Leslie Hwang

Leslie Hwang has always loved math, physics and using these subjects to solve problems. For Hwang, engineering was a fitting career to apply her interests.

“The more I looked into how electronics are evolving and achieving unimaginable outcomes, I wanted to be part of building next-generation devices,” she says.

This fascination with electronics inspired her to further her education after receiving her bachelor’s degree from South Korea’s Chung-Ang University with master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

During her time as a student, Hwang received multiple awards, including a computer engineering fellowship from Intel and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Harold L. Olesen Undergraduate Teaching Award.

After graduating from her doctoral degree program, Hwang started working in industry as a senior research and development engineer at electronic design automation firm Synopsys. She worked on the machine learning team for the company’s IC Validator, which ensures quality and reliability for semiconductor chips.

Since gaining industry experience, Hwang now looks to return to the world of academia as one of the newest electrical engineering faculty members in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

“ASU has strong engineering programs with renowned faculty members,” she says. “The university is continuously growing and expanding in a variety of research domains, making it a perfect place to pursue challenging interdisciplinary projects.”

Hwang also notes ASU’s proximity to the Phoenix area’s semiconductor industry presence as a factor that inspired her to apply for her new position. She is eager to take advantage of the area’s semiconductor ecosystem to develop new sustainable technologies in the field.

Hwang will teach EEE 334 Circuits II and the class’s associated lab portions as her first course for the Fall 2023 semester. She says students should prepare to learn not only textbook information but to put their new knowledge to the test by building the associated technology.

When not working, Hwang enjoys walking her dogs, exercising and spending time with her family.

Meet the newest faculty members of the Fulton Schools of Engineering here.

Written by TJ Triolo