The 2020 IEEE Vision, Innovation, and Challenges Summit and Honors Ceremony Gala Dinner was planned to take place at the JW Parq Marriott in Vancouver, Canada on 15 May.

In 2020, the speakers were to address current innovations and the future implications of Immersive Technology. In addition, the celebration of the Medal of Honor Recipient, Chenming Hu, and all the IEEE Medal and Recognition recipients were to be honored that evening.  

However, following the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) of COVID-19 as a pandemic, local, regional, national, and international bodies had restricted travel and mass gatherings. Due to this, the event was cancelled altogether. 

However, even during this time, we felt that the world needed to be a bit hopeful. We held a story telling showcase over the course of several months that highlighted the awardees, their long-lasting contributions to society, and how they had paved the way for new generations to take on the world’s challenges. 

Learn about the 2020 IEEE Medal and Recognition Recipients through their accounts of what shaped them, how they carved a path in engineering and/or technology, and how they contributed to society via the IEEE History Wiki.