For three years, CECS dean S. K. Ramesh has been a board member of IEEE-HKN, the international honor society for electrical engineering, representing the western United States. And now, as his term is coming to an end, he is preparing to take on a new, higher-profile role within the organization: president-elect. Ramesh was elected on November 1 and will hold the office in 2015–16. He will serve as president in 2016–17 and as past president in 2017–18.
This past year, Ramesh got plenty of practice for his new position with the society. When UC Riverside decided to establish an HKN chapter, it fell on Ramesh as a board member to install the chapter (dubbed Lambda Sigma) on February 23, and he braved torrential rain to get there and back. On May 2, CSUN’s chapter (Lambda Beta) inducted its new members, including several professional members, and he presided over that ceremony. Then on May 27, he presented a distinguished service award to the faculty advisor of UCLA’s chapter (Iota Gamma), who was stepping down after holding the position since 1984.
As president-elect of HKN, Ramesh has his work cut out for him. Established in 1904, the society today has some 200 chapters worldwide, and he and the Board of Governors will be working hard to strengthen connections with industry and support the development of new chapters.
“It is deeply humbling to know that I will have a chance to lead the honor society, which has such a rich tradition in electrical engineering,” he says.
IEEE-HKN is renowned for recognizing students for outstanding scholarship and service to the community and will be an important asset for years to come.
Ramesh honored as IEEE fellow
CECS dean S. K. Ramesh has been named a fellow of the IEEE, the highest grade of membership in the organization, for his contributions to entrepreneurship in engineering education. The IEEE board of directors confers the grade of fellow upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. Reflecting the select nature of the honor, the total number of fellows named in any one year cannot exceed 0.1% of the total voting membership. The technical community recognizes IEEE fellow designation as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.
“It is extremely gratifying to know that your work is valued by your peers, and I am very grateful for all the opportunities that the IEEE has provided me to serve our profession,” Ramesh said. “I owe a great deal of this recognition to my parents, teachers, students and colleagues. Their constant support and encouragement inspires me to do my best every single day.”
The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 400,000 members in 160 countries, the IEEE is an authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.
Ramesh was named a fellow at the November meeting of the IEEE board, effective January 1, 2015.