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

Workshops 2022

GHTC 2022 will feature a set of interactive workshops on September 8th, 2022, from 12:30 – 3:30 PM
The workshops are included with full conference registration.

 

Machine Learning for Social Good

September 8th, 2022, 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Organizers

Rakshit Agrawal, Vice President of Research & Development, Camio Inc.
Charles Delahunt, Senior Research Scientist, GH Labs
This session will focus on topics around the applications of machine learning in the social good domains. We will discuss a framework centered around identifying the important societal challenges where problems can be defined for ML capabilities. We then describe the process to develop machine learning models and deploy them in the real world. We will also include case studies of ML driven systems actively being used in real-world scenarios.
The workshop will cover the following: 
  1. Introduction to the concepts and frameworks for developing ML solutions for social good applications.
  2. Interactive session for brainstorming solution design on certain topics
  3. Invited talks (~25 minutes) on key topics, connected together with contextual material, along with Q/A.
  4. Closing, further resources, questions and discussion as wished.

Rakshit Agrawal leads the engineering team at Camio and focuses on Machine Learning and Computer Vision. His expertise spans AI, Machine Learning, Crowdsourcing, HCI, ICTD and AI for Social Good. Rakshit is a trusted subject matter expert and has worked on neural networks, security and AI for Microsoft, Nvidia and eBay. He received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

 

Charles Delahunt has 9 years of experience applying ML to global health projects including malaria diagnosis, vitamin A testing via eye videos, ultrasound, helminth egg detection, and pregnancy risk assessment. He has also held a postdoc in the University of Washington’s applied math department, focused on ML methods.

 

Building Wireless Sensing Systems (using Infineon Wireless IoT Devices)

September 8th, 2022, 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Organizers

Patrick Kane, Infineon, San Jose, USA
In this workshop, you learn how to use low-cost and energy efficient IoT devices for sensing and communication purposes. You will be building sample applications to collect environmental information and transmit them wireless. This three-hour hands-on IoT and sensor workshop will feature the ultra-low power PSoC™ 6(Programmable System on Chip) and ModusToolbox™ software. The workshop will consist of an overview of Infineon’s technology portfolio and continue with hands-on exercises programming the PSoC™ 6 to interface with various sensors and Bluetooth® via your mobile device. The attendees will leave with a knowledge of Infineon products that can be used to create low-power, greener projects and the ModusToolbox™ software design flow. Attendance is limited to 30. As we get closer to the conference date confirmed attendees will receive information on which software to install for the hands-on portion of the workshop.

Why Attend: Infineon is one of the 10 largest semiconductor companies in the world and is the #1  semiconductor supplier to the automotive industry. Infineon has a broad portfolio of electronics that aims to make life greener, safer, and easier. You are (likely to be) already using our products – from the security chip in your credit card to multiple devices in your automobile. Attend the workshop and find out more about them.

 

Synergies Between GHTC and IEEE Consultants’ Network

September 8th, 2022, 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Organizers

Joel Kent, IEEE-CNSV Board Member, IEEE Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley (IEEE-CNSV) and Kim Parnell, Ph.D., P.E. Parnell Engineering & Consulting & IEEE-CNSV Board Member)
Description:
Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley (CNSV) is a network that promotes the skills of its consultants, fosters collaboration among its members, creates alliances with other IEEE chapters, and provides educational opportunities in Silicon Valley. With a membership of nearly 200 consulting engineers, IEEE-CNSV is a premier source of high-tech consulting talent. This session will discuss how CNSV can work with the GHTC community. For example, initiatives by people and organizations in the GHTC community may find help from technology experts within CNSV. Also, people in the GHTC community may speak at CNSV meetings to expand awareness of their work.
Taking advantage of an opportunity to highlight truly outstanding humanitarian leadership, CNSV will conclude the session with three brief but spectacular pre-recorded presentations followed by live Q&A.
  • Dr. Elizabeth Hausler, CEO and founder of Build Change, will explain how her organization helped over a million citizens globally build homes and schools better both before and after natural disasters.
  • Development of medical devices and equipment that have served over a million patients in over 70 countries will be described by Dr. Krista Donaldson, CEO and founder of Equalize Health.
  • To wrap it up, Dr. Martin Fisher, CEO and co-founder and of Kickstart International,  will share the meaningful impact of low-cost irrigation pumps in Africa to attack dual problems of hunger and poverty. Martin Fisher served as an example for both Krista Donaldson and Elizabeth Hausler. All 3 companies are shining examples of applying advanced engineering skills and creativity to develop products to address challenging problems worldwide. In this environment, constraints like low cost, durability, and accessibility are critical for success.

