Marcel Keschner
Biography
Marcel Keschner has initiated and implemented some of the most innovative and effective IEEE Technical Activities projects around the world to increase the reach and impact of IEEE to previously underserved populations. Cofounder of the IEEE Uruguay Section, Keschner developed the E-Scientia museum exhibit in Montevideo, Uruguay, to help preuniversity students understand the basic concepts of science and engineering by giving them a virtual tour of a space mission through hands-on sessions in a space station. Students are presented with numerous technical challenges requiring the building and installation of electrical and electromechanical components from kits available in the spaceship's arsenal. Students create solutions to challenges involving energy, monitoring and detection, environment sensing, communication, and biomedical measurements. E-Scientia units have since been installed in museums in China, India, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and South Africa. Keschner also developed IEEE initiatives for promoting the electrotechnology industry in Latin America. He arranged informational meetings and symposia with political figures and decisionmakers that resulted in new initiatives and regulations for the electronics industry in Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Keschner also organized a series of IEEE Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) aimed to provide electrical energy to off-the-grid schools in Uruguay. This work prompted the Uruguay government to budget for solutions that have permanently connected the participating schools to the country's electrical grid. Keschner was also instrumental in developing the Online Technical English Instruction for Multiple Audiences project to help countless technology and engineering professionals throughout Latin America who do not command English. Employing English as a Second Language education experts, this program introduces engineers to technical English and assists participants in reading English-language manuals, standards, and technical literature needed in engineering practice.
An IEEE Senior member and recipient of the 2011 Meritorious Achievement Award in Informal Education from the IEEE Educational Activities Board, Keschner is president of Markel Engineering, Montevideo, Uruguay and CEO of Kcode LLC, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
