Research Experience

Research Assistant at the Family and Culture Lab (University of California, Berkeley)

I have been involved with Project LEAD:

Project LEAD (Language, Emotion, and Development) is a longitudinal study funded by the National Institute of Health (PIs: Qing Zhou at UC-Berkeley & Yuuko Uchikoshi at UC-Davis). This study aims at investigating the links among bilingual development, executive function, parent-child and teacher-child relationships, and socio-emotional development in young children from Mexican American and Chinese American families. We will recruit 400 dual language learners (initially 3-4 years of age, 200 Chinese Americans, 200 Mexican Americans) from Head Start programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, and follow these children and their families annually for three years (from preschool to kindergarten). Three waves of multi-method data will be collected from children and families through classroom observation, home interview and observation, parent and teacher survey, and language and neuropsychological test. The data will be used to examine the reciprocal relations between bilingual and socio-emotional development in dual language learners, and test the mediation and moderation mechanisms underlying the developmental pathways. – from source

Research Assistant at Zhang Lab (University of California, Berkeley)

Link: http://xlab.me.berkeley.edu/

In today’s sensor designs, a dye filter is placed on top of a photodetector to measure the intensity of light. However, the dye filters cannot be made too small or they become ineffective in filtering colors. When the pixel size is less than 1μm, the pixels also begin to experience harmful electromagnetic interference.

With the goal of improving image sensors in mind, my research at Berkeley was aimed at uncovering the methods and materials from which image sensors can be created from. Working in Prof. Zhang’s department, I researched sensor development and its applications to learn more about how image sensors can be decreased in size through nanotechnology.

Here, I was able to help develop a sensor that addresses the problem of interference and eliminates the need to use a dye filter through the creation of a different type of sensor that makes use of silicon’s light absorbance properties. In this design, different sizes of silicon nanostructures are constructed and placed together to form a new kind of image detector. As a whole, this design should yield a pixel size that is five times smaller than that of the world’s best camera today, increasing image resolution by 25 times and providing other benefits in terms of color accuracy, low light performance, and capture speed.

Intern at China First Capital Group Limited

Link: http://www.cfcg.com.hk/

At the company headquarters in Shenzhen, China, I tested and developed stock graph alternatives used in user web and phone applications. As new graphing software is developed, the need to test the implementation and feasibility of new types of graphs was required. Using C++, Java, and Javascript, I worked closely with the software department to test the compatibility of the new graphs with their current internal API.

In the end, I was able to create a new phone application for the company which had the new graphs fully implemented. The new graphs increased the accuracy of the information presented in the app and sped up access time for users accessing data about a stock.