Top Honors for Student Engineers

Pictured: NYIT student David Gamboa, right, working on the MicroMouse with a fellow participant.

It was an exciting three days for the NYIT student branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

From March 23 to 24, more than 200 students from universities across eight northeastern states, gathered at NYIT for the IEEE Region 1 Student Conference.

Hosting the two-day event was a great honor for the future engineers. “It is a significant achievement,” said Professor Babak Beheshti, Ph.D., associate dean of NYIT School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, and co-chair of the conference. “NYIT students showcased their leadership skills in organizing an annual conference that spans a geographical area including New York, New Jersey, and New England.”

Participants attended workshops and lectures, took part in a hackathon, and competed in a number of contests and competitions. For the MicroMouse Competition, the teams designed small robotic mice, which then raced their way through a 16’x16’ maze. Fourteen teams from nine universities entered the competition; NYIT won first and third place and the Judges award.

Members of the NYIT student branch of IEEE with Professor Babak Beheshti, Ph.D., far right.

“We were all ecstatic when we heard that our students won the awards in the MicroMouse Competition,” said graduate student Kayla Ho, chair of the NYIT student branch of IEEE. “Students from both campuses spent the entire academic year brainstorming and designing, prototyping, testing, and repeating this cycle to make the best possible mouse for this competition. Their hard work and dedication has made all of NYIT proud.”

“Winning the MicroMouse contest showcases the technical prowess of our engineering students,” added Beheshti.

In addition to hosting the successful event, the students were recognized for their longstanding support of IEEE Long Island Section activities, including through hosting and sponsoring events and technical talks. At the 2018 IEEE Long Island Section Awards Banquet on March 22, they were presented with the Organization of the Year and the Velio Marsocci Outstanding Student Branch awards.

“All of our students’ great achievements show that our students are the cream of the crop,” said Ho. “This experience has been inspiring for everyone and we hope our future students continue to achieve excellence.”