Searching through bushes, between rocks, under benches and near trees, 15 local high school students and 10 undergraduates combed Cornell’s campus in search of hidden transmitters as part of a digital ‘fox hunt’ on Oct. 5.

Wondering how he could encourage students to consider microchip design as a career, Mohamed I. Ibrahim, assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering, decided to try a fox hunt competition, in which teams of students working together tried to find 10 hidden transmitters using handheld spectrum analyzers provided by electronics and software company Keysight Technologies.

Credit: Provided

The competition was planned by Ibrahim and a group that included members of Cornell Custom Silicon Systems (C2S2) – a student project team dedicated to semiconductor design and building. The day started with technical lectures by Ibrahim and Taylor Varner, an engineer and account manager with Keysight, before students began the one-hour competition.

“The competition was fun, but the important aspect of the event was to promote the idea of a career in chip design to high school students and Cornell undergraduates,” said Ibrahim. “The goal of the event was to show students that a silicon chip lies at the heart of every electronic device, and to make them aware how important chip designers will be in the future as systems increasingly rely on specialized electronic chips.”

Ray Hage, assistant director of the Science and Technology Entry Program at Cornell’s Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, praised Ibrahim’s inclusion of local youth from the program. “The students love competition, and this was a fun experience that got them excited to learn more about chips and how they work. Students were even late getting back to lunch because they wanted to find all the hidden transmitters,” Hage said.

Undergraduate students do not typically have an opportunity to go through the process of building a chip from start to finish, but C2S2 students use open-source hardware and software to design, implement, fabricate, test and evaluate silicon chips such as the ones used in the fox hunt.

The C2S2 team is advised by professor Chris Batten, lecturer Hunter Adams, and Ibrahim, all faculty in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and is funded by the Shen Fund for Social Impact. It is currently partnering with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to use a similar microchip design in a bird tagging device, and the fox hunt served as a practical test of the technology.

“The fox hunt event was a fantastic experience,” said Taylor Do ’26, an electrical and computer engineering major and member of C2S2. “It was a great opportunity to explore practical applications of radio frequency technology in a hands-on and engaging way. Many of the participants had their first experience using this advanced equipment, giving them a glimpse into the tools they would be working with if they pursued a career in radio frequency electrical engineering.”

Andrew Lewis ’27, president of the Cornell Amateur Radio Club, said the club hosts its own fox hunts each semester and club members benefited by the opportunity to use Keysight's advanced professional radio equipment.

“Our members also participated in demonstrations by the Keysight team, and this provided useful information for our club's week-to-week activities, such as learning about vector network analyzers and spectrum analyzers and how they can be used to calibrate antennas and transceivers,” Lewis said. “Foxhunting is definitely an exciting way to learn about the fundamentals of propagation, antennas, and signal analysis, and I am glad we were able to collaborate with C2S2 and Keysight to host a really well-done event.”

Ibrahim said he envisions opening up the competition to a broader set of students in the future, providing more hands-on activities, training sessions and community college involvement to encourage students to consider chip design as a career.