The MTT society will be hosting a new student competition called the Graduate Student Challenge during the 2011 International Microwave Symposium (IMS) in Baltimore. All PhD and MS students who are registered at IMS can participate in this event. As opposed to other IMS student competitions and activities, all of the efforts related to the Graduate Student Challenge competition will take place only during the IMS2011. Our aim is encourage graduate student members who attend the IMS conference to form teams, conduct brain storming meetings, develop new ideas and propose applications based on the papers presented at the IMS. On the last day of IMS on Thursday afternoon, June 9, student teams will compete by giving short presentations detailing their ideas in front of judges from industry and academia. The winning team for the Graduate Student Challenge will be announced on Thursday afternoon during the IMS closing ceremonies. The winning team will be presented a $2000.00 cash award. All the participants who fully contribute and give presentations on Thursday will receive a gift from the conference organizers.

Students who are interested in participating in this new competition are asked to attend a meet and greet event on Tuesday morning, June 7, at 0700. During this meeting, the participants will form teams consisting of two members. The student team members must not be from the same university. Furthermore, during this meeting on Tuesday, several themes will be presented that should serve as the basis for the Graduate Student Challenge. Each team is to develop new ideas and propose novel applications consistent with one of the themes that they have chosen. The ideas should be based on at least two papers presented at the IMS. The selected papers must not be authored/co-authored by the team members or be from their universities. This is to assure a level playing field for the competition. Teams are required to give a fifteen minute presentation (consisting of only 5 viewgraphs, 10 minutes presentation and 5 minutes questions and answers) in front of the judges on Thursday afternoon at IMS. The selection criteria will be based on the originality, content, practicality and clarity of the presentations.

A summary of the completion schedule is given below:

• Tuesday June 7th 2011, 0700: The introductory meeting for the Graduate Student Challenge Competition will be held at the Key 2 Room of the Hilton. At this meeting rules will be reviewed, teaming will take place, and themes for the competition will be disclosed.


• Thursday June 9th, 2011 1200: Each team must turn in the final version of their presentation no later than 1200 at the Key 2 Room of the Hilton. This is the file that the student team will use during the presentation to the judges. In the interest of fairness, any presentations turned in after 1200 will be disqualified.


• Thursday June 9th, 2011 1420: Each team will give their presentation in front of the judges at the Key 2 Room of the Hilton. While the presentations will be open to general attendance, members of other teams will not be allowed to attend, but must wait in the Key 11 Room of the Hilton.


• Thursday June 9th, 2011 1620: The winner of the Graduate Student Challenge will be recognized at the IMS2011 Closing Ceremony.