Travel: 2024 International Microwave Symposium Educational Initiatives for Project Connect

The project will support student participation in the 2024 IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS), which will be held in Washington, DC on June 16-21, 2024. Support will be provided for an educational program called Project Connect which was initiated in 2014. The objective of the program is to increase the participation of students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM. The program provides students many exciting opportunities to learn the state-of-the-art technology advancements and interact with potential mentors in the microwave and wireless technological areas. The project aims to develop the technical interests of the student participants, motivating them to be involved in undergraduate research and interested in further studies in graduate program, which will help them develop a successful long-term professional career and contribute to the U.S. STEM workforce. The IEEE IMS addresses research areas in microwave technologies from MHz to THz and is the largest conference in the world in this field. The symposium has played a key role in identifying new directions for research and development. The Project Connect program will include a variety of activities to help participants build their network with other professionals in the technical community: panel sessions with faculty, graduate students, and industry members; an industry mixer with industry members; networking through the industry exhibit; interaction with graduate students in the student design contests; presentation of "IMS Experience" video documentary that each student team prepares. Throughout the entire Project Connect Program, members of the organizing committee and graduate student volunteers at the conference will guide the activities and provide mentorship.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.