Don Tan, IEEE Technical Activities Vice President, 2026
As we begin the new year, I am stepping into the role of IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) Vice President for 2026. This is a huge honor, a real privilege, a profound challenge, and an excellent opportunity.
IEEE Technical Activities are entrusted by the IEEE Board of Directors to be responsible “for directing the advancement of the theory and practice, of electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering, as well as computer science, and the allied branches of engineering and the related arts and sciences and technologies, and their application for the benefit of IEEE members worldwide and for the general public. Technical Activities Board (TAB) shall encourage and support its Societies, Councils, (Communities) and Committees to develop and deliver to their global customers appropriate and timely intellectual property products, in either printed or electronic form, or through meetings (and events) on current or emerging technologies.” (IEEE Bylaw I-303.7 and TAB Ops Manual, June, 2025)
In 2024, as a candidate, I focused on growing TAB/IEEE into a member-focused, volunteer-driven, and staff-supported international community with technical excellence and prestige. My focuses were:
- Investing in TAB’s future,
- Developing disruptive (individualized) new products and services,
- Pivoting for emerging technologies, and
- Enhancing society and council collaborations within TAB and throughout the major IEEE Operating Units.
Wherever I visited in 2024, I received warm receptions. Our local and regional volunteer leaders, as well as our members, all resonated with the message.
In 2025, as VP-Elect, in preparation to face the challenge more effectively, I pivoted the TAB Presidents Forum. The Presidents initiated several grassroots working groups to address the issues. We had productive discussions in the February, June, and November meeting series (Presentation materials can be found on the TAB Operations Website). As demonstrated during the meetings, working groups produced real results in such a short time (less than a year). Many of the results are already making their impact to TAB and IEEE.
First-ever Off-Site Strategic Session
In 2026, as VP, I am preparing to develop an effective plan to tackle the challenges TAB is facing. To achieve this, I started the first TAB offsite to create a specific action plan that will enable us to hit the ground running. Our overarching theme is to be responsive to TAB members’ needs and to enhance TAB/IEEE technical prestige.
AI-Driven Strategies
To accomplish that, we first need to celebrate engineering by developing AI-driven multimedia content. Second, our organization needs to be agile by enhancing TAB organizational effectiveness with data-driven dashboard performance metrics. Third, we must provide differentiated value to our members. We will focus on developing AI-driven individualized products and services. Individualized products and services will elevate TAB/IEEE to a new level.
As IEEE’s lead organization for technologies, TAB needs to lead in technologies, particularly in advancing AI-augmented hardware and systems, which is the next technology node for general AI.
Cultivating Future Engineering Leaders
To enhance and sustain our technical prestige, we also need to cultivate new leaders by retaining and developing recent graduates. Each Society or Council can develop local “Hubs and Nodes” to accentuate local activities through providing leadership, growth opportunities, and resources. Last but not least, we need to continue the TAB-approved effort from last November to refine Societies and Councils, as well as the IEEE budgeting process, particularly with AI enhancements for strategic technology investment, improved accuracy, and enhanced accountability.
