Many college students enjoy participating in sports, listening to music, and playing video games in their free time. But IEEE student member Gerard Piccini prefers amateur radio, also known as ham radio. He has been involved in two-way radio communications using designated frequencies since his uncle introduced him to him when he was a child. His call sign is KD2ZHK.
Piccini, from Monroe Township, New Jersey, is pursuing a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He is a junior and he is president of the university's W3USR Amateur Radio Club. He is also a member of the IEEE Club, Scranton's IEEE student chapter.
Gerard Piccini
membership level
student member; Member of Lambda Nu Chapter of IEEE-HKN
university:
University of Scranton, Pennsylvania
mainly:
electrical engineering
minor:
math and physics
Rating:
junior
His other passion is robotics. He captained one of the college club teams that participated in the Micro Mouse competition held at the October IEEE Region 2 Student Activities Conference hosted by Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. The Scranton team competed against other student departments for smaller builds and programs. A robot that navigates a maze in the shortest possible time. The team took second place.
“This competition was a great opportunity for me to learn how to apply the skills I learned in class to projects of my own design,” says Piccini.
Piccini joined Scranton's Amateur Radio Club when he was a freshman. Supervising the club is IEEE member Nathaniel Frissell, who taught Piccini physics and electrical engineering. Frissell noticed Piccini's interest in wireless technology and asked the student to help him with his research. Piccini is currently helping develop a low-cost, low-power system to send signals into the ionosphere and measure how long it takes them to return.
“This system will allow us to collect more data about the ionosphere, the ionized layer of the atmosphere and important for radio wave propagation,” he says. “Currently, there aren’t that many full-scale ionospheric acoustic systems. “If we can make it cheap enough, we can ask ham radio operators to install it and increase the data points.”
“I like when I have a project and have to try to find a solution on my own.”
Piccini serves on the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, which includes amateur radio enthusiasts and professional scientists who collaborate on research.
“The idea behind HamSCI is to get citizens involved in science,” says Piccini.
He says his research led him to consider a career in RF engineering or digital signal processing, either in academia or industry.
natural problem solver
Like other budding engineers, Piccini enjoyed taking things apart and finding ways to put them back together from a young age. Although his parents were not engineers, they encouraged his interest by buying him engineering kits.
My high school physics class inspired me to study electrical engineering. This book covers circuits and wave mechanics, a branch of quantum physics that describes the behavior of objects in terms of their wave properties.
He initially couldn't decide whether to pursue a physics or engineering degree. It was after learning how to code and work with hardware that he chose engineering. He says he still enjoys coding, but is glad he ultimately chose electrical engineering. He said, “I like it when I have a project and have to try to find a solution on my own.” He is minoring in Mathematics and Physics.
Student Member Gerard N. Piccini [second from left] With members of the IEEE Club Student Branch participating in the IEEE Region 2 Micro Mouse Competition. Gabriela Garangmau
IEEE Student Leader
Piccini said he joined IEEE because he felt “trapped in the bubble of academia.” He recalls that as an underclassman, he had no idea what was going on in engineering or industry.
“Participating in IEEE helps get that exposure,” he says.
He is a member of the Lambda Nu chapter of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu, the IEEE honor society.
Scranton's IEEE Club offers presentations and technical talks from engineering companies. The club also encourages students to describe the work they did during their internship.
To build professional skills among its members, the club conducts resume writing sessions, mock interviews and allows students to practice their public speaking skills.
The chapter also encourages members to get involved in community projects.
Piccini is the student affairs secretary. He says this position gave him leadership experience, including teaching him how to organize and run meetings and coordinate events. This is a skill you can't learn in class.
As captain of the Micro Mouse team, he was responsible for mentoring younger students, overseeing robot design, and setting the agenda to ensure the team met competition deadlines.
He points out that the IEEE Student Activities Conference is a great way to meet fellow students from across the region.
Working at IEEE is “a great opportunity to network, meet people, and learn new skills that you don’t have or already have but want to develop further,” he says.