Undergraduate student presents at major conference

August 11, 2015

An undergraduate engineering student at XJTLU presented a paper on her final year project at a major international conference, despite it being unusual for undergraduate students to do. Xinyi Zhong, who graduated from BEng Electronic Science and Technology, presented her work at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Electronic Measurement and Instruments held in Qingdao, China.

It is unusual for undergraduate-level students to have research papers accepted for presentation at major conferences as many do not produce original research of sufficient quality.

Xinyi, who was one of the youngest speakers, gave a well-structured presentation that attracted praise from the session chair who commended her clear style and strong focus on her contribution to the research. He said that other speakers at the conference could learn from her.

Dr Sang Lam, Xinyi’s final year project supervisor, said: “To have a paper accepted for presentation at such a major conference is a significant achievement for an undergraduate student – typically you would expect to see PhD students and academics presenting at conferences of this level.

“We are very proud of Xinyi, her publishable-quality research work and the praise she received from the conference chair.”

Xinyi’s presentation was based on the experimental results from her final year project on the characterisation and modelling of piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers, which convert electrical signals into ultrasound. Xinyi worked with an industrial partner to produce results that would be helpful in product development and improvement.

At the conference, which focussed on the electronic measurement and testing of devices, Xinyi interacted with researchers and academics from over the world, including speakers from renowned institutions like the University of Cambridge, Tsinghua University, and the Chinese Academy of Science.

Xinyi attributes her presentation success to the opportunity to take part in research as an undergraduate student in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at XJTLU.

Professor Eng Gee Lim, Head of Department, said: “We are committed to research, teaching and learning excellence. Electrical and electronic engineering students at XJTLU have many opportunities to do research under the guidance and supervision of dedicated staff, which helps them excel academically and begin to pursue careers as competent engineers and researchers.”

Xinyi has also co-authored another conference paper that has been accepted for oral presentation at the 2015 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium in October.

Both papers will be published in the well-known IEEE Xplore digital library.

The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society and serves professionals involved in all aspects of the electrical, electronic and computing fields, as well as the related areas of science and technology.

August 11, 2015