Saturday Sessions

Additional Saturday Sessions will be announced as they are confirmed.

8:50 A.M. – 9:40 A.M.

Leading Without Losing Your Technical Edge – with Y.C. Wang from Digikey and Logan Wilcox from IEEE-IMS, moderated by Ryan Bales

It’s easy to worry that leadership means stepping away from the technical work that brought you into engineering in the first place. This session shows how you can stay technically engaged while taking on greater responsibility. You’ll learn practical ways to keep your skills sharp, build credibility, and stay hands‑on as you lead teams, projects, and communities.

Your Professional Edge: The Strategic Value of IEEE Societies & Affinity Groups – with John McDonald

This fireside chat with John McDonald offers real‑world insight into how IEEE societies and affinity groups spark technical growth, professional identity, and leadership development. Drawing on his experience, John will show how these communities create depth, mentorship, and global connection that expand opportunities far beyond the classroom or chapter.

9:50 A.M. – 10:40 A.M.

Unexpected Career Paths: Embracing Detours on the Road to Success – with Adam Greenberg from IEEE-Solid State Circuit Society and C.J. Reddy from IEEE-AP-S

This panel gives students an honest look at the twists, turns, and unexpected opportunities that can shape a career. Panelists share stories of unconventional choices, career pivots, and experiences that helped them discover their expertise and purpose. Students gain practical insight into embracing uncertainty, recognizing transferable skills, building meaningful connections, and turning unexpected opportunities into pathways for leadership and success.

IEEE-USA, the U.S. Midterm Elections, and Your Career – with Ryan Cunius and Kayla Henneberry from IEEE-USA

The 2026 U.S. Midterm Elections represent a pivotal, high-stakes turning point that will reshape congressional leadership, federal R&D budgets, and regulatory policy over the next two years, ahead of the 2028 Presidential Elections. With legislative decisions on artificial intelligence governance, semiconductor manufacturing, energy grid modernization, and STEM workforce immigration hanging in the balance, shifting political dynamics on Capitol Hill will directly dictate the research grants, career options, and regulatory environments for early-career technologists.  This presentation delivers an urgent look at how IEEE-USA serves as the nonpartisan voice of U.S. engineers, mobilizing policy briefings, Congressional Visits Days, and voter resources to ensure technical expertise drives national decision-making. Beyond legislative advocacy, participants will explore how IEEE-USA supports early-career success through targeted career resources, leadership access, and civic fellowship programs. Ultimately, attendees will gain actionable strategies to leverage the broader IEEE-USA ecosystem, enabling them to elevate their professional trajectories while actively shaping the policies governing future industries.

1:50 P.M. – 2:40 P.M.

Think Beyond Your Field: What Tech, Finance, and Coaching Can Teach Us About Leadership in Unique Ways – with Morgan Kiani from IEEE-WIE and Scott Douglas from IEEE-SPS

This panel brings together experts from technology, finance, and coaching to show students how different fields approach the same challenges in unique ways. Panelists share how their industries shape problem-solving, decision-making, communication, and leadership. Students gain new perspectives for thinking creatively, learning across disciplines, and applying ideas from unexpected places to become more adaptable and effective leaders.

Getting Published 101 – with Dr. Jim Conrad

Publishing as a student strengthens your academic profile and amplifies your impact as a developing leader. This session breaks down how to turn class projects, research, and leadership initiatives into publishable work. Attendees will learn how to choose the right venue, shape a clear manuscript, work with mentors, and navigate peer review.

2:50 P.M. – 3:40 P.M.

Engineering Your Next Step: Charting Your Path Through Graduate School – with Shawana Tabassum from IEEE Sensors Council, Steve Watkins from Missouri S&T, Charise Bell from Johns Hopkins, and Peter Seiler from University of Michigan, moderated by John McDonald.

This panel gives emerging engineers a clear, candid look at what graduate school can unlock. Panelists share how advanced study deepens technical expertise, strengthens leadership potential, and opens doors to research, innovation, and specialized career paths. Students gain practical insight into evaluating programs, weighing tradeoffs, and aligning graduate education with long‑term goals.

The Data Center Challenge: Can the Power Grid Keep Up with AI? – with Payman Dehghanian from IEEE-IAS

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving an unprecedented expansion of data centers, and with it, a rapidly growing demand for electricity. Once viewed primarily as digital infrastructure, data centers are increasingly becoming major energy consumers with significant implications for power system planning, grid operations, reliability, emissions, and sustainability. In many regions, the availability of electricity and grid infrastructure is emerging as a critical constraint on the pace at which new data center capacity can be deployed. This talk provides an introduction to modern data centers, their evolving architectures, and the technologies driving their rapidly increasing energy requirements. We will examine key trends and statistics surrounding data center electricity consumption and discuss the emerging challenges at the intersection of data centers and the power grid, including generation adequacy, transmission and distribution constraints, peak demand, renewable integration, and carbon emissions. Beyond viewing data centers solely as large electricity loads, the talk will explore the concept of grid-interactive data centers: data centers capable of responding intelligently to grid conditions through flexible computing workloads, energy storage, on-site generation, and advanced control strategies.