Business and Industry | Lion VoicesAugust 29, 2024

Completing Circuits and Dr. Kiyun Han

Written By: Ian Silvester

The nameplate outside Dr. Kiyun Han’s top-floor office in Baldor doesn’t capture who the man inside is. It says he is a University of Arkansas – Fort Smith associate professor of electronics technology and electrical engineering technology. Beyond the designation, this office is where Han carefully crafts lesson plans that are full of passion for a field he has spent a lifetime with.

Roots Across the Globe

Born and raised in South Korea, Han’s parents steered his path toward electrical engineering. He joked that it wasn’t his first choice but the right one.

Han received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Korea Aviation University. After graduation, Han served three years of mandatory military service with the South Korean Air Force and was excited about what was next.

In 1995, Han arrived in the United States with friends. Before leaving South Korea, the friends decided to go to the middle of America, or as Han described it, “the middle of Illinois, the middle of nowhere, we thought,” with the intention of total immersion.

“We decided to go somewhere with a small number of Koreans so we could speak only English,” he explained. “But Illinois had a lot of Koreans there, too.”

 The trip was only planned to last a short time, but for Han, “that short period of time became eight years.” He enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering.

From the Heartland to the UK…and Back

Han completed his graduate work in 2003 and was again looking for what was next. He desired to work in academia but ultimately began working an industry job. Han was hired by Antenova, a company that designs and manufactures antennas and antenna modules.

Han relocated to the company’s headquarters in the United Kingdom, where he worked as an antenna design engineer. In this role, Han designed antennas for companies like Siemens, Dell, HP, Samsung, and Motorola.

“Whenever I’d go to a Best Buy or Walmart and saw a brand, I thought, ‘Oh, there’s my antenna in there.’ I felt really cool and proud of myself,” Han said.

As Han approached a decade of working for Antenova, he had been relocated to Chicago but still had obligations across the pond. The distance and time away from his wife and son began to wear on him.

“I traveled a lot. I have one boy – I didn’t have enough time to see my son growing up,” he recalled. “I spent like two weeks overseas and two weeks at home. I didn’t go to my son’s basketball or baseball practice or swimming lessons. I missed them a lot.”

After 10 years, it was time for Han to leave.

Academia, at Last

In 2013, Han finally achieved his goal of working for a university. Han and his family moved to Kansas after he accepted a position as an engineering educator at Wichita State University.

Three years later, Han was up for promotion and decided to see what other universities had to offer. It was then that UAFS popped up on his radar … even if he wasn’t sure where it was.

“When I came here for this job interview (an assistant professorship), I didn’t know where Fort Smith was. But once I came here, I met people and really enjoyed it,” Han said with a laugh. “I didn’t hesitate to take this job after my interview.”

Since 2016, Han has been an integral piece of the College of Business and Industry.

He has been the faculty sponsor for five winning senior teams who presented at the annual Student Research Symposium, four of which have been back-to-back-to-back-to-back.

“It makes me feel like I did a good job,” he said with a beaming smile. “Of course, it’s 100% the students’ work, and I just guide them in the right direction, but it makes me think I did my job.”

Han is also behind Go Baby Go on the UAFS campus. He was first introduced to this project at Wichita State. With UAFS students, Han has built and distributed four vehicles to young children with mobility issues, with a fifth planned for the fall.

“I’ve tried to involve as many of our students as possible to give them motivation, or the feeling that, ‘Oh, what I’m learning here at UAFS, and this program, is not just for a job.’ This can be used for something unexpected,” he said.

Recently, Han was one of four UAFS faculty members who was given the Faculty Research and Innovation Award. He received it for his “Wi-Fi Antenna Design for the Industrial Internet of Things” project, which will investigate the types of Wi-Fi antennas and the frequency bands used by local industries.

Heart of a Lion

In 2018, Han was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He had a successful surgery to remove the tumor, but he was left with a weakened immune system. Near the end of his recovery, everyone was forced to work remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, out of an abundance of caution, Han remained at home until 2022. The entire time, Han’s colleagues and students rallied behind him.

“I love my job,” he said proudly. “I love interacting with students and teaching. … I really love our students here at UAFS and our program.”

Today, Han is healthy and loves being back in the classroom with his students. He currently teaches courses on electronics and electrical engineering technology, including communication theory, programming, microprocessor applications, fundamental circuits, and wireless communications.

During one of his wireless communications classes, his work experience came full circle. Han was made aware of an autonomous lawn mower and brought it in so that students could understand how the machine worked. To his surprise, inside was an antenna of his own design from his time at Antenova.

Experiences like that have shown Han the importance of teaching beyond textbooks and PowerPoint presentations.

“Depending on the class, my classes are 30 to 50% hands-on,” Han explained. “I think that is one of our strongest advantages compared to other programs. Our students can find jobs and adapt quickly.”

Han cited the number of students he has taught who have gone on to local industries like ABB, GE Healthcare, Mars, or Rheem. Garmin and even Tesla have hired others.

When he isn’t teaching, Han takes every opportunity to walk the track at the RAWC and is excited to learn of movie recommendations to watch with his family on weekends.

Watch Dr. Han's Story:

• Tags:
• Electrical Engineering Technology
• College of Business and Industry
• Lion Voices
• Electronics Technology