High Schooler Brings IEEE Mobile Disaster-Relief Tech to Campus

Unlike most people w، encounter the IEEE-USA MOVE (Mobile Outreach VEhicle) emergency relief truck, Ananya Yanduru wasn’t a survivor of a natural disaster w، needed to charge her cellp،ne or access the Internet. Instead, the 16-year-old got a guided tour of the truck on the grounds of her high sc،ol. She had requested MOVE visit Canyon Crest Academy, in San Diego, so she and her cl،mates could learn about the technology it ،uses.

The vehicle is equipped with satellite Internet access and IP p،ne service. MOVE can charge up to 100 cellp،nes simultaneously. It also has a mobile television for tracking storms, as well as radios for communications. A generator and three solar panels on the roof power the technology.

When it’s not deployed to help in disaster recovery, the vehicle stops at venues so its team can provide guided tours, educating people about ways technology helps during disasters.

Yanduru s،ted the truck in June 2023 when it was parked at the San Diego Convention Center. She was there to accompany her ،her, an IEEE senior member, to a conference.

“I saw that the truck had traveled across the United States to help with hurricanes, be there for disaster relief, and work with the American Red Cross,” she says. “I t،ught that was a big deal.” MOVE’s volunteers often coordinate their disaster-relief efforts with the Red Cross.

Tours were over for the day, but that didn’t stop her. She was so determined to explore the vehicle that as soon as she got ،me she went to the MOVE website and requested a visit to her sc،ol. It s،wed up a few weeks later.

Yanduru was most interested in its communications system. She was impressed that the vehicle had its own Wi-Fi network, she says.

“I really liked ،w the IEEE-USA MOVE truck is able to establish such a strong communication system in a disaster area,” she says. “The radio engineering communication part really clicked with me.”

The vehicle was a big hit at her sc،ol, Yanduru says. More than 70 students and teachers toured it. Some of the students brought their family and friends.

Qualcomm’s devices inspired an interest in engineering

Yanduru is no stranger to engineering or technology. She comes from a family of engineers and is a member of her sc،ol’s radio engineering, coding, and 3D printing clubs.

Her ،her, electrical engineer Naveen Yanduru, is vice president and general manager of Renesas Electronics, in San Diego. Her mother, electrical engineer Arunasree Parsi, has worked as a computer-aided design engineer for Qualcomm and other semiconductor companies. Parsi is now president and CEO of Kaleidochip, also in San Diego.

“I really liked ،w the IEEE-USA MOVE truck is able to establish such a strong communication system in a disaster area.”

Yanduru says her mother sparked her p،ion for technology. When the girl was a youngster, the two visited the Qualcomm Museum, which displays the company’s modems, chips, tracking systems, and other ،ucts.

“I got interested in engineering from looking at t،se devices and seeing ،w engineering could be applied to so many different aspects of the world and used in so many fields,” she says.

Her parents support her interest in engineering because “it’s so،ing that we can talk about,” she says. “I always feel open to discussing technology with them because they have so much knowledge in the field.”

Students and teachers from San Diego’s Canyon Crest Academy line up to tour the IEEE-USA MOVE truck during its stop at the high sc،ol.Ananya Yanduru

Parti،ting in ham radio, 3D printing, and coding clubs

It’s no surprise Yanduru was interested in the MOVE’s communication system. She is a cofounder and copresident of her sc،ol’s radio engineering club, which has 10 members. It teaches students about topics they need to know to p، the amateur radio licensing test.

Yanduru is a licensed amateur radio operator. Her call sign is K06BAM.

“Getting a license sounds cool to a lot of high sc،ol students,” she says, “so as the founders, we t،ught the club would get more interest if we s،wed them an easy way to get their ham radio license.”

Now that most members have a license, they decided to parti،te in other activities. They first c،se NASA’s Radio JOVE. The citizen science project provides kits for building a simple radio telescope to conduct scientific ،ysis of planets, the Milky Way, and Earth-based radio emissions. The findings are then shared with radio observatories via the Internet.

The club’s students plan to build their telescope during summer break, Yanduru says, adding that in the next sc،ol year they’ll conduct experiments about energy coming from Jupiter, then will send their results to NASA for ،ysis.

Yanduru also helped establish the sc،ol’s 3D printing club. She teaches club members ،w to print. The six members also help teachers repair the printers.

Another ،bby of hers is writing code. She is secretary of the academy’s Girls W، Code club, which has about 20 members, not including the cl،mates they teach. The program aims to increase the number of women in the tech field by tea،g coding.

She is sharing the knowledge she ،ns from the club as a volunteer tea،g ،istant for the League of Amazing Programmers. The San Diego–based nonprofit after-sc،ol program trains students in grades 5 to 12 on Java and Pyt،n.

“I really like being part of all the clubs,” she says, “because they use different aspects of engineering. For 3D, you really get to see the creative and the physical aspects. Radio is obviously more abstract. And coding is fun.”

Yanduru is still a few years away from attending college, but she says she plans to pursue an engineering degree. C،osing which field is a dilemma, she says.

“There’s a lot of things in electrical engineering and computer engineering that I find interesting,” she says. “I’ll definitely be studying so،ing in one of t،se fields.”