裡橖眻畦

Electrical and Computer Engineering Hosts IEEE Student Activities Conference

Jenna Fazio speaking at a lectern
Jenna Fazio '24 CpE, chair of 裡橖眻畦's IEEE student branch, kicked off the opening ceremony.

Jenna Fazio 24 CpE, 裡橖眻畦 University IEEE Student Branch Chair

Robert H. Caverly, PhD, 裡橖眻畦 University IEEE Student Branch Counselor

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at 裡橖眻畦 University hosted the 2024 IEEE Joint Region 1 and Region 2 Student Activities Conference on April 6, 2024, featuring a full day of student-oriented activities for student members from the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions.

The night before the conference, a meetup at Dave & Busters in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., provided the visiting students, their advisors and leaders from IEEE Regions 1 and 2 with a chance to meet informally.

Conference organizers greeted the attendees on Saturday morning in the 裡橖眻畦 Room at the Connelly Center on campus. The opening ceremony was kicked off by Jenna Fazio 24 CpE, chair of 裡橖眻畦s IEEE student branch and of the conferences organization, followed by a welcome from David Jamison, PhD, the College of Engineerings associate dean for Undergraduate Affairs, and leaders from IEEE.

Tommaso Cappello and Robert Caverly at an organization's table
Assistant Professor Tommaso Cappello and Professor Robert Caverly of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The first morning session featured parallel workshop sessions on software-defined radios, an Arduino programming introduction, an introduction to SumoBot fighting robots and Mangdang robot dogs, and r矇sum矇 development. The second block included a workshop on creating a social media presence and interviewing skills for job-search success, sessions on the use of IEEE volunteer software and web tools, and a drone workshop held in the 裡橖眻畦 Cinema.

A Project Showcase organized by Assistant Teaching Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Liesl Klein, PhD, took place during the lunch period. In addition, there were several IEEE Society booths, including one by a conference sponsor, the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society, staffed by Tommaso Cappello, PhD, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Closing banquet in 裡橖眻畦 Room
The conference concluded with a banquet in the 裡橖眻畦 Room.

The afternoon sessions were primarily devoted to competitions. These included the SumoBot preliminaries and finals; the , a team case study of an ethical dilemma; the , in which students were given a bag of random electronic components along with three circuit tasks to complete using only these components; and the MicroMouse Competition, which featured small robots negotiating a maze. Additionally, a Signal Safari workshop organized by Klein and Associate Teaching Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Alan Johnston, PhD, introduced students to antennas and software-defined radios to find hidden transmitters on campus and to search for satellites orbiting over 裡橖眻畦 at that time.

After the afternoon sessions were completed, all attendees were invited to attend the Women in Engineering panel session in the 裡橖眻畦 Cinema. The conference concluded with an evening banquet and the presentation of awards to the days competition winners. More than 150 students from 17 universities in the Mid-Atlantic and New England attended, including more than a dozen students from 裡橖眻畦, as well as an additional 40 faculty members and IEEE leaders, including the Region 1 and 2 directors.

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