IEEE Technical Activities to Enhance Operations and Emerging Technology Development

By Don Tan, IEEE Vice President-Technical Activities, 2026

In the First Quarter message of this column, I reported our plans to elevate IEEE Technical Activities (TA) to a new level. We began implementing these plans immediately. IEEE TA held its traditional mini-series of meetings on January 10-11, 2026. The series was preceded by TA’s very first offsite on February 9, featuring IEEE President Mary Ellen Randell. Mary Ellen outlined her plans and priorities for 2026, including mission-driven innovation, technology for the benefit of humanity, and engineering a stronger tomorrow. She also announced the first Grand Challenge,IEEE Impact Challenges, and the preparations for the second, IEEE Response Quest.

I then outlined the activities for the entire offsite, aiming to bring together volunteer leaders and staff away from their daily routines to focus on the challenges facing TA. This inaugural TA offsite led to four actions at the TA level: 

1. More impactful funding for the TAB-level functional activities;
2.  Increase investment in the early stages of emerging technologies, within TAB, across Organizational Units (OU), external participations, and industry (but not subject to undue industry influence;
3. Additional resources for local Chapters, Societies, and Councils (S/Cs), working with Member and Geographic Activities (MGA); and
4. Development of matrix infrastructure for “technology programs.” 

Our overarching theme for this year is: Be responsive to TA members’ needs and enhance TA/IEEE technical prestige. Specifically, we have established six ad-hoc committees:

1. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee on Developing AI-Driven Individualized Products and Services with IEEE Data;
2. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee on Advancing AI-Augmented Hardware and Systems;
3.  TAB Ad-Hoc Committee to Develop AI-Driven Multimedia Content;
4. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee to Enhance Organizational Effectiveness & Agility in Emerging Tech;
5. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee to Retain Recent Graduates and Grow Industry Members; and
6. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee to Refine S/C and IEEE Budgeting Process

All ad-hoc committees are now fully operational. We also have four ad-hoc committees continuing for completion this year:

1. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee on Technical Community 2.0;
2. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee on Conflict Resolution Process;
3. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee on TAB Awards and Recognitions; and
4. TAB Ad-Hoc Committee on Milestones Involvement

During the February TAB meetings, under my leadership and with strong support from volunteer leaders at the Division, S/C, and TA staff levels, TAB approved two motions at record speed.

Increase in TAB Management Committee (TMC) Discretionary Functional Fund

The first motion focuses on investing in TAB’s future. Its main tasks include developing tools and services to support members and volunteers across Technical Activities; promoting initiatives that support the IEEE Board of Directors’ priorities and TAB representations; fostering joint efforts to improve collaboration among all major IEEE organizational units; enhancing collaboration within and across Divisions; and providing guidance to improve TAB’s organizational effectiveness. The functional fund is open to all, and requests are reviewed and managed by the TAB Management Committee. 

Increase in IEEE Future Directions Committee (FDC) Funding

The second motion aims to improve FDC’s ability to identify emerging technologies early on. To achieve this, we need increased funding and a willingness to accept higher risks, focusing on the less saturated part of the technology “S”-curve. We also must connect across TA for every Society and Council, as well as all IEEE OUs and affinity groups. Moreover, it is essential to collaborate with external entities, including industry technical leaders, academia, standard organizations, government agencies, and other professional groups. 

Finally, I am pleased to report that our efforts to enhance TAB organizational effectiveness have begun. We are exploring ways to improve both inter-division and intra-division collaboration, with increased funding to support those activities. One of the first initiatives we are launching is the inauguration of the series of “Showcasing the Divisions.” The first talk in the series was on Thursday, February 26, 2026. Division I Director Fernando Guarin was our first speaker. We will have a total of 9 talks, featuring all sitting Division Directors. I am confident this series will significantly enhance the profile of Divisions and their roles in improving TAB operational efficiency and, consequently, effectiveness.