Jacksonville, AL – Students from Jacksonville State University (Jax State) delivered a strong showing at the IEEE SoutheastCon 2026 Conference, held March 13–15 in Huntsville, Alabama, earning multiple awards across several competitive categories and continuing to build on the program’s recent success.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Arup Ghosh, Associate Professor of Computer Science and advisor of the IEEE Jax State Student Branch, students competed in a variety of technical and design competitions alongside teams from universities across the Southeast. Participating students included Oluwapamilerin Agbekorode, Sabin Banjara, Prashant Basyal, Aashish Bista, Nala Caldwell, Rodney Hicks, Luke Joplin, Savannah Jones, Katty Juarez, Anuska Pandey, Sakib Hossen Rajon, Greesh Sah, Utsav Shrestha, Utsav Singh, and Ralph Wheeler.
The IEEE Jax State Student Branch, established in 2023 within the Department of Mathematical, Computing, and Information Sciences (MCIS), has quickly grown into an active organization focused on professional development, technical competition, and leadership within the broader IEEE network.
Jax State students earned top placements in several events. The Software Competition (Open Category) team—Oluwapamilerin Agbekorode, Prashant Basyal, Aashish Bista, and Utsav Shrestha—captured first place. In the Website Competition, Prashant Basyal and Sakib Hossen Rajon placed third. The Promotional Design (T-Shirt) Competition team of Nala Caldwell, Savannah Jones, and Katty Juarez secured second place.
In the Hardware Competition, Jax State placed 7th out of 39 university teams in the qualifying round, reflecting improvement over previous years and demonstrating competitiveness in another technical category.
Students also participated in additional events, including the Ethics Competition, Circuit Design Competition, and Student Presentation Competition, gaining experience and exposure while competing against peers from across the region.
Graduate students Sabin Banjara and Utsav Singh, both members of Dr. Ghosh’s research lab, presented research focused on distributed computing and peer-to-peer network architectures aimed at improving online safety for teenagers and older adults. Their work has been accepted for publication and is scheduled to appear in IEEE Xplore.
IEEE SoutheastCon is considered one of the premier conferences in the region for engineering and computing, bringing together approximately 1,000 students, researchers, and professionals for competitions, presentations, and networking opportunities.
“This achievement reflects the dedication, teamwork, and technical talent of our students,” said Dr. Ghosh. “Competing against strong universities and bringing home multiple awards is a great accomplishment for our students. During the conference awards banquet, our university’s name was announced multiple times, and it was wonderful to see Jax State recognized among so many institutions.”
In addition to mentoring student teams, Dr. Ghosh participated in IEEE Region 3 meetings and delivered a presentation on Southeast Region industry engagement in his role as the IEEE Region 3 Industry Engagement Coordinator. In this position, he is working to strengthen connections between industry professionals and engineers across the region.
The conference also recognized the IEEE Alabama Section with the IEEE Exemplary Section Award for its leadership and service in 2025. Dr. Ghosh, who serves as Chair of the IEEE Alabama Section, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.
Support for the trip was provided by the IEEE Jax State Student Branch, IEEE Alabama Section, IEEE Region 3, the NSF S-STEM Program, Jacksonville State University’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences, and the Department of Mathematical, Computing, and Information Sciences.
