The Department supports a very active student branch of IEEE. In addition, the College of Engineering and Computer Science also has chapters of The Society of Women Engineers (SWE); The Society of Hispanic Engineers and Computer Scientists; The Society of Black Engineers and Computer Scientists; and Tau Beta Pi (California Upsilon), the national honorary society.

 

The IEEE student branch regularly has guest speakers from industry. The Department helps in sponsoring field trips by using faculty connections with industry and by supplying some transportation. The Department has a very strong IEEE student chapter. The student chapter of IEEE at CSUS is among the most active chapters in the Sacramento Section of IEEE. The other student chapters that belong to the Sacramento Section are UC Davis, UOP, and CSU Chico. The student branch has an elected core of officers who plan and execute the programs of the chapter in consultation with the branch faculty advisor. Dr. Ramesh has served as the faculty advisor since 1991, besides serving as the Sacramento section student activities coordinator. Since 2001, Dr. Ramesh has also been serving as the Chair of the Central Area of IEEE Region 6, covering over 20,000 members in six sections and 14 student branches.

 

The CSUS IEEE student chapter plans a wide array of activities including talks by speakers from industry and plant tours and assists with events such as the school's open house during National Engineers Week. In addition, the student chapter has taken a leadership role in assisting in the annual high school teachers' workshop, designed to promote pre-engineering concepts in K-12. This hands-on workshop attracts high school teachers state-wide. The most recent workshop in September 2002 attracted 50 high school teachers and 80 middle school teachers. Entitled "Power Up Your Classroom," it was one of the invited presentation to a national audience at the January 2003 IEEE Deans Summit in Miami. Details may be found at www.ieee.org/eab/fcc.

 

In 1999 and 2000 the CSUS student branch hosted an SPAC (Student Professional Awareness Conference) that focused on ethics and professionalism and non-technical aspects of engineering practice. It should be noted that CSUS was the first student chapter in the Sacramento section to organize an SPAC back in 1994.

 

Several faculty members from our Department are active at the Sectional and Regional levels as officers. Because all of our tenure track faculty and most of our lecturers and part-time faculty are members of IEEE, student membership is highly encouraged. Dr. Lathi is a Fellow of the IEEE for his contributions in Communication Engineering and Dr. Simes is a Life Member. To set the proper example, three of the Department faculty are currently on the Sacramento section IEEE executive committee Dr. Ramesh is the student activities coordinator, Dr. Preetham Kumar is the Chair of the Vehicular Technology/Communication Society Chapter, and Dr. Vadhva is serving as Section Chair in his third tour of duty. Dr. Vadhva is also the Chair of the Central Area PACE (Professional Activities Committee for Engineers) group. Dr. Ramesh previously served as Section Chair in 1992-93. Part-time E&EE faculty who are active in the local Section include Mr. Chris Holm, the Chair of LEOS (Lasers and Electro optics Society) and Mr. Herb Tanzer, the section Treasurer.

 

The student chapter has over 125 members and has been very active during the current academic year. The chapter has a dedicated set of officers who have worked together as a team to provide the members with interesting technical programs and opportunities for professional growth. The chapter held the following meetings during academic year 2002-03:

• General business meeting: 2
• Excom business meeting: 33
• Technical speaker: 5
• Technical tour: 5
• Social: 6

The primary purpose of the student branch is to develop professional awareness among the students and provide them with opportunities to expand their leadership and communication skills. The specific goals of the branch include:

1. to make students aware of the international organization (IEEE), increase student membership and encourage graduating seniors to maintain their membership as professionals.
2. to foster comradeship between the students by sponsoring technical and social events.
3. to increase the students' awareness of professional issues through the hosting of presentations by guest speakers from industry and by sponsoring tours.

Student Branch members and officers regularly attend the biannual Central Area meetings and participate in officer leadership training and student contests. This enhances their professionalism and helps them prepare for the workplace and interact with engineers from industry.

 

During the 2002-03 academic year, the student branch hosted several speakers from companies and other Universities. These included tours to Hewlett Packard, Intel/Level One, and DMEA. Also, students from CSUS have regularly competed in the Central Area Region 6 student contests, which include the paper, design, and micro mouse contests with peers from over 14 schools in the area. The CSUS team won the micro mouse contest in 1999 and took third place in 2002. Also, students from CSUS won the paper contest in 1999 and the design contest in 1999 and 2001. On two occasions the winners of the Area Paper Contest from CSUS had the honor of representing the Central Area at the regional contest held in conjunction with WESCON. Participation in IEEE and IEEE-sponsored events and contests gives our students valuable experience in leadership and teamwork.

