IEEE-HKN Board of Governors

I completed my BS (95) and MS (97) in electrical engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T), where I was inducted into the Gamma Theta Chapter.  I was active in the Chapter, including serving a term as president.  I was also an officer in the student branch of IEEE, and was named IEEE UMR Student Branch Outstanding Member for 1994-1995.  During my masters, I also served as secretary for the Optical Society of Greater St. Louis.  I completed my PhD (04) in optics at the University of Rochester.

From 2003-2009, I was an Assistant Professor of Physics at Adelphi University (Long Island, NY), and since 2009 have been an Associate Professor.    During that time, I was awarded a patent for an optical lithography process and have numerous publications and professional presentations.  More importantly to me, in the past 20 years, I have mentored the research of 55 undergraduates, including 29 from unrepresented groups in physics and engineering.  I was awarded the 2013 Adelphi University Tenured Teaching Excellence Award, and the 2022 David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching from the American Association of Physics Teachers, the top national prize for undergraduate physics teaching.

From 2010-2014, I served on the National Council of the Society of Physics Students.  From 2014-2015, I served as Director of the Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma (the physics honor society) at the American Institute of Physics.  I was elected into the Academy of Electrical & Computer Engineering of the Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2016.  I served as IEEE-HKN Regions 1 & 2 Governor for 2018-2019, and served as the chair of the IEEE-HKN Faculty Advisor Committee from 2018-2020, during which time I helped lead the effort in which resources to aid Chapter advisors were created and others greatly revised.  I was awarded Senior Member status in IEEE in 2020.  For the past two years, I have served on the Editorial Board of IEEE-HKN The Bridge, and have served as guest editor on two issues.

Jim Jefferies is a retired AT&T and Lucent Technologies executive who in 33 years rose from manufacturing engineer to vice president. He was responsible for teams that transferred glass technology from Bell Telephone Laboratories and developed fiber optic cables for AT&T. He also served as logistics vice president, responsible for worldwide supply chains, Quality Assurance, and export planning. He has led teams in major technology transfers, transitions of information technology, and organizational change. More recently, he teamed with fellow Stanford Business School graduates in an entrepreneur venture in San Francisco and served as Chief Operating Officer. . He was 2015 President of IEEE-USA supporting globalization of its policy initiatives and served as 2018 IEEE President and CEO.

He received his BSEE from the University of Nebraska and an MS in Engineering Science from Clarkson University and is a licensed professional engineer (Emeritus).  He attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business as a Sloan Fellow earning an MS in Management.

Dr. M. Ryan Bales is a Principal Research Engineer in the Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Lab (SEAL) at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). He serves as Chief Scientist of the Sensor Systems Engineering Division, and specializes in FPGA and embedded system design for electronic warfare applications. His work has been the subject of 19 scholarly refereed publications, and he is an IEEE Senior Member and a professional engineer licensed in the state of Georgia.  He received the 2019 GTRI Award for Outstanding Performance in Research and Development.

Dr. Bales is passionate about community and professional service. He has served as an officer of the Atlanta IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society / Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society joint chapter since 2013, and is engaged with the leadership of the Atlanta Section. He is a member of the Association of Old Crows, Eta Kappa Nu, and the Order of the Engineer. He was a very active member of the Gamma Theta chapter of Eta Kappa Nu for four years as an undergraduate and graduate student. He received the Gamma Theta Advisor’s Leadership Award and the Founder’s Award for Service for his work in these roles. He continues involvement with HKN today, having served on the Professional Membership Committee since 2017, as Governor-at-Large from 2020-2022, and as the 2022 chair of the Graduate and Professional Activities Committee. He regularly volunteers in K-12 and collegiate STEM activities. Since 2006 he has served as a judge at more than 40 local, regional, and state science fairs in three states. Dr. Bales is certified by the state of Georgia to test and report water quality in Georgia watersheds, and collects data on the Etowah River.

