There Are Battles to Fight before Spring Break

Spring break is coming soon. It is our reward for studying hard all semester. But before I can take some time to rest and relax, there are battles to fight: many midterms. I am writing my papers and studying hard this week.  It seems this happens every year before Spring break.

Taking graduate engineering classes at the University of Utah has been one of the most rewarding and difficult things I have ever done. I always feel like “I finally got it” when I solve the homework assignments at 3 a.m. in the morning. The experience is unforgettable. The assignments are always challenging and the nights are always sleepless. I have learned tons of materials in the last six weeks. In next few weeks, I will have to filter all these information for a one-hour midterm. It is a level of understanding that my undergraduate classes never forced me to do, but it has been developed through conceptual thinking and problem solving, not just memorizing formulas and plugging in numbers. The classes at the University of Utah make me work hard and also give me new perspectives on engineering.

Enough whining about course work. Spring break is just around the corner. I will continue to study hard and knock out those midterms so I can enjoy a week of freedom.

Spring break is coming soon. It is our reward for studying hard all semester. But before I can take some time to rest and relax, there are battles to fight: many midterms. I am writing my papers and studying hard this week.  It seems this happens every year before Spring break.

Taking graduate engineering classes at the University of Utah has been one of the most rewarding and difficult things I have ever done. I always feel like “I finally got it” when I solve the homework assignments at 3 a.m. in the morning. The experience is unforgettable. The assignments are always challenging and the nights are always sleepless. I have learned tons of materials in the last six weeks. In next few weeks, I will have to filter all these information for a one-hour midterm. It is a level of understanding that my undergraduate classes never forced me to do, but it has been developed through conceptual thinking and problem solving, not just memorizing formulas and plugging in numbers. The classes at the University of Utah make me work hard and also give me new perspectives on engineering.

Enough whining about course work. Spring break is just around the corner. I will continue to study hard and knock out those midterms so I can enjoy a week of freedom.

You probably have heard of “Linsanity” or “Lincredible” a lot recently. Jeremy Lin – “Linsanity” – is a remarkable New York Knicks player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history. He has led his team to score seven winning games in the last two weeks. Jeremy Lin has scored 136 points in his first five games with the Knicks, more than anybody since the NBA and ABA merged in 1976. He holds a record score average of 20 points and eight assists in the last six winning games. Time Magazine has put him on the cover. Jeremy Lin is an NBA superstar, and more importantly, he is an Asian.

Jeremy Lin has become a global idol. In China, sports fans and commentators are quick to claim Lin, an American born to Taiwan immigrants with roots in mainland China. But he is Chinese no matter what. Most importantly, he graduated from Harvard University in 2010. He has broken the stereotype that an Asian can only be good at mathematics and physics. He shows that we Chinese can boast of more than just studying hard. He also showed the world that Chinese and Asians can compete with African-Americans or Eurasians in basketball without height advantage.

The challenge that Jeremy Lin has posed to leaders and managers worldwide is how many other Jeremy Lins (in sports, the arts and business) are there who are not yet getting their own chance? How do you find the talent that does not conform to expectations?

In 2009, University of Utah startup companies contributed 15,767 jobs and $755 million to the Utah economy. Many of these startup companies are high-tech companies with high-paying job opportunities that are filled by University of Utah Engineering students. This achievement is a testament to our researchers in the College of Engineering.

One of the biggest worries among college students is: Will I get a job after I graduate? I can proudly say that I believe that looking for a job after you graduate from the University of Utah College of Engineering is worry free.

For more information about this news, please visit  http://unews.utah.edu/news_releases/u-of-utah-repeats-as-no-1-university-for-startups/

Valentine’s Day in Salt Lake City

It is Valentine’s Day. It’s that time of year – a day to acknowledge our love and relationships. It is a time for people to be surrounded by heart-shaped chocolates, stuffed animals holding hearts, and red roses. People exchange ProFlowers Valentine’s gifts to the ones they love. My friends and I have been sharing our Valentine’s Day ideas on romantic gifts, love letters, and romantic dates for a week.

I am not apt to buy an expensive Valentine’s Day dinner and a dozen red roses. My idea of Valentine’s Day is to buy some chocolate-covered strawberries and have an Irish date night with my wife. Chocolate-covered strawberries are my favorite sweet treat in Salt Lake City. I just love the combination of chocolate and strawberry. I had never tried them before I came to the United States. I still remember the first bite. If you’ve never had one, you’ve got to try it. I always buy my chocolate-covered strawberries from Cummings Studio Chocolates. I believe they have the best chocolate in Salt Lake City.

