The Bridge - Issue 1, 2021 - 23

Award Spotlight

Award Spotlight

MIT Alfred P. Sloan Scholarship Winner and
GEM Fellow Named IEEE-HKN Outstanding
Student of the Year for 2020
Alvaro Sahagun, who was
instrumental in helping to
re-establish the IEEE-HKN
Iota Lambda Chapter at the
University of Illinois at Chicago
(UIC), has been selected as the
2020 Alton B. Zerby and Carl T.
Koerner Outstanding Electrical or
Computer Engineering Student
Award recipient.
He currently is pursuing a
master's of science degree in Electrical Engineering
and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Alvaro pictured in the clean room

Alvaro served as Iota Lambda Chapter President in
2019 while working to reinvigorate the Chapter, which
had been dormant for seven years. A total of 51 new
members were inducted into IEEE-HKN during
his tenure.
" These 51 individuals would not have been members
without Alvaro's efforts and concerns for his fellow
students, " wrote Daniela Tuninetti, Ph.D., Professor
and Interim Department Head of Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering at UIC, in her
letter of recommendation.
During his undergraduate studies Alvaro performed
research in the areas of nanotechnology and the
electrical and optical property of two-dimensional
materials, Dr. Tuninetti wrote.

THE BRIDGE

First University of Illinois at Chicago HKN Induction Class, 2019

Alvaro works in the clean room

Alvaro is the recipient of MIT Alfred P. Sloan
Scholarship 2020 and is a GEM Full Fellow (Ph.D.
Engineering Fellowship Program). He has served as
an undergraduate researcher at Micromechatronic
Systems Laboratory, UIC; as an Undergraduate
Research Associate at Marvell Nanofabrication
Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley; a
Summer Research Intern at the Center for Nanoscale
Systems, Harvard University; and a Summer Research
Intern at Microsystems Technology Laboratories, MIT,
among other research positions.
He was the co-founder and Vice President of the
Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and
Native Americans in Science at UIC and served on the
university's Honors College Advisory Board. He also
received the UIC Chancellor's Student Service Award
three years in a row.
Asked what HKN means to him and why he worked
to reinstate the Iota Lambda Chapter, Alvaro said: " I
believe IEEE-HKN helps bring increased recognition
and visibility to our ECE department and our excellent
students. In our chapter, we aimed to not only
acknowledge but celebrate the hard work of our ECE
students. In addition, we encouraged our members
to widen their professional networks by attending
workshops or seminars and connecting with alumni,
which may lead to future internships or full-time
jobs. I also hoped to use our Chapter as a bridge
between ECE faculty and ECE students to cultivate

an environment where personal experiences in
education can be shared and professional connections
can be made. I want students to not only meet
their professors but also learn from their professors'
experiences in academia, such as what inspired them
as an undergraduate student to pursue a Ph.D. in their
field and the professoriate career instead of working
in the industry.

administered by the Los Angeles Area Alumni Chapter
of IEEE-HKN.
The Outstanding Student Award Finalists for 2020 were:

Alvaro will receive a US$1,000 award honorarium
and an engraved plaque.
IEEE-HKN's Alton B. Zerby and Carl T. Koerner
Outstanding Electrical or Computer Engineering
Student Award recognizes outstanding scholastic
excellence and high moral character, coupled with
demonstrated exemplary service to classmates,
university, community, and country. This program is

Maxwell Lewis
Omega Chapter
Oklahoma State
University

Chelsea Shaffer
Gamma Theta Chapter
Missouri University of
Science and Technology

Are You Eta Kappa Nu?
Show Your Eta Kappa Nu!
If it's not on your card, it's not in your
IEEE membership record. Let us know!
800-406-2590

www.hkn.org

info@hkn.org

HKN.ORG

23
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The Bridge - Issue 1, 2021

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