Finally!

Yup, i'm done with my final (research) paper that essentially spells the end of my undergrad career. I sld write here some of my thoughts abt my past 3 yrs here...but i've got tons of stuff to pack and clean up my room so my parents wont give me a hard time when they come over in 3 days....i'm gettin really exited thou...grad, europe, china, singapore & possibly a change in official marital status...this is gonna be a great summer! ohoh...and Berkeley is actually gonna give me a free laptop!! "Would u like a G4 Powerbook or HP Pentium M?" says their email....life's good...:)

Pics of my MEMS acceleroemeter (continued)

ED NMOS Chip
Originally uploaded by micoolcho.

ED NMOS Chip design...

Pics of my MEMS accelerometer (continued)

Otagnoal Acclerometer
Originally uploaded by micoolcho.

pics of my MEMS microaccelerometer

g-switch
Originally uploaded by micoolcho.

Below are some pics taken for the circuitry and MEMS device we fabricated in our labs...note that the chips are each 2mm x 2mm...so the resolution of these pics are abt 30-200um...

final week!

So this past few days have been pretty good, for the following reasons:
1. Singapore finally issue an official statement about their stand on Japan's recent history textbook edition..
2. My team finally finished a 35-page report on our MEMS 1-dimensional acclerometer driven with our own E/D NMOS chip :)
3. My parents are finally here in US! I'm really praying the weather gets better cos it'd be such a let-down to show them ard Ann Arbor when it's raining/snowing..
4. I just got an extremely cute video designed by my lo po and acted by Nick..haha...it is soooooo cute :)

really tired...

it's now 3:12 in the morning...after 6 hours of continuous debugging i still can't find the syntax error in my SPICE simulation. So waht was supposed to be a relaxing day tomolo will now become a race with time as our team try to finish the project report b4 the final deadline. zzzzzzzzzz....

japan's distortion of history..

While I really have a shit load to finish today, I have to write this down while it's still fresh in my mind.
I have been following the news closely about the recent deterioration in diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Actually, it's not only China that has been taking on Japan lately, Russia's fighing for a land dispute with japan while Korea is obviously not pleased with Japan's new history textbook which supposedly gloss over the scale of the destruction brought by the former japanese empire's occupation of many parts of Asia.
It's interesting that only China sees such a big mobilization of common folks demonstration against the japanese govt thou, possibly because China took the major toil during its occupation by the jap forces (consider Nanking Massacre), while other countries like Singapore who were also affected by the same brutality durin tat era has remained largely immune to this. Of course, there're more at stake for China as Japan fight for a permanent place in G7 which represents a threat to china's role as the political powerhouse in asia. Personally, I cant understand whether the Japanese Govt's stance on its new history textbook represents the general opinion of its people. I've read reports of japanese students in exchange at other countries expressing disappointment about the govt's attempt to further distort history. It is also hard to judge what exactly does it mean when the reports say that the textbook 'gloss over' the past wartime crimes since i dun read japaense.
One thing for sure thou, the vehement demonstrations against the japanese in China is not gonna help solve the issue. I wish there can be someone within China who can rise up and do it the Ghandi way. Cos really matching violence with more violence will see no end to the vicious cycle. I also hope that some of the japanese who know about the truth of what happened 5 decades ago can lead the change from within. An apology that is forced out of vehement reactions from china will not mean much. What Japan need is perhaps some activists that have the moral righteousness to push for a change of mindsets of the govt/society's stance on its wartime crimes.
I also wish that not only the Chinese are taking this seriously. I wish someone back home in Singapore can express some kind of peaceful protest over it as well; a silent acceptance of the jap govt's stance would be a disgrace to the struggles that our forefathers had to endure. This should not mean a boycott of jap's products or anything like tat, but a diplomatic statement expressing the nation's disappointment would in my opinion be justified.

busiest weekend of semester..

So, the battle to graduate in time has begun...
lie-up for thiss weekend:
1. 513 flat panel display presentation2. 513 write-up revision (10 page)3. 514 advanced MEMS exam revision (this is the tough one!)4. 425 final report write-up (i think we'd need 30 hrs for this)
Of course I'd still need to start writing my research report. But I guess that'd have to wait for next week.
Conclusion: Tons to do! Stress!

graduation crisis...

Looks like my graduation will not be a peaceful process man! Firstly, i'd need to get rid of my sound system, guitar, posters, executive chair etc...then i'd need to pack...and of course before that I'd need to finish my research write-up! Not only that I'd need to settle my parents and aunti, auncle accomoddation. Argghhh!!! This is a stressful 2 weeks man!!!

senior day..

