The University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering’s student branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) received high honors at the IEEE Region Five Conference. The organization won all four awards for which it was eligible—for the second consecutive year.
Advisor Ovidiu Crisan received the honor for the Outstanding Student Branch Counselor of the Year, David Jackson for the Outstanding Educator of the Year, Wahad Mehmood for Outstanding Student Member of the Year, and the student branch took home the award for Outstanding Large Student Branch of the Year.
According to Crisan, the IEEE Student Branch’s most notable achievements are its recruitment efforts for new members, improving students’ connection to alumni and industry, organizing and maintaining the space that the department provided for the group and improving student-instructor relations.
“We really have a wonderful student branch here, and I’m really proud of them,” Jackson said. “I knew they had these awards at the IEEE conference, but I had no idea that I was nominated for the award or that I would win. The IEEE is largely a volunteer organization, and it’s a satisfaction just knowing that you’re contributing to the overall profession.”
Jackson serves as the chair of the Transnational Committee of the Antennas and Propagation Society, which falls under the umbrella of IEEE. That committee focuses on issues that involve the Antennas and Propagation Society on a global scale. Previously, Jackson served the Society as a distinguished lecturer.
Crisan, who has worked with the student group for almost a decade, said that institutions rarely win more than one or two of the awards. Prior to sweeping the competition last year, Crisan said the group still made impressive showings by winning at least two or three awards each year.