This is my logo—a sine wave made out of my initials (JS). I've found that sine waves are in everything I do, from physics, to ECE, to music. You may notice this same logo on my necklace elsewhere on this page. I designed it in Fusion 360 and 3D printed it to make the necklace.

Jonah sitting on a rock

Hi, I'm Jonah.


Welcome! I am a student at Cornell University studying Engineering Physics and Electrical & Computer Engineering. My interests include optics, photonics, circuit design, and quantum computing. In my free time, I enjoy singing with my a cappella group, The Chordials, and writing my own music.

picture of Jonah

Experience

| Summers 2023, 2024

Optical Hardware R&D Intern

I spent my first summer at Bell Labs completing two independent design projects, while also working with an experienced technician to learn fusion splicing and micro-soldering. During my second summer, I collaborated with other scientists on cutting-edge optical communications research. Not only did my time at Bell Labs teach me various new technical skills, but I also gained valuable experience working as part of a real-world R&D team.

Cesium Clock Monitoring

Cesium clocks have incredible long-term frequency stability, and as a result, they are a useful tool for a variety of experiments. However, after enough use, they will eventually run out of cesium and stop working. Our cesium clock at Bell Labs, which multiple researchers were relying on, was getting towards the end of its lifespan. There is no way of knowing exactly when the clock will stop working, so I developed a program to monitor certain measurements on the clock and give us a heads up when it was about to fail.
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Metronome

While cesium clocks are great for long-term stability (they have very small "drift" over time), they are not the best on shorter timescales. Other devices, called ultralow noise crystal oscillators, can have better short time performance (known as "phase noise"). In order to combine the best of both worlds, I designed and prototyped a system to "discipline" the oscillator. This means that it compares the outputs of the oscillator and the cesium clock, and it corrects for the drift in the oscillator while maintaining its low phase noise.
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Fiber Optics

During my first summer at Bell Labs, I learned how to fusion splice fiber optics (this is the process of melting together the ends of two glass fibers). I practiced these skills by repairing various broken circuit packs, including the one pictured above where I replaced a broken 1x8 optical switch. In addition to splicing, I also learned how to maintain a clean work area, inspect and clean the ends of fibers, and handle bare fiber without breaking it.

Micro-Soldering

During my first summer at Bell Labs, I also learned micro-soldering techniques. I got lots of practice removing broken components and soldering on replacements, including surface mount resistors, capacitors, and IC chips. Pictured above is an example of a repair I did, where I removed incorrectly designed PCB traces and soldered on correctly routed wires.

Ultralow Energy Optical Communications

During my second summer at Bell Labs, I joined a group of researchers who were working on ultralow energy optical communications. In other words, our goal was to send and receive information using light when essentially all of the light we sent got lost along the way, and the extremely small amount of light that did make it to the receiver was buried in extra light ("noise"). One potential application for this research is deep space communication, as the signal becomes very weak over such long distances. I helped make improvements to the algorithm we used to extract the signal from the noise.

What I Learned

My second summer at Bell Labs taught me lots of great skills from digital communications, to quantum detectors, to signal processing in MATLAB. However, what I value even more are the soft skills I gained from working with such incredible researchers. For example, I now know how to keep a lab organized, which is incredibly helpful in maintaining an efficient work environment. I also saw firsthand how collaboration with others can lead to a much more thorough and robust solution than any one person could devise alone, as everyone brings a unique perspective to the table.

Kyle Shen Group @ | Sept. 2023 - May 2024

Quantum Materials Researcher

A large focus of the Kyle Shen Group is in developing very thin films of superconducting material. I led an investigation into whether we could use a relatively cheap laser cutter instead of expensive Cornell NanoScale Facilities (CNF) equipment. Not only would this save the group money, but also time by allowing us to process materials within our own lab.

Device Patterning

To measure the electrical characteristics of a thin film superconductor, a device must be patterned on the film. This essentially means etching a precise shape into the material. My goal was to determine whether a laser cutter could be used to pattern devices, such as the "H" pictured above, instead of using more expensivie equipment at the CNF.

Laser Settings Test

In order to test the feasibility of using a laser for device patterning, I tried out various combinations of laser settings on different materials. I then looked at the results under a microscope to determine which settings worked the best. In the example above, each line was etched at different laser settings on a strontium titanate substrate.

Laser Cutter Setup

The preliminary tests I conducted were on a laser cutter that belonged to the CNF. Once I concluded that laser etching was feasible, it was time to buy a laser cutter for use in our lab. I was in charge of selecting and setting up the lab's new laser cutter. Above is a picture of the new equipment during the setup process.

The Chordials A Cappella | Dec. 2022 - Dec. 2024

Musical Director

I have been a part of The Chordials A Cappella at Cornell University since the beginning of my freshman year. The Chordials quickly became a huge part of my life, and I served as musical director from sophomore spring through senior fall. These two years of directing were instrumental in the development of my planning, organization, communication, and leadership skills.

