MIDDLETOWN, Pa. -- Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Science, Engineering and Technology has received the Organizational Supporting Friend of IEEE MGA (Member and Geographic Activities) Award for exemplary support and professionalism in promoting IEEE’s (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) mission to local industries, campuses and the community.
“It is a great honor for the electrical engineering program to receive the IEEE MGA award,” said Nashwa Elaraby, associate teaching professor of electrical engineering. “It recognizes the continued dedication and support of the EE program to serving the professional engineering community.”
This award is presented to organizations that encourage volunteerism through their practices. The college’s electrical engineering program has a long history of providing support to IEEE’s Susquehanna Section with faculty and student volunteers, organizing professional conferences and lectures to serve the professional community, and offering campus space to conduct IEEE meetings.
As the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology, IEEE is involved in setting industry standards, holding international conferences, conducting peer review of academic journals, and more.
IEEE has collaborated with the program to host several important events. The Center for Signal Integrity offers a symposium that attracts attendees from companies such as Keysight technologies, TE Connectivity and Phoenix Contact. The electrical engineering program also hosts a robotics competition which aims to help local high school students develop an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. The EETechnothon, held in April 2021, organized a career planning session and an alumni panel for students from local electrical engineering community colleges. Finally, IEEE Women in Engineering collaborated with Penn State Harrisburg to organize events that support women in engineering.
Luis Carlos Torres Jr., former IEEE Susquehanna Section chair, completed the nomination process for the award to ensure that Penn State Harrisburg’s support of IEEE was recognized. Out of 10 regions worldwide, only Penn State Harrisburg and Taif University in Saudi Arabia were selected to receive the MGA award.