Dr. Bales received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering as an Honors Academy Fellow in 2004 and his Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 2006, both from the University of Missouri – Rolla. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2011.

Denise was inducted into IEEE-HKN in 2018 as a professional member of the Epsilon Delta Chapter at Tufts University.  She will be the Chair of the HKN Pathways to Industry event being held in early 2023.  She has been a member of IEEE since 1987, serving as Chair at Tufts University and then professionally in the Boston Section where she currently serves as Section Chair.  For 10 years she was the IEEE Liaison to Engineers Week New England, partnering with non-profits and companies to run a yearly event during Engineers Week.  Her role was to run the Career Fair, recruiting companies and showing them on the value of partnering with IEEE.

Melody Elliott Richardson is a distinguished leader in the IEEE community, renowned for her dedication to education and outreach. She is the founder and coordinator of STEM on the MOVE, a segment of IEEE’s MOVE Community Outreach program. Melody has developed engaging educational materials, including a custom STEM adventure book for children aged 5-11, which has been shared with over 10,000 students globally.

Melody is also actively involved in university activities, where she collaborates with academic institutions to promote industry engagement and professional development for university students. Her efforts include mentoring university students, organizing workshops, and facilitating industry-academia partnerships. She is committed to equipping students with essential skills in networking, resume writing, and interview preparation, ensuring they are well-prepared for their professional careers.

Her innovative approach and commitment to inspiring young minds have made a significant impact on pre-university and university education. Melody’s contributions continue to shape the future of education and foster a love for learning in students worldwide.

Colleen Bailey is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of North Texas and the PI of the Optimization, Signal Processing, and Control Algorithm Research Lab (O.S.C.A.R.). She received her PhD and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Buffalo in 2017 and 2012, respectively, after earning her BS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2010. Her area of research focuses on efficient and accurate machine learning algorithm design from the perspective of traditional optimization, signal processing, and control. She is an IEEE Senior Member.

Colleen is currently serving as the chair of the IEEE Fort Worth Section and the IEEE Fort Worth Computational Intelligence Society. She is an IEEE STEM Champion and an IEEE VoLT graduate. She also serves as the IEEE UNT Student Branch Counselor and IEEE-HKN Lambda Zeta Chapter Advisor. Colleen is the recipient of the 2019 and 2023 IEEE R5 Outstanding Branch Counselor Award as well as the 2022 UNT Advisor of the Year Eagle Award. She is the 2023 recipient of the UNT College of Engineering Faculty Teaching Award.

Supavadee Aramvith received the B.S. (first class honors) degree in Computer Science from Mahidol University in 1993. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, in 1996 and 2001, respectively. She joined Chulalongkorn University in June 2001. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, specializing in Video Technology. She has successfully advised 11 Ph.D., 27 Master’s, and 36 Bachelor’s Graduates. She published over 140 papers in International Conference Proceedings and Journals with 5 International Book Chapters. She has rich project management experiences as the project leader and former technical committee chair to the Thailand Government bodies in Telecommunications and ICT. She is very active in the international arena with leadership positions in the international network such as JICA Project for AUN/SEED-Net, and professional organizations such as IEEE, IEICE, APSIPA, and ITU.

She has successfully spearheaded and delivered high impactful member engagement and global and regional initiatives on various IEEE boards and committees. She has gained strong expertise and experience managing global and regional IEEE programs. The accomplishments have been proved by themselves as to the contributions, countless volunteer services, and consecutive appointments into IEEE leadership roles, including five years as an IEEE EAB member (2015, 2018-2021), eight years as IEEE Region 10 Executive Committee (2011-2016, 2019-2020), and three years as IEEE Consumer Technology Society BOG member (2019-2021).  In EAB, she served as a Pre-University Education Coordination Committee Chair, Section Education Outreach Committee Chair, Awards & Recognition Committee, and MGA representative.   She was inducted as an HKN professional member in 2015 and a faculty advisor of the Mu Theta Chapter at Chulalongkorn University.  The chapter won the HKN outstanding chapter award in 2016.  She served HKN Globalization Committee from 2016-2017.

