LSU Engineering Students Take Programming to the Extreme

March 8, 2008

LSU’s IEEE Student Professional Organization competed in the “IEEExtreme Programming Contest,” a global 24-hour programming competition in which students worldwide compete to solve numerous mind-boggling programming problems.

“This is a major student competition and it's a golden opportunity for our students to show their mettle once again,” said Clive Woods, chair of LSU’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. “They follow in the footsteps of the IEEE Robotics competition in which students from the LSU Electrical and Computer Engineering Department have been outstandingly successful on the national stage, winning several top awards in recent years. Our students compete with the best in the world, and all the faculty join me in wishing them every success as they embark upon this highly challenging endeavor.”

The contest began at 6 p.m. on March 7 and ended at 6 p.m. on March 8 in the Engineering Research and Development building. The goal of the competition is to increase the number of IEEE activities with a focus on the computer, programming and information technology fields in the IEEE, build interest in IEEE and encourage new membership.

A non-profit organization, IEEE is the world's leading professional association for the advancement of technology. The name was originally an acronym for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Today, the organization's scope of interest has expanded into so many related fields, that it is simply referred to by the letters.     

“Contests are a great way to get students involved in organizations,” said Purujit Saha, an IEEE member and electrical and computer engineering major. “Kudos to IEEE for starting a competition consistent with its mission! I hope that it will become another one of the proud traditions of IEEE.”