Hey π,
I'm Zhen - I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Now, I am at Oxford as a Jardine Scholar reading Materials Science. π§ͺ
Contents:
- What I am up to now!
- Startups & VC -β‘
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Internship (JPL) -π
- Faraday Institution Internship -π
- Oxford University Rocketry Society -π
- Climate Work -π
- What I was previously up to!
Diving in -π€Ώ
1. What I am up to now!
For the next academic year, I will be a visiting masters student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) conducting research in architecting additively manufactured metamaterials for rotordynamic systems such as rocket engine turbopumps and aeroengines in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
How do I define materials science? It is the exploration and discovery of the physics and chemistry of the microscale and the macroscale, how they interact, and how to exploit their interactions to develop new technologies for solving problems - still working at it!
I want to be around people who can't help but be drawn to and are ambitious about their work. I love stories and films that say something about society but also love those that don't take themselves too seriously. You'll probably find me checking out the nearest forest or park or in the lab checking out some new material or idea.
The most inspiring people of all-time for me are (no order): Sir Frank Whittle (RAF), Matthias Maurer (ESA), Morris Chang (TSMC), Richard Feynmann (!), Richard Hamming (You and Your Research), Ben Rich (Skunkworks), Neri Oxman (MIT), David Pocock (AUS Rugby), and Brian Greene (Physics).
Areas that I can't help but be drawn to:
- Materials, Aeropsace & Manufacturing
- Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
- Photography and Design
To push the point ad nauseam on how much I love to geek out, I host a podcast with my brother on science, technology and entrepreneurship. Check it out here!
Hear our recent session below:
I once spent 2 weeks with Bram Tan, a Parisian designer working on his 3D printed Ukiyo-e plates from which I gained a love of design and creation. We did a podcast episode together years later, discussing the relationship between design and technology!
2. Startups & VC
Atoms & Bits
My overarching mission is to invent and commercialise Atoms and Bits (Hardware + Software) technologies. I have always loved the interplay between technology and business for how they motivate each other, leveraging each side for everything I do.
AI Engineer (1st Hire, Summer Intern 2023)
Creating 10x technicians
LLMs for the factory floor. Built the LLM search tool for over 100s of PDFs of user manuals for technicians. Conducted user interviews of automotive technicians on UX and product capability in search of PM fit. AI is moving at 10x Moore's Law!
Technical Product Manager and Prompt Engineer (Spring Intern 2023)
Consumer Gen AI
It started out as making fun prompts to make my friends and I laugh, my favourites are the personality generator, hunger games simulator and heist role assigner. I ended up joining the team for a couple months remotely while the rest were in SF! Learnt so much about prompt engineering and 10x everything I have done since with LLMs.
VC & Data Scientist (March 2022 - April 2023 Campus Associate)
Building not betting
Wrote scripts to automate sourcing of B2B Deeptech companies and AI tools for optimal information extraction!
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Next generation marketplace for manufacturing equipment
Something I sourced!
On Deck Catalyst (ODC2)
Similar to how Dr. Martin Galpin showed me there was method to madness in quantum physics, On Deck Catalyst (late 2021) provided a high quality series of programs for learning about start ups, raising funds, and pitching. From the build weekend, I teamed up with some friends from college and furthered my software development stack, UI design, and business strategy. Stay tuned to see what I am building!
3. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Computational Materials, Additive Manufacturing and Machine Learning
From 3 weeks to 30 seconds
During summer 2022, in the Materials Development & Manufacturing Technology Group (357H), I was a researcher in computational materials and physics informed machine learning with high performance computing for materials thermodynamic assessment in pycalphad with Dr. Richard Otis (technologist/creator of pyCALPHAD).
Under Samad Firdosy (materials engineer and group manager), I was a characterisation scientist studying interfacial features in joints between additive manufactured 6061 aluminium alloy and conventionally manufactured aluminum alloys as a feasibility test for potential application in spacecraft heat rejection systems (HRS). I also used my pyCALPHAD knowledge I learnt from Richard and Noah Sargent, NASA Space Tech fellow and University of Pittsburgh PhD candidate, to model compositional changes with heat treatments.
One of my projects involved employing deep learning for image segmentation of grain boundaries for magnetic shielding prediction in mu-metals. The result was that I automated a tedious process requiring 3 weeks to trace optical micrographs by hand to 30 seconds. This project arose from my lunch conversations with Samad.