Amy Jones graduated from Missouri University of Science & Technology in 2003 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and minors in Business, Mathematics, and Psychology of Leadership. She received her Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 2014 and a certificate in Systems Design and Management from MIT in 2018.

Amy began her career as a Project Engineer at Sachs Electric Company in St. Louis, where she was responsible for the successful execution of over large scale industrial and commercial construction projects. In 2010, Amy joined John Deere full-time as a Software Verification and Validation Engineer in the Construction and Forestry Division, where she had previously completed three internships as an undergraduate.  As a test engineer, she received recognition for leading the first team to successfully implement the complete embedded software development process on a construction product line. In 2014, Amy accepted a position as Senior Systems Engineer for the Excavators Outside the Americas product line. In this role, she supervised and led a global team to define, develop, and implement electrical systems that meet the needs of a diverse customer base. Her team was widely recognized for innovation and execution, delivering eleven models to production in four years. Amy holds eight patents and received an enterprise collaboration award for her work on excavators. In 2020, Amy became the supervisor of the Operator Station Systems and Module team, where she was responsible for supporting factory production of cabs as well as leading new development of common components and systems for the Construction division. Currently, Amy is the Display Product Manager, where she leads strategic portfolio development for display platforms.

John D. McDonald, P.E., is Founder & CEO of JDM Associates, LLC. John has 50 years of experience in the electric utility transmission and distribution industry. John received his B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. (Power Engineering) degrees from Purdue University, and an M.B.A. (Finance) degree from the University of
California-Berkeley. John is a Life Fellow of IEEE (member for 53 years), member of IEEE-HKN (inducted 53 years ago) and Tau Beta Pi (inducted 51 years ago), member of the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity, and was awarded the
IEEE Millennium Medal, the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Excellence in Power Distribution Engineering Award, the IEEE PES Substations Committee Distinguished Service Award, the IEEE PES Meritorious Service Award, the 2016 CIGRE Distinguished Member Award, the 2016 CIGRE USNC Attwood Associate Award, the 2021 CIGRE Honorary Member Award and the Smart Energy Consumer
Collaborative (SECC) Lifetime Achievement Award. John is Past President of the IEEE PES, the VP for Technical Activities for the US National Committee
(USNC) of CIGRE, the Past Chair of the IEEE PES Substations Committee, the IEEE Division VII Past Director, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. John was on the Board of Governors of the IEEE-SA (Standards Association); is an IEEE Foundation Director, Chair of its 50 th Anniversary
Celebration Committee, and Vice President of its Development Committee; and is a Founding Board Member of the SECC. John received the 2009 Purdue University Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineer Award and the 2023 Purdue University Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. John teaches Smart Grid courses at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Smart Grid courses for various IEEE PES local chapters as an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer (since 1999). John has published one hundred fifty papers and articles, has co-authored five books and has one US patent.

Kathy Hayashi has been involved in the semiconductor industry her entire career — developing, deploying, and analyzing advanced software tools used to create computer and mobile phone chips. She has led teams in semiconductor EDA software development for Unisys, Cadence Design Systems and Syntricity, a local startup. She is now at Qualcomm, working with semiconductor workflows in large-scale compute environments. She is currently the IEEE Director of Region 6 (Western Region of the United States) and a member of the IEEE Board of Directors. She is a senior member of IEEE and IEEE-HKN.

Kathy has supported the IEEE-HKN Student Leadership Summit for several years both as an individual and an industry sponsor. She has hosted IEEE-HKN alumni events with industry, been a judge at local university HKN hackathon events and always enjoys attending and congratulating new members at IEEE-HKN induction ceremonies. As a Region 6 Director, she has also worked to inform and engage the region members about the value and importance of IEEE-HKN.

