Rob Reilly, Ed.D. Member-elect, IEEE Board of Directors welcomes City College Alum Paul Valery Merisier, Richard D. Sam and Michele V. Boisrond
NEW YORK — Three engineering graduates of City College of New York are planning the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) of Haiti’s inaugural conference from April 14-16, 2014, to be held at Faculte de Sciences, one of Haiti’s most prominent universities.
Their ultimate goal is to empower students to grow into leaders in their respective fields, regardless of the catastrophic events that took place in the devastating 2010 earthquake.
The three enterprising graduates of City College’s School of Engineering are Paul Merisier, Richard Sam, and Michele Boisrond.
IEEE is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. IEEE Haiti has been launched with the main agenda of promoting humanitarian engineering, providing professional workshops, raising awareness for future support of summer research programs and internships, opening student chapters at universities, promotion of community service and high school outreach to promote STEM fields.
The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are collectively considered core technological underpinnings of an advanced society. Being STEM-capable strengthens students’ ability to succeed in an innovation-based economy and society.
The trio also recently launched a concept competition to encourage the students at Faculte de Sciences (FDS) to take the initiative in improving their school environment, which will cultivate a sense of innovation. The two best proposals will receive a funding of 20,000 HTG each to implement their proposed solutions.
Merisier, one of the three graduates, said: “At this time, we are only established at the University Faculte de Sciences. However, we are currently corresponding with other universities and high schools in Haiti. Additionally, we also plan to network with professional engineers in STEM industries. We intend to do so by building meaningful relationships with our speakers from abroad that attend the conference and become members of our organization.”
The three enterprising graduates appreciate any support given, whether it be kind words or a monetary donation for their cause. True humanitarian efforts are few and far, however, their belief in education being the foundation to Haiti’s bright future will leave a positive impact for us all.
Support the event by visiting their crowdfunding page here.
Source: caribbeannewsnow.com
