Ruonan Han is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a core member of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL). He received his Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from Cornell University in 2014 (Advisor: Ehsan Afshari), with the Director’s Best Thesis Research Award. Prior to that, he received his B.Sc. degree in microelectronics from Fudan University in 2007, and M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Florida in 2009 (Advisor: Kenneth K. O). In 2012, Ruonan worked in Rambus Inc. as an engineering intern. In 2014, he was a postdoctoral scholar in Cornell University.
Professor Han’s research is focused on high-performance integrated circuits and systems operating at terahertz. The topics include self-sustained high-power radiators, broadband frequency converters and CMOS terahertz imaging arrays. These electronic infrastructures are essential for future ultra-high-speed communication, non-ionizing imaging, and terahertz spectroscopy. The past projects achieved many records on the silicon platform, such as operating frequency, output power and sensitivity. Prof. Han’s research group at MIT, the Terahertz Integrated Electronics Group, aims to continue explore the scientific approaches of bridging the terahertz gap between electronic and optic domains.
Prof. Han is the member of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) and the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technique Society (MTT-S). He serves as the reviewer of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (JSSC), IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory & Tech. (T-MTT), IEEE Trans. Terahertz Science & Tech., and the IEEE Trans. Circuits & Systems (T-CAS). He is also a member of the Graduate Admission Committee of MIT EECS.
Dr. D. Elliott Williams is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at Hofstra University. His research focuses on developing adaptive electromagnetic systems using novel degrees of freedom. His vision is to create devices with enhanced control of electromagnetic fields that can dynamically adapt to changing environments and/or needs. Working with colleagues in the aerospace department at Caltech, Dr. Williams invented the first shape-changing phased array and demonstrated that it can break the trade-off between maximum gain and steering range.
Prior to joining the faculty at Hofstra University, Dr. Williams earned a B.S. and an M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Caltech in 2022. At MIT he conducted research on generating THz noise using Schottkey diodes in avalanche breakdown and developed a robotics platform for introductory engineering education. Dr. Williams has also worked at SpaceX where he helped develop the phased arrays for the initial prototype Starlink satellites, and at Apple Inc. where he explored experimental technologies for new product features.
Dr. Williams was a recipient of the Analog Devices Outstanding Student Designer Award in 2017 and won the 2022 EuMC Young Engineer Prize for his work on flexible meta-gaps.
His outside interests include playing guitar, listening to music, petting his dog, and baking.
