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10th Annual Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Festival Hosted by the ming hsieh institute

On November 8th, 2019, the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering hosted our 10th Annual Research Festival. With 140 student presenters, 35 companies, and 17 elite industry sponsors, it was our biggest and most successful festival to date.

Our department, with nearly 350 PhD students, is one of the broadest and most collaborative in the entire university. Research here directly impacts the future of health, communications, quantum computing, energy, transportation, sustainability, defense, cyber-security, and every aspect of the world that is being built today.

As the sun rises on another beautiful day on campus, poster boards wait for their research posters.
"The research festival has given me a unique opportunity to present my work to a broader audience. I found it extremely fruitful to share my ideas with faculty, particularly those who are not in my field. I had a chance to think outside the box, practice my presentation skills and above all, share the enjoyment of research."

Fatemeh Alishahi, PhD student and MHI Scholar

"I enjoyed serving as a judge because I was able to interact with so many of our PhD students whom I would not have met otherwise. I got to see the amazing breadth of research in our department firsthand."

- Naveen Katam, ECE Post Doc and Research Festival Judge

"I was proud to present my recent research at the MHI 10th annual research festival. The event helped me to develop my presentation skills as a PhD student and meet a network of incredibly driven people from industry who helped show me the direction my research can follow."

- Haleh Akrami

The research was so good that department chair Richard Leahy had to take a minute and sit down!

This year's festival also featured our largest group of undergrads to present research. Seven undergraduate students who conduct research in ECE labs shared their work with judges and industry guests alongside their PhD counterparts.

"As an undergrad, the research festival provides a unique opportunity to present my research to industry leaders. Not only is it great for networking, but I can also learn about the interesting research being done by graduate students at in the department." - Zane Durante, Junior

With 17 Industry Sponsors, the 10th Annual Research Festival was the most heavily industry-attended festival to date.

Students and Faculty had a chance to get to know industry leaders and speak more personally over lunch.

"The USC research festival provides a great opportunity for the Sony Pictures Technology Development Department to meet students and learn about their areas of study. We look forward to this annual event."

- Don Eklund, CTO, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Department namesake and USC Trustee Ming Hsieh, Dean Yannis Yortsos, and Ming Hsieh Institute Director Shri Narayanan kickoff the award ceremony while appreciating some of the ECE department's success over the past decade.

“Electrical and Computer Engineering is one of the most diverse disciplines in any field of study. Our students’ research reflected just how many areas of society are being touched by our department and I was especially proud we were able to share our work with USC and our industry guests.”

- Professor Shri Narayanan, Director, Ming Hsieh Institute

As another successful research festival is in the books, Ming Hsieh takes a moment to catch up with some old ECE friends.
With a "thumbs up" from industry guests, the day concludes and students retreat back to their labs. There's more research to be done and next year's festival to prepare for!
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