Sang Min "Joshua" Oh, Class of 2019

(Interviewed Senior year)

Hometown: Fullerton, CA
Favorite Class: CS 171 (Distributed Systems), ECE 154B (Advanced Computer Architecture), and ECE 255B (VLSI Design Validation)
Senior Project: ECE 189 (Qualcomm CE Capstone Award) – Eternal Flight: an in-flight battery exchange system that extends drones flight time by eliminating the need to land and recharge
Organizations: Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Last Book Read: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Hobbies: 1) doing things with friends such as playing sports, watching shows/videos, and going on late-night food runs, 2) playing the piano and practicing/learning how to play other instruments and 3) playing video games

Sang Min's Favorites:

Band / Performer: Dance Gavin Dance
TV Show: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Movie: 베테랑 (Veteran)
Book / Author: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Sport: soccer, basketball, badminton and table tennis
Activity: rock climbing
Geeky Possession: Ghost Cube and V-Cube 6

Preparation for College

What prepared you the most to study engineering in college?: I think AP Calculus BC (and some linear algebra and multi-variable calculus), AP Chemistry, and AP Physics C helped me prepare the most. A lot of the foundations of engineering are based in the physical sciences and calculus is an essential tool for solving complex problems in these fields. I think it is very important to learn these materials as you get deeper into the field of engineering since you will continue to build upon these foundations by being more exposed to advanced topics.

Are there any classes that you suggest EE students take before entering UCSB?: I would say that CE students must take AP Computer Science or some other class that offers programming. The CE curriculum requires many CS courses, so knowing how to program will be a big advantage for you. In addition, CEs are given the flexibility to take more classes on the CS side, and programming is a very large part of these classes since you will be required to do projects that require heavy amounts of coding.

Any additional experiences that you would like to share with students to help them prepare for college?: My parents did not college in the US and neither are engineers, so I was on my own when it came to searching for colleges and programs. I had a lot of questions because it is really hard to find genuine responses from posts on the Internet. I found that it helps a lot to sit down and talk with people who have already gone through college and/or have majored in the major of your choice. These discussions led me to many insights and helped me with a lot of my decisions for my academic career. I also attended several hackathons during my senior year of high school. It was definitely hard to compete with people who had a lot more experience than I do, but I think that the experience was valuable because I had a chance to talk with people from industry and startups.

Favorite Things About

UCSB: UCSB has such a nice campus and the weather here is amazing. Apart from the rainy days in the winter, the weather is usually pretty clear and sunny with a cool breeze. Also, UCSB is on the bluffs above the beach and you can access the beach from several locations on campus. There are bike paths all over, so it does not take very long to get from one end of the campus to the other. If time isn’t an issue, walking from one end of the campus to the other takes approximately 10-15 minutes. There are also many nearby places to get food (in the school, in Isla Vista, or places like the Camino Real Marketplace, which is a 5 minute drive from school).

UCSB offers many other resources that students can take advantage of. To list some examples, the University Center (UCen) has a bookstore where students can buy all of their school supplies and required textbooks. The Recreation Center (Rec Cen) has a standard gym, a swimming pool, several courts (for basketball, volleyball, and more), and even a rock-climbing wall. Students are also able to try out new things like surfing, rock climbing, backpacking, and more through the Adventure Program. The library is available for students to use 24/7 and students are able to book study rooms.

CE Program: The CE program offers many classes that span a wide range of topics. Aside from the required pre-requisite classes, students are allowed to design their own schedule and take classes that interest them. This gives students a lot of flexibility in exploring different topics and determining what they really want to specialize in. All of the ECE (and CS) professors that I've had are very good at instruction and care about students doing well in their classes. The professors always make themselves available during office hours or scheduled appointments. One thing I really like is the fact that the professors are very open to talking with students about many things other than course materials. You can ask professors about things, such as research and advice for future plans, and they will give you an honest answer. The Teaching Assistants (TA) for the courses are also very accessible and helpful. In addition, the ECE department has a very good and friendly advising staff. The ECE staff is great at helping you stay on track with your studies and they will do whatever they can in order to help you.

