What we’re about
Welcome! We are the Princeton / Central Jersey Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE / PCJS). We hold regular meetings on a variety of subjects, covering topics in science and engineering, information technology, and professional development.
This is a group for engineers, Information Technology (IT) folks, students, and anybody interested in pushing the envelope of our modern, tech-driven world. Sponsored by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), our meetings are open to all.
Our meetings are open to the public, and free of charge, unless otherwise noted. You need not be an IEEE member to attend.
Our chapters and groups include:
• Antennas and Propagation / Electronic Devices / MicrowaveTheory and Techniques
• Broadcast Technology
• Circuits and Systems
• Consumer Electronics and Communications
• Computer Society (joint chapter with Princeton ACM)
• Engineering in Medicine and Biology
• IEEE Education Society
• Photonics
• Power and Energy Society
• Robotics and Automation
• Signal Processing
• Solid-State Circuits Society
• Professional Activities Committee for Engineers (PACE)
• Young Professionals
• Consultants Network
• Women in Engineering
...and student branches at:
• The College of New Jersey
• Princeton University
• Rutgers University
• DeVry University - North Brunswick
• Middlesex County College
• Pre-University Student Branches
http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/princeton-centraljersey/
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a non-profit organization with over 400,000 members in more than 160 countries. The IEEE is the world’s largest professional association advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE is the trusted “voice” for engineering, computing and technology information around the globe. The IEEE publishes a third of the world’s technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science and electronics and is a leading developer of international standards that underpin many of today's telecommunications, information technology and power generation products and services.
www.ieee.org
Upcoming events
1
ACM / IEEE Computer Society: "The Quest for the Largest Known Prime Number"
Princeton University Friend Center, Intersection of Olden St and William St, Princeton, NJ, USPRINCETON ACM / IEEE COMPUTER SOCIETY
JANUARY 2026 JOINT MEETING
"The Quest for the Largest Known Prime Number" - Landon Noll
Note location change: Friend Center, lower level, room 004.
Abstract
The quest to discover a new largest known prime requires the development of advanced computational techniques and the development of fault resilient software. It's not just for big primes: we can also apply these approaches to complex and resilient computations in seismic analysis, large scale fluid dynamics, cryptography, and deep space probe design.
The search for large primes has been going on for centuries. In 1952, primality testing entered the realm of digital computers. We have come a long way since the 1970s when Landon Noll discovered a 6533-digit prime (www.isthe.com/chongo/tech/math/prime/m21701.html). Today's largest known prime (www.isthe.com/chongo/tech/math/prime/mersenne.html#largest) is over 25 million digits long!
The calculations required to test extremely large numbers for primality are tricky. They must be designed to overcome compiler and assembler errors and CPU calculation errors. The reason for such extreme measures is that the length of the primality search often exceeds the mean time to error of the calculating system. A slow and correct answer is infinitely preferable to a fast but incorrect answer. The world record goes neither to the fastest coder nor to the person with the fastest hardware but rather to the first result that is proven to be correct.
In the talk, Landon will explain how the test for primality is performed, and he will outline an optimal search strategy for finding a new largest known prime. NOTE: Knowledge of advanced mathematics is NOT required for this talk.
During this talk, a subset of these slides will be presented: http://www.isthe.com/chongo/tech/math/prime/prime-tutorial.pdf
Speaker's Biography
Landon Curt Noll is an astronomer and a lifelong computer enthusiast. Landon has held or co-held eight world records relating to the discovery of large prime numbers. Landon has done work in planetary science, computer science, cryptography, and computational number theory. He helped start the International Obfuscated C Code Contest. As a Cryptologist and Security Architect, he participated in the development of the IEEE P1619 cryptographic protection standard. Landon is a member of the American Mathematical Society and an associate of the American Astronomical Society.
Date: Thursday January 15, 2026, 8:00 PM EST
(Note: Refreshments and networking start early - 7:30 PM.)
Place: HYBRID MEETING (both in-person and online - at this month's meeting, the speaker will be Virtual!)
In Person: Princeton University Friend Center, Room 004
79 William St., Princeton NJ
(NOTE: We are **not** our normal room in the CS building this year - this room it is in the lower level of the Friend Center - enter on William St.)
How to register for the online meeting:
Send email to PrincetonACM {AT} gmail {DOT} com
OR Register on Meetup.com (https://www.meetup.com/ieee-princeton-central-jersey-section/)
Online (Zoom) connection information:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89353145034?pwd=DtXBmr46nJ4jfXZEZD5HD0l86NqNiW.1
On-line meeting notice:
https://PrincetonACM.acm.org/meetings/mtg2601.pdf
Princeton ACM / IEEE Computer Society meetings for the 2025-26 season will be "hybrid." You have a choice: attend the talk in-person, or view the meeting online from home. To join the online, you must register in advance, and you will receive an email with instructions for how to connect to the talk.
A pre-meeting dinner is held at 5:45 p.m. at Applebee's (3330 US 1, Lawrenceville, near Quakerbridge Mall). Please send email to princetonacm {AT} gmail {DOT} com in advance if you plan to attend the dinner.
All Princeton ACM / IEEE Computer Society meetings are open to the public. Students and their parents are welcome. There is no admission charge, and refreshments are served.
12 attendees
Past events
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