On September 1^st, the Purdue University Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) student chapter celebrated its most successful IEEE Day yet, coinciding with the organization’s 121^st anniversary.

As Purdue’s largest student technical group, IEEE is dedicated to fostering technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. With 800 members from diverse academic backgrounds, students can join any of its 11 committees to apply their skills to real-world engineering projects.

Each year, IEEE members celebrate IEEE Day, the organization’s largest non-technical event. This year, the event also coincided with the College of Engineering’s 150^th anniversary, so Purdue IEEE President Hailey Haglid said the goal was to make this event extra special by expanding invitations to the broader engineering community.

“We have this awesome legacy that we were founded just 30 years after the College of Engineering, and we wanted to tie everything together and make this a place for other engineering clubs to celebrate with us,” Haglid said.

More than 500 attendees showed up, surpassing expectations. The day kicked off with a club fair on Memorial Mall featuring 12 student organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), 3D-Printed Prosthetics Club, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Electrical and Computer Engineering Student Society (ECESS), Railside Robotics, Autonomous Motorsports Purdue, Purdue Lunabotics, Purdue Space Program (PSP), Purdue Aerial Robotics (PART), Purdue Undergraduate Rocket Propulsion Lab (PURPL), Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV), and IEEE.

After the fair, students enjoyed birthday cake and took part in a mix of non-competitive and competitive games. Engineering clubs, such as Railside Robotics, SASE, and AIAA, battled it out in Spikeball, Ultimate Frisbee, and more. Railside Robotics won first place in the competitive games, while SASE, AIAA, and IEEE tied for second.

“IEEE Day was a huge success,” Haglid said, highlighting that through the club fair and gaming events, the day served as an entertaining networking opportunity for students. “It was a great day overall celebrating 121 years of IEEE's contributions to Purdue Engineering, with opportunities to connect with engineers from different disciplines and clubs,” she said. “I think everyone had a lot of fun.”  

Through events like this, Haglid hopes to engage even more students in IEEE. “We do a lot of great things in our organization, and we want to get as many people involved so they can take advantage of what we have to offer and get excited about everything IEEE is doing.”