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IMS 2015 Welcomes Women in Microwaves, STEM, & Young Professionals

April 9, 2015
At IMS 2015, the Women in Microwaves (WIM), a subset of the Women in Engineering (WIE) group, is hoping to boost the number of female engineers in the microwave and RF industry.

A Special Focus on Women in Microwaves

Sherry Hess (left) and Vesna Radisic (right) are the co-chairs of WIM at IMS 2015. Their goal is to increase the representation of professional women in the microwaves industry.

At IMS 2015, the Women in Microwaves (WIM), a subset of the Women in Engineering (WIE) group, is hoping to boost the number of female engineers in the microwave and RF industry. Among WIM’s goals for IMS are raising awareness, highlighting prominent women in engineering working on emerging technologies, and providing a comfortable environment for women microwave engineers to socialize and share experiences. Being a subset of the IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE), WIM shares its mission to “facilitate the global recruitment and retention of women in technical disciplines.”

Vensa Radisic, a senior staff member of the RF and Mixed Signal Department of Northrop Grumman, and Sherry Hess, vice president of marketing for AWR, are the co-chairs for WIM. Both highly visible and successful women in the RF/microwaves field, the co-chairs are helping WIM organize a variety of events featuring the significant contributions of women in the field. Aside from focusing on the technical topics at the cutting edge of the industry, WIM will host a panel consisting of representatives of the global RF/microwave community from both genders, as they discuss issues faced by women and minorities in their careers.

For further information, visit Meet the WIM Co-Chairs.

WIM Special Sessions

Headed by the Chair, Olga Boric-Lubecke of UH Manoa, and the Co-Chair, Lora Schulwitz, MDA Information Systems, the WIM Special Sessions focus on topics covering 5G, IoT, GaN, medical sensing, and InP HEMT/InP HBT technologies in which women are leading the development.

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Student Events & STEM Outreach

IMS 2015 is rolling out the carpet for high-school and college students so they can experience all that the microwave industry has to offer. Using student design competitions, a high-school invitational, a STEM program, and Project Connect, MTT-S is exposing up-and-coming engineers to the wonder of microwaves.

Every year, the student design competitions held at IMS 2015 have grown in participation.

Graduate Student Design and Paper Competitions

As detailed on the IMS 2015 website, “through participation in the Student Design Competitions, IMS-registered student teams from around the world will have the opportunity to demonstrate the application of strong RF/microwave engineering design principles in the development of the most elegant/efficient hardware solutions to predetermined design requirements. Student Design Competitions are proposed and organized by specific Technical Committees of the MTT-S. Also be sure to check out the IMS 2015 Student Paper Competitions.

Project Connect

Especially exciting for high-achieving undergraduate students is a special travel grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and IEEE to help these students experience IMS 2015. Roughly 30 students from underrepresented groups, chosen for their excellence in academics and career goals, will qualify.

For more on STEM at IMS 2015, download the 2015 STEM Program Flyer.

For registration to the IMS 2015 STEM Day Program, click here: Register to participate in the IMS 2015 STEM Day Program.

For potential student volunteers: IMS 2015 Student Volunteer Application Form.

Young Professionals at IMS

As mentioned previously, the microwave industry is eagerly looking to develop community and leadership while increasing the number of young industry professionals. It also hopes to awaken the entrepreneurial spirit in younger industry professionals. A special discussion forum has been developed with entrepreneurs throughout the field of engineering. Topics will range from building a successful engineering company to the obstacles and opportunities involved in starting such a company. Fore more information, check out Awaken The Entrepreneurial Genius in You!

About the Author

Jean-Jacques DeLisle

Jean-Jacques graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he completed his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. In his studies, Jean-Jacques focused on Control Systems Design, Mixed-Signal IC Design, and RF Design. His research focus was in smart-sensor platform design for RF connector applications for the telecommunications industry. During his research, Jean-Jacques developed a passion for the field of RF/microwaves and expanded his knowledge by doing R&D for the telecommunications industry.

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.

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