Undergraduate ECE Research

My journey into research began not in a lab, but in a classroom. In the fall of my second year, I was taking courses on solid state devices and heat transfer when a lecture on passive cooling sparked my curiosity. Because these subjects had been the center of my thoughts for weeks, I immediately saw the direct relevance of this research to the massive growth of AI data centers and its potential for huge gains in processing efficiency and environmental sustainability. Instead of just filing the idea away, I decided to act. My initial research into passive cooling introduced me to thermoelectric devices, which can convert heat directly into electricity. My excitement grew, leading me to search for related research at UVA, where I discovered Professor Mona Zebarjadi and the Energy Science Nanotechnology and Imagination Lab (E-Snail). I took a chance and reached out to her and was quickly onboarded and working with PhD student Sree Sourav Das. What began as a classroom concept quickly transformed into my own project, where I was designing and training a neural network to predict material bandgap values.

This experience has been transformative, teaching me far more than just technical skills. I’ve learned to communicate complex research to a broad audience, a skill I’ve applied at poster presentations. Perhaps the most unexpected change has been in how I approach my coursework. Now, I instinctively start considering how new concepts introduced in class could be implemented to improve our research, which has not only made my courses more fun but made me a better student. Beyond the academics, E-Snail has provided an invaluable community. I’ve built mentoring relationships with professors and graduate students like Sourav and connected with other undergraduates from different years who share my passion for semiconductors and thermoelectrics. Juggling research with a busy schedule is a challenge, but the hands-on learning, supportive team, and chance to contribute to something meaningful and exciting to me has made it one of the most rewarding parts of my college experience.

In my first-year spring, I explored intro courses in several engineering disciplines—among them Applied Circuits. This was my first exposure to ECE. Though it was only an intro-level class, I grew to love the abstract thinking involved, and I could tell that there was much more technical depth to be explored. I had a sense of the wide-ranging applications of ECE, and though I didn’t really know what direction I wanted to head into, I felt that I wanted to dive deeper.

I looked online into professors and their research interests, and soon after spring break, I reached out (sent cold emails) to many ECE professors whose research seemed interesting to me. Eventually, I connected with Professor Benton Calhoun and the Robust Low Power VLSI Group (RLP VLSI). I talked with the researchers in the group, and starting in the summer, I began working with PhD student Akiyoshi Tanaka on power management for the group’s E-Textile computation system. Specifically, my project focused on improving the energy efficiency of the switched-capacitor DC-DC converter (one part of the power system) by optimizing the dimensions of its current-carrying transistors. Through this experience, I greatly developed my skills in mathematical modelling, simulation, data analysis, technical communication, and engineering collaboration. Even beyond my specific project, I was exposed to exciting topics and concepts that I had never known existed. My experience with RLP VLSI helped me realize the connection between classroom knowledge and practical applications, and has gotten me curious and excited for future projects.

My journey to undergraduate research began in office hours, where I sought help on my Intro to Machine Learning homework. During the spring of my first year, I went to Professor Watson’s office hours to discuss an assignment, and in between questions, I asked about her research. From a brief introduction at the beginning of the semester, I knew her work involved medical technology. However, it was not until that office hours conversation that I learned her research also focused on wearable devices for athletics. Before coming to UVA, I already had a strong interest in integrating technology with athletics, specifically to support athletes during training and practices. Despite learning that her research interests matched my interests perfectly, I still did not ask to join her research group because I had no idea what undergraduate research entailed. I honestly thought I would take classes, graduate, and figure out everything later. After a month of going to Professor Watson’s office hours to talk about sports and homework, I finally asked to join her research group. She immediately started the onboarding process and even gave me a tour of her lab.

Through my undergraduate research experience, I gained a deeper appreciation for how my ECE coursework and research complement one another. While my classes provided a strong theoretical foundation and analytical framework, research allowed me to apply these concepts through hands-on prototyping, experimentation, and iterative problem solving. This experience shifted my perspective of seeing undergraduate education as primarily coursework-focused to seeing it as an essential opportunity for integrating theory with practice. I also learned how to effectively communicate technical engineering concepts to those with different backgrounds than mine, strengthening my ability to collaborate across disciplines. Furthermore, serving as the lead on projects within the lab helped me develop project management and leadership skills, including delegating tasks and coordinating efforts within a multidisciplinary team.

During my first year at UVA, I was set on finding a way to get real engineering work experience for the upcoming summer break. Naturally, I started looking at internship postings online, but quickly came to realize that most companies weren't hiring first-years for summer positions. I had heard about undergraduates doing research at UVA and was interested, but it seemed inaccessible because I wasn’t very close with any professors yet, and cold emailing seemed daunting. Luckily, I found a course within the ECE department's “Special Topics” (1500-level) offerings called “Frontiers in ECE,” which was a one-credit pass/fail class where different professors would guest lecture each week and talk about their research. A couple of weeks into the course, Professor Bobby Weikle came in to give a lecture on the terahertz frequency spectrum and his group’s work on its applications in electronics, encouraging students to reach out if they wanted to learn more. I approached Professor Weikle expressing my interest in research opportunities, and he invited me to join his group for the summer along with some other undergraduate students.

Throughout my first summer with the group, I took a crash course in radio-frequency and microwave electronics, learned about photolithography fabrication, and even attended the weeklong IEEE International Microwave Symposium conference in Washington, D.C. During the summer I was also able to start working on my own project within the group, with help from graduate and postdoctoral researchers, and was invited to stay on board during the academic year. Since then, I have continued to work with Professor Weikle’s group and have been able to explore exciting areas of electrical engineering that at one point seemed too advanced to tackle. I highly recommend exploring research opportunities to other ECE undergraduates seeking hands-on learning experience. My work has allowed me to develop my engineering knowledge, improve my technical communication skills, find a direction for my future career, and much more, all while maintaining a manageable schedule.