Seeing the Bigger Picture

 By Dalma Novak, 2025 VP Technical Activities

The formal definition of a volunteer is a person who freely offers to participate in an enterprise or undertake a task. However, looking back on my IEEE volunteer career, I realize that very few of my activities arose because I volunteered. In most cases, I was asked if I would be interested in participating, and invariably, I said yes. Every volunteer opportunity I have encountered since joining the IEEE as a postgraduate EE student in 1988 has added a new and enriching dimension to my life.

I began my volunteer career with IEEE in Region 10 after growing up and studying in Australia, following my family’s emigration from Hungary. Shortly after graduating and starting a position at The University of Melbourne, I was presented with my first volunteering opportunity: joining the executive committee of the inaugural IEEE Photonics Society (known as LEOS at the time) Chapter established by Professor Chennupati Jagadish in Australia. With my background in microwave photonics, I also became an active volunteer for the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S), where I gained substantial conference experience.

In addition to starting my volunteer career in Technical Activities (TA) in Australia, I was invited to participate in the local Victorian Section as a member of its ExComm. In this role, I learned a lot about Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) and went on to become Section Chair and later Chair of the IEEE Australia Council. My MGA volunteer activities enabled me to meet many other IEEE volunteers around the world, and I had the opportunity to participate in my first Section Congress.

In 2001, I left academia and relocated to the USA to join a fiber optic telecom startup in Maryland. I was now based in Region 2 and had the opportunity to travel to the IEEE HQ in New Jersey for the first time to participate in conference committee meetings. I also became involved in publications as an Associate Editor for several Photonics Society journals. My participation in the annual Photonics Conference led to my election as a member of the Photonics Society’s Board of Governors, and in 2014–2015, I served as President. I felt honored to take on this role and consider it one of the best experiences of my volunteer career. As Society President, I became a member of the Technical Activities Board (TAB), and by learning about other Societies, Councils, and various TAB committees, as well as major IEEE boards, I became a more effective volunteer and contributor. I served on TAB again during 2021–2022 as the Director of Division X.

The second year of my term as President of the Photonics Society coincided with the International Year of Light (IYL 2015), a United Nations global outreach initiative aimed at raising awareness of the achievements of light science and its applications and its significance to humanity. To support the IYL 2015 mission, the Photonics Society partnered with Solar Aid, an international charity focused on replacing costly, dangerous kerosene lamps in Africa with affordable, clean, and energy-efficient solar lights. This was my first volunteer opportunity to take part in a humanitarian-focused mission. It reminded me of the significant social responsibility that IEEE members hold, as global citizens, to seek solutions to worldwide challenges.

I have always been passionate about promoting diversity in STEM, and my volunteer work with IEEE has allowed me to continue that outreach. During my term as President of the Photonics Society, we launched the Women in Photonics initiative to promote activities that support the engagement and advancement of women in the photonics and optics community. Later, I served as Chair of the TAB Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which supports TAB’s advocacy efforts in making progress toward a diverse, equitable, and inclusive technical community. It is only by ensuring diverse representation across all dimensions—age, gender, geographic region, and professional sector—that we can build successful technological communities.

I have just begun my term as the 2025 VP of Technical Activities and am excited to take on another volunteer role. I know that the experience will be rewarding and provide many new opportunities to work with others as we contribute to the IEEE mission of advancing technology for humanity. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” I am looking forward to continuing to ‘find myself’ in service and encourage all of you to do the same.