Over the years, Kathy has won many awards including 2023 Qualcomm Global Above and Beyond Award recognizing philanthropy and community service to support society initiatives with impactful outcomes, 2021 Women of Influence in Engineering– San Diego Business Journal and 2019 IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Innovation Award for outstanding innovation and leadership.

Sorel Reisman is Professor Emeritus of Information Systems and Decision Science at California State University, Fullerton. His career has blended academia and industry, largely with a focus on educational technology.  Before transitioning to academia, his industry experience included management and executive positions at IBM Canada, IBM USA, Toshiba America, and the British multinational EMI.  He served as Managing Director, overseeing the development of the digital library system, MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) at the California State University Office of the Chancellor.  His work with MERLOT has significantly influenced how educational resources are shared and accessed globally, benefiting countless students and educators.

Dr. Reisman has been actively involved in many IEEE initiatives. He served as the 2011 President of the IEEE Computer Society, and. his contributions have been widely recognized with many prestigious awards, including the IEEE Computer Society’s Outstanding Contribution Award and the Richard E. Merwin Award for Distinguished Service. He was elected an IEEE Fellow for his contributions to computing education and digital learning technologies. He has been an IEEE Education Society governing board member and is currently the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) representative to the IEEE Education Activities Board.  Reisman has served multiple terms on the IEEE Publications Board and on the editorial boards of IEEE Software, IEEE Multimedia, and ITPro magazine, and is currently co-editor of the Education Department in the Computer Society’s IEEE Computer Magazine.  Since 2015, Dr. Reisman has been the Standing Committee Chair of the Computer Society’s signature Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC).

Dr. Reisman is internationally known for his numerous publications and keynote speeches as a strong advocate for open educational resources and technology-enhanced learning.  He has been a vocal advocate for improving STEM education through technology, and as a Fulbright Open Education Resource Specialist, he has further advanced the cause of open education and technology-enhanced learning internationally.  More recently, he has focused his attention and writing on AI in K-College education

Dr. Reisman holds a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Computer Applications to Education, all from the University of Toronto.

Serena’s journey with IEEE-HKN Mu Nu Chapter began with her role as Head of the Communication Committee from 2022 to 2023. During this period, her engaging character and charismatic personality enabled her to revitalize the chapter’s brand identity and foster diplomatic exchanges with professionals and administrative offices. Her efforts elevated the chapter’s prestige on campus, attracting new members and increasing overall interest in the organization.

In 2023, Serena was elected President of the Mu Nu Chapter, where her visionary leadership and commitment to philanthropy brought about remarkable achievements. Serena’s leadership was instrumental in organizing the chapter’s first institutional open day, securing funding, and establishing an office to support the chapter and other student organizations.

Serena’s dedication to the chapter extended beyond campus boundaries. She spearheaded efforts to increase funding from the Polytechnic to support events and expanded collaborations with major European tech companies and startups, such as NXP Semiconductors. These partnerships provided members with valuable opportunities for internships, thesis projects, and career advancement.

Her initiatives also included launching a mentoring program that connected alumni with current engineering students, fostering a network of professionals committed to guiding the next generation of socially conscious engineers and leaders. Serena’s efforts culminated in proposing and taking part in the organization of the first international hackathon at the Student Leadership Conference (SLC), where she represented her chapter in Houston, Texas, in November 2023.

Serena’s academic achievements complement her leadership roles. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin, where she ranks in the top 1% of her class. Notably, she developed a VR exposure therapy application in collaboration with the Department of Psychology to aid patients with social anxiety phobia.

Serena also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin, graduating in the top 5% of her class. Her academic journey began at Liceo Classico Massimo D’Azeglio, where she excelled in classical studies, graduating with a final grade ranking in the top 3% of students.

She was selected on a merit basis as a teaching tutor at the Polytechnic of Turin, where she assisted students in the Computer Architecture course, helping them navigate laboratory sessions. She also worked as a private tutor, supporting high school students in Mathematics, Physics, Ancient Greek, Latin, and English.

