Sources: Tanner Reynolds, trenolds@k-state.edu;
Anil Pahwa, 785-532-4654, pahwa@k-state.edu;
and Dave Soldan, 785-532-5534, soldan@k-state.edu
Website: http://www.eece.ksu.edu/~hkn/
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-2535, bbohn@k-state.edu

Monday, Jan. 31, 2011

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING HONOR SOCIETY EARNS NATIONAL AWARD FOR ACTIVITIES, SERVICE

MANHATTAN -- An electrical and computer engineering honor society at Kansas State University is being recognized as one of the best in the nation.

K-State's Beta Kappa chapter of Eta Kappa Nu has received the Outstanding Chapter Award for its activities and service during the 2009-2010 school year. It's the first time K-State has received the honor, which is presented only to chapters judged to be exemplary. Twenty-three of Eta Kappa Nu's 200 active chapters received the honor this year.

"Excellent leadership from officers and enthusiastic participation by members in all the activities make the chapter excellent," said Anil Pahwa, professor of electrical engineering and the chapter's faculty adviser from 2007-2010. "Philip Schumm deserves special credit for his leadership as chapter president in 2009-2010. Thanks also go to Tanner Reynolds, the 2010-2011 president, for his diligence in writing the report for the award, and Dr. David Soldan, the current faculty adviser, for proofreading the report and checking the accuracy of the submitted data.

"Past chapter officers also deserve credit for their efforts in raising the level of chapter activities over the years. This award is a result of cumulative effort spanning many years," Pahwa said.

Schumm, a doctoral student, Manhattan, and Reynolds, a senior, Hays, are both studying electrical engineering.

Membership in Eta Kappa Nu is open to juniors in electrical and computer engineering who are in the top quarter of their class or to seniors in the top third of their class. Students also must have successfully passed the course Circuit Theory 1.

The chapter offers a variety of activities and service projects to help fellow students and the community, Reynolds said.

"We offer free tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday evening for numerous courses in the electrical and computer engineering department and hold study nights the Sunday before introductory ECE course exams. We also have general meetings during each semester with presentations from faculty members and industry professionals," he said.

Other activities include a chili feed in the fall and a spaghetti feed and a picnic in the spring to give students a break from studying and to meet other students and faculty in the department. The chapter also conducts an annual Professor Santa Claus fundraiser for the Flint Hills Breadbasket.

Eta Kappa Nu also maintains the Paslay Singing Tower in Sunset Cemetery. The honorary also presents, as selected by fellow students, the Distinguished Faculty Award to an outstanding professor in the electrical and computer engineering department.

"We work to inform and prepare students for the jump into industry, as well as foster involvement in departmental activities such as the All-University Open House. I think we do an excellent job at making students feel at home in the department and instilling confidence that they can be successful in academia and professionally."

The award will be presented at a special dinner March 14 in Phoenix as part of the Electrical and Computing Engineering Department Heads Association annual meeting. Officers from last year and this year will be invited to attend, as will Pahwa and Soldan.