2024 Lone Star Section Joint Chapter Events
Young Professionals at Boeing Tech Port
The IEEE Young Professionals (YP) in the Lone Star Section recently hosted a vibrant and fun-filled social LAN gaming event at the Boeing Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. This event brought together tech enthusiasts and gamers for an evening of intense gaming and camaraderie. The event started with discussions about current engineering topics over a pizza dinner in the food court of Port SA. The venue provided access to high end gaming desktop computers. From the available multiplayer games, the group selected "Rocket League" and "Pummel Party," both known for their engaging and competitive gameplay. "Rocket League," a high-octane game combining soccer and cars, had participants forming teams to outmaneuver their opponents in thrilling matches. The coordination and strategy required kept everyone on the edge of their seats, with shouts of triumph and groans of defeat echoing throughout the venue. On the other hand, "Pummel Party," a party game that blends board game mechanics with a variety of mini-games, provided a lighter yet equally exciting experience. The YP members enjoyed the blend of strategy and chance, competing in quirky mini-games and navigating the virtual board to collect items and outsmart their friends.
The Boeing Tech Port served as the perfect venue, providing a spacious and well-equipped environment for the LAN event. The state-of-the-art facilities ensured seamless connectivity and an immersive gaming experience. The event was not just about gaming but also about fostering a sense of community among young professionals in the tech field. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to unwind and socialize outside the usual professional settings, making meaningful connections with peers who share similar interests.
Overall, the LAN gaming event by the IEEE Young Professionals in the Lone Star Section was a resounding success, leaving the YP members eagerly anticipating the next gathering. It was an evening filled with laughter, competition, and camaraderie, showcasing the vibrant and dynamic spirit of the community.
Women in Engineering Day
On 23 June 2024, IEEE Lone Star Section Joint Chapter celebrated Women in Engineering Day by hosting the Women in Engineering AI/Robot Spotlight Panel, co-organized by WIE Lone Star Section Chair, Nicole Webb, and Systems Council WiSE. The event was well-attended and featured panelists Lynne Randolph, Prativa Hartnett, and Mariafernanda Amaya. The event was sponsored by Southwest Research Institute.
Harrison Hancock
On 13 June 2024, the IEEE Lone Star Section Joint Chapter hosted Harrison Hancock who presented "Introduction to Electronic Warfare." Harrison is a Senior Research Engineer at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX.
Dr. Jose Morales
On 11 April 2024, the IEEE Lone Star Section Joint Chapter hosted Dr. Jose Morales, who presented “Physics-Informed-Neural-Networks for the Wigner-Fokker-Planck Model of Open Quantum Systems” in the Archives. Morales, an assistant professor in the Mathematics and Physics and Astronomy Departments at The University of Texas at San Antonio, discussed current work on the use of Physics-Informed-Neural-Networks, or PINNs to solve the Wigner-Fokker-Planck model for open quantum systems. Morales is collaborating with Isaul Garcia, an undergraduate research assistant from UTSA, on this work. The event was co-sponsored by IEEE Women in Engineering.
Dr. Garrett Jares
On 14 March 2024, the IEEE Lone Star Section Joint Chapter hosted a talk by Dr. Garrett Jares of Southwest Research Institute. Dr. Jares presented, ""Secure Development of Machine Learning Against Poisoning Attacks."
2024 Spring Planning Meeting
On 23 February 2024, the IEEE Lone Star Section Joint Chapter of Systems Council/Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society/Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society hosted its 2024 Spring Planning Meeting at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
A few highlighted events from the 2023 activity report:
- Student Branches from the University of Texas, San Antonio and the University of the Incarnate Word conducted a drone demonstration at the San Antonio Boeing Center at Tech Port during the Fiesta De Los Niños. This family-friendly event drew a crowd of several thousand and featured interactive technological activities and entertainment for K-12 students.
- In conjunction with 2023 RADAR Conference, the Joint Chapter welcome IEEE Distinguished Lecturers Dr. Vijay Mishra and Dr. Karen Haigh for at Southwest Research Institute. Additionally, Dr. Karen Haigh taught a short course on Cognitive Electronic Warfare.
Truman Hickok
On 8 February 2024, the IEEE Lone Star Section Joint Chapter of Systems Council/Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society/Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society hosted a talk by Truman Hickok on "Deep Continual Learning: Past, Present, and Future" at Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Truman is a graduate student at the University of Texas, San Antonio. He is broadly interested in techniques for building deep learning-based systems that allow general, robust, and multimodal world modeling, but has thus far focused on the subfield of continual learning research concerned with the design of episodic memory algorithms.
