Matt Chang
	2011
	Electrical Engineering
	Princeton University
	Graduate Student

What do you do in your current position? At Princeton, I work Dr. Paul Prucnal in the Lightwave Communications Lab, which invents new technologies for high speed optical communication (think fiber optics). My project is called the "Photonic Neuron", and our goal is to build something known as an optical neural network by mimicking how a biological neuron in a brain works. We hope to imitate the behavior of a biological neuron by engineering a special, tiny, semiconductor laser which will be fabricated in the hundreds/thousands on a wafer. If successful, an optical neural network can make decisions, "adapt" to its environment, and crunch data much more efficiently than a modern day computer can, but billions of times faster than our brains ever could.

How has your PSU engineering education/experiences helped to get you where you are today? The biggest thing that Penn State ever gave me was the opportunity to explore, choose, and experience nearly anything that the modern day technical community is doing. The experiences allowed me to get different perspectives, and try out all the different specialities there are in my field. Because of that I was able to test my interests and zone in on what I really wanted to do. There's an incredible amount of resources at your disposal at Penn State, if you take initiative. So take initiative.

How has your experience as an EA impacted your professional life so far? At one point in time, I actually turned down the offer to be an Ambassador. It probably would have been one of the biggest mistakes of my college career, as the Engineering Ambassadors gave me experiences that changed my college and professional career goals. With the Engineering Ambassadors, we became perfectionists of the speaking and presenting trade, and constantly spoke in front of large crowds. Professionally, it made us much more confident, unique, and competitive. In a world where people still speak with their backs to the audience, to a slide full of text, these skills make us stand out, and they last a lifetime. Someone once told me that "science not communicated is science not done", and it's strikingly true. On the other hand, the Engineering Ambassadors let me try out a new dimension of technical communication I never considered: teaching. I never wanted to be a teacher growing up, but after my first few high school visits I did a complete 180. Seeing the eyes of students light up when they make a connection is an incredibly rewarding feeling. I hope to continue teaching in my graduate school and professional career.