The ECE department is also very good because there are many resources that are available for students to use. The lab computers have the necessary software that allows students to work on their assignments without having to pay large amounts of money to buy the software. There is also an ECE shop that sells electronic parts needed for certain ECE classes, which is convenient because students don’t have time to find and buy everything they need for a project. The IEEE club is a good resource for students who need help with their introductory ECE courses and there is tutoring available from The Engineering Honor Society (Tau Beta Pi) or UCSB's Campus Learning Assistance Services (CLAS).

Why CE / UCSB?

Why did you select UCSB's Computer Engineering program?: During my senior year, my primary interest was E/M from physics and I liked the (EE) Electrical Engineering internship that I had done over the summer, so I initially selected EE. After the first few quarters at UCSB, my interests started shifting more towards CS, but I did not want to completely leave EE behind. Because of this, I changed my major from EE to Computer Engineering (CE) before the spring quarter of sophomore year.

Why did you select Computer Engineering as a major?: I really liked how much flexibility I had in choosing my classes. Because this major is a mix between CS and EE, I can choose how much focus I want to place on both software and hardware. In addition, I think it is important to be knowledgeable in both software and hardware because there is such a big co-dependence between software and hardware in many aspects of technology. Also, there is a wider selection of electives to choose from during your junior and senior years.

How did you hear about UCSB's Computer Engineering Program?: I learned about the CE program in greater detail during my first quarter here. During my freshman year, I was still really unsure of what options I had and what I wanted to focus in, so I talked to a lot of people including my advisor, upper-classmen CE students, TAs and graduate students, and also some people who came to represent their companies at the SBHacks hackathon. Through this, I had a better understanding of what the CE program had to offer and I realized that the CE program fit my interests better than the EE program.

Advice to students/parents about UCSB and CE

Advice on applying to UCSB: Students – You should really spend some time and research the programs to see what UCSB has to offer. There is a lot of information that you can find online including a list of courses that are offered and the requirements for each major; information on various student organizations that exist on campus and previous work that they have done; and profiles of the professors and their field of research. Before making your decision, it is very important to make sure that UCSB has a program that aligns with your interests since you will be working on your degree for four years. If you are interested in pursuing research, you should look search to see whether there are professors who are doing research in your field of interest. If you are interested in doing an internship, you should see if there are companies or startups near UCSB that interest you. Parents – If your child wants to apply to UCSB, please wholeheartedly support their decision. I think one of the things that helped motivate me the most (while applying and after getting accepted) was knowing that my parents fully respected and supported my decisions. An important part of education is the environment in which your child will be studying – if your child is studying at a college that he/she does not like being at, it will be a lot harder for them to focus and have a good time while attending college. As always, communication is key, so talk to your child about college applications. It is important to know about their thoughts as well – nothing good can really come out of pushing your child to do something that they are not interested in.

Looking back, what do you think you would have wanted your parents to know about UCSB Computer Engineering?: I think I would have wanted them to know the direction that technology is advancing in, just how important the field of CE really is. As a cross between CS and EE, there is so much flexibility in selecting a focus and there is so much work that can be done. Also, I think it would have been nice for my parents to understand what you can really do with CE, especially regarding knowledge about the various applications and the different sub-fields that exist within each topic.

In addition, I am the first in my family to attend a college in the US, so my parents did not really know about the entire college application process and the preparation – notably the various tests and the requirements that must be fulfilled during high school. I am very thankful that my parents trusted me to do everything on my own, but I also think it would have been nice if my parents really knew about the entire application process.

Explain to students and parents what you can do with a computer engineering degree: Computer Engineering is a cross between software and hardware, so there is a wide range of topics that you can work on. If you are more interested in the software-side, you can work on more theoretical topics such as algorithms analysis, scientific computing, and software optimization. If you are more interested in the hardware-side, you can work on VLSI systems or high-performance circuits design and validation. A lot of technology has a software-hardware codependence, so there are also many applications that require you to know about both. Some of these applications include:

Computer Architecture: focuses on the organization and implementation of computer systems while ensuring correct functionality. This involves designing computer systems for different applications since different applications have different characteristics, which means that one architecture might not be the most efficient for one application while it is the most efficient for another.
Distributed Systems and Networking: focuses on applications that have multiple computers working together to solve one problem and the problems that occur with fast, efficient, and correct communication between these computers.
Machine Intelligence: focuses on various topics including speech recognition, image processing, and machine learning in the context of signal processing.

