The IEEE Region 3 Young Professionals (YP) and IEEE Computer Society (CS) present the Tech Futures 2026 Series – Virtual Kickoff, a flagship region-wide session designed to explore the most impactful emerging technologies highlighted in the IEEE Computer Society Technology Predictions 2026 report. This virtual kickoff marks the official launch of a coordinated regional initiative that will combine a high-impact virtual session with a sequence of locally hosted hybrid deep-dive events across Region 3, organized by Section YP Affinity Groups and Computer Society Chapters. The session will provide attendees with insights into future technology trends, career alignment, and industry directions, while fostering collaboration between students, Young Professionals, academia, and industry leaders. What to Expect - Overview of IEEE Computer Society Technology Predictions 2026 - Keynote insights from distinguished technical leadership - Expert panel on future technologies and career pathways - Interactive audience poll to shape upcoming local YP & CS hybrid events - Opportunities to engage with industry, academia, and IEEE leadership Agenda: Agenda (ET) 9:30 – 9:35 AM – Opening & Welcome Introduction to IEEE Region 3 YP, Computer Society, and Tech Futures 2026 Series 9:35 – 9:45 AM – Leadership Remarks Importance of future technologies, YP engagement, and cross-society collaboration 9:45 – 10:10 AM – Keynote: Technology Predictions 2026 Overview (IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Speaker) 10:10 – 10:40 AM – Expert Panel: Future Technologies & Career Alignment Speakers from academia, industry, and technical leadership 10:40 – 10:45 AM – Interactive YP Poll & Audience Engagement Live polling to identify top technology topics for upcoming local hybrid events 10:45 – 10:55 AM – Series Roadmap & Next Steps Overview of Phase 2: Local YP & CS Hybrid Deep-Dive Events across Region 3 10:55 – 11:00 AM – Live Q&A and Closing Remarks Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/541987

Invited talk on "Static Analysis-based Security Verification on Modern System-on-Chips". The session will walk through a typical verification flow: modeling assets and threats, encoding security policies, running static checks to detect design-level violations (e.g., unintended data paths, insecure register mappings, debug backdoors), and interpreting results to guide design fixes. Practical case studies on contemporary SoC platforms will illustrate how these techniques can detect subtle vulnerabilities early in the design cycle, reduce verification cost, and complement dynamic verification and penetration testing. The talk is aimed at researchers, hardware designers, and security engineers interested in building more trustworthy SoCs by integrating security verification as a first-class design step, rather than a late add-on. Speaker: Dr. Rasheed Kibria, University of Florida. Co-sponsored by: FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY Speaker(s): Rasheed Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/549383

Frequency, voltage, customer interruption. What do these vital signs tell us about the bulk power system? Learn the grid health underlying the vital signs and how to accurately assess them. This lecture will explore reliability aspects of bulk power system so that you will develop a systematic, integrated understanding of how to assess the bulk power system reliability. Additional indicators include energy emergency alerts, transmission outage rates, protection system operations, and resource reserve margin. The presentation will also provide ranges, trends, and driving factors that influence changes in these indicators. Registered participants will be provided with a Zoom or WebEx link on the day before the event. Please note that registration closes at 5 PM on February 4, 2026. [] Room: 124, Bldg: Min H. Kao Building , 1520 Middle Drive , Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/533943