Nominee by Dr. Ramesh for E&EE Department 2003 Honors Convocation Award: Ms. Nai Saephanh

Nai is the first in her family to go to college. Prior to joining CSUS, she completed her Associates degree in Science and Mathematics with the highest honors from Cosumnes River College. Nai is very active in co-curricular activities, serving as the Treasurer of the IEEE Student Branch and as Vice Chair of the Iu-Mien Student Conference Planning Committee. Nai has an outstanding academic record and has an overall GPA of 3.6. She is a role model for her community and for her fellow students at CSUS, and richly deserves the recognition.

Nominee by Dr. Ramesh for the 2002 Outstanding Senior Achievement Award in E&EE: Ron Hernandez Note: Ron was also selected as the Outstanding Senior in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the 2002 Honors Convocation.

I am very pleased to write this letter in support of Mr. Ron Hernandez's nomination as the E&EE departmental awardee for the 2002 CSUS Honors Convocation. I have known Ron since he started at CSUS a few years ago. He has an outstanding academic record with a GPA of 3.82. Ron has been able to maintain this excellent record while being a member of the Project Success Program, and working as an intern at SONY Electronics Inc., in San Jose. I also had several opportunities to interact with Ron as the Department Chair in E&EE. I distinctly remember how Ron had corresponded with me about the nature of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, even when he was in high school in Adelanto! That enthusiasm has been evident throughout his stay at CSUS and he has done admirably well in the program.

Ron's professional interests are in the area of design and testing. He is especially interested in the field of electronics. The company that hires him will be very fortunate, as they will be welcoming an articulate, talented and dedicated engineer. I expect Ron to be very successful in his career as a professional engineer. Given the rapid pace of change in the field, every student needs to be committed to the concept of life-long learning. Ron is interested in continuing his education, and this attitude will serve him well in the years ahead.

I have no hesitation in recommending Ron's candidacy for this award. He is most deserving.

Nominee by Dr. Ramesh for E&EE Department 2001 Honors Convocation Award: Chad Beach

I am very pleased to select Mr. Chad Beach as the E&EE Department's Awardee for the CSUS Honors Convocation on May 6, 2001. Chad is presently an undergraduate student in our program and is expected to graduate this May. I have known Chad since he transferred to CSUS as a junior a few years ago. I have worked with him closely in my capacity as the Department Chair and as the Faculty Advisor for the IEEE Student Branch.

Chad's academic record at the junior college was excellent. Interestingly, he sought me out and began participating in IEEE activities in the Laser and Electro-Optics Chapter even before he transferred to CSUS. His performance at CSUS has continued in the same vein. He has an excellent attitude towards education and really wants to make a contribution and help other students succeed. This is evident when you consider his leadership role in numerous co-curricular activities on campus. He has consistently been on the Dean's Honor List and is considered to be an outstanding student by his teachers and fellow students. Based on his academic record, he won a scholarship sponsored by Level One Communications and it has really opened up some wonderful career opportunities for Chad in the area of Analog Integrated Circuit Design.

Chad's contributions to the IEEE Student branch at CSUS are very noteworthy. He took the initiative to re-organize the chapter after several of the previous student officers graduated at the same time. Under his leadership, the membership in the Student Branch has nearly tripled from about 35 to over 100. More importantly, he has made a solid contribution to the department and our students by arranging numerous industry site visits, and technical presentations, during his tenure as the Chairman of the IEEE Student Branch. In February 2000, he helped organize a "Student Professional Awareness Conference" (SPAC) focusing on professional, non-technical issues of great interest to all engineering students. During this event, Chad had to work closely with a team of officers from the student branch and a slate of national and local speakers. The entire event went off very smoothly and was easily one of the best student organized conferences that I have ever seen.

Chad has also actively contributed his time in other outreach efforts for the department and the College. This includes the College Open House during National Engineers week and the annual teachers workshop. The latter is co-hosted by the Sacramento Engineering and Technology Regional Consortium to assist high school teachers in developing pre-engineering curricula. Chad has helped organize student volunteers for the workshop. He also served as a team leader and led the high school teachers through a series of hands-on experiments during the day.

Chad inspires his fellow students with his dedication, hard work, and conscientiousness. I am very pleased to nominate him to receive the Academic Achievement Award for the EEE department for 2001. I am confident that he has a successful career ahead and would be glad to answer any questions you may have about his candidacy.

Nominee by Dr. Ramesh for E&EE Department 2000 Honors Convocation Award: Husam Alesawi

I am very pleased to nominate Mr. Husam Alesawi as the E&EE Department's Awardee for the upcoming convocation. Mr. Alesawi has an outstanding record as a student at CSUS and has been actively involved in several community projects.

Mr. Alesawi's academic performance has been excellent and he is the top ranked graduating senior in his class with a GPA of 3.74 He is an extremely dedicated student with a special interest in Biomedical engineering. Along with Prof. Warren Smith he has developed a child birth simulator using LabVIEW. This simulator provides hands-on training to paramedics, and medical staff to promote safe childbirth for the mother and baby. Earlier he collaborated with Dr. Smith on a bio-instrumentation project to determine the effect of table height on a surgeon's workload and performance. Prior to joining CSUS he has served as a tutor for learning disabled students in American River College. Given his outstanding academic record and participation in numerous community service activities above and beyond the classroom, it is my pleasure to nominate Mr. Alesawi for this award.

Nominee by Dr. Ramesh for E&EE Department 1999 Honors Convocation Award: John Paeng

The E&EE department is very pleased to select Mr. Hee S. Paeng as its awardee for the '99 Honors convocation. Please note that Mr. Paeng goes by the name John Paeng. I have enclosed a copy of his resume and some biographical information which you can use for the program. John has an outstanding academic record and is a member of IEEE, Tau Beta Pi, and the Golden key National Honor Society. In addition he has worked at Medical Dental technology since 1988 and as a tutor at CSU Sacramento. As a student in my Analog IC Design class (EEE 110) last semester John and his partner designed an IC which is being fabricated through an NSF grant.