Fighting fire before it sparks
Voltair, a startup co-founded by UW ECE alums Ronan Nopp (BSECE ’25) and Hayden Gosch (BSECE ’25) is innovating drone technology to prevent wildfires from igniting along rural power lines.
https://hedy2024.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/fighting-fire-before-it-sparks/
https://hedy2024.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/jungwon-choi-2025-faculty-profile/
Jungwon Choi — engineering power conversion systems for emerging technologies
UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi is engineering high-frequency power converters for advanced and emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, robotics, biomedical devices, and renewable energy systems.
https://hedy2024.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/hossein-naghavi-faculty-profile-2025/
Hossein Naghavi — developing high frequency electronics for imaging, sensing, and communication
UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi directs the Terahertz Integrated MicroElectronics Lab at the UW, where he designs microchips that use high frequency terahertz electronics built using integrated circuit design and electromagnetics techniques.
https://hedy2024.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/bingzhao-li-2025-activate-fellowship/
Bingzhao Li receives Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li.
https://www.washington.edu/news/2025/07/21/wsas-2025/
Professor Kai-Mei Fu elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
UW ECE and Physics Professor Kai-Mei Fu has been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Fu received this honor for contributions to fundamental and applied research on the optical and spin properties of quantum point defects in crystals, and for quantum community leadership.
https://www.engr.washington.edu/news/article/2025-06-23/engineering-research-matters
Engineering research matters
Learn about the impact and importance of research at the UW College of Engineering, including work by UW ECE assistant professors Jungwon Choi (left) and Kim Ingraham (right).
925uweeViewNews Object
(
[_rendered:protected] => 1
[_classes:protected] => Array
(
[0] => view-block
[1] => block--spotlight-robust-news
)
[_finalHTML:protected] => https://hedy2024.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/fighting-fire-before-it-sparks/Fighting fire before it sparks
Voltair, a startup co-founded by UW ECE alums Ronan Nopp (BSECE ’25) and Hayden Gosch (BSECE ’25) is innovating drone technology to prevent wildfires from igniting along rural power lines.
Jungwon Choi — engineering power conversion systems for emerging technologies
UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi is engineering high-frequency power converters for advanced and emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, robotics, biomedical devices, and renewable energy systems.
Hossein Naghavi — developing high frequency electronics for imaging, sensing, and communication
UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi directs the Terahertz Integrated MicroElectronics Lab at the UW, where he designs microchips that use high frequency terahertz electronics built using integrated circuit design and electromagnetics techniques.
Bingzhao Li receives Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li.
Professor Kai-Mei Fu elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
UW ECE and Physics Professor Kai-Mei Fu has been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Fu received this honor for contributions to fundamental and applied research on the optical and spin properties of quantum point defects in crystals, and for quantum community leadership.
Engineering research matters
Learn about the impact and importance of research at the UW College of Engineering, including work by UW ECE assistant professors Jungwon Choi (left) and Kim Ingraham (right).
Voltair, a startup co-founded by recent UW ECE alums Ronan Nopp (BSECE ’25) and Hayden Gosch (BSECE ’25), is innovating drone technology to prevent wildfires from igniting along rural power lines. Shown above: A closeup of the Voltair drone prototype. Photo provided by Voltair.[/caption]
One night last fall, Ronan Nopp and Hayden Gosch were brainstorming names for their newly formed startup that would deploy autonomous, self-charging drones to inspect rural power lines.
After the two electrical and computer engineering seniors debated — and dismissed — scores of candidates, Nopp’s roommate chimed in from the couch: “What about Voltair?”
They liked the mashup of volt (a unit of electricity) and air (the domain of drones) — plus the nod to Voltaire, the Enlightenment thinker. It suited a company whose purpose is to “keep the lights on.”
But Voltair has become more than a clever name.
Its innovative solution to a growing environmental and economic crisis took the grand prize at two UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship competitions this year. And its founders have grander aspirations.
“Our mission,” says Nopp, “is to enable autonomous inspections of the power grid with the goal of completely eliminating wildfire risk for public utilities that use our technology.”
