Curriculum Vitae / Resume
Curriculum Vitae / Resume
This page last updated: December 2023
Link to my LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-ai/
Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
University of Southern California (USC), Viterbi School of Engineering
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Relevant Honors: Presidential Scholar, Provost's Research Fellow, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society (president for 2023-24), Viterbi Dean’s List
Undergraduate Researcher, USC Levenson-Falk Lab
Programming an FPGA-based OPX unit (Quantum Machines) to implement real-time microwave measurement-based feedback system to track a resonator's changing frequency. To be applied to tunable superconducting qubits and aluminum nanobridge devices that can trap Bogoliubov quasiparticles.
Revise and add graphical user interface to Python scripts for superconducting resonator measurement; create custom device in Qiskit Metal and simulate its S-parameters in Ansys HFSS.
Funded by the USC Ming Hsieh Institute ECE Undergraduate Scholars Program and a USC Provost's Research Fellowship.
Undergraduate Researcher, work done under Prof. Daniel Lidar
Attempting to improve known bounds of Ramsey numbers on a quantum annealer using graph theory techniques.
Self-studied quantum information through Nielsen & Chuang, and self-learned object-oriented Python programming to use D-Wave’s "Ocean" API and "NetworkX" package for controlling the quantum hardware.
Implemented existing quantum algorithm from scratch in Python and reproduced results; now in novel territory - verified the value of R(4,3) on the quantum annealer, a Ramsey number not yet attempted on a quantum computer before.
Presented work at the 2022 USC Electrical Engineering Research Festival, won a Best Undergraduate Poster award.
Funded by a USC Provost's Research Fellowship.
Payload and Satellite Systems Engineering Intern, Northrop Grumman
Studied research papers with subject matter experts to understand the physics of satellite clock synchronization.
Implemented and debugged C++ simulation of cross-satellite clock synchronization; reconstructed dozens of critical header files lost from legacy flight software despite there being little to no surviving legacy documentation.
Graphed RF cross-guide coupler data, completed EIRP link budgets, and composed MATLAB scripts for automated testing of a satellite's autonomy and fault management system (AFM).
Avionics PCB Engineering Co-Lead, USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory
Entered in freshman year as a member, served as printed circuit board (PCB) engineering co-lead in sophomore year.
Wire-routed circuit boards in Altium Designer for RF systems, FPGAs, ADCs, low/band-pass filters and more.
Manually built and troubleshot dozens of PCBs including battery regulators, I2C lines, and 3rd-party radio systems.
Helped design and build RF “rangefinder” thesis project of a graduating team member; contributed to electrical schematics; C++ firmware and data analysis in Eigen linear algebra library; tested rangefinder for transmit/receive power, antenna S-parameters. Reviewed thesis manuscript; final report uploaded to the online Engineering Archive (engrxiv): https://engrxiv.org/preprint/view/1655
"Isolating Poled On-chip Device (ISOPOD)"
Coauthors: Clayton Y. Cheung, Juan García Nila, Onkar V. Apte
Final project for graduate course PHYS 559: Quantum Devices.
Helped design a circuit architecture for a non-ferrimagnetic microwave isolator based on a nonreciprocal frequency converter.
Design inspired by the dynamics of quasi-phase-matching in periodically-poled lithium niobate (PPLN) from nonlinear optics.
Helped model intensities of signal, pump, and idler tones and harmonics with fifth-order coupled-mode equations in Mathematica.
Simulated prototype circuit designs with WRspice to calculate figures of merit including isolation and insertion loss.
Project presentation: Link to PowerPoint slides
Project report: Link to report PDF
"Adjoint Optimization for Automated Design of Electromagnetic Devices"
Coauthor: Keshav Sriram
Final project for graduate course EE 578: Computational Electromagnetics.
Contributed to C++ software implementing the adjoint method on a finite-difference frequency-domain (FDFD) electromagnetic solver to optimize dielectric waveguides and 2-D solar cell geometries.
Verified calculated design efficiencies with finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations in Ansys Lumerical.
Project report: Link to report PDF
Selected as a 2023-24 USC ECE Undergrad Scholar: Awarded individual research and travel funding for seminars and conferences, and mentorship from PhD students.
Semifinalist for the USA Physics Olympiad - scored in the top 300 physics students nationwide on the F=ma physics competition.
Link to official qualifiers list: https://aapt.org/physicsteam/2020/upload/2020-USAPhO-Qualifiers-Listing.pdf
National Honor Roll on AMC 10 and 12; qualified for the selective American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME) and scored within top 600 of all math students across the United States.
USC Viterbi Impact Program (VIP) Volunteer, Viterbi K-12 STEM Center
Volunteer for USC SHINE Program: Mentor first-gen high school summer researchers: teaching Matlab, guiding them in reading papers, sharing advice.
Supporting local high school students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in STEM studies; helping host STEM field days on campus to increase interest in STEM. This is for the USC center of the statewide Math, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program in California.
Student Officer & Founding Member, USC ECE Dept. Undergraduate Research Hub
Chosen by department faculty to mentor undergraduate ECE researchers and host research-related events such as research talks, pitch nights.
USC ECE Dept “Course Producer” (USC's title for undergrad TAs)
Fall 2023, course producer for EE370 Applied Electromagnetics for Engineering Systems (~60 students). Lecture on new material in laboratory sessions, host office hours, grade lab reports.
Course producer for EE141 Linear Algebra in Fall 2021: assist students with MATLAB laboratory assignments, reinforce concepts from lectures.
President, USC Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society (CA Delta)
Adminstering, fundraising, and recruiting for the USC chapter of Tau Beta Pi.
Reviving the USC chapter after the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to fizzle out.
Collaborating with local Los Angeles chapters (e.g. UCLA), Southern California TBP regional district directors, and USC Viterbi administration.
Python (NumPy, Matplotlib, Qua, Ocean, NetworkX), C++ (Eigen, Armadillo), C, Verilog, MATLAB, Git, LaTeX, Mathematica
Electronics and PCB ECAD: Altium Designer, LTspice, WRspice; E&M/Optics Simulation: Ansys HFSS, Ansys Lumerical; FPGAs/Digital Circuits: Xilinx Vivado, QuestaSim; Embedded Systems: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, STM32Cube
Oscilloscopes, vector network analyzers (VNAs), spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers, soldering tools (irons, paste, flux, heat guns, benchtop reflow ovens), RF equipment (attenuators, cables, connectors, etc.)
Hiking
Learning piano
Guitar
Checking out cool coffee shops
Memorizing digits of pi (currently at 73 digits!)
Editing physics/engineering Wikipedia articles