February 2026 Meeting:

Thursday, February 26, 2026

5:00pm – 7:30 pm

SD IEEE Consultants’ Network: February 2026 Meeting (“Away Game”)
SD Hardware Meetup: Hardware for Defense

This month we will join the SD Hardware Meetup at Downtown Works Mission Valley.

SD Hardware Meetup is part of a national organization bringing together a community of people building physical products and hardware, from designers, founders, engineers, investors, and more, everyone is welcome. In addition to networking, there will be two speakers discussing their respective technologies in defense tech and dual use.

Please sign up here: https://eventship.com/event/8th-sd-hardware-meetup-downtown-works-mission-valley-hardware-for-defense

Optionally, but please also sign up on vTools here: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/539469

And Meetup here: https://www.meetup.com/san-diego-ieee-meetup/events/313177847

When:
Thursday, February 26, 2026
5:00pm – 7:30pm

Where:
Downtown Works – Coworking Office Space Mission Valley
3517 Camino del Rio S Suite 215
San Diego, CA 92108,

AGENDA:
5:00-5:30 – Arrival, mingle, grab refreshments
5:30-6:30 – Welcome, Introductions, Speakers
6:30-7:30 – Mix, mingle, and close out the night

COST:
Free

PARKING:
Free Onsite Parking

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The event will feature:

Tom Cotton is leading a small product team at Motive Labs (start-up of <10) translating biomechanics research into passive exoskeleton footwear for defense and medical applications, with plans to break into consumer athletics. He coordinates design, prototyping, and manufacturing between in-house teams and international partners to deliver grant-funded innovations. His approach centers on building products collaboratively with end-users, using participant interviews and field research to balance biomechanical performance with real-world manufacturability. When not building shoes or boots, Tom enjoys running, hiking, and golfing around San Diego.

Clayton Karmel, founder of Dronekyll, launched the company about a year ago after researching how to give soldiers an effective defense against small drones, then assembled the team to bring the solution to life. A veteran electronics entrepreneur and product builder, he previously ran a successful consulting firm for 26 years delivering everything from bicycle lights and irrigation/moisture controls to heart and muscle monitors, wireless routers, and other commercial devices, and earlier led RF and defense programs at Watkins-Johnson and helped build National Semiconductor’s wireless business line, developing high-performance PLL chips up to 2GHz that achieved major market share across GSM and CDMA. Karmel holds ~27 U.S. patents (with three additional Dronekyll applications in process) and earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Santa Clara University; outside of work he wing-foils, races ILCA/Laser dinghies in Mission Bay, and backcountry skis the Eastern Sierra, and he has lived in California since 1979 (San Diego since 1996).

Cheers Oceaneers – Tuesday February 17th – 5:30

More information and registration: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/537214