[caption id="attachment_38571" align="alignright" width="550"]
(Upper left) Ronan Nopp demonstrates the Voltair drone prototype at the Dempsey Startup Competition. (Upper right) Hayden Gosch explaining how the drone works. Nopp and Gosch set out to reduce wildfire risk with a self-charging, autonomous drone that can inspect rural power lines (shown above) more frequently, effectively, and economically. Photos provided by Voltair and the UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship.[/caption]
Self-inflicted flames
That risk is great — and growing. In a warming world, wildfire season has become longer and more severe. Many fires are caused by breakdowns along the electrical grid. Overgrown vegetation can spark power lines during storms or heat waves. Aging apparatus and insulation can fail at any time.
“The power grid,” says Gosch, “is a ticking time bomb.”
This concerns all public utilities, which collectively bear billions of dollars in wildfire liability. But the risk looms particularly large over small rural cooperative utilities. For them, Gosch adds, “the threat is existential. It’s their single greatest fear.”
These small providers typically make do with skeleton crews of technicians to maintain thousands of miles of power lines. In remote areas, it can take five to 11 years to complete a full manual inspection of the grid.
Voltair’s founders believe they can cover the same ground every 60 days — at less than half the cost per mile.
Airborne and autonomous
Friends since middle school, Nopp and Gosch decided to cap their final year at the UW with a grand engineering and entrepreneurial challenge. Gosch, who had developed a passion for energy infrastructure while interning at Seattle City Light, posed the problem to Nopp, who had developed expertise in commercial drones.
Their solution was simple enough: equip a drone with tracking sensors, position mapping and a self-charging clamp. When its battery runs out, it simply latches onto the power line it’s inspecting. Once recharged, it’s back on its way for continuous inspection and reporting.
Motivated by the Buerk Center’s spring entrepreneurial competitions, Nopp and Gosch developed the Voltair concept last fall and presented it in January at the Science & Engineering Business Association’s annual Science & Technology Showcase.
They gradually added expertise to the enterprise, making connections through the showcase and the Buerk Center’s business plan practicum and resource events.
Sharpening the pitch
[caption id="attachment_38575" align="alignright" width="550"]
The original Voltair team celebrates its grand prize at the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge. Photo: UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship[/caption]
Their “scrappy team of underdogs,” as Gosch calls it, eventually included computer science students Aryan Sharma and Andy Legrand on software and detection systems; aerospace engineering student Hudson Wood on prototype design and competitive strategy; finance and information systems student Hunter McKay on business development; and psychology, communications and business student Isabella Crosby shaping the narrative and marketing materials. Former Husky Warren Weissbluth recently joined to run operations.
“With these startup competitions, it’s all hands on deck,” Nopp says. “A cool technology is great, but the competitions are about articulating your idea, figuring out your go-to-market strategy. These are things that don’t fall neatly into any one degree. It takes everyone working together.”
The Voltair team brainstormed, prototyped, interviewed utility providers and regulators, conducted field studies, launched test flights — and created a coherent and compelling pitch.
Their proposed fleet of drones, equipped with their patent-pending charging system plus an arsenal of sensors, machine vision and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, can patrol a network continuously and autonomously, gathering and transmitting visual, thermal and ultrasonic data. Any vegetation encroachment or maintenance concern can be diagnosed on the spot and a crew can be dispatched to remedy the situation — before it becomes a fire hazard.
And these gains in efficiency, accuracy and frequency come with a significant cost saving over manual inspection.
“There’s a huge cost to troubleshooting,” Nopp says. “Our big bet is that our drones can find problems quickly so a utility crew can fix them immediately.
A win-win situation
The seasoned investors and entrepreneurs who judged both the Environmental Innovation Challenge and the Dempsey Startup Competition took that bet. Voltair became the first team to win both competitions in the same year.
“Investors and venture capitalists echo this time and time again: it’s not just the idea, it’s the team behind it,” says Buerk Center Director Amy Sallin. “Voltair set themselves apart by having a cross-disciplinary team that was able to connect not just with the judges who understand drone technology and climate tech, but the dozens and dozens who do not.”
The competitions awarded them valuable cash — $45,000 in total winnings — but also connections and confidence, which have already proved invaluable.
“Wildfire is clearly a huge problem,” Nopp says. “We were cautious at first with our solution. But the more we talked to public utilities and the feedback we got from competition judges reinforced that Voltair is a viable solution that we should pursue.”
Nopp and Gosch are doing just that — Nopp even turned down his dream job at SpaceX to pursue Voltair full time.
This summer, they are refining Voltair’s systems, conducting field tests and meeting with utility operators, insurers, wildfire experts and the FAA. They have also been accepted into the Buerk Accelerator Program to facilitate the leap from competition to marketplace.
