Using Amateur Radio to enhance engineering education will be the discussion topic during a May 24 session at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS), taking place this week in San Francisco. For the fourth consecutive year, the ARRL will be represented at the IMS. This year’s theme is, “Connecting minds, exchanging ideas.” The IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society sponsors the conference and hosts meetings of its various technical committees. Dubbed “The World Series of RF,” the IMS annually attracts technology and engineering professionals involved in all aspects of microwave theory and practice.

At the May 24 forum, educators from universities around the world will discuss specific ways they have integrated Amateur Radio into their engineering programs. They will describe how they are using Amateur Radio in the classroom, why it’s effective as a component of electronics and engineering education, and the impact Amateur Radio-based instruction has on what they teach and the success of their graduates.

Panel Organizers and Moderators include Suresh Ojha, W6KTM, National Instruments, Santa Clara, California; David Witkowski, W6DTW, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, San Jose, California; and Beric Dunn, K6BEZ, Tarana Wireless, Santa Clara, California.

Panelists are Dennis Derickson, AC0P, California Polytechnic University; Bob Iannucci, W6EI, Carnegie Mellon University; Xiaoguang Liu, AI6DW, University of California-Davis, and Sanjeeb Panday 9N1SP, Tribhuvan University (Nepal).

The IMS annually attracts some 10,000 wireless industry professionals, university educators, and STEM students, as well as hundreds of companies that exhibit RF-related products.

Student attendees may participate in a design competition with a wide variety of challenges, ranging from wideband baluns to computer-aided design for microwave semiconductors,” ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, pointed out. Silver is representing the League at this year’s IMS. Silver has invited IMS attendees to visit the ARRL booth.