 "Photo:")
It started as an idea from three electrical engineering students.
They had little money (a $500 makeshift budget) and even less interest (a handful of attendees).
But like so many fresh concepts in the engineering field, the SIUC Intelligent Systems conference has grown to be more comprehensive and helpful to more people than the inventors ever envisioned.
This year's conference, which ended Sunday, featured a budget more than 20 times greater (roughly $11,000 from administrators and corporations) and more than 20 speakers (including representatives from companies such as Bell Labs and Motorola).
The initial idea was one never seen in the SIUC College of Engineering. Experts in a variety of cutting-edge fields would be invited to campus in one weekend to share projects and make connections with students.
It was similar to events at campuses such as University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Missouri-Rolla but had never been tried at SIUC, said Anil Mehta, one of three graduate students who came up with the idea in 2006.
"Initially, people did not know. Intelligent systems, what is it? What are these kids trying to do? We were kids. They're trying to call people and have some talks. Why is it so important?" Mehta said of the initial skepticism.
But as Mehta, a doctoral student from Bombay in electrical and computer engineering, and his colleagues heard more interest from companies they called, the university administration and other students started paying attention.
The group gained some interest through its affiliation with IEEE, an international not-for-profit association for technology advancement. The SIUC faction of IEEE is one of more than 1,600 student branches at universities in 80 countries, according to the IEEE Web site.
Members of the organization use it to get the newest information and resources about changing technology. The conference focused on many of these advancements, with topics ranging from self-testing chip systems to nanotechnology to cameras with the capabilities to sense things as a human eye would.
"It's just like if you go back 20 years in the '80s somebody telling you about cell phones," Mehta said. "That's the kind of speakers we have right now that are telling us what is going to happen in terms of wireless technology in 10 years."
While students and the faculty go to the diverse presentations to get professionals' takes on changing technology, the conference also has an ulterior goal for many aspiring engineers - networking.
Several students have made first connections with employers through the conference, Mehta said.
Abigail Young, a senior from Johnston City studying computer science, said she never would have gotten her internship with Boeing if not for the second conference of 2006.
Young is working as a software engineer in El Segundo, Calif., in an internship she's held on and off since the summer of 2007. She said an internship in her field is "beyond valuable."
"Once you've got your foot in the door somewhere, it opens up a myriad of opportunities," Young said. "You've got contacts that you can just call up and say, 'I need some help. What can you tell me?' Beyond just job connections, you've got general advice."
Although she could not attend this year's conference, Young said the group has advanced significantly since she got involved her freshman year.
While many companies were skeptical when the group first began calling, people started to listen, and interest multiplied, she said.
"We pushed through it, and we got a bunch of great people to come - not just Joe Blows from the Carbondale area. We got people from Texas, from IBM, really big companies," she said.
When it was tough in the beginning, the group members went to adviser Fran Harackiewicz and asked if all their work was worth it.
Harackiewicz, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, told the students to keep pursuing the conference in hopes it would grow.
"I encouraged them because we're a little bit geographically isolated," she said. "If we can bring engineers in here from the industry, that's really great for our students. They can network and know what it's like once they start working out there."
The need to network and keep up with technology advancements is of dire importance in the engineering field, said Ramanarayanan Viswanathan, interim dean of the College of Engineering and an IEEE fellow.
Viswanathan said the field is constantly evolving, with increasing activity in the world of wireless data transmission. In addition to keeping students up-to-date with the changes, the conference allows employers to tap into the potential of young students, he said.
The conference is also unique in that it was all the work of students, Viswanathan said.
"They did it on their own. I didn't have to make one phone call," he said.
Although the conference has grown larger each year, Mehta said the students are not content to stop while they are ahead.
"Imagine the Student Center or the small business Research Park, and imagine 25 speakers and these 25 speakers don't need any introduction," he said. "That's what we want to make this conference, so that just starts a snowball effect of motivation and passion, and we attract students."
Sean McGahan can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 254 or mcgahan@siu.edu.