Their path may be less taken, but it’s full of purpose.
“This definitely doesn’t feel normal,” Nopp says. “But we have this problem that we’re really passionate about solving and we’re going to keep working on it.”
The Buerk Center: Partnering to spark innovation
The Arthur W. Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, headquartered at the Foster School of Business, supports and inspires UW students from all disciplines to pursue their entrepreneurial passions. Students gain real-world experience, take innovative courses and connect with Seattle’s entrepreneurial community to bring their ideas to life.
Engineering students regularly participate in the center’s startup competitions and can take courses that lead to minors and certificates in entrepreneurship. When paired with the problem-solving mindset at the core of an engineering education, this experience helps students develop the skills and confidence to drive innovation in any field.
“The Buerk Center provided an invaluable framework to think about startups: what it takes and what is possible,” says Voltair co-founder Ronan Nopp. “It’s a common sentiment that giant companies with huge R&D departments are the place to innovate. But every student who graduates from the UW with an engineering degree has the tools to build something new. There’s nothing stopping you.”
[post_title] => Fighting fire before it sparks
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => fighting-fire-before-it-sparks
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-08-15 14:33:49
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-08-15 21:33:49
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38566
[menu_order] => 1
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38536
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-08-07 15:35:24
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-08-07 22:35:24
[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam / UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_38537" align="alignright" width="600"]
UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi is engineering high-frequency power converters for advanced and emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, robotics, biomedical devices, and renewable energy systems. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
We live in a world powered by electricity. But few people stop to think about where that power comes from, let alone how it is transformed to run the devices they use every day. Electrical energy can be generated from fossil fuels or renewable sources, such as the sun, wind, and flowing water. But we cannot plug this raw power directly into electronics. It must first be processed and optimized for specific systems and devices. This is the role of power electronics, a branch of electrical engineering focused on transforming electrical energy from one form to another. A good example of power electronics in everyday life are the power adapters used to charge smartphones and laptops. Each power adapter contains a small power converter that changes alternating electrical current from a wall outlet into a form the device can use.
Modern electronic systems have been rapidly evolving to support advanced and emerging technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotics. But while these technologies are changing fast, an efficient charging system for them has not yet been developed. In addition, countries worldwide are transitioning to renewable energy sources and systems that are electrified. As demand for clean energy grows, enabling technologies, such as photovoltaics, smart-grid systems, semiconductor devices, and power converters, become essential. It’s fair to say that power-electronic circuits will form the backbone of the next-generation electric grid. So, efficient power converter designs with high-power capacity will be crucial to improving the performance of the entire grid system. With these things in mind, engineering intelligent, compact, and efficient charging systems is a pressing need.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi is conducting research that addresses this challenge and points toward the future, bridging state-of-the-art power electronics and the needs of modern technology. Her aim is to miniaturize power electronics circuits and optimize them for wireless technologies. This work is focused on enabling compact and reliable power conversion systems for electrification as well as extending these systems to provide wireless power transfer.
“I try to break down the walls that prevent us from improving the power density of applications,” Choi said. “In other words, I engineer power converters to improve their power capacity and efficiency for emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles, robotics, biomedical devices, and renewable energy systems. My work is also for data centers that support new applications, such as advanced forms of artificial intelligence and machine learning.”
Academic background
[caption id="attachment_38540" align="alignright" width="575"]
Choi with UW ECE graduate students Ghovindo Siadari (left) and Manas Palmal (right) in the UW Power Electronics Research Lab. Choi’s lab focuses on power electronics and sustainable energy, power semiconductor devices, control systems, and magnetic designs. Photo by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/caption]
Choi’s interest in power electronics began at a young age, and she said it seemed natural for her to select electrical engineering as a major when pursuing her undergraduate degree. In 2009, she received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Korea University in Seoul, South Korea. She then worked for three years at KT Corporation, a Korean telecommunications company. While at KT, she decided that she wanted to go to graduate school. She moved from South Korea to the United States and studied at the University of Michigan, where, in 2013, she received her master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science. She then went on to earn her doctoral degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2019. After completing her doctoral degree, she accepted a position as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, where she focused on power electronics, power semiconductor devices, wireless power transfer, and magnetics.
In September 2023, Choi became an assistant professor at UW ECE. She said that she chose to join the Department because it offered many collaborative opportunities that were a good fit for her research as well as an outstanding curriculum for students. She also knew that Seattle was home to many potential industry partners. She realized that this combination could provide strong support for the direction her work was headed, while enabling her to teach more students about power electronics.
