By JAMES GUO
Sang Min Han ’15, an electrical and computer engineering major and applied mathematics minor, has research experience in signal processing dating back to his high school years. He is also a member of the Hunter R. Rawlings III Cornell Presidential Research Scholars Student Advisory Board.
Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Han moved to and grew up in Northern Virginia, where he attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Through a summer internship program encouraged by the school, he worked at the U.S. Naval Research Lab (NRL) over summer and winter breaks while a high school student.
According to Han, his NRL project investigated the interaction between plasma particles and radio waves in the upper atmosphere. A plasma is a state of matter that behaves like a fluid, but with electromagnetic properties. Gas particles usually have to be heated and ionized to form a plasma. At NRL, Han said he developed an interest in signal processing and worked with a team of electrical engineers.
“My positive research experience at NRL influenced me to apply as an ECE major to Cornell University,” Han said.
Han said he continues to do research at NRL during his summer and winter breaks. Han joined the lab of Prof. David Hysell, earth and atmospheric sciences, in fall of 2011. Through his involvement with Hysell’s research, Han had the opportunity to travel to Alaska and Peru to conduct research.
Courtesy of Sang Min Han ’15Radio wave research | During the summer of 2012, Sang Min Han ’15 attended the Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science Summer School in Alaska.