IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC)
Technology for the Benefit of Humanity // Colorado Schools of Mines, USA / October 22-25, 2025

Welcome Reception @ GHTC 2019

 

The GHTC 2019 Young Professionals & Welcome Reception and Poster Awards will be on Thursday, October 17, staring at 7pm, following the Student  Poster Competition. (Tickets required)

The Reception will feature Carrie Smith of Physio-Control company. She will speak on her activities and experiences in humanitarian technology, in biomedical and energy poverty applications.

Speaker Biography:

Carrie Ann Smith is an Electrical Design Engineer at Physio-Control (now part of Stryker). She works to enhance state-of-the-art medical technology. She completed her undergraduate degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a minor in computer science (Magna Cum Laude) from Seattle University, where she served as the chair for Tau Beta Pi the engineering honor society, president and charter member of IEEE HKN honor society, and chair of IEEE.

She served as an Electrical/Computer Engineering advisor for a University of Washington mechanical engineering senior design team to help develop a novel insulin-delivery pump for patients with low acuity, while in her senior year. She has volunteered with KiloWatts for Humanity to help fight energy poverty in rural villages for two years.

Recently she traveled to the Chalokwa and Munyama villages in Zambia, Africa to implement an updated data acquisition system she helped build over the previous year, which provides remote access and monitoring of the power system. She has participated in key research at the University of Arizona centered around autonomous ground vehicles and cognitive radio, where she investigated the implications of millimeter wave high-frequencies particular to automotive radar.

Date & Time: 7:00-9:00 PM, Thursday, October 17
Room: Northwest Ballroom

TICKETS REQUIRED: GHTC 2019 attendees see https://ieeeghtc.org/registration/

Check out our other Special Sessions here.

 

Welcome from Program Chairs

 

Welcome Message from the Program Chairs

The Program Committee welcomes you to the 9th IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference. We are excited about this year’s conference and believe it will help advance technology for the betterment of society.

In the last 8 years, GHTC has established itself as the main conference on humanitarian technology in the US. People from all over the world have gathered every year to learn, present, and discuss new ways to use or develop technology to help impoverished populations. The Program Committee has worked hard this year to maintain the tradition. We have developed an international program with keynote speakers, panels, paper presentations, and workshops from across the spectrum of humanitarian engineering and technology.

We have accepted over 140 papers covering several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. We will have parallel sessions in Health, Energy, Education, Agriculture, Connectivity, Water, Disaster Mitigation, and Sustainable Development.

We will have two plenary panels, one on “Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People” on Friday morning, and one on “Health-Related Issues in Resource Constrained Environments” on Saturday morning. In addition, we will three keynote speakers:

  • Neil Sahota, Chief Innovation Officer, University of California, Emerging Technologies Research & Policy Institute
  • Thomas Coughlin FIEEE, President of IEEE-USA and President, Coughlin Associates
  • Tess Russo, Portfolio Lead and Research Scientist at Global Good

There will be plenty of opportunities for networking during the breaks, lunches, and receptions. Please use these opportunities to enhance your personal and professional growth, network, and learn about new projects. We hope you enjoy the conference!

 

Silvia Figueira, PhD
Program Chair

Henry Louie, PhD
Technical Program Chair

 

Welcome to GHTC 2019

Welcome from the Chair

A Cairde,

Céad Míle Fáilte romhaibh go léir to the 9th annual IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference hosted by IEEE Region 6, Seattle Section and IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology, Technical Co-Sponsored by IEEE-USA, IEEE Consumer Electronics Society, IEEE Engineering Medicine and Biology Society, IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, IEEE Power and Energy Society and IEEE Smart Village, with Global Good and IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee as Patrons.

IEEE GHTC brings together stakeholders from around the world sharing a common interest in addressing societal challenges at home and abroad. Supporting achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), GHTC provides a platform for researchers, technologists, engineers, policy makers and practitioners to share knowledge and experiences, build capacity and facilitate relationship building.

This year’s program features plenary panels focused on “Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People” and “Health-Related Issues in Resource Constrained Environments”. This is complemented by parallel tracks showcasing activities in Energy, Health, Agriculture, Connectivity, Education, Disaster Mitigation, Water and Sustainable Development.

We have extended the duration of the Plenary Panels, not just to allow more time for discussion but also for delegates to share personal experiences and insight. We are building on the participatory workshop sessions introduced last year through the introduction of a number of Unconference Sessions in the program, allowing delegates to influence topics and issues to be discussed, and share expertise.

Lunches and social events will provide opportunities for delegates and presenters to cluster at specific tables dedicated to discussion and knowledge sharing in specific thematic areas. Please take advantage of these opportunities – all of us have knowledge and experiences to share as well as lessons to learn.

Keynote speakers this year include Neil Sahota, Chief Innovation Officer, University of California (Emerging Technologies Research & Policy Institute), Irvine; Tom Coughlin, IEEE-USA President; and Tess Russo, Portfolio Lead and Research Scientist at Global Good.

On Thursday, there are several special events open to all conference delegates:

  • Half-day Workshops (IoT and AI architecture for humanitarian services, Applied Machine Learning for Social Good and Fundamentals of Off-Grid Electrical Systems)
  • Student Poster Competition
  • Young Professionals Reception

On behalf of the Conference Committee I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this year’s conference – in particular the experts who volunteered their time to provide constructive, actionable feedback to improve the quality and impact of papers in the conference proceedings. Please take the opportunity during and after the conference to share your ideas of how we should continue to innovate as we start preparing for the 10th anniversary of GHTC in 2020.