Yesterday was a good day. Firstly, the weather has never been better. It's intriguing how Ann Arbor weather can turn from total disaster ( = freezing cold requiring 4 - 5 layers of winter clothes) to complete bliss with cloudless blue sky in a week.
Anyway, my day started early with a SERVE transition board meeting. We finally met up with the new incoming lead team members of World Service Team and we had a great session talking about our experiences and expectation for the new year. Apparently, WST is expanding to to sites next year and the new folks who're joining seem really awesome. Patrick Miller, this white dude who has an uncanny resemblance to Eminem and also hailing from Detroit, has all the demeaner of a i-dun-give-a-F**k frat boy except that he's really excited about this international service. He's actually the one who'd be taking over finance function next year and he was really eager to find out about how I go about doing it. I gave him the timeline and guidelines i typed out last-minute before the meeting and we went over the sheet with him asking lots of questions. I have great hope and faith in WST next year and it's really wonderfull to see WST taking off to become a more established student organization since our humbled start 2 years ago. I believe that we're fulfilling a demand within the univeristy and hopefully we can get the cost down further so that more students will get the chance to explore the first-hand experience of living in another country and learning about the issues people in othe rparts of the world have to face everyday. It's also very self-fulfilling to see Luke, Kim, Lauren & Maggie talk with the kind of passion that is definitely not there prior to the our first trip to cmabodia. I think the trip definitely has a big impact on our world view and social awareness.
Anyway, so the WST meeting from 11-3 was satisfying. Then I went down to Fuller field for a soccer game with other singaporeans. The weater was perfect for soccer although eveyrbody is kind of out of shape after the long winter. I was actually playing with just about 70%, bearing in mind the chest pain I had the last time I play indoor soccer and me promising my lo po to take it easy. It was really enjoyable and I score a goal! hee...although I miss a bunch a let in some silly goals while I was the goalie. Hee!
After the game, James dropped me off at William's house where I took a shower and played some Winning Eleven. Chung Jye ling actually stopped by and we played 2 games before going down to north campus for the senior day. I knew the freshies have been putting alot of effort into organizing this (cos they borrowed my view cam for a long long time!) and I was looking foward to it. Sadly, not all seniors turn up (maybe ard 30 turn up) but it was still a blast. We watched the 20-min video they edited and there were some really hilarious footage in there (but I look damn skinny and tired in the video interview...sld have dressed up abit beforehand). I also did a performance and thank a couple of friends(william gang, chris, wst gang, chung jye ling) before starting. Sang terribly out of tune for the first one (qing fei de yi with Kenneth on the lead guitar) but i was really emotional during the second song (yi lu shuan feng). I was close to the point of dropping tears towards the end of the song. I didn't expect myself to be so emotional but I guess the song and the lyrics is just such a song that will make u sobby on occasion like this. Anyhow, it was great to be nostalgic for a while and reflect on the past 3 years. I think I really adore this place and I'm gonna miss this school alot alot when I'm gone. Go Blue!

more ideas...

Other ideas not related to displays..
1) Kick-ass mahjong design (as discussed with Beng Hoe). With trasparent backing, magnetic sides and thumb-shaped groove.
2) Circular portable printer...as seen in IDEA 2004..
3) Electric shoes for military purpose..energy storage...
4) Sky advertisement with multiple-pipe smoke ejector

ideas..

I've decided to jot down here the wild random ideas that I have every now and then. Since I've been thinking about flexible displays alot lately, here are a few of my ideas.
1) Conducting nano-power submerged in phtoresist can be used to create mechianical flexible conductors. Utilization of various particle size and element might create different conductivity. Much like in concrete, where PR is the cement, and the nano-particles are the sand and rocks. Of course, yield is a problem since alot of matierals might be wasted but patterning ability of PR can be utilized.
2) Or Carbon Nanotube as conducting wires. I believe it's already been done, though far from commercialization stage.
3) High-performance circuits on Al foil, then deposition of organic EL materials, then finally plastic (maybe paylene) encapsulation. High thermal budget offered by Al foil, and mechanically robustness offered by the coatin plastic.
4) Transpartant display glass panel. Little resolution requirement yet wide application in buildings or shops windows.
5) Lighting application with fixed picture on the glass substrate.

shit in my hall!!!

Oh yes.. literally! One of my residents actually shit in the hallway!! So here's how the story goes..
It was around 3am and I've just said bye to my lo po online and about to go to bed. It was my (un)fortunate routine to hit the bathroom before i sleep, and then I realized that there're these 3 sheets of paper on the hall way floor saying "shit" on them. Then I saw Charlie laughing his ass off. Well, this dude is always up to something so I wasn't surprised. So I asked him what's going on, then he actually lifted up one of the paper and "HOLY COW!!" there's realli shit underneath the piece of paper!!!
I was damn shocked! Never had I imagine a situation like this in hall when I first took up the position as an RA. Anyway, I too found this damn hilarious. Then, Amy, Bobby and Kevin started turning up and apparently, one of the dudes on the hall, Andy (not his real name), has actually gotten so drunk that he was literally shitting thro his pants! Next thing I know we heard him throwing up in his room. I mean, this might sound all very serious now but at that point, I thought it's the funniest encounter I've had in a while. I mean, how can a person shit while walking around?
Anyway, Charlie was the first guy to discover the shit laying around. Unfortunate for him, he doesn't have the habbit of wearing some kin dof flip-flop when he's walking around the hall way, so he actually stepped on the shit droplings! Initially he thought it's the steak from dinner so he went back to his room and wipe his feet clean with this bathroom towel!!! Then to his horror, he finally smell the distinct "flagrant' of a alcohol-diluted shit on his towel! Hahahahahhaa
Well, somehow this Charlie dude ended up volunteering to clean up the shit on the floor! I mean, he actually volunteer! and he seems like he's having a great time doing it. This dude is seriously one of the funniest guys u'd see and he's just making such a big joke out of it while me and Kevin kept trying to keep our laughter down (it's 330 in the morning already).
I, on the other hand, was taking pictures while charlie is cleanin up the shit...man, I wonder how Andy would feel about this whole thing when he wakes up...but then again, he proabbly wont even remember the whole saga. What can i say, I love my hall!

