The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association                                                                           April  2018
Letter from the Editor
Badri Roysam,
University of Houston
Dear ECEDHA Members, Industry Partners, and Colleagues,

One of the unique features of this year's  ECEDHA Annual Conference in Monterey, California was the growing role of our communicators - the group of professional communications staffers from ECE departments who have come together at a global level, and embraced the ECEDHA Branding Initiative, led by Board Member Dan Stancil and driven by the  Tailfin Marketing agency (led by genius founder Greg Abel). This group has emerged as ECEDHA's creative "right brain" team that complements the mostly left-brain department heads that make up ECEDHA.

ECE in the News
ECEDHA Award Winners Honored at ECEDHA 2018

On the evening of March 19, 2018, ECEDHA honored several deserving award winners for their contributions to the ECE community.  The Awards Banquet, sponsored by Synopsys, took place during the 2018 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo in Monterey, California.  This year's conference had another record attendance, and in turn, a full ballroom to celebrate those listed below. We congratulate all winners for their fantastic accomplishments.



IEEE-HKN Outstanding Student Award:
Katelyn Brinker, Missouri University of Science and Technology
James Smith, Auburn University

ECEDHA Diversity Award:
Eve Riskin, University of Washington

ECEDHA Industry Award:
Intel Corporation

ECEDHA Innovative Program Award:
Robi Polikar, Rowan University

ECEDHA Robert M. Janowiak Outstanding Leadership and Service Award:
Stephen Phillips, Arizona State University

In the coming issues, we will provide a spotlight on each individual award winner. We begin with our first feature on Stephen Phillips, seen below.
Stephen Phillips Honored at ECEDHA 2018 with Prestigious Robert M. Janowiak Outstanding Leadership and Service Award

Stephen Phillips was awarded the prestigious Robert M. Janowiak Outstanding Leadership and Service Award at the 2018 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECE xpo in Monterey, California this past March.

The Robert M. Janowiak Outstanding Leadership and Service Award is given to an individual with a sustained record of leadership and service to ECEDHA, and to electrical and computer engineering in general.

While Steve has had many contributions to ECE, one in particular is his national leadership in online education.  H e developed and launched the first fully accredited online BS in Electrical Engineering program in the US in Fall 2013, where enrollment has grown to more than 1200 online students in four years. This innovative online program was implemented to leverage the advantages of online delivery in order to provide a program of quality matching the face-to-face delivery of the existing ECEE program at ASU, and achieve full ABET accreditation. Most importantly, it allowed access to the ECEE program at ASU for underserved student populations without reducing the enrollment in traditional face-to-face delivery. 

Steve has a distinguished record of leadership and service to the Electrical and Computer Engineering community through his leadership of the School of ECEE at ASU, his innovations in engineering education through the first fully accredited online Electrical Engineering program in country, his service and leadership to engineering education accreditation in ABET and the IEEE, and through his leadership and service to ECEDHA over the years.


Above (from left to right): Stephen Phillips, Arizona State University,
and John Janowiak, ECEDHA Executive Director
Jonathan Bird, 
University at Buffalo
New Chair Appointed at University at Buffalo

Jonathan Bird joined the faculty of the University at Buffalo (UB) Department of Electrical Engineering as Professor in Fall 2004. Prior to this, he obtained his B.Sc. (First-Class Honors) and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of Sussex (United Kingdom), in 1986 and 1990, respectively. He was a JSPS visiting fellow at the University of Tsukuba (Japan) from 1991 - 1992, after which he joined the Frontier Research Program of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN, also in Japan). In 1997, he was appointed as Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Arizona State University, where he spent seven years before joining UB. Prof. Bird's research is in the area of nanoelectronics, an area in which he is the co-author of more than 300 peer reviewed publications as well as of undergraduate and graduate texts. He has been serving as Department Chair in EE at UB since July 2017.

The Department of Electrical Engineering at the University at Buffalo is currently undergoing significant growth, with research foci in nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, communications and networking, and energy systems. Specific areas of activity include research on new paradigms for beyond-5G networks, wireless communications and the internet of things, photonics materials for cost-effective photovoltaics, terahertz electronics, spintronic devices and circuits, and power-system applications. With significant faculty hiring in these areas underway, it is an exciting time for me to assume the role of Department Chair. As the representative of a group of outstanding junior and established faculty, I consider my primary role to be one of advocating effectively on their behalf. Every day, as I learn more and more about the achievements of my distinguished colleagues, I feel privileged to serve as their representative. 
Nikos Sidiropoulous, University of Virginia 
New Chair Appointed at University of Virginia

Nikos Sidiropoulos recently became chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Virginia. Nikos earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland-College Park, in  1992. He has served on the faculty of the University of Virginia,  University of Minnesota, and the Technical University of Crete, Greece, prior to his current appointment as Chair of ECE at UVA. His research interests are in signal processing, communications, optimization, tensor decomposition, and factor analysis, with applications in machine learning and communications. He received the NSF/CAREER award in 1998, the IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) Best Paper Award in 2001, 2007, and 2011, served as IEEE SPS Distinguished Lecturer (2008-2009), and currently serves as Vice President - Membership of IEEE SPS. He received the 2010 IEEE Signal Processing Society Meritorious Service Award, and the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Maryland, Dept. of ECE. He is a Fellow of IEEE (2009) and a Fellow of EURASIP (2014).
Conference Corner
Thank you for joining us in Monterey, CA last month for the 
2018 ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECExpo!


We look forward to seeing you next year!

Corporate Features
In This Issue
Calendar of Events
March 22-26, 2019
ECEDHA Annual Conference and ECE xpo
Hilton Tucson El Conquistador - Tucson, AZ
On Demand Webinar
Rethinking Electronics Fundamentals
Sponsored by National Instruments
On Demand Webinar
Sponsored by Keysight Technologies
On Demand Webinar
In Partnership with National Instruments, ISTEC, LACCEI, and Tecnológico de Monterrey
On Demand Webinar
Sponsored by COMSOL
ECEDHA Member and Partner News
MIT Invites Women Grad Students and Postdocs to Apply for Rising Stars in EECS 2018

The MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science invites early-career women in EECS to apply to attend this year's Rising Stars in EECS 2018 workshop. The event will be held in Cambridge, Mass., from Oct. 28-30, 2018.
 
Rising Stars is an intensive workshop for EECS graduate students and postdoctoral associates who are interested in pursuing academic careers. Launched at MIT in 2012, the annual event has since been hosted at UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and Stanford.

This year, Rising Stars returns to MIT. The workshop will feature two days of research presentations, talks by MIT faculty and invited speakers, and sessions on faculty interviews and promotions. The schedule will include plenty of time for networking to help
participants form lasting connections.
 
Space is limited. About 60 outstanding participants will be selected for the expenses-paid program. The application deadline is May 15, 2018.
 
For more information and to apply, visit the Rising Stars in EECS 2018 website. Questions? Email the Rising Stars in EECS 2018 team at risingstars@mit.edu.

Deadline: May 15, 2018


Sixty-one women from 25 institutions attended the 2015 Rising Stars in EECS workshop at MIT. Photo: Gretchen Ertl
2018 IEEE Educational Activities Board Awards

Please consider nominating a colleague or deserving individual for one of EAB's prestigious awards.

Deadline: May 7, 2018

>> Learn more

At the ECE Source, we strive to cover topics that are relevant and timely to ECE  department heads.  We welcome your comments, feedback, and suggestions of topics t o cover in our next issue.  Thank you.