Serena’s language skills include native proficiency in Italian, fluency in English (Cambridge English Certificate of Proficiency, Level C2), and basic knowledge of French and German.

Her honors and awards reflect her academic and extracurricular excellence. Serena has been an inducted member of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (Mu Nu Chapter) since December 2022 and is a member of IEEE-Young Professionals, IEEE-Women in Engineering, and IEEE-EMBS Biomedical Engineering. She achieved first place for Piedmont in the regional phase of the Olympics of Classical Languages and Civilizations, issued by the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit in March 2019. Additionally, she won the Meritorious High School Students Initiative by the Italian Physical Society (SIF) in 2019-2020.

Serena’s determination, thirst for knowledge, and self-discipline drive her to apply her engineering expertise for societal benefit. Her passion for leadership and her ability to build consensus are evident in her successful tenure at the Mu Nu Chapter.

My name is Logan M. Wilcox, and I am a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) with an anticipated graduation date of May 2027. Additionally, I am also pursuing a graduate certificate in Explosives Engineering, with an anticipated completion date of May 2025. In May 2020, I received a B.S. in computer engineering from Missouri S&T and worked for 9 months as an associate engineer at Tech Electronics in St. Louis, MO. I was originally meant to commission into the U.S. Air Force, but COVID complicated the process and thus I ended up working at Tech Electronics and now at Missouri S&T pursing my Ph.D. An overview of my most recent work can be seen in the May 2024 issue of the BRIDGE in the graduate research spotlight section. I bring the following experience as a candidate for IEEE-HKN Student Governor:

Treasurer for the Gamma Theta chapter of IEEE-HKN
Graduate Student and Young Professional Member of IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement (IEEE I&M) and IEEE Antennas and Propagation Societies (IEEE APS)
Student Member of American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT)
Member of the technical committee of Nondestructive Testing and Industrial Inspection (TC-01 NDE&II) within IMS
Executive Board member of multiple successful organizations:
Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp) – President, V.P. of Risk Management, V.P. of Programming, House Manager
Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) – Wing Commander, Recruitment, Squadron Commander

My professional involvement in recent years has been focused on societies with IEEE and mentoring within my local community. As mentioned above, I hold the treasurer position at Gamma Theta and this position allowed me the opportunity to ensure chapter success (financially) while also providing mentorship to other officers. At Gamma Theta, I have also participated and assisted in our department picnic, networking sessions, and other opportunities. At Missouri S&T, I also mentor my local SigEp chapter where I was previously the chapter counselor and am currently the chapter advisor. This position allows me to remain connected to the organization that significantly influenced my undergraduate career, while also steering the next generation in a healthy and successful direction. I give talks and lead discussions over time management, healthy coping mechanisms, and study habits. Additionally, during my volunteer endeavors within SigEp, I lead an initiative on recruiting younger (i.e., recently graduated) alumni to the alumni corps. I was tasked with this initiative as I had multiple instances of success recruiting recently graduate members to engage with local organizations within SigEp and AFROTC. Within SigEp, young alumni were brought in to share their experiences, job opportunities, life lessons after graduation, and more. Through these connections, SigEp saw an increase in internships and job opportunities as well as overall general preparedness for life after graduation. Within AFROTC, I oversaw the successful implementation of our networking program that allowed for up-and-coming officers to engage with individuals from the enlisted, officer, and contractor sides of the military.

Academically, I am an author of 14 conference proceedings or presentations (10 as first author) and 5 journal articles that are published, accepted, or under review (4 as first author). I have received the Kummer Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship, IEEE I&M Graduate Fellowship, and student travel grants from IEEE I&M and ASNT to attend their respective conferences. Additionally, I am reviewer for multiple technical journals (including IEEE Open Journal on Instrumentation and Measurement and IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society Letters).