Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson

Congratulations to Dr. Kumar Venayagamoorthy on receiving a prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award! He will be with the University of Pretoria in South Africa for six months this year to contribute to the transition of the South African electricity infrastructure to a sustainable grid while working with University of Pretoria faculty members.
https://news.clemson.edu/four-clemson-faculty-members-receive-fulbright-scholar-awards/

Please join us in recognizing this year’s winners of the 2024 department-wide graduate student awards in Electrical and Computer Engineering! These awards have been presented annually for 39 years and are given to graduate students who have shown exceptional performance in laboratory teaching, research, and service in the previous year.
Holcombe Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Graduate Researcher – Laxman Timilsina
Holcombe Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Graduate Laboratory Teaching Assistant – Steven Platt
Holcombe Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Graduate Service –Julia Boone and Rackley Wren
https://blogs.clemson.edu/electrical-and-computer-engineering/outstanding-graduate-students-recognized-with-2024-ece-departmental-awards/

Congratulations to our new graduates!
https://blogs.clemson.edu/electrical-and-computer-engineering/congratulations-may-2024-graduates/

Yongqiang Wang and Ph.D. student Yanan Bo have unlocked a new way to improve the performance of smart systems and artificial intelligence by enhancing distributed optimization, a crucial aspect of many advanced technologies such as smart grids and self-driving cars. For the full story, visit: https://news.clemson.edu/clemson-university-engineers-breakthrough-could-lead-to-faster-smarter-tech/

Yongqiang Wang, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Ph.D. student Yanan Bo have unlocked a new way to improve the performance of smart systems and artificial intelligence by enhancing distributed optimization, a crucial aspect of many advanced technologies such as smart grids and self-driving cars. They reported their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Click the link in the comments to learn more!

ECE's Spring Senior Design Showcase gave our seniors the opportunity to display and demo their capstone design projects to faculty, industry representatives, and their fellow students. These projects are the culmination of the undergraduate ECE experience, where teams are responsible for all aspects of designing, building, and programming their individual systems. Congratulations to all teams on your hard work and innovative designs! Check back soon for project videos and design award winners.

Congratulations to Daniel Pendleton for successfully defending his thesis!
He completed his Master's in Computer Engineering and will be graduating in May. His thesis was “Multi-Domain Secure DDS Networks for Aerial and Ground Vehicle Communications”
After graduation, he will be joining Applied Research Associates as a robotics embedded software engineer.

Congratulations to Bingyin Zhao for successfully defending his PhD Dissertation!
He completed his PhD in Computer Engineering and will be graduating in May. His dissertation was “Robust and Trustworthy Deep Learning: Attacks, Defenses and Designs”
Bingyin is preparing for a position in academia after graduation.

Renowned researcher, National Academy of Engineering member Kevin Tomsovic named executive director of Clemson University Restoration Institute Image courtesy of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Congratulations to Vishwas Powar for successfully defending his PhD Dissertation!
He completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering and will be graduating in May. His dissertation was “Photovoltaics And Battery-based End-to-End Direct Current Sustainable Power Networks- Concept, Design, And Control”
After graduation, he will be working with Milwaukee Tool as an Electrical Engineer II in new product development for outdoor power equipment.

Robotic Plants Grow with their Environment When we think of bio-inspired robots, we usually think of robot arms modeled after human arms or robots inspired by animals with specific characteristics lik...

Clemson University computer engineering Ph.D. student Iwinosa Aideyan's rapid ascent as a cybersecurity researcher has been propelled by two significant honors—an accolade for her contributions to women in technology and a prestigious scholarship.

Aideyan, currently in her second year as a doctoral student, is affiliated with the VIPR-GS Research Center. She focuses on cybersecurity for vehicles under the guidance of Richard Brooks, professor of computer engineering.

Aideyan said a pivotal moment in her journey occurred with her selection to receive the "Digital Defender of Equality: Advancing Women in Tech Award" from Prezens for Charity.

The award ceremony was held in March at the United Nations Headquarters during the 68th United Nations Women's Commission on the Status of Women. The award celebrated her commitment to empowering young women and girls in IT, her cybersecurity research and her steadfast advocacy for gender equality.

During her undergraduate years at the University of Benin in Nigeria, Aideyan mentored numerous female students and remains in touch with many of them. She held leadership roles, notably as the first female president of the Association of Computer Engineering and as vice president of the Nigerian Universities Engineering Students' Association, Uniben Chapter.

She is now working on establishing a Women in Cybersecurity student chapter at Clemson University to cultivate an atmosphere of support and empowerment.

