From: J. Patrick Donohoe [donohoe@ECE.MsState.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 1999 6:04 PM
To: r3-excom1999@ieee.org; sec-r03@ieee.org
Subject: Region 3 Student Activities Report


FROM:     J. Patrick Donohoe
          Region 3 Student Activities Chairman

SUBJECT:  Student Activities EXCOM Report (4/99)

     The host student branch for the Region 3 Student Conference 
at Southeastcon ‘99 is the University of Kentucky. Among the 
activities planned for students of Region 3 are the student 
paper competition, the student hardware competition, the student 
software competition, and the student website competition. In 
addition, a job fair will be held.  
     The student hardware competition theme is "A Grand tour of 
Kentucky."  This theme highlights features that make Kentucky a 
unique state, presented in the form of a tour to be driven by 
an autonomous vehicle.  The State of Kentucky contains a wide 
variety of landscapes and cultures, from large urban areas such 
as Louisville to the horse farms of Lexington and central 
Kentucky, from the mountains of Appalachia to the mines and 
caves in the western reaches of the state. In this contest, an 
autonomous vehicle makes a grand tour of these four regions of 
the Bluegrass State, and may choose to tackle the challenges of 
any or all of them.  The track is divided into the four regions 
of the state.  In "The City", the vehicle, following a white 
line on a black background, must press a button on an automatic 
teller machine.  In "The Bluegrass Auction ", the vehicle must 
rustle a horse for sale. It must locate the horse in the pasture, 
pick up the horse, and deposit the horse safely at the auction 
house.   In "The Mountains ", the vehicle must climb a hill.  In 
"The Mine/Cave",  the vehicle must maneuver the corridors of a 
mineshaft in the dark, with nothing to guide it but the walls. 
     Several student awards will be presented at the Region 3 
Awards Luncheon. Included in these awards are the Larry K. Wilson 
Award, the Outstanding Branch Counselor/Advisor Award, the 
Student Branch Membership Growth Award, the Exemplary Student 
Branch Awards, the Outstanding Region 3 Student Branch Award, and 
the various Student Conference competition awards.