IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018 - 36

Conference Reports

by Anup Basu

IEEE SMC 2017
in Banff, Alberta,
Canada

T

he 2017 IEEE International
Conference on Systems, Man,
and Cybernetics (SMC 2017)
was held at the Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada, 5-8 October 2017. There
were more than 700 registrations for
the 2017 conference and in excess
of 800 attendees, including volunteers and guests. Unlike most conferences, SMC 2017 offered breakfast
and lunch for a small reservation
fee to assist in having an accurate
head count each day. In addition,
an excellent closing reception was
held with great food and music. The
conference experienced revenues of
more than US$600,000 and, even after
offering many programs, food, and
receptions, the conference recorded
a surplus of approximately 30%.
The opening reception was held
in the Buffalo Museum in Banff. Attendees enjoyed looking through First
Nations exhibits at the museum while
sampling a variety of food and beverage selections. Several innovative
components were included in the SMC
2017 program, including late-breaking
and industrial papers, a founders forum, a panel discussing the effects of
plastic pollution on oceans, and a panel discussing the mathematical models behind learning. The conference
was dedicated to the memory of Prof.
Bill Gruver for his lifelong dedication
to the SMC Society and the conferDigital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSMC.2018.2831418
Date of publication: 18 July 2018

36

ence. The location offered many stateof-the-art conference rooms with excellent audio-visual facilities.
In one of the plenary talks, Dr. Jim
McFarlane, International Submarine
Engineering, discussed the latest underwater technologies. He also led a

panel discussion on the impact of plastic pollution on the world's oceans. Dr.
Ferial El-Hawary and Dr. Anup Basu
participated in this panel discussion as
well. Plastic pollution is a critical reality
for the oceans, with the deepest parts
now many times more polluted than
the most polluted rivers in the world.
This pollution is killing ocean animals
and coral reefs. The coral reefs are
consuming plastic microparticles,
mistaking them for food. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism for plastic
microparticles to be digested and converted to useful biomaterial by the coral. Thus, over time, coral reefs are dying
and marine animals are disappearing

a performer at the opening reception.

IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Magazine Editor-in-Chief mohamed
El-Hawary (second from left) is joined by a group of organizing
Committee members at the opening reception.

IEEE SyStEmS, man, & CybErnEtICS magazInE July 2 0 1 8



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018

Contents
IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018 - Cover1
IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018 - Cover2
IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018 - Contents
IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018 - 2
IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018 - 3
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IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018 - Cover3
IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Magazine - July 2018 - Cover4
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