Yonsei and UCLA
I am Jongpyo Hong, a graduate of Yonsei University’s Underwood International College, where I majored in Nano Science and Engineering and double majored in Economics. I graduated in six semesters as the UIC valedictorian of the Class of February 2025, with a GPA of 4.27/4.3 and Highest Honor Roll distinction.
My academic path began at UCLA, where I entered as a Cognitive Science major. The Fall 2021 quarter was remote from Korea, which meant taking classes through the US–Korea time difference, often from 1 AM to 7 AM; I finished that quarter with a 4.0/4.0 GPA and Dean’s List recognition before choosing to begin again at Yonsei under the Integrated Science and Engineering Division.
At Yonsei, my work developed across semiconductor memory, nanotechnology, quantum physics, materials science, economics, finance, law, and public policy. I regularly carried 21 credits per semester and added winter coursework in order to complete the degree in six semesters.
Research and laboratory work
My senior thesis, conducted through Professor Jong-Souk Yeo’s Nano Convergence Systems group, examined the impact of external resistance and pulse rise/fall-time variance on polarity-induced threshold voltage shift in Te-based ovonic threshold switching chalcogenides for selector-only memory applications. I also worked on thin-film transistor research involving oxygen partial pressure modulation and its effects on threshold voltage and mobility.
Teaching and scholarships
Beyond coursework and research, I served as a part-time teaching assistant in the UIC STEM Tutoring Lounge, supporting students across multiple undergraduate science and mathematics courses, and received merit-based scholarships throughout my time at Yonsei.
Continuing questions
This blog continues the same intellectual pattern that shaped my university work: moving between engineering, economics, law, philosophy, and memory. I am interested in how systems behave under constraint, how small changes scale into structural consequences, and how technical questions eventually become institutional, legal, and human questions.
A fuller archive of my Yonsei coursework, projects, papers, and presentations is available on my academic portfolio.