Meet the 2025 Candidates: IEEE President-Elect

The IEEE annual election begins on 15 August and ends on 1 October. All ballots must be received by 12:00 noon EDT USA/16:00 UTC. The IEEE Signal Processing Society is committed to ensuring that its members are prepared with sufficient information about the candidates in order to make their best-informed decision. In this month’s issue of Inside Signal Processing, we invite you to meet the IEEE President-Elect candidates.

For more information about the candidates, please review the below websites:

• President-Elect Statements.

A list of all 2025 elections and the candidates can be found here. Your vote counts: don’t forget to cast your ballot by 1 October!

Each President-Elect candidate has provided us with a statement, which is noted below.

IEEE President-Elect Candidates

Jill I. Gostin

(Nominated by IEEE Board of Directors)
Retired as Principal Research Scientist
Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory
Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

The IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS), the first technical society in IEEE, has long been a leader in technical excellence and education. SPS demonstrates how deep technical expertise paired with a strong volunteer network drives real-world impact.

Across IEEE, every operating unit (Societies, Chapters, Sections, Boards, etc.) brings its own strengths. Together, we form a powerful multidisciplinary community capable of addressing tough global challenges. SPS is a great example: a strong technical leader on its own, and an essential contributor to broad initiatives in AI, communications, sensing (my field), sustainability, and more. As we look to the future, IEEE must build on our many diverse strengths, fostering cross-domain collaborations, embracing emerging technologies, and enhancing member engagement through fresh approaches.

Rapid advances in technology require us not only to evolve as an organization, but also to help our members grow and adapt. That means offering learning roadmaps aligned with individual goals, supported by tailored educational modules. This continuous learning must be grounded in ethical responsibility and an understanding of broader societal impacts. IEEE’s global reach, community of experts, and educational resources make us well-suited to prepare our members to navigate these changes.

If elected, my priorities will include:
(more details available at ieee.org/pe26/Gostin)

• Enhancing the global member experience
• Expanding support across the full career lifecycle
• Advancing multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation
• Leading with integrity and purpose
• Broadening public awareness of technology’s impact

I’m committed to ensuring IEEE remains a trusted global voice for technology and a catalyst for meaningful change. Together, we can shape a future grounded in innovation, integrity, and impact.

It would be an honor to serve as your IEEE President in 2027. I welcome your vote of support—and your voice—as we work together to advance technology for the benefit of humanity.

David Alan Koehler

(Nominated by IEEE Board of Directors)
Director of Oil Lab Analysis (Former)
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

It is my pleasure to provide this article outlining my top priorities as a candidate for 2026 IEEE President-Elect.

Expand our pre-university STEM outreach globally. We must grow the potential audience of our future customers, members, and volunteers. IEEE must offer easy to understand information about the incredible benefits of a STEM education to pre-university students globally. I plan on allocating additional resources for TryEngineering Together, while expanding the TryEngineering Summer Institute to be held at more universities throughout the world.

Student to Young Professional engagement and retention. We must engage our student members during their first few years of membership to increase retention rates. IEEE’s current retention rate for students is only 31% based on the May 2025 Membership Development Report. We need to make sure that our products, services, and messaging are tailored to each of these different member segments. I also plan on investing in our student branches globally to make sure they have the products and services necessary to further properly engage our student members worldwide.

Enhance our brand messaging and member benefits. Most people still think that IEEE is focused on academia and geared towards electrical engineering. We need to further collaborate with industry and make sure that all technologists globally know that IEEE can be their professional home. We need to expand our volunteer benefit and discount programs worldwide. These programs offered to our members need to be globally focused, not US focused.

One IEEE. Everyone has a role to play in our core mission of advancing technology for humanity. We need to improve volunteer and staff collaboration across our various organizational units and committees, while providing the necessary training and resources for our volunteers to be successful.

I humbly ask for your vote and support in the upcoming IEEE 2025 annual election cycle. For more information about this candidate, please visit this ieee.org/pe26/koehler.