Choi’s collaborators in UW ECE include professors Daniel Kirschen, Baosen Zhang, and June Lukuyu, who are all experts in various aspects of power and energy systems. Choi is also a member of the Clean Energy Institute at the UW. In addition, she works with UW ECE Professor and Associate Chair for Research Mo Li in UPWARDS, a program aimed at providing advanced training and research opportunities that will grow the nation’s semiconductor workforce.
Choi has received many awards and honors in her career. In 2017, she was selected as one of the Rising Stars in EECS at Stanford University. In 2019 and 2020, she received Unlock Ideas awards from Lam Research, and in 2021, she received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. Earlier this year, she was selected for a secretary position in the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) Technical Committee (TC2), focusing on power components, integration, and power integrated circuits.
The UW Power Electronics Research Lab
[caption id="attachment_38544" align="alignright" width="575"]
An illustration of a spiral coil design for wireless power transfer that Choi is working on with her students in the lab. Photo by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/caption]
Choi directs the UW Power Electronics Research Laboratory at the UW, which includes graduate students pursuing their master’s and doctoral degrees. Her lab focuses on power electronics and sustainable energy, power semiconductor devices, control systems, and magnetic designs. This work encompasses development of high-frequency power converters and wireless power transfer for battery-powered vehicles; industrial and biomedical applications; system controls at high frequencies; energy storage; and wide-bandgap devices — electronic components made from nontraditional semiconductor materials that can withstand higher voltages and operate at higher frequencies than silicon. Choi’s research applies to a broad range of applications and includes collaboration with leading technology companies and faculty from different disciplines.
For example, one of Choi’s main research projects is designing flexible charging systems for robots that move items, such as packages, from one place to another in factories and warehouses. The primary drawback of using these robots is that the time it takes to charge them is nearly as long as the time they spend working. Another challenge is that the systems used to charge the robots are large and unwieldy. Choi seeks to address these problems through a couple of different approaches. First, she and her research team are developing wireless power transfer pads that will allow the robots to charge autonomously without needing to be plugged into a physical adapter. When the robot parks itself over the pad, it will be charging. Second, Choi is devising ways to charge the robots while they are driving and working. This could greatly reduce or even eliminate altogether time spent on the charging pad. This second approach will require shrinking the size of the robot’s wireless charging system. To achieve this goal, Choi and her research team are developing many detailed and innovative modifications to the system’s power converter circuit and coil design.
"I find it fascinating to work on challenges in power electronics, not just by myself, but also with my graduate students and by collaborating with other researchers. Together, we can make next-generation circuits and devices, and by doing so, we can solve problems that no one has ever solved before.” — UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi
Choi is also improving spiral coil designs for wireless power transfer systems operating at high frequencies. She has created several coil prototypes and, as described in one of her IEEE papers, she is using machine learning to optimize the coil design for energy efficiency and performance. This is a long-term project with broad applications. A key advantage of optimizing coil designs is that the efficiency of the power conversion system can be greatly improved. For wireless power transfer, power can also be sent over longer distances. This can benefit a wide range of technologies — from reducing the size of the power converters for electronic devices, to charging robots and vehicles while they are operating, to shrinking the size of biomedical equipment. Most recently, she has been collaborating with UW ECE Professor Maryam Fazel, who is helping Choi build machine learning algorithms capable of running coil design simulations in a fraction of the time they usually take.
In another recent project, Choi collaborated with Lam Research to engineer a more compact, energy-efficient source for generating plasma — a conductive, ionized gas. Plasma can be used to etch intricate patterns on silicon wafers and is a crucial part of the microchip manufacturing process. It takes a lot of power to generate plasma. Current plasma generation systems tend to be big and bulky, and they reside outside the vacuum chamber where plasma is created. The large size and physical location of the equipment lead to energy losses. Choi is continuing work on this project and intends to remedy these problems by reducing the size of the power conversion system and placing it inside the vacuum chamber, thereby increasing the energy efficiency of the power source.
Choi plans to share her research findings widely.
“Right now, the field is moving from low-frequency design to high-frequency design. But there is not that much knowledge out there about how to design high-frequency power converters, how to control them, or how we can use wireless power transfer with these high-frequency converters,” Choi said. “What I’m envisioning is improving power converter performance by collaborating with people from many different fields, including devices, machine learning, and systems. That way, we can produce a solid outcome and design a reliable, high-efficiency, high-frequency power converter while providing everyone with access to our techniques.”
