he joined Hughes Aircraft Company, focusing on Research & Development and retiring as Chief Scientist after 23 years. He subsequently established Eisenhart Associates, providing consulting services on microwave circuits and antennas until 2018. Within IEEE, Dr. Eisenhart served in multiple leadership roles over two decades, notably as General Chairman of the 1999 International Microwave Symposium. Elected an IEEE Fellow in 1995 and Life Fellow in 2005, he received the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society's prestigious Microwave Pioneer Award in 1999. His career focused on design, and he shared his expertise through numerous seminars at companies and universities.

August 29, 2025

IEEE SCV WIE AI Summit 2025
3:15 PM - 8:00 PM PT

Register at: https:// events.vtools.ieee.org/ m/479108

In an era where AI technologies are rapidly transforming industries and redefining possibilities, it is crucial to explore both the innovations driving this change and the responsibilities that come with it. Today, we will delve into a diverse array of topics that highlight the multifaceted nature of AI and its profound impact on our lives.

Our sessions will cover the latest developments in Large Language Models and Foundation Models, exploring efficient fine-tuning, multilingual adaptation, and the role of LLMs as knowledge bases. We will also examine the evolution of AI agents, focusing on autonomous task completion, multi-agent collaboration, and the integration of external knowledge for robust decision-making.

In the realm of Vision and Multimodality, we will explore the integration of text, image, and video understanding, as well as advanced techniques like zero-shot learning and self-supervised learning. Our discussions on MLOps for LLMs will provide insights into best practices for training, deploying, and evaluating large models.

We will also address the critical areas of Knowledge-Grounded Reasoning, On-Device Learning, and the ethical dimensions of AI, including bias mitigation, privacy preservation, and the detection of misinformation.

Talk tracks are broadly classified but not limited to,

1. Large Language Models (LLMs) & Foundation Models
2. AI Agents
3. Vision & Multimodality
4. MLOps for LLMs
5. Knowledge-Grounded & Reasoning
6. On-Device Learning for LLMs and Multi-Modal AI
7. Ethics, Bias & Fairness

Agenda

3:15-3:30 Registration
4:00-4:15 IEEE SCV WIE Welcome Message
4:15-4:30 Keynote Message
4:30-5:30 Sessions
5:30-6:15 Networking and Refreshments
6:20-7:50 Lightning Talks
7:50-8:00 Networking and Wrap-up


September 17, 2025

Panel discussion - From Prompt to Production: Operationalizing Agentic LLM Systems
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PT

Register at: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/494702

As large language models (LLMs) evolve from static, prompt-based tools into autonomous, agentic systems capable of reasoning, planning, and acting with minimal human oversight, organizations face an exciting yet complex frontier. These advanced systems hold the potential to revolutionize enterprise workflows, developer tools, and customer-facing applications—but realizing that potential requires navigating a host of technical and ethical challenges.

This panel brings together leading voices from AI research, infrastructure engineering, and real-world application domains to discuss how agentic LLM systems are moving from lab experiments to production-grade deployments. Panelists will explore critical topics such as orchestration, safety, observability, and evaluation, while offering hard-earned lessons from deploying these systems at scale.

Whether you're building tools for developers, integrating LLM agents into enterprise pipelines, or shaping the next wave of intelligent products, this discussion will equip you with the strategic and technical know-how to bring agentic AI into impactful, everyday use. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn what it truly takes to operationalize the future of AI.


Volunteers Needed: FIRST Lego League Robotics Tournament

Once again IEEE Buenaventura Section is supporting middle school robotics by sponsoring the annual FIRST Lego League Robotics Tournament. The tournament will be on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at the Ventura County Office of Education Conference Center in Camarillo. Teams of young robot enthusiasts that will compete for a chance to go to the regional tournament. The IEEE has been generous in its support over many years both financially and in providing volunteers. It is a lot of fun and you will be greatly impressed with what these young people accomplish and their enthusiasm.

If you are available to volunteer from 8 AM to 4 PM we can definitely use you in a variety of rolls from assisting judges, monitoring the games, and other jobs. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Please E-mail Deron Johnson and the planning team at fll-2025@ieee- bv.org to volunteer or ask questions. Feel free to pass this on to anyone you think might enjoy volunteering!


Volunteers Needed: Newbury Park High School Robotics Team

The Newbury Park High School Robotics Team is seeking a volunteer software mentor, to help prepare to compete in the international FIRST Robotics Competition. While the robots are programmed in Java, anyone with a software background could help resolve multi-vendor integration issues. Meetings are held after school on weekdays; however, we can hold sessions in the evenings and on weekends to accommodate professionals. Please contact the coach, Chuck Seabury, if you are interested.

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