News Archive

Tech Students and Faculty Take to the Road for Spring Conferences

Throughout the month of April, students and faculty travelled the country to represent WVU Tech at conferences where they shared their work, entered student competitions and discussed political and educational issues.

The WVU Tech Chapter of the ASCE visited Lexington, Virginia, for the 2015 Virginias Conference while chemical engineering student Amy Haddix traveled to Arlington for an ASEE Transforming Undergraduate Education in Engineering workshop.

On April 10-12, a group of eight students travelled to Columbus, Ohio, for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Region 2 Student Activities Conference at The Ohio State University.

At the conference, WVU Tech’s Ethics team, which included electrical engineering majors Jenn Lyons and Kayla Hoff, faced off against multi-school teams to take home the first place title.

“I always encourage my students to participate in conferences and competitions that can broaden their vision about life and the field they are studying by meeting with new people, visiting new campuses and cities, and being exposed to new ideas and challenges,” said Dr. Kenan Hatipoglu, assistant professor in the WVU Tech Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and advisor to the IEEE WVU Tech student chapter.

Also in April, Dr. Andrea Kent, assistant professor of political science in the Department of Social Sciences, travelled to Washington, D.C. for the West Virginia Faculty and Course Development in International Studies (FACDIS) Scholar-Diplomat Program.

Dr. Kent joined six other faculty members from across West Virginia to meet with 10 scholars and political officials from around the world to discuss the implications of the United States’ deepening economic, military and diplomatic ties to the Pacific Rim region of Asia.

The following week, Dr. Kent attended the Midwest Political Science Association’s annual meeting in Chicago on April 16-19, where she presented a research paper and served on a panel discussing political mobilization and support for democracy.

Three hundred miles southeast of Chicago, a group of eight WVU Tech students and faculty gathered at the University of Cincinnati on April 17-18 for the 2015 American Society for Engineering Education North Central Section Conference. There, the group presented a total of ten research papers authored by more than 15 students and faculty members.

“These events are the perfect opportunity to present student and faculty work. For some of these students, this is their third or fourth conference and I can see how they have developed as they continue to present. They’re much more self-confident. This reflects in their employability and it’s good practice for them as they learn to communicate effectively,” said Dr. Farshid Zabihian, assistant professor in the WVU Tech Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Students Joel Kouakou, Raul Torres, Sebastian Cousin, and Aaron Paynter attended the conference with faculty members Dr. Yogendra Panta, Dr. Kenan Hatipoglu, Dr. Farshid Zabihian and Dr. Tigra Yang.