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Distinguished Lecturers Program

NOTE: IEEE EMBS is currently updating this site. Some of the information and links on this page may not be up-to-date.

The IEEE EMBS Distinguished Lecturers Program provides high quality speakers to EMBS Chapters, Student Branch Chapters and Student Clubs. Speakers are chosen by the Distinguished Lecturer Program Committee, who recruits from the international community and industry to keep members on the cutting edge of trends and developments in biomedical engineering.

Review the current list of Distinguished Lecturers and their specialties.

Nominate a Distinguished Lecturer

To nominate a Distinguished Lecturer for the program, please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Nominees must meet the following criteria:

  1. The DL nominee must normally be an EMBS member but this criteria may be waived.
  2. The DL nominee must be nominated by an EMBS member.
  3. The DL nominee must be a recognized expert in his/her field.
  4. The DL nominee must be "recognized" by the EMBS community because of his/her research, service and/or activities.
  5. Nominating letters of no more than one page should address the criteria specified above, include the nominee's CV, and be sent to the EMBS Executive Director for consideration.

Funding Guidelines

Matching funds of up to $500 for clubs and up to $1000 for chapters are available to qualified EMBS members interested in hosting a Distinguished Lecturer event. The matching ratio is 2:1, with EMBS providing up to twice the amount raised from some other source. A limited amount of funding is available, so please get your requests in early.

Where EMBS funding is sought to support a Distinguished Lecturer for a particular meeting, the following procedures should be carried out:

  1. The hosting club or chapter should first approach a Distinguished Lecturer informally to determine their general availability on the dates of interest, indicating that the booking is subject to funding. [optional]
  2. Write to the EMBS Executive Director with a request for funding. The request is forwarded to the Chair of the Distinguished Lecturer Program Committee for approval.
  3. Contact and arrange a program date with the Distinguished Lecturer only after funding has been finalized.
  4. Following the lecture, a report suitable for publishing in the IEEE PULSE should be filed by the hosting club or chapter with the EMBS Executive Office.

Eligibility and Acknowledgement

EMBS funding is available only to EMBS Chapters, EMBS Student Branch Chapters and EMBS Student Clubs and must be acknowledged at the event in the following manner:

  1. The EMBS chapter that receives the DL funding must acknowledge/announce that the speaker is an EMBS DL.
  2. The EMBS chapter must also acknowledge/announce the DL funding received (e.g. "This seminar was sponsored by the EMBS Distinguished Lecturers Program").
  3. The EMBS chapter that receives the DL funding is expected to provide membership application forms to the attendees at the DL funded activity.

For the most part, EMBS funding will not be available to support the attendance of Distinguished Lecturers as Keynote Speakers at EMBS or non-EMBS Conferences. The EMBS Conference Committee does, however, have a small amount of funding available for technical sponsorship (or co-sponsorship) of EMBS Keynote Speakers at Conferences where it is determined this will help promote the international profile of the EMBS.

Hosting a Distinguished Lecturer is Easy

  1. Decide which lecturer you'd like to invite and check their travel schedule on the website.
  2. Estimate the expenses involved. You will be able to apply for up to $500 (clubs) or $1000 (chapters) from EMBS, but you will have to find matching funds. Good sources are your Department, a local BME Company or IEEE Section.
  3. Contact the EMBS Executive Office for approval of funding.
  4. Invite the DL to visit your school.
  5. Book a room for the talk.
  6. Find out what kinds of A/V equipment the speaker will need and reserve it.
  7. Publicize the talk. Emails, posters and announcements by professors in class are all effective.
  8. Confirm arrangements with the DL and provide them with maps of your campus, etc.
  9. Make sure you have somebody to introduce and thank the lecturer.
  10. Complete the DL Claim Form and send it to the EMBS Executive Office with expense receipts and the report of the event for reimbursement. Download the Distinguished Lecturer Claim Form in Word format.