Her decision to pursue a Ph.D. at Clemson was influenced by Brooks' groundbreaking work, particularly in Africa. Aideyan said she thrives amidst the demanding workload and the supportive academic environment fostered by Brooks.

As a Clemson Ph.D. student, Aideyan has had the privilege to attend conferences nationwide, forging connections with industry leaders in automotive cybersecurity. She attributes much of her success to her family and the Nigerian Students in Clemson organization and the Reformed University Fellowship - International (RUF-I), which facilitated her smooth transition to campus life.

In addition to her award, Aideyan recently received the Women in Technology Scholarship from Cadence Design, joining a cohort of distinguished recipients from prestigious institutions such as Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Scholarships were awarded based on strong academic records, community involvement, leadership potential, and recommendations from professors, according to Cadence.

Aideyan hopes to graduate in 2026. She said she aspires to continue her work in enhancing automobile security in an industrial setting, driven by her passion for leveraging technology to create safer and more secure vehicles for all.

Congratulations to Iwinosa Aideyan! We're thrilled to announce that Iwinosa has been honored with the 'Digital Defender of Equality: Advancing Women in Tech Award' by Prezens for Charity, presented at the United Nations Headquarters during the UN's 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women this March. This recognition highlights her exceptional dedication to both her academic pursuits and gender equality advocacy. Iwinosa is currently completing her PhD in Computer Engineering with the VIPR-GS research group with her advisor Dr. Richard Brooks. Well done, Iwinosa – your achievements continue to inspire!

According to Senior Member and Chair of IEEE Young Professionals (IEEE YP) Hasala Dharmawardena, there's no better time to be a young professional in a STEM Field. With a multitude of readily available digital resources and online learning opportunities, there are more ways than ever for STEM professionals to learn about the latest technologies and prepare for an impactful career. And, IEEE Young Professionals is there for support every step of the way, helping young technologists elevate their technical skills, hone soft skills, build professional networks and more. See how IEEE YP has helped Dharmawardena throughout his career journey on IEEE Transmitter: https://bit.ly/4aeU3aw

*Another Clemson win!* Members of the Clemson University IEEE Robotics Team took home the first place trophy in the student Hardware (Robotics) Competition at the 2024 SoutheastCon held during spring break in Atlanta. The team and their robot, Roar-e, competed through three rounds to finish in the top spot out of over 50 university teams from across the Southeast. The Clemson team last won the hardware competition in 2021.

This year’s competition theme was based around a futuristic scenario where an autonomous robot is needed to collect and deliver components to activate a protection system to defend Earth against an asteroid impact. The teams were tasked with designing and programming a robot no larger than a 12-inch cube that could navigate the obstacles of a designated playing field, retrieve and correctly deliver “supply packages” and “fuel tanks” to the appropriate areas, and finally push a system launch button.

The competition rules and theme were announced before the fall 2023 semester and were refined throughout the school year. The Clemson team worked on their robot the entire academic year as part of Creative Inquiry courses. The Clemson team was made up of:
Spring 2024
Miguel Alday – General Engineering
Foster Baldwin – Electrical Engineering
Marcelle Gregory - Computer Engineering
Carter Lee Mccauley – General Engineering
Cameron Nowell - Electrical Engineering
Ahmer Raza – Computer Science
Amanda Swearson - Electrical Engineering

Fall 2023
Connor Belli – Computer Engineering
Jeff Dale – Mechanical Engineering
Juan Paniagua - Mechanical Engineering
Alexander Perez – General Engineering
Rodney Stowe – Electrical Engineering

https://blogs.clemson.edu/electrical-and-computer-engineering/clemsons-ieee-robotics-team-wins-2024-southeastcon-hardware-competition/

Fatemeh Afghah, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, recently sat down with WYFF's Nigel Robertson to talk about the future of AI. Go to the link in the comments and scroll down to the second video to hear what she had to say.

Congratulations to Vishwas Powar on receiving the IEEE Region 3 Outstanding Young Professional Award!

Congratulations to Laxman Timilsina for successfully defending his PhD Dissertation!
He completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering and will be graduating in May. His dissertation was “Real-Time Degradation Abatement Framework for Energy Storage System in Automotive Application using Data-Driven Approaches”
After graduation, he will be continuing his academic journey as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the RT-COOL lab here at Clemson University.

The future of digital engineering and the importance of industry partnerships took center stage this week as more than 330 leaders from Clemson University, the U.S. Army DEVCOM and industry gathered in Greenville for two days of research presentations, demonstrations and panel discussions. The event was part of an annual review of the VIPR-GS Research Center, a partnership between Clemson and the DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center that is now in its fifth year. Check the link in the comments for more.

