ERC Program 30th Anniversary Celebration
The 30th Anniversary Celebration of the NSF’s Engineering Research Centers (ERC) program was held Wednesday, October 28, 2015, in the Cannon Caucus Room at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC. The impressive event and reception was hosted by the Hon. Randy Hultgren (R-IL), a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, and coordinated by NSF's Office of Legislative and Public Affairs and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Speakers included James Jeffries, President of IEEE-USA; the Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX); the Hon. Randy Hultgren (R-IL); the Hon. Paul Tonko (D-NY); Dr. France Córdova, Director of NSF; Dr. Pramod Khargonekar, Assistant Director for Engineering at NSF; Dr. Mario Rotea, Division Director for Engineering Education and Centers at NSF; Dr. David McLaughlin, former CASA ERC director; and Dr. Yaniv Scherson, ERC graduate. Students from the ERCs presented hands-on exhibits of center-developed technologies. The longtime leader of the ERC program and one of its original organizers, Ms. Lynn Preston, was recognized by Dr. Khargonekar and received a warm ovation.
A highlight of the evening was the announcement of the winners of the ERC student Perfect Pitch contest, which had been held earlier that day. The top three contestants gave their 90-second pitches. First place was awarded to Pablo Guimera Coll (QESST ERC, Arizona State University); second place went to Justin Feng (SynBERC, Harvard Medical School); and third place went to Jessica Boles (CURENT ERC, University of Tennessee-Knoxville).
The event program is available for download below.
