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Senior Guangxi Wang (Shanghai, China) presented a paper that took third place, topping all but two submitted by Ph.D. students, at the 2003 Sarnoff Symposium on Advances in Wired and Wireless Communications March 11-12 at The College of New Jersey. He was one of only two undergraduate students among the presenters.
Organized by the Princeton section of the Society of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the symposium brings together professionals and industry experts to exchange information on the latest developments in the field of wired and wireless telecommunications. The conference includes an exhibition of components, technologies, systems, and services. This year’s convention also featured a half-day of tutorials.
Wang’s research as an EXCEL Scholar with William Jemison ’85, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, served as the basis for his presentation (see related story). In Lafayette’s EXCEL Scholars program, students work closely with faculty on research while earning a stipend.
Their project, funded by a $124,253 National Science Foundation grant, uses microwave/photonic components to explore the unique designs of transmitter and receiver architectures for wireless communication. His presentation at the Sarnoff Symposium focused on the development of a software system that would simulate microwave/photonic components and assist with the development of corresponding hardware systems.
“Dr. Jemison gave me many suggestions on how to prepare a summary paper for professional conferences, and he provided tips on how to get my presentation flowing,” says Wang, an electrical and computer engineering major. “He has been my research adviser for the past three years, and I’ve had wonderful experiences working on projects with him.”
Wang and Jemison co-authored another paper on their research that will be presented June 8-13 at the 2003 Microwave Symposium in Philadelphia.
Jemison has over ten years of government and industrial research and development experience with the Naval Air Warfare Center, Lockheed Martin Corp., and Orbit/FR, Inc. He is a senior member of IEEE and has authored or co-authored more than 45 publications. He has received multiple Lehigh Valley Section IEEE Outstanding Adviser awards for his work with the IEEE student branch at Lafayette.
Wang is also conducting an intensive research study this semester on analog integrated circuit design under the guidance of David Rich, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. In another project, he assisted Jemison with research on the biomedical applications of microwave-enhanced liposuction. The study addressed the design and analysis of antennas used for such procedures as deep-seated brain tumor removal and heart surgery. The researchers analyzed MEL biological antenna designs and proposed improvements. Wang developed computer-simulated antenna models, ran simulations, and collected data.
Wang explains that members of both the engineering and math departments have helped him learn, grow, and succeed during his time at Lafayette.
“Without their hard work and valuable advice, none of my achievements would have been possible,” he says.
“When I came to Lafayette, I wanted to not only excel in academics, but involve myself in campus activities,” adds Wang. “My goal was to grow as a person and learn more about American culture. In the past four years, I have found more opportunities than I expected. The close interaction with faculty members is what has impressed me the most.”
Wang, who has been accepted into an electrical engineering program at California Institute of Technology, says the Gateway program provided by Lafayette’s Career Services enabled him to meet with his adviser to discuss career plans, curriculum vitae and cover letter intricacies, and graduate school requirements. He will study and research radio frequency and microwave circuits at CalTech.
Wang was one of only three students internationally last year to receive a Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Undergraduate Scholarship from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (see related story). He was the third Lafayette student to receive the scholarship in three years. The grants are given to outstanding students to encourage them to pursue careers in microwave engineering. He received a $1,200 scholarship and an additional $1,000 to fund travel to an IEEE conference. He was also awarded a $1,000 2001-2002 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Undergraduate Scholarship.
Wang was a member of a three-student Lafayette team that placed in the top echelon of this year’s 62nd William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, called “the world’s toughest math test” by Time magazine (see related story). Lafayette finished No. 54, placing in the top 12 percent of the 453 participating institutions from the United States and Canada. Wang tied for 414th place, putting him among the top 14 percent of the 2,954 individual competitors. The prior year, Wang and his Lafayette teammates finished 40th in the contest, placing in the top ten percent, with Wang’s individual performance putting him among the top 11 percent of individual competitors. In the 60th Annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, he was among five Lafayette students placing in the top 25 percent of competitors.
In 2001, Wang and two other Lafayette students placed in the top 14 percent of participating teams and earned the second-highest rating in the 17th annual international Mathematical Contest in Modeling, sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (see related story). He was also part of a team that took first place in Lafayette’s Barge Mathematics Competition, earning a $600 prize. In the Barge competition, teams of three to five students solve one math problem each week for eight weeks.
Wang has been a member of Lafayette’s McKelvy House Scholars Program, in which about 20 students of high academic achievement and promise reside together in a historic off-campus house and participate in shared intellectual and social activities. He is a recipient of Lafayette’s Eugene P. Chase Phi Beta Kappa Prize, awarded to a sophomore who has demonstrated scholarship as a first-year student, and the Finley W. and Ethelwyn H. Smith Electronic Engineering Prize,
A member of Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical engineering honor society, Wang belongs to Lafayette’s student chapter of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Physics and German Clubs, and International Students Association. He has volunteered through Lafayette’s Landis Community Outreach Center, served as a tutor, and won a student chess tournament. Wang also won two Lafayette intramural badminton championships and the 2001 Penn State Badminton Open.