haha..funny line from a technical paper...

haha..come across this line from a technical paper on LCD technology...
"...stabilized the molecular alignment by dividing each pixel and arranging fine slits and nipple-shaped protrusions."
haha...these japanese sure know how to spice up their technical paper...haha

another OLED discussion...

So I finally met up with this Prof Max Shtein from the Material Science department today. He's a really yound dude for a professor; in fact i think he has just graduated from Princeton working under Prof Forrest' group. I was abit apprehensive about the meeting cos I lack the intellectual depth to have a truly academic discussion with him on organic electronics, and my guess is he probably knows more about the economics of organic-related industries. In other words I'm afraid that I can't hold myself in a meaningful discussion with him on the subject. To my relief he turned out to be a really easy-going guy who possesses none of those arrogant air around a typical "why don't you understand this simple shit" professor. He has a lot of passion about the research he's doing although he's also very realistic when it comes to the commerical adoption of organic electronics. Apparently he thinks that solar cell application will be a bigger commerical thrust than OLED, given that LCD is hard to beat. I think that it's admirable that he's still a dreamer, i mean from the way he talks about these stuff it's obvious that he's really enthusiastic about organic electronics. I think that's hard to do when one becomes sort of an expert in any field when you understands more of the obstacles and challenges. To the extent that my main purpose of meeting him is to network with him to lay the foundation for possible future collaboration on my start-up, it's a great 2-hour dialogue. I certainly hope to keep in contact with him and have a feeling that he'd be one of those first people I'd ring up if I were to succeed in convincing Temsaek about venturing into this field. The next step is to talk to one of those decision-maker on top within Temasek during this summer when I get back. Hopefully I can instill some excitement in the management.

phone bill - $345!!!!

Somehow my phone bill for the last 2 months reached a catastrophic $345! I've never had problem with my phone usage limits so I've never really bothered to check my usage. This is a real hard and painful lesson.

OLED lecture

So i heard from Hui Yan over the weekend that she's actually attending a class on organic electronics this term under a new professor who's a student of Prof Forest from Princeton (possibly the most prominent dude in the organic arena these days). So I decided to drop by the class and sit in. He's surprisingly young and apparently a german (name's Shtein). Good lecturer in general and seems to know his shit real well. I set up a meeting with him on Thursday and hopefully can hear some of his personal opinion on the future of OLED. I guess subconsciously I'm doing this for networking purpose cos if I'm really to start something related to OLED back home, I'd need to know ppl like him.

lack of presentation skills...

So, I consider myself a pretty opiniated person, in that I often have my own opinion on most subjects, and I'd like to think tat I can typically bring across my ideas to another party in a fairly efficient manner. But doing it in front of a crowd is really something else. Today's final presentation for the 514 class is another proof that I need to brush up my presentation skills. I guess I'm really to blame as I didn't really give it any practise or even run through the slides once to visualize what I was goin to say. Thing is, I've been working intensively on this project for the past few weeks and I thought I have a pretty good understanding of what's going on. While that's true, sayng what I have in mind is definitely a different game altogether. I think it's definitely something that gets better with practise and I'd say I've had better time presenting to other ppl. But I'm really not a natural at this, unlike my lo po, so I guess i'd have to work harder at it next time. I wonder why I can remain so calm while performing in front of hundreds of people while public speaking always gives me my nerve. hee

finally...

Relief! After another full day of solid of report writing, our team handed in our report 30 seconds before the due time! I guess this is as close as it gets. Actually, the report is far from perfect. I think we're alright in terms of content, but the tone of our report is far from professional. I don't think that my English is all that good, but my 2 other teammates have, well let me just say thy have their own 'unique' style of writing. It takes quite a lot of tact to tell them that we're tryint ot write a technical write-up, not some story or play. I mean those 2 dudes are cool, and responsible people, but i guess you cant always have the best of both worlds...
I'm glad it's all over now thou. We just need to finish up the presentation and we're done! yeah!