Global Ambassador: I-Fan Lin
I-Fan graduated from Purdue with a PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) where he worked on radar signal and image processing. Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, I-Fan has traveled to many countries including a study abroad visit to Spain during his time at Purdue. In 2016, he was selected to the homecoming court for Purdue, a first for a graduate student, and received the most popular vote.
Aside from his studies, I-Fan is quite the accomplished musician. He started playing the piano when he was four years old and has been playing for more than 25 years. At Purdue, he was a member of the Wind Ensemble. While at Purdue, I-Fan was dedicated to many types of community service in the greater Lafayette area. He was a part of over 70 organizations in the community! He was VP of Toastmasters at Purdue and has given more than 500 hours of service to the community during his time here.
Read more about I-Fan's experience in graduate school below. Please note: I-Fan provided these answers while he was still a graduate student at Purdue.
Ambassador Q & A (Questions and Answers)
Why did you choose Purdue?
Purdue is famous for its Engineering disciplines and the programs consistently rank highly in prominent national surveys. In addition, the faculty members in ECE are outstanding in their research especially in Communications, Networking, Signal and Image Processing (CNSIP) field. I want to work with these professors to study the cutting edge research.
What is your favorite fact about Purdue?
We call ourselves Boilermakers.
Career goal?
I want to be a teacher, or a professor. I like to answer/solve questions in an easy and simple way. I love to use the simplest method to explain the hardest concept or idea. I hope students can absorb the knowledge in a happy way, not learning by rotuine.
Where do you spend most of your time on campus?
MSEE, EE, and Elliott Hall (Purdue Wind Ensemble).
What apps, software, or tools can’t you live without?
Facebook, Matlab, GroupMe, Slack, and email.
What’s your workspace setup?
Office with a standing desk (I just bought the standing box for lap computer). It is good for the health not sitting all the time!
How do you recharge?
Doing volunteer service, playing the piano, joining the organizations to do something, attending festivals/events/activities. Doing these activities can refresh my mind and sometimes I get ideas for my research or other issues.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
If you have the chance, go for it. You never know until you try it. Don’t limit yourself because nothing is impossible.