 

Prof. Paul M Cunningham
Chair, IEEE GHTC 2019
Dublin, Ireland

 

 

 

Announcing Silver Sponsor – Global Good

 

The IEEE GHTC 2019 Committee is pleased to announce Global Good will return as a Silver Sponsor.

Millions of people suffer and die each year in poor countries from causes that humanity has the scientific and technical ability to solve. Funded by Bill Gates and focused on a shared vision with Nathan Myhrvold, Global Good invents technology to solve some of humanity’s most daunting problems. We do this by collaborating with leading humanitarian organizations, forward-looking governments, research institutions, and corporate and private sector partners that bring our inventions to market.

See www.intellectualventures.com/globalgood

Seattle WA – September 10, 2019

 

IEEE GHTC 2019 – Networking and Community Building

 

From: Prof. Paul M Cunningham, GHTC 2019 Conference Chair

Dear Colleagues,

We are all very excited now that the Advance Programme has been published, and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Seattle in October. Find detailed information on the program on our newly updated website.

NETWORKING & COMMUNITY BUILDING

We hope that you will be able to schedule your time to arrive on Thursday and go home on Sunday afternoon or evening.

This will allow you to actively participate in networking, knowledge sharing and community building opportunities throughout the conference:

  • Complementary Workshops and undergraduate Student Poster Competition Thursday afternoon;
  • Young Professionals Reception on Thursday evening – TBC;
  • Networking session with cash bar on Friday evening;
  • Networking session with cash bar followed by Subsidised Networking Dinner on Saturday evening), and
  • A number of interesting thematic and unconference sessions scheduled on Sunday morning.

Our objective is to make it easier for presenters and delegates alike to engage with their peers in specific thematic areas of interest, exchange knowledge and experience as well as good practices, and build collaboration opportunities.

Continue reading →

Announcing Student Poster Competition 2019

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 8-OCTOBER

The IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) is the flagship IEEE forum for presenting and discussing humanitarian technology innovation and deployment. IEEE GHTC 2019 invites undergraduate students to submit abstracts for the Student Poster Competition. Download flyer (PDF)

Students are invited to send in ideas or designs for developing projects/products supporting the Key focus areas of GHTC 2019 include (but are not limited to):

Continue reading →

Registration Open for GHTC 2019

Registration for GHTC 2019 is now Open.

The 9th IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (IEEE GHTC 2019) is an international flagship conference sharing practical technology enabled solutions addressing the needs of underserved populations and resource constrained environments around the world and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).

GHTC 2019 will have an exciting and varied program of workshops, panels, keynotes and technical presentations.

GHTC 2019 takes place from Noon Thursday October 17 through mid-day Sunday October 20. See the preliminary program grid here.

Thursday afternoon features a set of 1/2 day workshops included with your GHTC full registration:

  • Applied Machine Learning for Social Good
  • Interactive sand-pit workshop: Modern Energy Cooking Services
  • Fundamentals of Off-Grid Electrical Systems

A Student Poster Contest and Student Job Fair are being planned for Thursday afternoon. Watch for the announcement and (separate) registration information.

Plenary Panels addressing:

  • Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People (Friday)

    Panelists
    John Berglund, Territorial Emergency/Disaster Services Director, The Salvation Army USA
    Stanley Atcitty, Navajo Nation
    Jim Conrad, IEEE MOVE, UNC-Charlotte USA

  • Health (Saturday)

Panelists
Tim Wood, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Skye Gilbert, Deputy Director, Digital Health, PATH

  • Energy (IEEE Smart Village, TBA)

Keynotes and remarks will include: Neil Sahota, UC Irvine (AI for good); IEEE-USA President Tom Coughlin, and others TBA.

The preliminary Technical Program (see preliminary list of papers) features 32 sessions:

  • 1 session on Quality Education (SDG4)
  • 5 sessions on Affordable & Clean Energy (SDG7)
  • 8 sessions on Good Health and Well Being (SDG3)
  • 4 sessions on Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness, Response & Recovery
  • 4 sessions on Agriculture & Food Security (SDG2)
  • 3 sessions on Connectivity & Communication in Support of Development
  • 4 sessions on Other UN SDGs
  • 3 sessions on Clean Water & Sanitation (SDG6)

Several Special Sessions TBA.

Session assignments for papers will be posted soon.

GHTC 2019 is sponsored by IEEE Region 6, IEEE Seattle Section and IEEE SSIT (Society on Social Implications of Technology) with technical sponsorship by IEEE-USA, IEEE CES, EMBS, MTT-S, PES and IEEE Smart Village.

 

GHTC 2019 Announces Plenary Panelists

Seattle, WA (25-Apr-19) – The 2019 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) announces its preliminary plenary panels and panelists. The Plenary Panels are:

  • Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People Panel
  • Health-Related Issues in Resource Constrained Environments Panel

Disaster Recovery, Disadvantaged Communities and Displaced People Panelists

  • John Berglund, Territorial Emergency/Disaster Services Director, The Salvation Army USA
  • Dr. Stanley Atcitty, Navajo Nation
  • James Conrad, IEEE MOVE Community Outreach

Health-Related Issues in Resource Constrained Environments Panelists

  • Tim Wood, Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Skye Gilbert, Deputy Director, Digital Health, PATH

See the Keynotes and Plenary page for details.