Rehearsal Agendas

The musical directors before me did not tell us rehearsal agendas ahead of time. We would show up to rehearsal and find out what we were working on that day. I decided to improve this by creating a shared document where I planned out rehearsal agendas well in advance. This simultaneously allowed me to make sure we were ready in time for our semesterly concert while also giving people a heads up as to what was coming.

Song Selection

Our song selection process involves listening to each member's suggestions, discussing, and voting. This takes into consideration everyone's preferences, but the downside is that it can be very time consuming. Before I was musical director, we would spend a significant part of the semester just selecting songs. I improved this by moving the song selection process to the break before the semester. This gave us much more time to arrange and learn our songs before the concert.

Conflict Resolution

Leading the group wasn't always smooth sailing. Sometimes a concern would arise, such members being unhappy with a decision or a member becoming too busy with other commitments. In these cases, I would meet with the rest of the leadership team and any other parties involved in the conflict to figure out what worked best for everyone. This taught me how to have difficult conversations in a direct and respectful way.

Leading Discussions

As musical director, I led group discussions for song selection, new member auditions, solo auditions, and group decisions such as whether we should compete. This gave me experience speaking to a group of people, as well as facilitating the order of who else was speaking and making sure everyone's voice was heard.

Finding My Leadership Style

When I first started as musical director, I struggled to be assertive and confident during rehearsals. I was worried about coming off as too harsh and bringing down the rehearsal atmosphere. However, I found that my uncertainty rubbed off on the group and created even more stress. As time went on, I figured out how to give strong and clear direction while also listening to the group's needs. In the end, I am proud of the way that I balanced productivity with an enjoyable rehearsal atmosphere.

Giving and Taking Feedback

A large part of my job was to give musical feedback to the group in order to promote constant growth in the quality of our music. This included both general notes that applied to everyone and specific notes for individual people. This taught me how to give useful and respectful feedback without hurting anyone's feelings. On the flipside, people also had lots of feedback for me as a leader. I did my best to incorporate their suggestions in order to be the best leader I could.

View Resume↗
Cornell University logo

Education

I am currently finishing up my undergrad at Cornell University.


Major: Engineering Physics

Minor: Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)


I will also start an early M. Eng in ECE this spring, which I will finish in December 2025.



Relevant Coursework

ECE 5360
Semiconductor Device Physics

ECE 5380
Electromagnetic and Optical Metamaterials

AEP 5502
Intro. Solid State Physics

ECE 5530
Analog Integrated Circuit Design

ECE 5570
Microwave Circuit Design

ECE 5744
Introduction to VLSI Design

MSE 5410
Nanofab. and Characterization of Electronics

MSE 5411
Nanofab. and Characterization Lab

AEP 1100
Lasers and Photonics

AEP 2550
Quantum Information Hardware

AEP 3100
Intro. Quantum Computing

AEP 3330
Mechanics of Particles and Solid Bodies

AEP 3620
Intermediate Quantum Mechanics

AEP 3560
Intermediate Electrodynamics

AEP 4200
Intermediate Mathematical Physics

AEP 4230
Statistical Thermodynamics

PHYS 4410
Advanced Experimental Physics

ECE 2100
Intro. to Circuits

ECE 2300
Digital Logic & Computer Organization

ECE 3100
Intro. to Probability & Inference

ECE 3150
Intro. to Microelectronics

ECE 3250
Signals and Systems

ECE 4370
Photonics: Fundamentals and Devices

Jonah leaning on a piano

Music


We Love Calculus

I wrote this with my brother Zack towards the end of high school, during the COVID lockdown. We had written a song about trigonometry a couple years prior for a school project, and we thought it would be fun to make another math song.

Overdue

This is the first song I wrote by myself! It is about a breakup I went through sophomore year of college. The name "Overdue" came from the idea that if I had written a song for my ex before we broke up, maybe we would have stayed together.

erase me - A Cappella Cover

I performed this cover of "erase me" by Lizzy McAlpine at the Chordials concert my freshman spring semester. I arranged this song, meaning I wrote all of the parts for people to sing based on the original song. I also mixed the vocal percussion on the recording.

Wait For It Remix

This is another project I did with my brother Zack. He writes and produces his own electronic dance music, so I got to be a featured vocalist on one of his tracks. We had a blast putting our own twist on one of our favorite musical theater songs!

spotify apple music youtube instagram

This is my logo—a sine wave made out of my initials (JS). I've found that sine waves are in everything I do, from physics, to ECE, to music. You may notice this same logo on my necklace elsewhere on this page. I designed it in Fusion 360 and 3D printed it to make the necklace.

Get in touch!