Steve Mann
ISTAS’13 General Chair
Tenured Professor, University of Toronto, Canada
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Faculty of Arts and Science, and Faculty of Forestry
Mann holds degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD in Media Arts and Sciences ’97) and McMaster University, where he was also inducted into the McMaster University Alumni Hall of Fame, Alumni Gallery, 2004, in recognition of his career as an inventor and teacher. While at MIT, in then Director Nicholas Negroponte’s words he “brought the seed” that founded the Wearable Computing group in the Media Lab.
In 2004 he was named the recipient of the 2004 Leonardo Award for Excellence for his article “Existential Technology,” published in Leonardo 36:1.
Ryan Janzen
Organizing Chair
Ph.D. candidate
University of Toronto
Ryan Janzen applies principles of electrical engineering and physics to diverse fields, from biological research, to fluid dynamics and aerospace, to music and acoustics.
Janzen’s scientific research has led to advances in signal processing, acoustics, aerospace engineering, and electric vehicle propulsion, and has been awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada. With nineteen international peer-reviewed publications, he does research and teaching as a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto, with Steve Mann.
Janzen is, in parallel, a composer of orchestral music. Performed internationally, his concert and film music has been featured at the World Expo in Shanghai, screened in Italy and Slovenia, and aired on Canadian and Danish national broadcasts. Janzen was the first composer to score music for hydraulophone, a new instrument causing resonance in water. As music director of 19 live concerts and producer of 3 albums, he has collaborated extensively with musicians, orchestras, and interdisciplinary researchers, at the nexus of art and science.
Doug Nix
Sponsor Chair
Product Safety & Committee Advisor
Engineering and Human Environment Chapter Chair
Doug Nix, A.Sc.T. is Managing Director at Compliance InSight Consulting, Inc. (http://www.complianceinsight.ca) in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
His background spans more than 25 years of engineering technology experience including product testing, industrial control system design and machinery safety. Doug specialises in risk assessment methods and process. He has been teaching risk assessment principles and processes since 1997, using a variety methods.
Since graduating from Sheridan College in 1985, Doug has worked for a number of Canadian companies in the electrical products and automation systems industries including GFC/ Hammond Manufacturing, GFC Power, and ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. in Cambridge, Ontario. Doug certified with OACETT in 1992 and upgraded his certification to Applied Science Technologist in 2005.
Doug is a trained Laser Safety Officer and conducts laser hazard assessments and laser safety training programs. Doug is a Charter Member of the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society, and is involved in the Society’s activities in a number of ways. Since joining the Society he has held these positions:
- Vice-President, Conferences (2010-2013);
- Chair, Risk Assessment Technical Committee (2009-2010);
- Membership Coordinator, Region 7 (Canada) (2010);
- Member, Industrial Controls Technical Committee (2010); and Member, Laser Safety Technical Committee (2010);
- Vice-Chair-PSES, Engineering & Human Environment Joint Chapter, Toronto Section (2009-Present).
Doug was General Chair for the 2009 IEEE Symposium on Product Compliance Engineering, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in October of 2009.
Russel Verbeeten
Patron Chair
Exhibit Chair
After completing a BASc in Electrical Engineering at the Unversity of Toronto, Russell was part of the founding team and technical lead at two mobile technology companies which both had successful exits: Vortex Mobile was a new media marketing services provider and Vortex Connect developed mobile workforce software products. Following those exits, he researched the diffusion of technology in society at the University of Oxford, earning a MSc in Social Science of the Internet.
In short, Russell is a bit of an Internet nerd with entrepreneurial, technical and social scientific know-how. He sees exciting possibilities in wearable computing platforms as they begin their wider diffusion into society.
Alexander Hayes
Publicity Chair
Event Website Developer
Member IEEE SSIT
PhD Candidate, University of Wollongong
Faculty of Informatics, School of Information Systems & Technology
Author of Cyborg Cops, Googlers & Connectivism (2012) and co-author of Uberveillance.com
Alexander is currently employed at the Australian National University as a Projects Officer, Training & Communications within the Australian National Data Services (ANDS) with extensive experience as an ICT professional working across the private, public & community service sectors within metropolitan, rural and remote Australian communities.
Alexander is also completing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidate at the University of Wollongong, Australia within the Faculty of Informatics, School of Information Systems & Technology. This research study is focused on the implications of the use of emergent body worn video technologies in an educational context and examines the impacts that these technologies are having upon society, citing user case studies and an extensive series of interviews with lead innovators in this rich field of interdisciplinary endeavor.
Susannah Sabine
Co-Publicity Chair
Event Website Developer
Member IEEE SSIT
Susannah is currently working at the Australian National Data Services (ANDS) located at the Australian National University, Canberra Australia as a Research Analyst.
Susannah has a Masters of Social Research, specialising in Social Science of the Internet, examining information gathered in quantitative (eg surveys) and qualitative (e.g. interviews or focus groups, grounded theory, etc) turned into information that can be used to make policy or business decisions. This study also addressed the role the internet plays in society, research on the internet as well as the internet’s influence on people.
Previous experience includes Telescope Operator for the 50″ telescope at ANU involved in a multi disciplinary and multi university team of cutting edge research scientists working on the detection of Dark Matter including the MACHO ( MAssive Compact Halo Objects) team which was one of the first teams to discover the existence of dark matter.