Cal Poly Pomona IEEE Soldering Tutorial

EVENT REPORT: CPP IEEE Soldering Tutorial

ATTENDANCE: 23 Students

VENUE: Cal Poly Pomona – Bldg. 9 Rm. 431

April 26th, 2014: 12:00PM – 5:00PM

This past April 26th marked the 7th Quarterly Soldering Tutorial at Cal Poly Pomona. First

initialized in the Fall Quarter of 2013 by Peter Seiler to allow students to hone their skills in the

art of soldering, IEEE has kept the soldering tutorials alive and growing. Due to the absence of

soldering classes and/or workshops on campus, IEEE’s Soldering Tutorials serve as many

students’ first time working with tools of the trade. In addition, these students leave with a fun

kit they assembled themselves and a select few leave with a first or second place prize thanks to

the generosity of Panatron.

Out of the twenty-three students in attendance, fifteen were new to soldering. The demographics

of our audience were spot-on and targeted the individuals for which the tutorials were started for.

This event even reached students from California State University, Fullerton and University of

Southern California simply by word of mouth. Our presenters for the tutorial included IEEE

officers for the 2014-2015 academic year: Robert Goya (President), Roberto Park (Vice-

President), and Aaron Chang (Secretary).

During the tutorial, many students came across problems such as component leads freezing in via

holes, applying too much solder to joints, and placing components backwards. Although many

students learn about diodes and BJTs in class lectures, being able to follow directions and place

components correctly according to their behavior is an experience not all students can benefit

from.

To conclude the tutorial, Max Cherubin, Aaron Chang and Robert Goya held a contest on the

craftsmanship of everyone’s soldering kit. Based on overall neatness, consistency, and soldering

joint quality, the first place prize of a $20 Starbucks gift card was awarded to Nicholas Brown.

The second place prize of a $15 In-N-Out gift card was awarded to Arthur Giourdjian.

Upon completion, many students found the tutorial to be beneficial and most importantly, fun.

Anytime when students find course-relevant material to be fun, it will always serve as a reason to

further enjoy their major. Overall, the Cal Poly Pomona Chapter of IEEE would like to thank

Panatron for their sponsorship and their support for a program that reaches out to so many

students every academic quarter.

Left to right: The soldering contest winners and judges: Aaron Chang, Robert Goya, Nicholas Brown (1st place), Arthur Giourdjian (2nd place), Max Cherubin

 Students watching IEEE’s Soldering Tutorial presentation

Max Cherubin inspects Nicholas Brown’s Color Night Joule Thief kit

The judging process for a 3.3/5 V Breadboard Power Supply kit