David Atienza, only two years ago, you received an Early Career Award. Now you have been elected Fellow, and you are still in your thirties. 

If you were speaking to young, ambitious professors, what advice would you give them about the benefits of taking part in IEEE events and organisations?

I would definitely encourage them to attend the key IEEE events and organizations in their domain. In particular, in my field of electrical and computer engineering it is key to have good presence in IEEE events and organisations, to be able to develop the network of contacts and be aware of the trends that are going on, as well as making your own work known.

Indeed, in my view, not everything can be found or understood based on information in papers, reports, code, etc. The personal interaction is fundamental: to be known and to understand how other people think about the future in our area.

Moreover, in my opinion, being part of IEEE and taking part in events and organizations is a service to the research community in general that we (as professors and researchers) must do, to help new researchers develop and form an even stronger community. Especially it is helpful for young professors to get the best students in the near future… If they know you, they may want to join your team as PhD students or post-docs!