Engineering student publishes research, presents at technology conference

Rebecca “Bex” West has made several remarkable accomplishments as an engineering student, 包括作为第一作者发表一篇科学论文, 在一次国际会议上展示她的研究, and winning a spot in a highly selective mentoring program by Google.

It would be an extraordinary list of achievements for a graduate student or Ph.D. 候选人. But it’s even more impressive considering that West is a sophomore majoring in engineering at 圣安东尼奥学院.

“I didn’t even know this was a possibility at this stage of the game,” West said.

本科生发表研究成果是不寻常的. It’s extremely rare that one would be the lead author of a research paper, 亨利·格里菲斯说, SAC的助理教授和工程项目协调员, 数学系主席, 体系结构, 物理与工程.

格里菲斯说:“这是一个完美的例子，说明什么是可以实现的。. 用“执着”来形容她再合适不过了. In addition to intellect and aptitude, she’s an incredibly hard worker. 没有它，这些事情就不会发生.”

在SAC工作期间, West has been interested in developing ways to detect seizures with hard-to-detect symptoms. West recently proposed a detection technique which uses both eye tracking sensors and wearable devices like smart watches or fitness trackers. 

That research led her to author a paper entitled “Ubiquitous Multimodal Seizure Management Using Emerging Consumer Technologies,发表在《澳门新葡新京官方》杂志上, the journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). IEEE是一个拥有超过409个会员的全球性专业组织,000名工程师, 科学家和相关专业人员. 

而她喜欢研究和解决问题, she credits 格里菲思 with guiding her through the publishing process. 格里菲思, who also conducts research on using eye-tracking technology for health assessments, 是韦斯特论文的三位合著者之一吗.

Once published, West set her sights on another goal: to present her research at a conference. 她觉得机会不大, but decided to submit a proposal to present at the International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE) Asia, 一个由IEEE组织的会议.

“I totally freaked out when I got the acceptance email,”她说。. “This was not presenting to other sophomores at community college. 都是有博士学位的工程师.”

She created a PowerPoint presentation on her research and presented it live online to IEEE members worldwide, 然后是问答环节. 她将这段经历描述为既可怕又神奇.

West won another opportunity she felt was equally unlikely: she landed a spot in the Google Computer Science Research Mentorship Program (CSRMP), which teams students with a Google research engineer for four months of mentoring and professional development.

West was placed in a group of four students including a sophomore from Harvard, 他是约翰霍普金斯大学的大四学生和博士.D. 来自多伦多大学的学生.

“It’s incredibly rare for community college students to win a spot in the program,” 格里菲思 said. “These are students from top-notch universities on a global scale.”

韦斯特是她的团队中第一个发表研究成果的人, 随后是一名博士生.

她于去年12月完成了指导课程. In addition to learning new perspectives on computer science research and careers at Google, West gained what she says is her most important takeaway: that she belonged there.

“我看到我不分上下, 有时在前面, of people going to these prestigious colleges and that I am able to hang with them,”她说。. “你不需要常春藤盟校的学费来做事情.”

West will transfer to UTSA to complete a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering after graduating from SAC this spring, then plans to pursue a doctorate and a career in medical diagnostics.

“I want to use technology to take artistry and guesswork out of diagnostics and make it more accessible to everyone no matter what doctor they get,”她说。.

一个非传统的学生, 韦斯特在30岁时以两个孩子的父母身份进入SAC, 现在分别是4岁和9岁. When the COVID-19 pandemic shifted classes online, West was able to attend classes remotely. 她一开始学习，就满怀热情地学习.

“It’s just what I do with everything having to do with school and my future,”她说。.

囊,