Student Paper Competition
Top 10 Student Paper Finalists Presentation Schedule
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
8:00-8:30 – Arrival and Registration
8:30 – 9:00 – Poster Setup
9:00 – 11:45 – Student Paper Contest
11:45 – 12:00 – Poster tear down
12:00- 13:00 – SPC Finalists and Judges’ Lunch
Overview
We are pleased to announce that the Student Paper Competition will continue its tradition from previous symposiums. Student paper submissions are welcomed for consideration with the same deadline as regular paper submissions via the conference website.
Selected student paper finalists will have the opportunity to present their work in a special poster session on Tuesday morning. Additionally, all submissions will be considered for placement in the regular conference sessions and proceedings. We encourage students to participate and share their contributions with the broader phased array community.
Student Sponsorship
The Top 10 ranked student papers will receive $300 to offset attendance costs, sponsored by the TICRA Foundation. The generous sponsorship will be provided in the form of travel reimbursement. To be eligible for sponsorship, the students are responsible for booking their own travel and provide original travel receipts. More specific guidance will be provided to the qualified Top 10 students at the conference.
Awards
The Student Program Chairs Chair or their designate will announce the first, second and third place winners at the Symposium’s Annual Awards Ceremony held on Wednesday during the Banquet.
A monetary award and a certificate/plaque will be given to each student paper competition winner. The monetary awards are $1500 for first place, $1000 for second place, and $750 for third place.
All applicable taxes are the responsibility of the award recipient. All recipients will be required to complete and sign a United States Internal Revenue Service Form W-8 or W-9 before award funds will be disbursed.
The primary distribution method for the monetary awards is intended to be by check, available for pickup at the Symposium. Wire transfers can also be arranged, but awardees should anticipate at least 6 weeks of processing time after the conclusion of the Symposium.
General Information
Only one student paper competition (SPC) submission per student is allowed. The student does NOT have to be a member of the IEEE.
For consideration in the student paper competition, the student must be the first author on the paper, and a student (full-time or part-time) at the time of paper submission.
The student’s primary advisor must respond to an email that will be sent to the advisor’s educational institution address after the paper is submitted. The response will certify that the student is the first author, student status with the university, and that all coauthors’ contributions to the paper are primarily advisory or editorial.
Response to the advisor attestation has been extended to and must be received by 30 June 2024, 23h 59m UTC -12. If a response is not received by the attestation deadline, the paper will not be eligible for the SPC but will be eligible for the conference. Students are encouraged to notify their advisors in advance so that replies are received prior to the attestation deadline.
All SPC entries are automatically considered for placement in regular symposium sessions, depending on acceptance or rejection as determined in the review process. In other words, a second submission of the same paper is NOT needed to be considered for regular or special session placement. SPC finalists will, in addition to a regular/special symposium session, present their papers in a special SPC session as described below.
Student Paper Competition (SPC) Timeline
The following is a list of important dates about which the student authors should be aware as the symposium approaches.
Full paper submission: 13 May 2024 (firm deadline)
Advisor attestation deadline extended to 30 June 2024
Notification of Top 10 student finalists and invitation to Student Poster Session: 22 July 2024
Conference registration: 01 September 2024 (same as general registration deadline)
Student Poster Special Session: Tuesday, 15 October 2024
Presentation and Submission of Papers
Please read the following instructions carefully before preparing a paper for submission. Failure to follow all instructions below will result in the removal of the paper from the SPC competition.
Papers must be in IEEE dual-column format and must be 2 pages (minimum) to 8 pages (maximum) in length including figures and references. A paper template can be found on the IEEE website.
Student Papers must be received in PDF format via the conference web site on or before 13 May 2024. This is a firm deadline. Papers will not be accepted after this date. During online submission, the student must answer “yes” to include the paper in the student competition. In addition, ensure that during the paper submission process, you will fill in the student and primary advisor name, as requested.
Failure to follow all instructions will result in the removal of the paper from the competition and its placement in the regular submission paper pool. Due to the timeline of the review process, no resubmissions or corrections are permitted.
Evaluations of Written Submissions
A panel of reviewers from the Society’s membership including researchers from industry, laboratories, and universities is assembled to evaluate all qualifying student paper submissions.
The written submission evaluation criteria are detailed below and are weighted equally:
Quality of written paper (e.g., clarity, organization, figure size, style, etc.)
Sufficient depth and breadth of research work
Innovation and impact of research work
Verification and/or validation of results reported in paper
Upon completion of all the reviews, the Student Program Chairs assemble a list of the top 10 papers based solely on the numerical scores obtained in the reviews. Student authors of the top-scoring papers will be invited as Finalists to the presentation phase of the contest.
Each selected Finalist must be registered as a student for the Symposium AND must attend and present their paper at the conference for award consideration. If the Symposium allows online or hybrid participation, all SPC finalists must present their work live during the regular/special session of the conference, to include question and answer periods after the presentation. In addition, SPC Finalists are also required to attend the SPC Finalist session and present their work to the judges as described below.
Evaluations of SPC Finalist Presentations
All student finalists will present their poster at a SPC Finalist session held during the Symposium.
The Student Program Chairs assemble a panel of several individuals from the Society's membership who will judge the presentations during SPC session. The Student Program Chairs will determine the exact composition of the judging panel before the presentation session and will ensure that the expertise of the judging panel reflects the wide range of technical topics across the field of interest of the Society.
Each judge is provided with a score sheet that lists the names of all presenters with paper titles. After reviewing all presentations, the judges score the presentations based on the following criteria below:
Quality of presentation (e.g., clarity, organization, figure size/arrangements, style, etc.)
Sufficient depth and breadth of research work
Innovation and impact of research work
Verification and/or validation of results reported
The Student Program Chairs will tally the scores submitted by the judges and determine the total score for each competitor. The competitor having the highest total score will be designated the first-place winner, the second highest total score will be designated the second place winner, and the third highest score will be designated the third place winner.
In the event of a tie for first, second, or third place, the Student Program Chairs will meet and make the tie-breaking decisions.