IEEE-HKN Board of Governors

Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan is a globally renowned technologist best known for his technological innovations in addressing global humanitarian and sustainable development challenges. He is credited with launching impactful global programs in humanitarian engineering which successfully inspired and engaged students and young professionals in sustainable development activities globally. He is a seasoned technology and business leader with over 16 years of experience in Top 500 Fortune companies. Throughout his career, he has led  business critical strategic  global programs and successfully delivered cutting-edge technologies in areas of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Understanding, cloud computing, enterprise systems, infrastructure technologies, assistive and sustainable technologies. He served as an expert in the 2020 Broadband Commission working group on school connectivity co-chaired by UNESCO, UNICEF and ITU to drive “GIGA,” a Global School Connectivity Initiative. He is the founder and president of “The Brahmam,” a technology-based humanitarian program that delivers next-generation social innovations to achieve sustainable development through technological advancements and benefit marginalized communities globally. For over a decade, he has successfully launched large-scale transformational global initiatives that brought together academic institutions, industries and government agencies to address pressing global challenges faced in developing nations and improved the living conditions of children with disabilities, impoverished women and students from marginalized communities. He has delivered 250+ invited talks in international forums, premier technology conferences, industry panels organized by UN, IEEE, ITU, World IoT forum and Top universities around the globe. He has authored  and published 30+ research publications and thought leadership articles in leading global conferences, journals and magazines. His technological innovations and leadership excellence  were featured in cover stories of global media such as IEEE TV, IEEE spectrum, USA today, E-week, AI-news and IEEE transmitter, THE BRIDGE and ACM-News.

Dr. M. Ryan Bales is a Senior Research Engineer in the Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Lab (SEAL) at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). He specializes in FPGA and embedded system design, and real-time signal processing 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.

Dr. Bales is passionate about community and professional service. He has served as treasurer of the Atlanta IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society / Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society joint chapters 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. At GTRI, he represents SEAL on the GTRI Faculty Senate for the 2017-2020 term, acting as a liaison between over 220 SEAL research faculty and the Georgia Tech governing body. In 2018, he helped organize a petition to increase GTRI representation on the Georgia Tech Presidential Search Committee. He regularly volunteers in K-12 and collegiate STEM activities. Since 2006 he has served as a judge at more than 30 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.

James M. Conrad is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He has also worked at IBM, Ericsson/Sony Ericsson, and BPM Technology.  Dr. Conrad is a Professional Engineer, a Senior Member of the IEEE and a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).  He will serve as IEEE-HKN President in 2022.  He previously served on the IEEE Board of Directors as IEEE Region 3 Director in 2016-2017, and as IEEE-USA President in 2020.

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.

Jennifer Marley received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Renewable Electric Energy Systems from North Carolina State University in 2012. She earned the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering: Systems from the University of Michigan in 2014 and 2017, respectively. She joined the faculty of Valparaiso University as an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2017 and currently holds the Frederick F. Jenny, Jr. Professorship of Emerging Technology.

Jennifer first joined IEEE-HKN in 2010 as an undergraduate student inductee of the Beta Eta Chapter located at North Carolina State University. She now serves as the faculty advisor of the Mu Rho Chapter of Valparaiso University. She is the 2020 recipient of the IEEE-HKN C. Holmes MacDonald Outstanding Teaching Award and was selected “for excellence as a teacher, her contributions to the scholarship of teaching, and her mentoring of undergraduate research students.” She has been a member of IEEE and the IEEE Power and Energy Society since 2012. Since 2019, she has served on the board of the Calumet Section of IEEE in the following capacities: Student Activities Chair, Publicity Chair, and Secretary.