There are so many other areas that aren’t listed, and it is hard to really form a comprehensive list because there is so much overlap between topics in Computer Engineering, but I hope this is enough to give you an insight into how much you can really do with a Computer Engineering degree.

The Curriculum

What are the benefits of a program that is a cross between Computer Science and Electrical Engineering?: The main benefit of the CE program is the ability to freely take courses in either CS or EE. CE students design a part of their curriculum by selecting which electives they want to take in their junior and senior years. The availability of so many classes gives you the ability to fine-tune your curriculum in accordance with your interests. In addition, you are free to explore and take different classes. You might even find a new topic that interests you.

What has your experience been like taking the Math and Physics core classes? I have not taken Math classes at UCSB because I have taken equivalent courses (AP Calculus BC and Math 250A/B at CSUF) during my junior and senior years of high school. If you can, you should try to take equivalent classes (first make sure that credit is transferable) because this will save you 2 years of taking math classes at UCSB. Doing this will give you an advantage in other classes such as Physics or the infamous Circuits, Devices, & Systems (ECE 10A/B/C) series.

I took both AP Physics B and AP Physics C in high school, so the core Physics classes at UCSB were not very interesting because it was basically a repeat of the same material. However, I thought Physics 5 (only required for EEs, but I still recommend it, especially since CEs do require a math/science elective) was very interesting because it covered the fundamentals of several topics in modern physics including the theory of relativity, wave-particle duality, harmonic oscillators and potential wells, nuclear physics, and particle physics. You cannot get credit for the engineers’ Physics series through the AP Physics tests, so if you want an even bigger challenge, you can take the physics series that is required for the Physics majors (which is significantly harder). Either way, exposure to Physics in high school will give you an advantage in your core Physics classes at UCSB.

What was / is your most challenging but rewarding course? My most challenging course was ECE 154B (Advanced Computer Architecture). In this class, we used the hardware description language Verilog in order to build and simulate a pipelined processor. We started out with writing code for a standard 5-stage pipelined processor. Gradually, we incorporated topics that we learned in class in order to improve our processor. Notably, we modified our original processor to include a cache and a branch predictor. Last, we had to modify our processor to make it superscalar so it could run two instructions in parallel instead of just one. In my opinion, it was very interesting to continually build upon our previous work and see how much could change by incorporating a new piece of hardware. I found this class especially rewarding because the final product was a fully functional processor that we designed from scratch after countless hours in the computer lab and multiple sleepless nights in the library. In addition, the class size is very small, which means that discussion was heavily encouraged in class. I think this also contributed to taking away important insights from the class.

Tell us about your Capstone (189A/B) experience so far: I have not started the Capstone sequence yet, but my friends and I have formed a team and have thrown around possible project ideas. We have also talked to several professors to get their input. There is still nothing set in stone yet, but we have intentions to meet and solidify an idea so that we can get to work right away when the Fall quarter begins.

Are there any specific classes that you are looking forward to?: I am looking forward to Computer Security (CS 177) because it is a topic that I’ve always been interested in. There are many ways to enforce security, but it is interesting to learn just how safe a certain method might actually be. In addition, I have seen documentation of many kinds of attacks on computer systems, and I want to learn more about these attacks – especially in how they work and the ways they can be prevented.

What area do you want to specialize in?: To give an honest answer, I am still not sure, but I am in the process of narrowing down my interests. Junior year was when I really started to get into the electives and see what I could do with Computer Engineering. I have a few interests but not a specific area that I want to specialize in. One area that I have been really interested in is distributed systems. After taking Distributed Systems (CS 171) this past spring, I found that I really liked learning about how computers work on one task and how important it is to have good communication between the computers. I am also drawn to this area because I have been interested in several distributed applications such as torrenting and blockchain technology. Closely related areas include Computer Networking (communication between the computers in the distributed network) and Computer Security (reliability and prevention of possible malicious computer nodes). Another area that I am interested in is Computer Architecture because I really like studying how the characteristics of an application define how the computer system must be organized for the greatest efficiency, greatest performance, lowest cost, etc. I currently have the most experience in this area because of the research I have completed.