Help us congratulate Iwinosa Aideyan, who was one of 28 students nationwide awarded a Cadence 2023 Diversity in Technology Scholarship. Iwinosa is currently completing her PhD in Computer Engineering with the VIPR-GS research group. Way to go, Iwinosa!
For more about the scholarship program: https://community.cadence.com/cadence_blogs_8/b/corporate/posts/cadence-s-2023-diversity-in-technology-scholarship-awarded-to-28-students

A team of Clemson students collaborated to develop a potential game-changing app for organizing and communicating meeting times and events, making it easier for people to connect in the real world.

Transforming campus connections with an innovative student-developed app - The Overlap Success Story Successfully coordinating events and meetings demands a blend of patience and exceptional communication skills. Enter Overlap – a potential game-changer

We've got two jolts of great news to start this week! Johan Enslin, the Duke Energy Endowed Chair, is taking on not one but two pivotal roles that are helping position Clemson University as a powerhouse in energy innovation. Dr. Enslin recently started as an ARPA-E program director and as president-elect of IEEE's Power Electronics Society. Click the link in the comments to discover the future of energy at Clemson! ⚡🚀

Congratulations to the four Clemson University students who have received awards from the IEEE PES Scholarship Plus Initiative! Michael Walters won the most prestigious of the honors, the John W. Estey Outstanding Scholar Award. Walters is pictured below on the left with Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy. In addition to Walters, the three Clemson students who received PES Scholarships are Jacob Bittinger, Carson Crooke and Sam Langenfeld.

Rajendra Singh and a global committee of experts are exploring a shift from AC to DC power networks for a more efficient, sustainable future. 🔄 They plan to publish their findings in the June edition of IEEE Power & Energy Society Magazine.
Read more on their efforts: https://news.clemson.edu/clemson-university-professor-leads-global-effort-to-transform-power-grids/

⚡ Join Rajendra Singh and a global committee of experts as they work to transform electricity generation! 🌍 They're exploring a shift from AC to DC power networks for a more efficient, sustainable future. 🔄 They plan to publish their findings in the June edition of IEEE Power & Energy Society Magazine.

We are so proud to have Betty Holcombe as part of the Clemson and ECE family! Her impact on the university is undeniable, and we are thankful for all she has done for Clemson and our department. Congratulations on being named an Honorary Alumna, Betty!
https://alumni.clemson.edu/betty-holcombe-ha/

Congratulations to Betty Morgan Holcombe for being named an Honorary Alumna of Clemson! While Betty herself did not enroll at Clemson, her life was profoundly influenced by the university. She spent her childhood on the Clemson campus, as both of her parents, J. Robert and Bertha Evans Morgan, were employed by the institution. During her teenage years, Betty even took on summer positions at Clemson. As she approached time for college, Clemson was an all-male institution, so she pursued her English degree at Winthrop University, earning it in 1956. Later, in 1974, she obtained a master's degree in liberal arts from Southern Methodist University.

Betty's deep-seated belief in the value of education and lifelong learning led her to a career in teaching before starting her own family. She and her husband, Dr. Milton Holcombe ‘53, share a passion for supporting initiatives that directly benefit students, with a particular focus on Clemson. Together, the Holcombes made significant contributions to Clemson, including funding the first endowed chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1987 and establishing the Holcombe Scholars Program in 1997. They went on to endow the first named department at Clemson, the Milton W. Holcombe Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE). Most recently, Betty established the Robert and Bertha Morgan Family Scholarship Endowment to honor her parents.

Learn More about Betty's impact on Clemson: https://alumni.clemson.edu/betty-holcombe-ha/

How 'lifesaver' scholarships have helped keep one student's dreams alive Kossi Ekpe's journey underscores the impact that scholarships have on the hopes and dreams of hard-working students whose potential is sometimes undermined by the financial realities of paying for a high-quality education.

The ECE Senior Design Showcase for fall 2023 is a wrap! Our graduating seniors presented their capstone design projects to faculty, industry leaders, and fellow students, marking the culmination of their undergraduate ECE experience. These projects embody the essence of teamwork, encompassing the full spectrum of design, construction, and programming. A round of applause to all the teams for your diligent efforts and innovative designs!

Thanks to all who participated in the Fall 2023 ECE Scavenger Hunt, and congrats to our winning teams!
1st Place: Team Go Tigers! - Filip Broñola and Sarah Maxwell
2nd Place: Team AA - Antian Wang and Azadeh Gholamrezazadeh-Famili
3rd Place: Team Spoiled - Foster Baldwin, Emma Louise Bingham, and Colby Teal