UC Davis ECExpo 2023 – Showcasing ‘State of the Art’ Advancements and Networking Opportunities

For the first time since 2019, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering gathered in person for the 2023 ECExpo at Kemper Hall and the Robert Mondavi Institute on April 7. More than 170 industry partners, alumni and friends participated in the annual meeting to celebrate new developments in education and research in the department.   

The event began with an unveiling of newly renovated teaching labs in Kemper Hall that were years in the making.  

"The big thing we wanted to show at this year's expo is that we've had four of our undergraduate labs renovated, and they're just beautiful and state of the art," said Billy Putnam, an assistant professor in the department and chair of the organizing committee for the 2023 ECExpo. "We wanted to show to all of our alumni and industrial partners the great facilities we now have to train students."  

The newly renovated Dr. Ron and Rosie Soohoo ECE Teaching Labs celebrate the department's founding chair, Ronald Soohoo — the first Asian-American to serve in that position within the University of California system — and his wife. Alumnus Francis Lee and his spouse Evelyn provided a generous donation for this renovation. Francis and Roland, Ron and Rosie's son, spoke at the event to commemorate the labs' opening, with members of the Soohoo family and several friends joining him on stage. 

The Keysight Technologies ECE Teaching Labs are the second set of labs unveiled by the department. Keysight Technologies is a long-standing partner of the department and a leader in the development of electronics for testing and measurement, such as oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers. Doug Baney, Keysight Technologies' Worldwide Corporate Director of Education, provided a keynote talk entitled, "The Magic of Lasers and Interferometers in Sensing, Communications and Measurement." His work has led to many advancements, such as the first commercialized laser mouse. 

Assistant Professor Hyoyoung Jeong, the newest faculty member in the department, also presented at the event. He discussed his research on combining wireless systems, advanced manufacturing, and secured and reliable data processing coupled with machine learning for next-generation health devices. Jeong was followed by department chair and Distinguished Professor André Knoesen, who discussed the department's research, funding and teaching successes over the past year. 

One of the biggest draws of ECExpo is the opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to showcase their work at a poster presentation. Over 45 students presented their work at this year's event, which was sponsored by Kami Vision. The poster session was followed by a networking opportunity hosted by the student branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, in the Robert Mondavi Institute Good Life Garden. The event featured games, food, and wine courtesy of Babak Taheri, a '94 alumnus and CEO of Silvaco Group and chair of the ECE Board of Advisors.  

"It was amazing that we were able to use the facilities over at the Robert Mondavi Institute," Putnam said. "The department staff did an incredible job and were amazing at pulling this whole event off." 

ECExpo 2023 on Flickr

View more photos from ECExpo 2023 on the UC Davis College of Engineering Flickr account.