Have you had any on-campus research opportunities at UCSB? I do have experience with on-campus research, but it was not through a program. I have been doing undergraduate research since the summer after my sophomore year in Professor Xie’s Scalable Energy-efficient Architecture Lab. My primary focus in the lab is in Computer Architecture, but I am interested in trying research in different areas as well. I really like doing research because it is a good complement to the work I’ve been doing for school – I can build upon the fundamentals that I learned in class, but I still have to read and study a lot in order to keep up with current technological trends. In addition, you get to talk to others who work in the lab (including MS and PhD students) about their projects and learn a lot more than you would learn in class.

Have you done an internship? I did an internship at Parker Aerospace in Irvine, CA during the summer before my senior year of high school. This internship was focused on Electrical Engineering and my main job was to write a low-level script that would read/analyze signals for the automation of testing an airplane motor. This was one of my first exposures to electrical engineering, and it had a big impact on me selecting my major. It was also my first time working in a professional environment, so it was also an insight into work culture and how I can be expected to behave and interact with co-workers when I graduate and get an actual job. It was also an opportunity to get to know a lot of the co-workers and talk to them about their work and college.

Sang Min's Off-campus Life

What is campus life like for Computer Engineering students? A lot of time is spent working on core classes and electives. Often, you may find yourself staying late at the computer labs or at the library working on a project or an assignment. The CE class is relatively small compared to other majors, so you will continue to collaborate with the same CE friends that you made during your freshman and sophomore years. Everyone is very nice, so although it may be tiring, it is very fun staying up late helping each other out and getting through challenges together.

What is the social scene on campus like for CE students? It really isn’t much different from other students at UCSB. You will be busy with work and projects, but if you manage your time well, you can always find time to have fun or meet new people. Particularly for CE students, there are many talks that are offered throughout the quarter and there are many student engineering student organizations that you can attend to meet new people who share your interests. Notably, I have been a part of IEEE since my freshman year and I met all of my close friends through it.

Describe your housing experience: I lived in the on-campus dorms (Santa Cruz) during my freshman year. To be honest, I didn’t like my housing situation during my freshman year – most of the people on my floor did not share my interests and most of them weren’t CEs, so I didn’t have much to talk about with others. However, I concede that I really didn’t make much of an effort to get to know other students on my floor. In the end, you get what you make of it – try to find a floor that aligns with your interests and if you put in the effort to make your freshman year fun, then it will be great. All of the basics are taken care of: you have access to study/recreation rooms in the dorms, there is an amazing janitorial staff that keeps the dorms clean, and you have a dining common that is right next door.

Starting my sophomore year, I found an apartment in IV, moved in with some of my close friends, and had (and still am having) a blast. IV has a lot of stores and places to eat, so getting food isn’t a problem. However, the food in IV really isn’t cheap, so I really recommend making your own meals (try to find a friend with a Costco membership since there is one 2 miles from IV). A lot of the apartments get taken near the start of the Winter quarter, so if you are looking to move out to IV, you should quickly decide on where to live and who to live with. You should also do your research before deciding on an apartment: is it close to campus, is the rent OK for you, is the apartment spacious enough (if you are interested in an apartment, you can try asking the current tenants if you can take a quick peek), is it loud at night, etc. I haven’t really explored other options such as the university-owned apartments or the housing co-ops, so I cannot say much about them, but you should also consider these other options before making your decision.

The Future

What are your plans/aspirations after graduation?: I was accepted into the BS/MS program, so I will stay a 5th year to receive my Master's Degree in Computer Engineering. I have no set plan for what I will do after receiving my Master's Degree, but I am thinking of several options. I am thinking of continuing my education to pursue a PhD. If I do so, I would actually like to go to another university for a change of environment (although it will be hard to say goodbye to the near-perfect weather of Santa Barbara) and also to expand my network and meet new people. I am not sure whether I want to pursue a PhD directly after receiving my M.S. degree, so I am considering going into industry to work for a few years and save money while learning more about technological trends. I am really enjoying doing my undergraduate research, so I want to aim for research-related work after receiving a PhD. For now, my end goal is to get a career in research and development.