ISIE 2019, Vancouver, Canada
Published:
Summary
Attending IEEE ISIE 2019, the International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, in Vancouver was one of the happiest moments of my 2019. The conference brought together a rewarding presentation experience, the chance to meet someone I had long admired, and friendships that continued beyond the meeting rooms.
Presentation
I prepared a three-minute video to explain the main ideas of my research and was delighted to receive an award for the presentation. Making a short video was a different challenge from writing a paper: I had to decide what mattered most and communicate it clearly in very little time.
Watch the video here:
Awarded Moment
Receiving the award was a very happy moment, and this photograph brings back that feeling.
Meeting Robert Erickson
Another highlight was meeting Professor Robert Erickson, co-author of Fundamentals of Power Electronics. He was someone I had long admired, so hearing him speak and having a photograph taken together meant a great deal to me.
We joined an IEEE Young Professionals session, listened to his talk, and exchanged ideas about developments in power electronics. It was a pleasure to meet him in that setting and to spend time with other researchers sharing their work and experiences.
Exploring Vancouver
I made several good friends at the conference, and we explored Vancouver together afterwards. One memory that stayed with me was the contrast around the old Chinatown: nearby, I saw people struggling with addiction and visible drug use on the street. It was a difficult scene to encounter and left a deep impression on me alongside the other sides of the city we visited.
Elsewhere downtown, I stayed at what was then the Trump International Hotel. It was probably the most expensive hotel I had stayed in up to that point, and I remember the comfort and the sense of luxury very clearly.
With some of the friends I had met, I also took a short road trip to see well-known places around Vancouver. Seeing enormous redwood trees for the first time was a particular highlight; their scale was unlike anything I had experienced before.
A Taste of Home in Richmond
Richmond’s large Chinese community was another memorable part of the trip. There, I ate Huaiyang cuisine, something I had not encountered in all my years overseas. Finding that particular style of food so far from home was an unexpected pleasure.
Looking back, this trip holds far more than a conference memory: the award, meeting Professor Erickson, new friendships, the city, the trees, and the food all belong to the same very happy chapter.
Get in Touch
Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in this work or just want to chat about ISIE or international conference experiences.