N.C. A&T College of Engineering Senior Selected as Keysight Technology Scholar

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 10, 2021) – Abdelkarim Suleiman, a junior studying computer engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, first used an oscilloscope in a lab during his sophomore year. He used the equipment to calculate the voltage and wave lengths of different circuits.

The oscilloscope is a generally modest-looking piece of equipment. Many have a flat display in the front with a black screen and simple wave graph. There is usually an array of buttons and dials on the front with inputs in the back. Suleiman did not think much about the company – Keysight Technology – that produced the model he was using.

It was in an electric circuits class where he learned how diverse the company was and where he began to appreciate its focus on communications, sensors, 5G connections and automotive technology.

Now, Suleiman is a Keysight Technology scholar. The scholarship offers electrical and computer engineering juniors a summer internship and $5,000 scholarship to support their fourth-year studies. Suleiman says the scholarship is enough for him to leave his part-time position that is taking time from his studies and other extracurricular activities, like participating in a club or student organization.

The Keysight focus that piqued Suleiman’s interest and motivated him to apply for the scholarship was automotive industries. “I just have a passion for cars and I really enjoy learning about a driver based on their car preference,” said Suleiman.

Suleiman grew up around cars because his father, an N.C. A&T alumnus, was a mechanic. In the 1980s, his father studied electrical engineering, which is housed in the same department as the program Suleiman is studying.

Suleiman appreciates that computer engineering goes beyond coding and focuses on the relationship between software and hardware.

“After my system design class, I see the world differently. I see a stoplight or vending machine and I now contemplate the relationship between the hardware and software in those devices,” he said.

While his awareness of different devices has increased, Suleiman he still carries the same passion that brought him into engineering and undoubtedly qualified him as a perfect match for the scholarship.

“I see engineering discipline as something that makes our lives easier. I’m all about helping people accomplish what will help them, but also helping the consumers,” he said.