The Virginia Commonwealth University College of Engineering has been selected to host the IEEE Magnetics Society Summer School June 2-7, 2019. The event, which is held on a different continent each year, will bring approximately 100 of the world’s top doctoral candidates in magnetics research to Richmond for a series of lectures on advanced topics in magnetism by international experts. This conference is funded by IEEE Magnetics Society, the National Science Foundation and VCU College of Engineering.

“We are honored to be the site selected to host the IEEE Magnetics Society Summer School.  Our faculty are at the cutting edge of magnetics research,” said Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D., Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Jr. Dean of VCU’s College of Engineering.  “The summer school will give our students the opportunity to interact with leaders in the field, not only from North America, but also from around the world.  Under the leadership of Ravi Hadimani, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, the program promises to be an exciting exchange of ideas.”

The week will feature three speakers per international region, as well as four distinguished lecturers. Attendees will spend one day at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The conference also includes poster presentations by student participants, with opportunities to win research funding for exceptional projects.

Ravi Hadimani, Ph.D., organizer of the IEEE Magnetics Society Summer School at VCU, notes that the time is right for VCU to host this high-profile event thanks in large part to its impressive body of experts in the magnetics field. These include internationally recognized researchers Jayasimha Atulasimha, Ph.D., Qimonda Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, and Supriyo Bandyopadhyay, Ph.D., Commonwealth Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The university’s magnetics expertise continues to increase, with another specialist joining VCU Engineering in January 2019.

“VCU has always had a strong magnetics program with highly productive researchers in chemistry and physics as well as engineering,” he said. “Magnetics is reaching a critical mass at VCU, and we are ready for this visibility in the field.”