Joel Kent has been active in the IEEE Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley (CNSV), serving as Treasurer in 2019-2020 and as a Director since 2021. He is a consultant specializing in applied physics.  Before semi-retiring as a consultant, Joel had experience in both academia and industry, being an assistant professor of physics for five years followed by decades in industry contributing to the development of touchscreen technology.  He is an inventor listed on 99 US patents.  Joel led the effort to develop this presentation and hopes it will be both engaging and valuable.

Kim Parnell is Principal and Founder of Parnell Engineering & Consulting (PEC), an engineering consulting firm focusing on providing litigation support as an Expert Witness and engineering support for early stage medical device and technology companies. Dr. Parnell is a Stanford PhD and MSME in Mechanical Engineering, holds a BES from Georgia Tech, and is also a Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in California.  He is an ASME Fellow, an IEEE Senior Member, and a Member of SAE and ASM and an IEEE-CNSV Board Member.  He has over 35 years of consulting experience including design, regulatory, and failure/reliability issues of a variety of consumer products, medical devices, and industrial equipment covering a wide range of equipment and systems.

Panelists: 

Andrew Wolfe, Ph.D., Wolfe Consulting and Board Member, IEEE Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley (IEEE-CNSV). Andrew’s Skills include consumer electronics, computer systems, IC design, mechatronics, sensors, and embedded software and expert witness work on patents and IP strategy. Andrew is an IEEE Fellow “for contributions in hardware code compression of embedded software, power consumption analysis, and optimization.”

Daniel K. Lottis, Ph.D., head of CLSE Consulting, has been a member of CNSV since 2019.  After five years at Western Digital, he returned to freelancing.  He has provided technical consulting to several early-stage startups, as well as marketing support to an engineering firm specializing in simulations.  Recently he has served as a language interpreter in settings ranging from corporate labs and boardrooms to Zoom meetings. Daniel’s history with GHTC dates to 2013, when he focused on identifying and booking invited and keynote speakers.  Daniel’s support for GHTC continued until about 2018.  That year Daniel was re-appointed to the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee, on which he had served between 2014 and 2016.   Then, as Chair for IEEE Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (SIGHT) worldwide, Daniel worked to support projects worldwide. Daniel’s interest in the role of Engineers and Scientists in Sustainable development led him to serve for two years on the leadership committee for the SCV Society for Social Implications of Technology Chapter.   Similarly, Daniel’s focus as a freelancer has been mostly for clients active in Sustainable Development or closely related activities.

Thomas M. Coughlin, Ph.D., IEEE Life Fellow, is President, Coughlin Associates is a digital storage analyst and business and technology consultant.  He has over 40 years in the data storage industry with engineering and senior management positions at several companies.  Coughlin Associates consults, publishes books and market and technology reports (including The Media and Entertainment Storage Report and an Emerging Memory Report), and puts on digital storage-oriented events.  He is a regular storage and memory contributor for forbes.com and M&E organization websites.  He is an IEEE Fellow, Past-President of IEEE-USA, Past Director of IEEE Region 6 and Past Chair of the Santa Clara Valley IEEE Section, Chair of the Consultants’ Network of Silicon Valley and is also active with SNIA and SMPTE. For more information on Tom Coughlin and his publications and activities go to www.tomcoughlin.com.