PISCATAWAY NJ – 5 DECEMBER 2025 – IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN) is excited to announce that the IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN) Board of Governors elected six new members at its last meeting held on 11 November 2025. The new governors’ terms will begin on January 1, 2026.
Jim Jefferies, Beta Psi Chapter, will be serving as the 2026 President.
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 2018 IEEE President and CEO and 2015 President of IEEE-USA supporting globalization of its policy initiatives.
Dr. Marcus Huggins, Gamma Theta Chapter, will be serving as the 2026 President Elect. He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, along with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri University of Science & Technology). With over 25 years of experience in the STEM field, Dr. Huggans has worked with several major organizations, including 3M Company, AT&T Bell Laboratories, the U.S. Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Texas Instruments Inc. In 2006, he joined the National GEM Consortium, initially as a Senior Recruiter and Programs Specialist. Today, he serves as GEM’s Executive Director of Client Relations, where he leads national recruitment efforts and designs graduate-level programming to inspire students to pursue advanced degrees in STEM. He has served as Finance Chair for IEEE-ITSC and has been appointed to the IEEE-HKN Editorial Committee and Board of Governors as Secretary.
Dr. Sean Bentley, Gamma Theta Chapter, will serve as the Past President. Dr. Bentley currently is an Associate Professor of Physics at Adelphi University. He has previously served IEEE-HKN as the President in 2025, the Regions 1 & 2 Governor in 2018-2019 and the HKN Faculty Advisor Committee from 2018-2020. He is currently a member of THE BRIDGE magazine Editorial Board. His outstanding teaching contributions have been recognized by the American Association of Physics Teachers who awarded him with the David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching in 2022 as well by Adelphi University where he was awarded the Tenured Teaching Excellence Award in 2013.
Dr. Ashanthi Maxworth, Theta Zeta Chapter, will serve as the Region 1-2 Governor for a three-year term. She is currently an associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern Maine. She received her Masters in 2014 and PhD in 2017 in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado Denver where she helped to revive the Theta Zeta Chapter after being dormant for 20 years. She has been involved with IEEE since her graduate studies in Denver and holding volunteer positions with the IEEE Maine Section, as the secretary, interim chair, vice chair and currently as the section chair. In addition, currently she is the interim student activities committee representative for the IEEE Region 1.
Matteo Alasio, Mu Nu Chapter, has been elected as the Region 7-10 Governor for a three-year term. Matteo is a researcher in photonics and semiconductor device modeling at Politecnico di Torino, Italy. He currently serves as a Research Assistant and Adjunct Professor, where he follows research projects on optoelectronic devices and contributes to both undergraduate and graduate teaching. His work bridges numerical simulation, physical modeling, and experimental validation of optoelectronic devices and advanced semiconductor technologies. He received his B.Sc. in Electronic and Communications Engineering and his M.Sc. in Electronic Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, graduating in 2020 with a focus on devices and technologies for integrated electronics and photonics. He then pursued a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering. He was a 2023 HKN Student Governor. As Chair of the Chapter Activity & Administration Subcommittee since 2024, he designed and coordinates the semi-annual Leadership Workshops for IEEE-HKN Chapters bringing together chapter officers, advisors, and volunteers from around the world.
Dr. Matt Francis, Gamma Phi Chapter, was elected to serve a three-year term as a Governor At-Large. He is the founder and President/CEO of Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc, where he leads development of high-temperature semiconductor computing solutions for energy, defense, aerospace and space applications. Dr. Francis was a remote payload specialist for Ozark IC’s payloads on the International Space Station (2019-2021). He earned BS EE (’03), Physics (’04), MSEE (’07) and PhD (’09) degrees from the University of Arkansas.
Within IEEE, Matt has served as a number of roles including IEEE Director, Region 5 (2024-2025). He is a member of the IEEE Audit, Industry Engagement and Employee Benefits Committees, Past Chair, MGA Chapter Operations Support Committee, and serves in a number of committees within MGA and IEEE-USA. He is a past Section Chair of the Ozark Section, Secretary of the Ozark Computer Society Chapter and started his volunteering for IEEE as a Vice Chair at the University of Arkansas Student Branch and President of the Gamma Phi Chapter of HKN at the University of Arkansas (2002-2003).
Serena Canavero, Mu Nu Chapter, was re-elected to a one-year term as Student Governor. Serena holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy, graduating in the top 5% of her class. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in computer engineering, AI & Data Analytics at the Polytechnic University of Turin, where she is working on her thesis on Bioinformatics, AI, and Neuroplasticity. Notably, she developed a VR exposure therapy application in collaboration with the Department of Psychology to aid patients with social anxiety phobia. In 2023, Serena was elected President of the Mu Nu Chapter, where she 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 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. She has since led the organization of its second one, scheduled for November 2025, ensuring it becomes a lasting asset for interchapter collaboration.
Logan Wilcox, Gamma Theta Chapter, was re-elected to a one-year term as Student Governor. Logan is 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. He is also pursuing a graduate certificate in Explosives Engineering, with an anticipated completion date of May 2025. In May 2020, he received a B.S. in computer engineering from Missouri S&T. His professional involvement in recent years has been focused on societies with IEEE and mentoring within his local community. At Missouri S&T, he also mentors his local SigEp chapter where he was previously the chapter counselor and is currently the chapter advisor. As the 2025 HKN Student Governor, he assisted the Alumni Engagement, Chapter Administration, and Conferences Committees where he helped in the planning and execution of several different events within IEEE-HKN such as the HKN Officer Workshop, SLC, CLCs, and more.
HKN is looking forward to the expertise and energy that these new and returning leaders will bring to our Board of Governors in the new year. We are looking forward to another productive year of collaboration!
