The Children of the CornCon: Spring Kids’ Hacker Camp

Register by March 31 for Early Bird pricing! [] The Children of the CornCon Kids’ Hacker Camp Returns April 11, 2026! Age appropriate activities for kids from kindergarten through high school. Note that children must be accompanied by a guardian at all times. Registration opens at 8:30 am. Events from 9 am – 3:30 pm Regular pricing is $25 for the first student and $10 for additional students per guardian, including soldering kit, lunch, snacks, and beverages. We will have kids’ t-shirts to give away from previous camps. Scholarships are available; contact scholarships@docent.org for details. (mailto:events@docent.org) (events@docent.org) if you would like to volunteer! Co-sponsored by: Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) and Docent Institute Agenda: Activities Include: – VR Tournament – Soldering – Capture the Flag Competition (Introductory and Intermediate) – Tearing apart and building a computer – Escape Room – Mad Science Activities – Electronic Graveyard – Coding Activities & Learn about AI – Lockpicking – Games and Puzzles Bldg: Scott Community College Urban Campus, 101 W 3rd St, Davenport, Iowa, United States, 52801

June Cedar Rapids IEEE Executive Committee Meeting

Join us for our monthly executive committee meeting from 5 – 6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to meet like minded people, learn leadership skills, and to help steer the direction of your local IEEE chapter. Who should attend: Executive committee for the Cedar Rapids Section, and any other leaders and interested members that wish to attend. Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/532691

Vibration Isolation when Transporting Precious Artwork

Great care is taken when shipping heritage objects such as fine art, dinosaur bones or a 2000 year old porcelain vase Not only must they be protected from extreme temperature and humidity, insects and mold, dust and pollutants, theft and vandalism but also shock and vibration. [] [] [] The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, in Sante Fe New Mexico, contacted Bob for help in developing a shipping crate that isolated their artwork from damaging vibration. This presentation will review how art is currently crated and show why this is insufficient. The speakers will show the development steps they have taken toward producing a reusable crate that meets all the above criteria. Speaker(s): Bob White, Mark Freudenberg Room: AEB 1050, Bldg: Applied engineering building (AEB), 2900 Campus St, Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States, 50614

University of Iowa Computing Conference

On Saturday, February 21st, we had a table at the University of Iowa Computing Conference!  It was great to speak to so many students about IEEE.  Pictured is Shubhresh Jha, Elif Ozturk, and Bruce Lindholm.  Shubhresh and Bruce are officers of the section and Elif is a U of I student.  More information about the conference can be found here.

May Cedar Rapids IEEE Executive Committee Meeting

Join us for our monthly executive committee meeting from 5 – 6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to meet like minded people, learn leadership skills, and to help steer the direction of your local IEEE chapter. Who should attend: Executive committee for the Cedar Rapids Section, and any other leaders and interested members that wish to attend. Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/532690

Pi-Day Pizza Social

Join us at Lion Bridge Brewing for a pizza social to celebrate Pi Day early, on Thursday, March 12th at 5:30 PM. We’ll have pizza from Ian’s Pizza (in Lion Bridge). Lion Bridge Brewing Company, 59 16th Ave SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, 52404

Enhancing Positioning Accuracy When Using Weak GNSS Signals On The Moon

This talk, presented at the ION GNSS+ 2025 conference, focuses on a Collins PNT architecture that addresses the communication and navigation needs of the NASA LunaNet program, a program conceived to enable manned exploration and base construction on the lunar surface. Speaker(s): Michael Armatys Room: Beems Auditorium A, Bldg: Downtown, Cedar Rapids Public Library, 450 Fifth Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, 52401

Congratulations to the Cedar Rapids Section!

At the 2026 Region 4/Region 6 meeting on Saturday, January 31st in Mesa, the Cedar Rapids Section was awarded the 2025 Region 4’s Small Section Membership Growth Award!  The citation reads, “In recognition of exceeding 2025 membership growth goals”.  Congratulations to all of the Region 4 Award winners!

SusTech Talk January 2026 – Water and Energy Interdependencies in the US

Water and Energy Interdependencies in the United States with Kelsey Semrod, senior water resources scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Hassan Niazi, integrated human-Earth systems researcher, Joint Global Change Research Institute Date/Time: Tuesday, January 27, 1 pm – 2 pm Pacific Time Abstract: Energy and water systems are deeply interconnected, leading to complex interdependencies that change in magnitude with changing natural, socioeconomic, and policy landscapes. Energy systems rely on water directly, for activities like cooling power plants or as a “feedstock” for hydropower and electrolysis, and indirectly, for mining primary fuels or cultivating biomass. Similarly, water systems require energy for a range of applications, such as groundwater extraction, reservoir operations, and water conveyance and treatment. Co- management of these interdependent and often competing energy and water flows is crucial for understanding the complexities of both systems and ensuring resilience. Speaker(s): Kelsey Semrod, Hassan Niazi, Agenda: 01:00 PM Introduction of speakers 02:00 PM Adjourn’ Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/534200

Congratulations to our 2026 Section Officers!

Elections wrapped up in December, and we’d like to announce the 2026 officers for the Cedar Rapids Executive Committee!  Keerthana Reddy is our new Chair, and Shubresh Jha is our new Vice-Chair!  Bruce Lindholm is returning as our Treasurer, and Meredith Godar is returning as our Secretary!  Welcome to our new officers!  We’re looking forward to a great 2026!