IEEE UCF

This past weekend, I had the extraordinary opportunity to attend IEEE SoutheastCon 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. This conference represents all of IEEE Region 3 each year, where students of colleges all over the region can learn, compete, and grow professionally. I participated in two student competitions. First was the ethics competition where my team and I answered the questions, how can AI be beneficial to a certain aspect of life, what are the pros and cons, and how can it violate the code of ethics? And the second was the circuit design competition where my team and I worked to create and code a metal detector based on only the materials provided. Both of these events have provided valuable learning opportunities outside of the classroom in the aspects of technical, collaboration, and research. Though our club did not win any of the student competitions this year, we did not go home empty-handed. The University of Central Florida Student Branch was awarded the Exemplary?Student?Branch?Award. This special award is given to the student branch in the region that has gone above and beyond and truly encaptures the goals of IEEE. This would not have been possible without the hard work of each and every officer and committee member. I am proud to be a part of such a dedicated team! Shoutout to our President Aden McKinney who has led us through ups and downs, accomplishments and challenges, and filled out the paperwork. A special thanks to our Advisor Suboh for all of the help you have provided. And huge shoutout to my fellow officers Tobiah Bower, Ethan Baker, Alexander Evison, Jonathan Williams, Mikell Alfonso, Rafael James Puig, and the committee members Alex H., Sergio Luis Paez, and Anh Pham, as well as the robotics team Abdul Memon, Steven Keller, Orion Brown, Patrick Rizkalla, Matias Guillen, and Marcus Loyd for making this trip truly special! Our success this year has not and will not be defined by our wins or losses, but instead by how we learn and grow from them. To say I am already excited for next year's competition is an understatement. Go knights and charge on!

Internal Projects Competition Standout!

Over this past Spring Break, I had the opportunity to join IEEE UCF in competing in this year’s IEEE SoutheastCon! Held in Atlanta, Georgia, SoutheastCon serves as a culmination of knowledge and information spanning from Computer Scientists, Electrical, and Computer Engineering professionals across the Southern U.S. (Region 3). Not only was there a highlight on the most recent technical contributions to the advancement of technology/engineering, but also a showcase of months/years worth of work between student branches and professionals. Student branches were encouraged to compete in several student competitions that encompassed the diverse areas of IEEE, ranging from Hardware, Software, to even Ethics. I, along with Rafael James Puig and Alex H., competed in the Outreach competition, where we were tasked with devising an activity for the participants of the Atlanta Science Festival's Exploration Expo. We came up with a workshop that explored the principles of static electricity, with a breakdown of how it works and a demonstration of it at play. We used plastic/teflon rods, then charged them up using rabbit fur to make light pieces of plastic float in the air and metal cans roll, all in an effort to interactively explain the how. As a student brach, IEEE UCF was awarded the Region 3 Exemplary Student Branch Award, a realization of the great effort behind making IEEE UCF the best it can be. Although we didn’t receive placement for the Outreach competition itself, the true victory lied in the ubiquitous smiles and curiosity from the hundreds of kids/adults who participated in the festival. Seeing all of those who took the time to learn more about not only concepts such as static electricity, but also STEM as a whole, truly excited me for the future generation of engineers/scientists. Being a part of something bigger than myself through the event was truly a fulfilling experience, and has served as a testament, in my eyes, to the positive impact service/outreach brings to communities across the world. I wanted to thank our IEEE UCF President, Aden McKinney, for the opportunity to join IEEE UCF along for the ride that was SoutheastCon 2024, as well as my teammates, Rafael and Alex, for the teamwork and perseverance they displayed in delivering our workshop at the event. I would also like to thank our Treasurer, Kate Archibald, our Vice President, Tobiah Bower, and the rest of IEEE UCF who not only supported me throughout the journey that was the conference, but also ensured that we as a student branch could collectively make the most out of the experience. It was truly a memorable one, and the growth/development that this event offered would not have been possible without the leaders at IEEE UCF who made it all happen. Lastly, I would like to thank IEEE for organizing the conference and bringing together this community. I look forward to seeing what we at UCF can bring to next year’s conference! P.S. Indian Springs State Park is awesome??