"I Will Become a Professor Contributing to Excellent Research and Education" ... UNIST Welcomes Its First Alumni Professor!

Professor Yoon Hee-in, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, UNIST.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Doo-yeol] UNIST has produced its first alumnus professor since its establishment. The protagonist is Professor Heein Yoon of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Professor Yoon, who was appointed at her alma mater, began working in March.

Professor Heein Yoon expressed, “I am happy to return to the familiar and beautiful campus of my alma mater,” and added, “I want to help the growth of the school by conducting good research together with junior students.”

Professor Yoon entered UNIST as part of the 3rd undergraduate class in 2011. She majored in Electrical, Electronic, and Computer Engineering during her bachelor's program and went on to graduate school at UNIST, where she earned her Ph.D. During her graduate studies, she conducted research on semiconductor circuit design.

After obtaining her doctorate in 2019, she moved to the United States and worked as an engineer at Qualcomm.

She mainly handled communication chip design for 5G communications, which she had primarily researched during her degree program. She also directly participated in semiconductor design used in commercial products such as the iPhone.

Professor Yoon said, “My experience at Qualcomm was a time when I could observe and learn a lot by accessing the best engineers and the latest technologies without restrictions,” and added, “I believe my industry experience will help me conduct research that can be immediately applied to future industries such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), and 6G.”

She stated, “Since I have received so much from UNIST, I have always wanted to give back a lot to UNIST,” and said, “I want to create achievements that contribute to society by having fun researching with students and learning from each other.”

Professor Yoon plans to continue her research in the semiconductor circuit field at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at UNIST.

Professor Heein Yoon said, “Sometimes I feel burdened and worried about becoming a professor at my alma mater, but I want to take one step forward while looking ahead,” and added, “I will steadily follow the right path and become a professor who contributes to good research and education.”