Diversity & Inclusion

Mission

The mission of the Systems Council Diversity & Inclusion Committee is to bring awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion to all operating units, conferences, nominations, awards, and recognitions within IEEE Systems Council activities.

IEEE Diversity Statement

IEEE’s mission to foster technological innovation and excellence to benefit humanity requires the talents and perspectives of people with different personal, cultural, and disciplinary backgrounds. IEEE is committed to advancing diversity in the technical profession, and to promoting an inclusive and equitable culture that welcomes, engages, and rewards all who contribute to the field, without regard to race, religion, gender, disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Learn more.

Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan

Professor

University of Kansas, Lawrence

United States

5 (Southwestern U.S.)

Email

Website

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan

5 (Southwestern U.S.)

Email

Website

Biography

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan received Master's degree in Mathematics from University of Warsaw, Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees from Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) in Poland. Before moving to University of Kansas (KU) in 1984, she was faculty member of Department of Mathematics at SGH. At KU she is Professor of Mathematics, Courtesy Professor of EECS and AE, ITTC Investigator, CBC affiliate, Chancellors Club Teaching Professor, and KU Women's Hall of Fame inductee. She is Life Fellow of IEEE and Fellow of IFAC, recipient of the IEEE Third Millennium Medal and IEEE CSS Distinguished Member Award. She has served in many capacities in several societies including IEEE CSS Vice President, PTM- Warsaw Branch Vice President, IEEE CSS and SSIT BoG member, Program Director of SIAM Activity Group on CST, Chair of IEEE CSS TC on Control Education, Chair of AACC Education Committee, member of IFAC TB, Chair of IFAC Task Force on DI, Past Chair of IEEE WIE Committee, co-founder of IEEE CSS Standing Committee on Women in Control (WIC) and its first Chair, member of Award Boards of IFAC and AWM, founder and faculty advisor of AWM and SIAM Student Chapters at KU, founder and coordinator of Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month (MSAM)/ Outreach Program at KU, and founder and Chair of Stochastic Adaptive Control Seminar at KU. She is an Associate Editor of several Journals, and author and co-author of over 200 technical papers and book chapters. Her research is interdisciplinary and primarily in stochastic adaptive control, data analysis and modeling, and in STEM education. She is a recipient of many awards including IREX Fellow, NSF Career Advancement, KU Women of Distinction, Kemper Fellow, IFAC Outstanding Service, Steeples Service to Kansans, H.O.P.E. , AWM L. Hay, Morrison, Max Wells, B. Price, Polish Ministry of Higher Education and Science, IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education. Her hobbies are music, art and poetry. She loves traveling. She has visited 55 countries. She is passionate about helping others. Her husband, Tyrone Duncan, IEEE Life Fellow is an EE, and professor of mathematics; her daughter, Dominique Duncan, IEEE SM is an EE, mathematician, and assistant professor of neurology and bioengineering.

Affiliation(s)

Professor

University of Kansas, Lawrence

United States

Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chair

Amir G. Aghdam

Concordia University

Canada

7 (Canada)

Email

Amir G. Aghdam

7 (Canada)

Email

Biography

received the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, in 2000. He is currently a Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, and the Academic Code Administrator in the School of Graduate Studies. He was a Visiting Scholar with Harvard University in fall 2015, and was an Associate with the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences from September 2015 to December 2016. His research interests include multi-agent networks, distributed control, optimization, and sampled-data systems. Prof. Aghdam is a member of Professional Engineers Ontario, Chair of the Conference Editorial Board of the IEEE Control Systems Society, Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Systems Journal, and was an Associate Editor for the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CONTROL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY, IEEE ACCESS, IET Control Theory and Applications, and the Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was a member of the Technical Program Committee of a number of conferences, including the IEEE Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics and the IEEE Multiconference on Systems and Control. He was a member of the Review Panel/Committee for the NSF, Italian Research and University Evaluation Agency, Innovation Fund Denmark Projects, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada ECE Evaluation Group. He was the 2014–2015 President of IEEE Canada and Director (Region 7), IEEE, Inc., and was also a member of the IEEE Awards Board for this period. He is a recipient of the 2009 IEEE MGA Achievement Award and 2020 IEEE Canada J. M. Ham Outstanding Engineering Educator Award. Dr. Aghdam was a member of the IEEE Medal of Honor Committee for 2017–2019 and is currently the Vice-Chair of the IEEE Medals Council.

Affiliation(s)

Concordia University

Canada

Amir G. Aghdam

Concordia University

Canada

7 (Canada)

Email

Amir G. Aghdam

7 (Canada)

Email

Biography

received the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, in 2000. He is currently a Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, and the Academic Code Administrator in the School of Graduate Studies. He was a Visiting Scholar with Harvard University in fall 2015, and was an Associate with the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences from September 2015 to December 2016. His research interests include multi-agent networks, distributed control, optimization, and sampled-data systems. Prof. Aghdam is a member of Professional Engineers Ontario, Chair of the Conference Editorial Board of the IEEE Control Systems Society, Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Systems Journal, and was an Associate Editor for the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CONTROL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY, IEEE ACCESS, IET Control Theory and Applications, and the Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was a member of the Technical Program Committee of a number of conferences, including the IEEE Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics and the IEEE Multiconference on Systems and Control. He was a member of the Review Panel/Committee for the NSF, Italian Research and University Evaluation Agency, Innovation Fund Denmark Projects, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada ECE Evaluation Group. He was the 2014–2015 President of IEEE Canada and Director (Region 7), IEEE, Inc., and was also a member of the IEEE Awards Board for this period. He is a recipient of the 2009 IEEE MGA Achievement Award and 2020 IEEE Canada J. M. Ham Outstanding Engineering Educator Award. Dr. Aghdam was a member of the IEEE Medal of Honor Committee for 2017–2019 and is currently the Vice-Chair of the IEEE Medals Council.

