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A technical exploration of IEEE 802.11bn’s physical and MAC layer enhancements — including distributed resource units, enhanced long range, multi-AP coordination, and seamless roaming — that define Wi-Fi 8.What Attendees will LearnWhy Wi-Fi 8 prioritizes reliability over raw throughput — Understand how IEEE 802.11bn shifts the design philosophy from peak data-rate gains to ultra-high reliability.How new physical layer features overcome uplink power limitations — Learn how distributed resource units spread tones across wider distribution bandwidths to boost per-tone transmit power, and how enhanced long range protocol data units use power-boosted preamble fields and frequency-domain duplication to extend uplink cov

“Can I get an interview?” “Can I get a job when I graduate?” Those questions came from students during a candid discussion about artificial intelligence, capturing the anxiety many young people feel today. As companies adopt AI-driven interview screeners, restructure their workforces, and redirect billions of dollars toward AI infrastructure, students are increasingly unsure of what the future of work will look like.We had gathered people together at a coffee shop in Auburn, Alabama for what we called an AI Café. The event was designed to confront concerns about AI directly, demystifying the technology while pushing back against the growing narrative of technological doom.

U.S. doctoral programs in electrical engineering form the foundation of technological advancement, training the brightest minds in the world to research, develop, and design next-generation electronics, software, electrical infrastructure, and other high-tech products and systems. Elite institutions have long served as launchpads for the engineers behind tomorrow’s technology. Now that foundation is under strain.With U.S. universities increasingly entangled in political battles under the second Trump administration, uncertainty is beginning to ripple through doctoral admissions for electrical engineering programs. While some departments are reducing the number of spots available in anticipation of potential federal

Last week’s Nvidia GTC conference highlighted new chip architectures to power AI. But as the chips become faster and more powerful, the remainder of data center infrastructure is playing catchup. The power delivery community is responding: Announcements from Delta,

The undying thirst for smarter (historically, that means larger) AI models and greater adoption of the ones we already have has led to an explosion in data-center construction projects, unparalleled both in number and scale. Chief among them is Meta’s planned 5-gigawatt data center in Louisiana, called Hyperion, announced in June of 2025. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Hyperion will “cover a significant part of the footprint of Manhattan,” and the first phase—a 2-GW version—will be completed by 2030.Though the project’s stated 5-GW scale is the largest among its peers, it’s just one of several dozen similar projects now underway. According to Michael Guckes, c

WHEN KYIV-BORN ENGINEER Yaroslav Azhnyuk thinks about the future, his mind conjures up dystopian images. He talks about “swarms of autonomous drones carrying other autonomous drones to protect them against autonomous drones, which are trying to intercept them, controlled by AI agents overseen by a human general somewhere.” He also imagines flotillas of autonomous submarines, each carrying hundreds of drones, suddenly emerging off the coast of California or G

Mel OlkenFormer executive director of the IEEE Power & Energy SocietyFellow, 92; died 9 JanuaryOlken became the first executive director of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) in 1995. In 2002 he left the position to serve as founding editor in chief of the society’s Power & Energy Magazine. Olken led the publication until 2016, when he retired.After receiving a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the

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An in-depth examination of how rising power density, 3D integration, and novel materials are outpacing legacy thermal measurement — and what advanced metrology must deliver.What Attendees will LearnWhy heat is now the dominant constraint on semiconductor scaling — Explore how heterogeneous integration, 3D stacking, and AI-driven power density have shifted the primary bottleneck from lithography to thermal management, with heat flux projections exceeding 1,000 W/cm² for next-generation accelerators.How extreme material properties are redefining thermal design requirements —Understand the measurement challenges posed by nanoscale thin films where bulk assumptions fail, engineered ultra-high-conductivity materials (diamond, BAs, BNNTs), and devices op

Most people who regularly use AI tools would say they’re making their lives easier. The technology promises to streamline and take over tasks both professionally and personally—whether that’s summarizing documents, drafting deliverables, generating code, or even offering emotional support. But researchers are concerned AI is making some tasks too easy, and that this will come with unexpected costs.In a commentary titled Against Frictionless AI, published in Communications Psychology on 24 February, psychologists from the University of Toronto discuss what might be lost when A