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February 14, 2005 Vol. 76, no. 5S
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NE associate professor Joonhong Ahn received his
Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from UC Berkeley in 1988 and a D.
Eng. in nuclear engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1989.
His research interests involve mathematical analyses of radionuclide
transport in heterogeneous geologic formations and of radionuclide
release from man-made waste disposal systems.
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Professor
Minute with NE associate professor Joonhong Ahn
If you had not decided
to go into engineering, what other career would you have today?
I wanted to be a lawyer when I was a high school student in Japan. As
a Japanese-born Korean, I wanted to fight against discrimination. But
I had to reconsider my future because, at that time, only Japanese could
take the bar exam.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to read books. When I travel to other cities, I try to find a
classic music concert or an opera performance. In recent years, I've
spent time converting analog photos and videos taken in my life into
a digital library.
How can a student get through your hardest class?
My recommendation would be to have close communication with me. Whenever
the door of my office is open, I am happy to have conversation with
students. Of course, in general, you need to think things deeper. Making
questions and answering them by yourself is a very effective way of
deepening your thought.
To date, what has been your most memorable moment in your career
and why?
The first day of my class at Berkeley was Jan. 17, 1995. On that day,
a big earthquake occurred in Kobe, Japan, where more than 6,000 people
were killed. My brother and his family were living in that city. They
fortunately survived the earthquake, but their condo was destroyed.
What CD are you listening to at the moment?
My favorite music is classical music (especially piano), jazz (piano
and vocal, especially Louis Armstrong), and Japanese pop from the 1960s
and 1970s.
If you would like us to
feature your favorite professor, please e-mail his or her name to engnews@coe.berkeley.edu.
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