Affiliation(s)

Concordia University

Canada

Representing CSS in CS

Afef Fekih

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

United States

5 (Southwestern U.S.)

Representing CSS and CSS Women in Control (WIC)

Prasanta Ghosh

Professor

Syracuse University

United States

1 (Northeastern U.S.)

Email

Representing SSIT in SYSC

Holly Handley

Old Dominion University

United States

2 (Eastern U.S.)

Email

Representing Women in Systems Engineering (WISE) and in IEEE WIE

Iven Mareels

IBM Australia/New Zealand

Australia

10 (Asia and Pacific)

Iven Mareels

10 (Asia and Pacific)

Biography

Iven Mareels is the Director of the Centre for Applied Research, IBM Australia/New Zealand, and an honorary Professor at the University of Melbourne and the Federation University of Australia, since March 2021. He is also the Vice-President of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and a non-executive Director of Rubicon Water, the latter since August 2021. Prior to this, he was Director of IBM Research in Australia (Feb 2018- Mar 2021), and the Dean of Engineering at the University of Melbourne (2007-2018).

He received a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from the Australian National University in 1987, and a Master of Engineering (Electromechanical) from Gent University in 1982. Iven has supervised 50 Ph.D. and 18 MPhil students to completion, and as an honorary Professor continues to supervise Ph.D. students. He has co-authored well over 500 refereed publications, including 5 monographs. He is a co-inventor of an international suite of patents related to the automation of large-scale, open channel, irrigation systems.

For his contributions to control engineering research and education Iven has received a number of awards, e.g. 2017, Harold Chestnut Control Engineering Textbook Prize; 2014, IEEE Control Systems Society Technology Award; 2013 The Asian Control Association Wook Hyun Kwon Education Award; 2008, Clunies Ross Medal, Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering award, for water-saving technology: Smart Irrigation Systems.

Iven is a Commander in the Order of the Crown of Belgium, and a recipient of the Centenary Medal of Australia for contributions to engineering education and research. He is a Fellow of The Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Australia; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (USA), the International Federation of Automatic Control, Engineers Australia, and he is a Foreign Member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts.

Affiliation(s)

IBM Australia/New Zealand

Australia

Representing CSS and SSIT

Ramalatha Marimuthu

iExplore Foundation for Sustainability Development

India

10 (Asia and Pacific)

Representing CS in IEEE WIE and SSIT WIE

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan

Professor

University of Kansas, Lawrence

United States

5 (Southwestern U.S.)

Email

Website

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan

5 (Southwestern U.S.)

Email

Website

Biography

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan received Master's degree in Mathematics from University of Warsaw, Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees from Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) in Poland. Before moving to University of Kansas (KU) in 1984, she was faculty member of Department of Mathematics at SGH. At KU she is Professor of Mathematics, Courtesy Professor of EECS and AE, ITTC Investigator, CBC affiliate, Chancellors Club Teaching Professor, and KU Women's Hall of Fame inductee. She is Life Fellow of IEEE and Fellow of IFAC, recipient of the IEEE Third Millennium Medal and IEEE CSS Distinguished Member Award. She has served in many capacities in several societies including IEEE CSS Vice President, PTM- Warsaw Branch Vice President, IEEE CSS and SSIT BoG member, Program Director of SIAM Activity Group on CST, Chair of IEEE CSS TC on Control Education, Chair of AACC Education Committee, member of IFAC TB, Chair of IFAC Task Force on DI, Past Chair of IEEE WIE Committee, co-founder of IEEE CSS Standing Committee on Women in Control (WIC) and its first Chair, member of Award Boards of IFAC and AWM, founder and faculty advisor of AWM and SIAM Student Chapters at KU, founder and coordinator of Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month (MSAM)/ Outreach Program at KU, and founder and Chair of Stochastic Adaptive Control Seminar at KU. She is an Associate Editor of several Journals, and author and co-author of over 200 technical papers and book chapters. Her research is interdisciplinary and primarily in stochastic adaptive control, data analysis and modeling, and in STEM education. She is a recipient of many awards including IREX Fellow, NSF Career Advancement, KU Women of Distinction, Kemper Fellow, IFAC Outstanding Service, Steeples Service to Kansans, H.O.P.E. , AWM L. Hay, Morrison, Max Wells, B. Price, Polish Ministry of Higher Education and Science, IEEE EAB Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education. Her hobbies are music, art and poetry. She loves traveling. She has visited 55 countries. She is passionate about helping others. Her husband, Tyrone Duncan, IEEE Life Fellow is an EE, and professor of mathematics; her daughter, Dominique Duncan, IEEE SM is an EE, mathematician, and assistant professor of neurology and bioengineering.

Affiliation(s)

Professor

University of Kansas, Lawrence

United States

Representing CSS in SSIT and SSIT in SYSC and WIC, WISE, SSIT WIE and in IEEE WIE and SYSC in IEEE TAB Committee on DI

Mission

IEEE Diversity Statement

Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan

Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chair

Amir G. Aghdam

Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Amir G. Aghdam

Afef Fekih

Prasanta Ghosh

Holly Handley

Iven Mareels

Ramalatha Marimuthu

Bozenna Pasik-Duncan

Questions about Systems Council?

Stay Connected!