NCC Professor Earns Senior Membership with IEEE

Dr. Marshal Miller, professor of computer and information science at Northampton Community College (NCC), has been elevated to the grade of senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) this year. A senior member is the highest professional grade of IEEE. Only 10% of the nearly half a million members have achieved this level of membership.  

“I am humbled to achieve this status and join so many paradigm-shifting engineers. All I can hope for is that I can embody IEEE's mission of ‘Advancing Technology for Humanity,’” says Miller. 

IEEE brings together professionals from corporations, government, and academia to tackle real-world challenges, with representation from over 160 countries. IEEE publishes approximately a third of the world’s technical literature in electrical engineering, computing, and electronics. Its members inspire a global community through highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities.  

The IEEE concentrates on sectors such as healthcare and life sciences, energy, government, and more, delivering practical innovation to communities to improve lives.  

Miller was nominated to become a senior member by another member of the Lehigh Valley chapter of IEEE. To become a senior member, you must receive recommendations from two other senior members, testifying to your research in the field and work in the community. “IEEE is special because it highly values both education and industry,” says Miller, “You must have success in both areas.” 

Miller’s research centers around internet protocols and resources, and he’s shared his findings at conferences like PyCon, the largest annual convention for the discussion and promotion of the Python programming language. He has made an impact in the field of computer science through his advocacy for and contribution to open-source software. The NCC professor has contributed over 1 million lines of code to a number of open-source software projects, and he’s maintained 100 open-source projects, some used by thousands every day. 

Open-source software promotes collaboration, transparency, and innovation. “It does so by providing the code for software that anyone may freely use, modify, or build upon,” says Miller. “It's at the core of most technologies.”  

Miller had just finished his doctorate and wanted to stay on top of industry trends when he found IEEE. He has now been a member of IEEE for four years, and during his time with the institute, he’s learned from professionals in his field and has learned of cutting-edge research in other fields. 

Through IEEE, Miller helped create new opportunities for his computer science students to learn outside of the classroom. “As a professor at NCC, I wanted to ensure our students had access to opportunities that students at private universities have. One of the ways that I've been able to do this is with partnerships. An example is the recently established Lehigh Valley Hackathon for area colleges. Our students can directly compete with Lehigh, Bucknell, Villanova, NJIT, Lafayette, and more, with the chance to win several high-value prizes.” 

Miller’s commitment to his students has paid off. “One of our local technology companies reached out recently asking for students who could help their company grow. Their boss told them that the most productive new developers are coming out of NCC, and that’s why they contacted us. That is something that we hear repeatedly. From day one, our students are put into a computer science program that prepares them, not just for their transfer school, but also to be a productive contributor to software at any level." 

With a passion for continuing his education in the field each day, Miller will make the most of his new role with the IEEE, benefiting his students along the way.