Christopher Sanderson is an Organizational Leadership Effectiveness coach and keynote speaker. He is an US Army Veteran with multiple Honorable Tours of Duty and numerous corporate and non-profit recognitions. During his time in the military, he lived by the motto “Mission First, People Always!” He is passionate about emboldening people to live and lead better in a better #VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) world. As a manager, consultant, speaker, coach and leadership facilitator, he is been fortunate to be a part of some amazing organizations in the military, corporations and non-profit teams from around the world in helping them make better decisions and even braver actions to amplify their impact. As the IEEE Region 5 South Area Chair and Houston Section Chair, he has been given the opportunity to support the future leaders that will be “Advancing Technology for Humanity” today and tomorrow.

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.

Hulya Kirkici is Professor and the Department Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of South Alabama. She received B.S. and M.S. in physics from Middle East Technical University (METU), Turkey; and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Polytechnic University (currently NYU), NY.  Previously, Dr. Kirkici was Professor of electrical and computer engineering at Auburn University (1992-2016), visiting scholar and Summer Faculty Fellow at the Air Force Research Laboratory – Wright Patterson Air Force Base, (2014-2015), and visiting scientist/engineer at NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL (1999-2000).

Dr. Kirkici is a Fellow of IEEE for “contributions to high frequency, high field dielectric breakdown and electrical insulation for space and aerospace power systems” and a recipient of the IEEE Eric O. Forster Distinguished Service Award and the IEEE William G. Dunbar Award (High Voltage Technical award).  Dr. Kirkici served as 2019 IEEE Vice President – Publications, IEEE Director and was a Member of the IEEE Board of Directors and the Chair of Publications Services and Products Board.  She was the President of IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society, the Vice President of IEEE Sensors Council (2014-2015), and Treasurer and Finance Chair of IEEE PSPB (2011-2014).

Dr. Meier is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Engineering from Iowa State University. His computer engineering specialty is Computer Architecture. Dr. Meier is a member of IEEE, IEEE-HKN, and the IEEE Computer, Education, and Professional Communications societies. He joined IEEE as a student and has a 30-year history of membership and service.

Dr. Meier grew up on a large farm in Nebraska and agricultural machines fascinated him. He loved examining and fixing tractor engines, augers, combines, automatic livestock feeders, and other equipment. He also like solving agriculture problems using tools and determination. In high school, the personal computer era dawned and fantastic new machines running software changed his world. These machines had parts hidden inside ceramic chips and magically used electricity to do cool things! The Apple II and TI-99/4a were simple compared to modern computers, but they became his platforms to explore automation and control using the BASIC and Pascal programming languages. He quickly discovered his passion for computing and enjoyed helping his classmates learn about how computer hardware and software work. By the end of high school, it was clear that a professional career in engineering and engineering education was his future. Dr. Meier enrolled as a first-generation college student and had an amazing freshman year because he got to learn Fortran – a language he stills writes programs in today.

As a professor at MSOE, he mentors future engineers in the areas of digital logic, computer architecture, digital electronics, and computer networking. He has a 29-year history of teaching excellence at the undergraduate and graduate levels. His teaching skills have been recognized with an Iowa State University Teaching Excellence Award, the Iowa State University Warren B. Boast Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence, and the MSOE Oscar Werwath Distinguished Teacher Award. His research interests include engineering education, embedded systems, evolvable hardware, and computer architecture. His NSF funded research explores how first year students develop computational thinking.

Sean Haynes graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, MA in 1991 with a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering. While at Northeastern University, Sean was inducted into the Gamma Beta Chapter of HKN and was Secretary of IEEE Student Chapter. As a Co-op Student Sean worked as a Software Tester and Software Developer for General Electric Automated Systems Department in Burlington, MA. After graduation Sean obtained a job with General Dynamics Electric Boat Division in Newport, RI as Systems Tester. In 1993, Sean started his Master’s Study at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth, MA. In 1994, Sean relocated to Charlottesville, VA to start a job with Avionics Specialties, Inc. working as Software Developer on embedded avionics software. Sean continued his Master’s study at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and graduated in 1996 with a Masters of Engineering in Electrical Engineering. In 1998, Sean started work at Litton Marine Systems, now Northrop Grumman. Sean has been employed with Northrop Grumman since 1998 and now works at Undersea Systems in Annapolis, MD. While in Charlottesville, Sean continued his active volunteer work in IEEE as Secretary/Treasurer and eventually Chair of the Central Virginia Section. He is program chair for the 2020 IEEE-HKN Experience.

