Jeremy Chao

One of the takeaways Jeremy Chao will take with him from his time in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University are his friendships with both classmates and faculty.

The Ahwatukee native says he chose to attend ASU due to the quality of the engineering program and its proximity to his home, which allowed him to stay close to his family.

“I enjoyed being able to learn new things and meet new people,” says Chao. “Being able to learn about a lot of new technologies and contribute my own research was fulfilling.”

Chao participated in the Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative, or FURI, in the fall 2019 semester, working with Associate Professor Liping Wang in the Nano-Engineered Thermal Radiation Lab.

“I have enjoyed conducting research under his direction and learning from him,” says Chao. “Through my experience in his lab, I have been able to develop my critical thinking and analysis skills. Dr. Wang has been very supportive in every interaction I’ve had with him and is very knowledgeable.”

In his FURI project, Chao worked on developing a smart window that uses thermochromic thin-film coatings. The windows allow solar thermal radiation to pass through when the weather is cool, but prevent it from passing through at high temperatures in an effort to reduce the costs of heating and cooling systems.

Chao, a student in ASU’s Barrett, The Honors College, used his results from his research in Wang’s lab in his honors thesis defense.

He also worked as an undergraduate teaching aide for both MAE 241 Thermodynamics and MAE 201 Statics. As a teaching aide, he led recitations and review sessions as well as graded homework assignments.

Chao will be returning to ASU in the fall to continue his master’s degree in mechanical engineering through the 4+1 accelerated degree program, but isn’t yet certain where life will take him after that.

“Engineering has helped me develop my critical thinking and perseverance skills,” says Chao. “Whatever I end up doing next, I want to be able to work on and design state-of-the-art technologies.”

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ Spring 2021 class here.