CLEMSON – Outstanding graduate students were recognized at this spring’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Student Achievement Award Ceremony. Graduate students Ryan Bell, Kaitlyn Morgan, and Surya Sharma received Harris Awards, department-wide awards which have been given each year for the past 32 years in recognition of outstanding accomplishment in the preceding year by a current Clemson graduate student in the areas of laboratory teaching, research, and service.
L-R: Surya Sharma, Ryan Bell, Kaitlyn Morgan
Ryan Bell received the Harris Award for the Outstanding Graduate Laboratory Teaching Assistant in 2016 based on evaluations by undergraduates enrolled in ECE laboratory courses and assessment by the faculty supervisors of the laboratories.
Ryan completed his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at Clemson in 2015, and is currently pursuing the MS degree in electrical engineering with an emphasis in Electronics under the direction of Prof. Rod Harrell.
In the spring and fall semesters of 2016, Ryan served as the laboratory teaching assistant for ECE 2110, Electrical Engineering Lab I, which is taken by all ECE undergraduate students. Ryan’s exemplary performance as an instructor for the lab was noted in faculty assessments of his teaching and his responsiveness to students through the course management system.
ECE Graduate Coordinator Dr. Harlan Russell, Ryan Bell, ECE Lab Coordinator Dr. Apoorva Kapadia
Student evaluations of his lab sections are continually positive, noting his mastery of the subject matter, ability to make the concepts understandable, and his willingness to make himself available when students need further help. Ryan is currently serving as a teaching assistant for ECE 2120 for the Spring 2017 semester.
Kaitlyn Morgan received the Harris Award for the Outstanding Graduate Researcher in 2016 based on the recommendation of a faculty member and evaluation by a committee of ECE faculty, which found her record of research productivity and scholarship outstanding.
Dr. Dan Noneaker, Dr. Eric Johnson, Kaitlyn Morgan, Dr. Harlan Russell
Kaitlyn is a PhD student in in electrical engineering, focusing on photonics and optoelectronics for communications and sending applications, under the direction of her adviser, Prof. Eric Johnson. Her research addresses maritime sensing and optical communications links for underwater sensing and communications. Related to her research area, she was awarded a Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program, and has interned at a naval lab for the past two summers.
She has 14 publications, including 3 journal articles, which have appeared in Optics Express, Applied Optics, and the Journal of Optics. Her paper titled “Free space propagation of concentric vortices through underwater turbid environments,” was selected as a Journal of Optics Highlight of 2016.
Dr. Dan Noneaker, Surya Sharma, Dr. Harlan Russell
Surya Sharma received the Harris Award for Outstanding Graduate Service, a new award first given this year. The recipient of the award is determined based on service to the department and the university as a member of the Graduate Student community.
Surya has been an effective advocate for all ECE graduate students, serving as a Student Senator for computer engineering since 2012 and leading the foundation of the ECE Graduate Student Association. He served as President of the Indian Student Association for 2015-2016, through which he negotiated agreements with several campus units to ease the transition into campus life for new international students, and continues to serve as a mentor to international students in that transition.
Since serving as a Graduate Teacher of Record for ECE 2070, our service course to other majors, in 2014-2015, he has volunteered his time to mentor graduate students who are new to the role of GTR for the course. He oversaw the ECE undergraduate IEEE Robotics Team for three years and has continued to provide advice to the current Team leadership. He has been an energetic advocate for graduate education to our undergraduate students.
Surya has also made great contributions to ECE outreach to K-12 students, participating in with EMAG!NE STEM outreach program of our College, working for two summers with the We Do Math! camp for 9th-grade and 10th-grade girls, assisting Duke Energy engineers in early-stage planning of a new STEM program for middle-school students, and helping with the design of lego-based UAVs for outreach to Clemson-area schools.
Since their inception, the Harris Awards have been accompanied by a monetary stipend, which is provided by the generosity of Harris Corp. The Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering appreciates the support and encouragement that Harris and its employees provide to our department and our students.
