Electrical and computer engineering chair Yingying (Jennifer) Chen is the recent recipient of a prestigious N2Women Stars Award in Networking and Communication that honors her cutting-edge research outcomes in edge computing and mobile sensing.
Chen is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer s and Peter Cherasia Endowed Faculty Scholar at Rutgers. She is also a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA).
“This award means a lot to me,” says Chen. “It indicated that female researchers are doing impactful research in the networking and communications area and being recognized. It is a great encouragement to me and my work. I feel even more energized to explore more in the advancement of information technology.”
Encouraging Women Engineers
“Yingying is a strong role model for our women undergraduate and graduate students, who are increasingly achieving success in formerly male-dominated industries,” says School of Engineering interim dean Alberto Cuitiño. “This award is not only a major recognition of her outstanding research results in a challenging field, but also reflects her growing national reputation and stature as a leading engineer.”
Networking and communications are critical for the advancement of information technology and are the fundamental research areas to enable our mobile world,” notes Chen. “N2Women plays an important role by informing the outside world about the contributions of women researchers in these areas.”
According to Chen, the group provides members with opportunities such as workshops and lunches and dinners at almost every Association for Computing Machinery, or ACM, conference where they can share their experiences, exchange ideas, and gain support from each other at almost every Association for Computing Machinery, or ACM, conference.
Herself a workshop co-organizer and panelist at N2Women meetings at major international conferences, Chen says, “My vision is to encourage more female students and researchers to pursue their careers in science and engineering by sharing my working and family experiences.”
Looking ahead, Chen predicts that with the new advancements in 5G and 6G technology, and the support of N2Women, female researchers will contribute even more to the field of networking and communications.