Supported by the Newton-Ungku Omar Fund awarded by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT).
Podcast session with Dr. Scott Roberts!
Present at the Oxford Moon Meeting
OFF TOPIC: Best takeaway from Oppenheimer? Willing something into existence is epic.
Let's turn those 'Engines of Creation' on! π¦Ύ
4. Faraday Institution & University of Warwick
Follow us on Twitter
Battery and Machine Learning Research
The work done at the Faraday Institution will create a revolution in energy production and storage.
Over summer 2021, I completed a research internship with the University of Warwick and the Faraday Institution in data mining and machine learning for battery manufacturing. Check out the poster!
I wrote a blog post with some reflections from my experience.
5. Oxford University Rocketry Society
From 2021 to 2023, I served as the secretary then president leading the society in building rockets and sourcing funding. I managed the fuselage, guidance, and fuel departments. As the chief engineer, I loved learning everything about the projects and facilitating my team members in directing the vision and solving any problems.
Previously as the secretary, I organised and led interactive educational and lab sessions. In 2021, we hosted a Hybrid Rocket Engine Hackathon. We plan to launch a hybrid rocket with thrust vector control that will reach 100km in 5 years π.
Our goal is to build the next generation of rockets and rocket engineers.
As the president of the rocketry society:
- Organised for 2 rocketry society members to go to the Saxavord (UK's first Spaceport)
- Led the 4 launches of 3D printed rockets!
6. Climate Work
Necessity is the mother of invention
Seminar on Climate Migration and Potential Health Impacts
Our group from The Oxford School of Climate Change mentored by Charlee Graydon (https://www.charaleeg.com/) continued working together to deliver a webinar on Climate Migration and Potential Health Impacts with Mediation Beyond Borders International.
Climate migration is already here and it is a problem!
John Podesta
Oxford Department of Materials - Team Design Project
See the report we compiled!
7. What have I previously done?
- Attained a First and came 2nd in my year at Oxford in prelims
- Spoke at the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers on aerospace additive manufacturing
I started off doing the Andrew Ng ML course in 2020 followed by COVID-19 lung CT scans analysis (CNN) and EEG seizure pre-ictal period detection (RF) with Engineers without Borders Oxford (EWBOx).
Following this I carried out research with the Faraday Institution and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in machine learning and computational materials.
I hope to continue to conduct independent research in machine learning and computational materials to contribute to solving problems. In the meantime, see my github @itszrong for what I am up to!
What are my future plans?
I hope to build technologies that moves the needle for others. I intend utilise my skills in programming, machine learning, scientific and engineering experience and rigorous style of questioning to learn from and collaborate with smart people to build something beautiful that people need but also desire.
Background
From Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I attended a Chinese vernacular school up before switching to an international school for my secondary studies and moving to the UK for A levels on an academic scholarship. My experience at an international schools allowed me to meet people from all backgrounds, playing sport and see different perspectives.
Reading
A turning point in my adolescence was when I dislocated my shoulder playing rugby. While recuperating, I gravitated towards books on applied and theoretical physics. Fueled by curiosity, my universe expanded as I was introduced to relativity and quantum mechanics. I remember 'Physics of the Future' by Michio Kaku and 'The Elegant Universe' by Brian Greene getting me through my loss of identity as my dreams of rugby stardom were crushed.
I still revisit these books especially Kaku's to remind myself of the great future.
My current favourite book is 'The Martian' by Andy Weir as it demonstrates the potential in combining perseverance with the creative powers of science and engineering.
During the next year, I searched for other sports and instantly connected with fencing. Check out the Oxford University Fencing Club!
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
At the Perimeter Institute, I was selected as Valedictorian of the International Summer School for Young Physicists (ISSYP) for embodying the spirits and values of the institution.
I still regularly chat to my fellow participants, working on projects, hackathons, exchanging contacts and visiting our respective countries.
This is a simulation of Ising Model of ferromagnetism commonly used in condensed matter theory and is a precursor to spin foam systems. The states are generated using the metropolis algorithm and provide information about the phase transitions of the system. This was a side project to the project understanding renormalisation group flows on the Ising Model, mentored by Dr. Sebastian Steinhaus.
Experience from this project proved useful for my first year computational materials coursework.
If you find any of this interesting and want to talk, lets set up a time to chat!
Feel free to use my calendly or send me yours! π