 

The Sacramento section of IEEE has supported the student branch with funding for its activities for 2002/03 based on the yearly plan submitted by the branch officers. To increase interaction with the local IEEE Chapters and Sections, the student branch has co-hosted several meetings with the Sacramento Chapter of IEEE LEOS at the CSUS campus in past years. These meetings have provided an opportunity for the students to meet with professionals from local industry.

Overall, the student branch has been very active in promoting student professional development and has provided members with the opportunity to interact with engineers and scientists from industry. As evidenced by the increase in membership, the chapter is certainly a focal point in the career of the E&EE students at CSUS. It provides them with invaluable leadership experience, communication skills, and professional awareness as they prepare to tackle the challenging technical problems ahead.

 

In general, the entire faculty within the School is active in appropriate societies, and students are encouraged to participate. The Dean's office has been very supportive of student activities by providing meeting rooms, offering extra funds when needed, supplying a room for the tutoring center, and by helping to furnishing transportation for field trips.

 

The College of Engineering and Computer Science supports a very active MESA - MEP (Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement - Minority Engineering Program). The MESA program is designed to encourage grade-school students to consider careers in mathematics, science and engineering and provide support to attract and retain under-represented minority students. According to the Director of the MEP program, the graduation rate for students in the program is well above that of the general student population. Many of our students participate in these programs by helping with tutoring, recruiting, etc.

Enhanced Interaction between Students and Practitioners in Industry, Government, and Private Practice

 

Interaction between students and practitioners is maintained and enhanced in several ways. The student branch of IEEE schedules regular meetings with guest speakers. These range from topics of general interest to all E&EE students to very specialized topics such as a recent talk on biomedical engineering projects, by Dr. Greg Williams of Dade Microscan. Some of these speakers are our own graduates, and this tends to attract more students to the meeting.

Field trips to local industry and to the San Francisco bay area are regularly scheduled by the IEEE student branch and by faculty with specific interests. The E&EE Departments Industry Liaison Council and the Electric Power Educational Institute (EPEI) have been very helpful in arranging visits to semiconductor companies, power plants, distribution centers, and control areas. Recent trips have been to Motion Control Engineering, State Department of Water Resources (DWR), The Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA), Intel/Level One, Hewlett Packard, and Agilent.

The SWE sponsors an annual breakfast with industry and an egg drop contest during the annual University Open House. Tau Beta Pi runs a tutoring center for all of the lower division engineering courses and sponsors the EIT review course twice a year. E&EE student members of Tau Beta Pi tutor in Engr 17, Circuit Analysis, as well as other courses. Tau Beta Pi also presents an outstanding teacher award to a faculty member from each Department at the spring commencement.

 

The Department hires part-time faculty from public utilities, the Air Force, the State of California, the telephone company, and several electronic/computer companies like Intel and Hewlett Packard. These part-time instructors bring a great deal of current professional experience and "what it's really like" information into our classrooms. As a result of the Department's work with Intel and Level One Communications (now a part of Intel) to establish mutually beneficial intellectual exchanges with student internships and Co-ops and faculty/industry internships, a two year $24,000 scholarship grant was established in 1999. This was renewed in 2002 with supplementary funding of $12,000. The grant provides high-achieving students from E&EE with scholarships that cover tuition and fees, books, and summer internships. The Industry Liaison Council, a Department-level "working advisory group," draws members from these companies to assists the Department in revising and updating the curriculum and helps us validate our program objectives and outcomes assessment. Some of the senior engineers from industry who are teaching part-time for us this year are Jamil Altiti from HP (EEE 108, Electronics I), Jamaal Mitchell from Intel (EEE 109, Electronics II Lab), Dr. Lakshmi Chennupati from Motion Control Engineering (EEE 174, Microprocessors, and EEE 180, Signals and Systems), Patrick Isakanian from Intel (EEE 110, Advanced Analog IC Design, and EEE 188, Digital Control Systems), and Dr. Mohammad Vaziri from PG&E (ENGR 120, Probability and Random Processes).

 

Since we are a commuter school, the student body tends to be older; and many students need part-time jobs to support themselves. Many of the transfer students who enter our program have been exposed to the practice of engineering through employment as technicians in industry or have been technicians in the armed services. They are enthusiastic students, and their participation in student activities is a stimulating experience to the rest of the students. Local industry has been very good to provide many opportunities for part-time employment. Not only do the students gain valuable experience from the association with engineers, but some have been able to continue on with the same firm after graduation. These companies have had mostly favorable experiences in hiring our students and often come back for more.