Kenneth Hyun

What is Computer Engineering?

"Computer engineering combines electronic design, computer architecture, programming of computing systems, computer networks, and applied mathematics.  Computer engineers are involved in many hardware and software aspects of computing, from the design of individual microprocessors, personal computers, and supercomputers, to circuit design. This field of engineering not only focuses on how computer systems themselves work, but also how they integrate into the larger picture."

Why did I choose computer engineering?

I built my first computer when I was a junior high schooler. Simply put, I was not getting enough frames to play Overwatch on my dinky DELL laptop. Although it was really hard for my 7th grader brain, I enjoyed building it, finding out what wires connect to what ports, how to apply the CPU efficiently, and seeing it power on for the first time was amazing. Now as a college student, I hope to one day develop the parts that we see go into computers, advancing technology one motherboard at a time.

Computer Engineering at GW

GWU's computer engineering department is amazing, with impressive faculty and innovative research all stationed here in Foggy Bottom. The department has state of the art facilities, with labs and classes in the SEH. For students, the professional Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the premiere group fro ECE students to develop and become outstanding engineers.

For this assignment, we were given lots of room to be creative. Finding a problem and solving it is what an engineer does, and that's what we were assigned to do. Come up with a solution for a real life issue, using our unique point of view as students and individuals. Here is what I came up with.

Engineering Innovation:
1a- What problem are you solving, What are the constraints?
The problem I’d be solving would be the issue of single use plastics and how they pollute landfills and the ocean. This releases microplastics into the environment, poisons our food and increases overall litter. The main constraints with this is the sheer amount that is already in pollution and how much more economically viable it is to use them. A case of Liquid Death will cost around 16 dollars, while a whole 32 pack of Deer Park comes out to just 6 dollars.
1b- What specific needs such as welfare, safety, public health, social, environmental, global, economical considerations you had in mind when selecting this problem.
The main needs I considered were the public health and environmental aspects of the issue. With microplastics in basically everything now, health risks are only increasing. The environment also suffers, as SUPPs do not decompose easily, and they can make the environment toxic and dangerous for the animals to live in. I also considered the economic side of this, as by solving the issue, it would economically strain large corporations, who might not be as willing to give up on SUPPs.
2- What is your engineering solution, Engineering Design and Specifications, etc.?
My engineering solution would be to develop certain chemicals with chemical engineering, that degrade plastics that are already in the ocean and environment, distributing it over time through automated dispensers that are built to sail and solve the problem. It would need to be cost effective, something I need to factor in. I also plan to change the manufacturing of plastics by using engineering principles to make aluminum cans, the alternative, more popular. I would introduce new machines that make it cost effective to manufacture aluminum, or create a new recycling process that also makes it easier.

3a- What are the created values?
By focusing on the cost impact of the project, good economic values are created, as I would reduce costs of the industry and the solution. And by focusing on the health of the planet, selflessness would be created, as the main goal would be to focus on the environment. Lastly, values of responsibility would also be developed, as I would assume responsibility of humans trashing the Earth.

3b- What are the impact of your engineering solutions in global, environmental, economic, and social contexts?
The main impact would be the improving of the environment, and the change every plastic using business would face would be an economical one. By focusing more on aluminum and metal cans, the social narrative would also change, for the better.

The ideas of diversity, inclusion, and equity were presented to us as part of the course. We were challenged to think about its importance, especially in STEM, something that I understood more deeply. I developed questions regarding the subject such as: Who's to say that one person should have this job over something that is as ridiculous as skin color? Or why don't we have equal hiring rights? Here are my responses to prompts we were asked.⬇️

What is it, and why is it important for STEM (Engineering)?

a) Diversity is the inclusion of many different backgrounds, from sex, gender and race. Equity is the fair treatment of people, and inclusion refers to bringing everyone into the mix and not excluding others based on uncontrollable factors.

b) These three values are important for STEM in general as they promote a productive and fair workplace. With diversity, there would be a large pool of opinions and experience, leading to stronger projects. By also treating everyone equally and not excluding, it makes the workplace safe for those who may be minorities.

As an innovator and an entrepreneur, you formed a company.

• What two strategies would you choose to improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at your company?

1. The first strategy I would employ would be to have a threshold for diversity, making sure to hire a certain percentage of races, to insure that the company would not be one sided in terms of opinion.

2. For my second strategy I would employ a dedicated diversity/inclusion officer that would ensure that no discrimination would be present. Often when people undergo acts of discrimination in the work, they have nowhere to report it, however with a dedicated officer, reports would be filed and discrimination would decrease.

• Why and how these two strategies would benefit your company?

By adding these strategies and others, it ensures that our company remains diverse and fair. This adds the benefit of appealing to more employees as they see the company as fair. By also making the workplace fair, employees have a better environment that conduces more productive work. Diversity adds the aspect of bringing many different points of views on projects, and making solutions more applicable to the world.

For this last week, we were assigned to run some problems through MatLab, a programming language that engineers often use. In it we solved matrices and polynomials, simple things, but I reckon that there is a lot more to learn. Although complicated to learn initially, once I hooked onto the idea, it was fairly easy to execute. I plan to learn this language more in depth to be of use in my future.

My results⬇️

1)A = [1 1 1; 1 -1 1; 1 2 -1] B = [6;6;2];
X = inv(A)*B

A=

111

1 1

X= 4

0 2

2)
t=0:pi/100:2*pi;
y=sin(t);
z=cos(t);
x=cos(t).^2
plot(t,y,t,z,t,x)
xlabel('DOMAIN') ylabel('RANGE') legend('sin(t)','cos(t)','cos(t).^2')

-1 1 2 -1

3)
z = polyval([1; 3; -100; 54.286; 1; 3; 6],6) roots([1; 3; -100; 54.286; 1; 3; 6])

z=

-4.7830e+04

ans =

-11.8359 + 0.0000i 8.2813 + 0.0000i 0.7639 + 0.0000i -0.3783 + 0.0000i 0.0845 + 0.4524i 0.0845 - 0.4524i

For this assignment, it was especially challenging as it was my second time being introduced to circuitry. Creating a complete system that actually worked was very satisfying, and it is something that I plan on attending to more in the future. I definitely had some parts where I struggled, but it was worth seeing that blinking light in the end.

Here you can find my LinkedIn profile, which also has my resume. Feel free to connect with me!

For my first assignment, I got familiar with TinkerCAD, a very useful software. Creating my first 3D print design was really interesting and I loved how it came out. Definitely plan on printing some more complex, personal projects. Doing the extra credit also challenged me, as I struggled to put my name on the tiny bolt.

I am a first year at The George Washington University, pursuing a B.S. in computer engineering. I am from California, lived there my entire life, (never took a metro).

Interests

I love to game, on any platform and love Star Wars. Also anime when I eat.

You can reach out to me on my instagram @kenhyhyun

Class Schedule