I was born in 1996 in a small town near Turin (IT). My story began in high school, where I realized that I was passionate and curious about science and STEM. I did my first projects with Arduino and electronics became my passion and then also a life choice. In parallel I was studying music from a private teacher, and being able to see in action amplifiers, effects and various audio equipment had the only effect of increasing my curiosity.

I then moved to Turin to attend the faculty of engineering at the Politecnico di Torino in 2015. Here I enrolled in Electronics and Communications engineering. During these years I tried more and more to get involved and engaged, and for several years I was a member of the PolitOcean student team, which was involved in the design, fabrication and prototyping of remotely operated underwater vehicles.

During these years I also discovered HKN and the Mu Nu chapter which had just been founded. I participated in many of the activities that the chapter was doing during those years, and those activities were the ones that convinced me to join the chapter as soon as possible.

Once I completed my bachelor’s degree, I enrolled in a M.Sc. in Electronic Engineering with a focus on Devices and Integration for Electronics and Optoelectronics.

Here I realized that I am very intrigued by the world of devices and optoelectronics, becoming so passionate that I chose a Ph.D. on these arguments.

During my M.Sc., I joined HKN and my university’s Mu Nu chapter. Here, first of all I found a group of friends and here I was able to test myself and I realized how important it is to be part of an association like HKN.

It was a great surprise and a great pleasure for me to try different activities, organizing events and participating in HKN’s international events. In these activities I realized how much through this you can give to the local and international community. I have had the role of head of the tutoring and study groups area and I am currently the chapter’s corresponding secretary until this October.

Finally, I am currently a Ph.D. student at the Politecnico di Torino in the Microwave and Optoelectronic group. Here I have the opportunity to work and study on topics of my passions for electronics, but also to get in touch with a lot of professionals and discover that a lot of them are HKN members. This past year as corresponding secretary of my chapter has given me the impetus to want to do more for others, and I think HKN is the best opportunity for me to do that.

Elanor Jackson recently graduated with a BS in Computer Engineering (summa cum laude) from Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) in May 2022. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Computer Engineering at Missouri S&T as a GAANN Fellow. Inducted into the Gamma Theta Chapter of HKN in Spring 2020, she has served in a variety of chapter roles including two-terms as president. She received the chapter’s Advisors’ Leadership Award and the IEEE St. Louis Section Outstanding Undergraduate Award. As an undergraduate, she participated in a research exchange with the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, worked as a summer intern for Garmin, and conducted research on cybersecurity.

During her two years as an HKN member, she has served in multiple different capacities including the Chapter’s Recording Secretary, Vice President, and President.  As the Chapter’s Recording Secretary, she was responsible for maintaining our communication and social medias and conducted outreach to alumni.  While Vice President, she coordinated an Alumni Panel in association with the Academy of Electrical and Computer Engineering and pioneered a Recent Alumni Panel.  These experiences showed her how HKN can impact one’s career journey and inspired her to continue actively participating and encouraging others to join HKN.  Her tenure as President was marked by the return to campus and in-person activities post-COVID.  She successfully planned and hosted the Chapter’s annual Career Fair Banquet which yielded at least one full-time job offer and 3 internships for its attendees.

She revived many of the Chapter’s previous programs and added new ones including Company Talks, Lab Hours, and a partnership with the IEEE Student Branch.  During her tenure, she played a critical role in induct 23

undergraduates, 1 graduate, and 4 professional members. Her goal is to make HKN a home for everyone – an organization that is there to help those who might be struggling, to celebrate student accomplishments, to provide new opportunities, and to remain steadfast in our commitment to the community and to the campus through Scholarship, Character, and Attitude.