The second brilliant idea I have for Valentine’s Day is to watch a performance at Kingsbury Hall (http://kingsburyhall.utah.edu/). My wife has always loved Irish Riverdance, and I am sure she will love this performance. The Kingsbury Hall building is Baroque architecture located in Presidents Circle at the University of Utah, and it is huge and beautiful. I have not been inside yet, but I am sure I will have a great experience there for my Valentine’s Day.

Now that is my plan for V-day. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!!!!

Can you image a motor vehicle that has a fuel efficiency of 100 mpg and is not hybrid? In the near future, it may not be just a fantasy anymore. A vehicle with a composite body frame can easily have a fuel efficiency that is more than 100 mpg. Composites are a new category of materials that contain a high-performance fiber and matrix materials. Composite auto body frames are as strong as steel but with only 40% of the weight and do not rust.

“With composite materials, we get high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, as well as excellent energy-absorbing capability per mass,” says Dan Adams, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Utah, who specializes in automotive composites. Adams says composites are currently used in aerospace applications, which require a strong and stiff material that is also extremely light. One of the reasons that composites have not been adapted to the automotive industry is the cost. The processing of carbon fibers is too expensive and slow. This is because the current knowledge and developments in the carbon fiber have not reached the breakthrough point. As a result, carbon fiber composites cannot compete economically with steel in the auto industry.

Adams’ research focuses on designing sandwich composites that are low cost and highly damage tolerant. With the proper design, Adams says that composites can meet or even exceed safety requirements in a crash because they can be designed to absorb significantly more energy than traditional metallic metals when crushed. He says, “Energy is absorbed through repeated failure of the material. The ideal case would be the composite structure being broken into tiny pieces where the crush occurs, but everything else is intact. The materials have to be designed to fail in a controlled manner.”

Adams and his students’ sandwich composites have been used in the Chevrolet Corvette. Adams is continuing to develop crashworthiness of composites with organizations such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and engineering consulting companies.

For more information about this news, please visit  http://www.coe.utah.edu/view_news/201

U of Utah Repeats as No. 1 University for Startups

I am happy to write that the University of Utah is once again the No.1 University for startup companies. The U of U has earned this title for the second year in a row. What does this mean? It means that the quality of research conducted at the University of Utah is very high and provides a lot of possibilities in industry. Yes, we beat MIT, Columbia, Cal Tech, and Stanford, making us the top university for commercialization success. This honor is a credit to our exceptional faculty, students and community.

In 2009, University of Utah startup companies contributed 15,767 jobs and $755 million to the Utah economy. Many of these startup companies are high-tech companies with high-paying job opportunities that are filled by University of Utah Engineering students. This achievement is a testament to our researchers in the College of Engineering.

One of the biggest worries among college students is: Will I get a job after I graduate? I can proudly say that I believe that looking for a job after you graduate from the University of Utah College of Engineering is worry free.

For more information about this news, please visit  http://unews.utah.edu/news_releases/u-of-utah-repeats-as-no-1-university-for-startups/

It is the Chinese New Year and it is the year of dragon. This is my second Chinese New Year in Salt Lake City. It is time to try setting up some resolutions for the New Year. Will I keep them? Um, it depends. I will do my best.

I resolve to:

• Study smarter, not longer.  In the past, I studied hard but only in the last minutes before a test. I would stay up for a couple of days to prepare for a test. I would do anything to make the most of my last-minute studying. But I have to admit it is a bad test preparation strategy, because your brain does not work effectively under stress and you are not going to remember much of it after the exam. I always told myself that it is never too late to develop great study habits. I will make my studying more effective by reading daily and by finishing assignments ahead of time.
• Engage in more intellectual discussions. I am surrounded by many smart people, so I can learn a lot of amazing things. I will try to cut out less-effective talk about classes and instructors. I want to get the most out of my time at the University of Utah.
• Stop complaining about snowy, cold weather. Since it’s gotten cold, I’ve had a hard time waking up and making myself walk up the hill to my morning class. Sometimes I wonder why the campus wasn’t built on flat ground. Or is walking uphill in the morning mandatory exercise for students?

These are some resolution I have for the year of dragon; I will give them my best shot.