Clark School Commencement Honors ECE Graduates

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Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) students were honored at a ceremony for graduates of the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland’s Cole Field House on Sunday, May 22, 2005.

Commencement speaker Dr. Hratch Semerjian, acting director of the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), warned graduates that the world of engineering is very competitive, but that it is up to them to keep the U.S. at the forefront of innovation.

"Innovation will be the single most important factor in determining the U.S.'s success in the 21st century," Dr. Semerjian told the assembled graduates. "We need to focus the country back on science and technology."

Dr. K.J. Ray Liu, professor of electrical and computer engineering, received the Pool & Kent Teaching Award for Senior Faculty.

In the 2005 class, there were 120 students graduating with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and 46 graduating with a B.S. in Computer Engineering. The GPA ranges this year for Latin honors were 4.0 – 3.968 for Summa honors, 3.967 – 3.897 for Magna honors, and 3.896 – 3.796 for Cum Laude honors. Three B.S. graduates in Computer Engineering received Departmental Honors—Rishi Kumar Gupta, Allen Joseph Hazelton, Jr., and Divya Jhalani—and eight B.S. graduates received Departmental Honors in Electrical Engineering: Calvin Ho-Yin Cheung, Hirsh Reid Goldberg, Boris Kilimnik, Tony Li, Marshal Miller, Sathya Ramaseshan, Dan Vlacich, and Qin Zou.

There were forty-one students graduating with an M.S. in Electrical Engineering, twenty-one graduating with an M.S. in Telecommunications, and ten graduating with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering.

ECE 2005 graduates are moving on to exciting new career positions and graduate programs, including the following featured students (see below).

Also visit: Commencement Photo Gallery | Commencement Photos Quicktime Slideshow

ECE 2005 Featured Graduates:

B.S. Graduates:

Dan Vlacich

As an ECE student, Dan has participated in three undergraduate research experiences, the QUEST Program, and the Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu honors societies. He also interned for several companies, including Nextel Communications and Sprint Communications.

Dan will attend the University of Maryland in the fall for graduate school, pursuing a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He will also work full-time as a consultant for Booz, Allen, Hamilton, focusing on intelligence systems.

”I think the broad experience base I have gained at Maryland has given me the skills I will need at my new job, and in graduate school. Top employers visit Maryland because our ECE department is one of the best programs in the nation, and I wouldn’t have had this job opportunity if it were not for our good reputation with employers.”

Tony Li

As an ECE student, Tony participated in the REU and MERIT research internship programs and taught ENEE 204 discussion classes as an Undergraduate Teaching Fellow for three semesters. He also received the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Tony will attend graduate school in the fall to study electrical engineering at Stanford University.

”Eventually, I hope to start my own business, and ECE has helped me by giving me the essential technical skills as well as the opportunity to teach and do research.”

Divya Jhalani

Divya earned her B.S. in Computer Engineering. She recently received the International Engineering Consortium’s (IRC) William L. Everitt Student Award of Excellence.

Divya has been an accomplished student in the ECE Honors program. She participated in the summer 2004 MERIT research program, where she studied automated face recognition with Dr. Rama Chellappa. She also did research under Dr. Bruce Jacob. She will attend the University of Wisconsin this fall for graduate study.


Ph.D. Graduates:

Wen-Hsien Chuang

During his Ph.D. study, Wen-Hien has been involved in a research project collaborating with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to develop the first MEMS device that will be used in the James Webb Space Telescope in outer space.

”This topic is challenging since I am the first person trying to understand electrical/mechanical/reliability properties of micro-/nano-scale thin film materials at cryogenic temperatures,” explains Wen-Hsien.

The device will be launched in 2011. Wen-Hsien says that when he hears about the James Webb Space Telescope in the future, it will remind him of the contributions he made to the development of the telescope device. In the meantime, Wen-Hsien will be busy at his new job with Intel.

”I got two offers from industry and two offers for faculty positions,” says Wen-Hsien. “This means that both industrial and academic [organizations] like students from our ECE department. I chose Intel as my next career because I want to gain some industrial experience after being in the academic field as a student for a long time.”

Published May 23, 2005