Practical education for the next generation
[caption id="attachment_38545" align="alignright" width="575"]
A close-up of the spiral coil design prototype illustrated above. Photo by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/caption]
Choi teaches power electronics courses designed for undergraduate and graduate students. She constructs her courses to be engaging, fun, and to spark interest in the field. Choi said that she wants her students to experience how enjoyable studying and working with power electronics can be. She also considers the courses she teaches to be gateways for students to get into related fields, such as engineering electric vehicles or designing sustainable power systems.
Choi seeks to guide her students along the lines of their interests and to whatever field or endeavor might be a good fit for them. For her undergraduate students interested in making a career in power electronics, she recommends they review materials from their sophomore and junior-level circuit courses, building strong fundamental knowledge in basic circuits and electromagnetics. She said this knowledge is foundational and supports more complex concepts they will later learn. For graduate students, she recommends doctoral students do a summer internship because power electronics is an industry-based discipline. Choi said that graduate students need to be aware of what problems those in industry are grappling with, and then as academics, find ways to help solve those problems.
Outside of UW ECE, Choi is a faculty adviser for UW Formula Motorsports, which is a student organization that designs, builds, and races cars. Choi helps the students with power and electronics-related issues and guides them through engineering challenges and any other problems the group is trying to solve. In her spare time, Choi enjoys skiing with her family.
“As an educator, I really enjoy working with students. I not only mentor them, but sometimes, through our conversations, I might get a new idea and be inspired by them,” Choi said. “As a researcher, I find it fascinating to work on challenges in power electronics, not just by myself, but also with my graduate students and by collaborating with other researchers. Together, we can make next-generation circuits and devices, and by doing so, we can solve problems that no one has ever solved before.”
For more information about UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi, visit her bio page.
[post_title] => Jungwon Choi — engineering power conversion systems for emerging technologies
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => jungwon-choi-2025-faculty-profile
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-08-07 15:35:24
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-08-07 22:35:24
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38536
[menu_order] => 2
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38471
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-31 11:33:21
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-31 18:33:21
[post_content] => Article by Wayne Gillam, photos by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_38473" align="alignright" width="575"]
UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi directs the Terahertz Integrated MicroElectronics Lab at the UW, where he designs microchips that use high frequency terahertz electronics built using a combination of integrated circuit design and electromagnetics techniques.[/caption]
Nestled between the microwave frequencies commonly used in cell phones and higher frequencies used in optical technologies is a new frontier — a range of electromagnetic waves known to scientists and engineers as the “terahertz band.” Wave frequencies in this band span 100 gigahertz to 10 terahertz, and until recently, they were passed over when it came to using them in electronic devices. In fact, the terahertz band was once called the “terahertz gap” because of the difficulty in generating and detecting these frequencies. However, advancements in technology over the last 25 years have allowed engineers to explore terahertz frequencies and their potential applications.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi has dedicated his career to exploring terahertz frequencies and applying his discoveries to electronics. More specifically, he develops electronics and integrated circuit designs that use frequencies above 100 gigahertz for imaging, sensing, and communication.
“Terahertz frequencies have opened a plethora of unique applications in the fields of sensing, spectroscopy, imaging, and communications,” Naghavi noted in the introduction to his UW ECE Research Colloquium talk. “The short wavelength, see-through capability, and availability of wide bandwidth in the terahertz band make it an essential player for high-resolution sensing and imaging and high-speed communication networks.”
Naghavi’s work with terahertz frequencies requires a deep understanding of circuit design and electromagnetics as well as the complex physics and mathematics that underpins both of these domains. It is a knowledge base he has built through years of study and scholarship.
Combining integrated circuit design and electromagnetics
[caption id="attachment_38476" align="alignright" width="575"]
A microchip designed in Naghavi's lab, placed next to a penny. The inset box shows a closeup view of this tiny chip.[/caption]
Growing up in Ghaen, Iran, Naghavi first became interested in electrical engineering when he was in high school and his uncle made a walkie-talkie for fun. Naghavi was intrigued with the device, and he wanted to learn how it worked. He was a good student and had an interest in studying electrical engineering at the university level, so after high school, he attended the Amirkabir University of Technology. There, he became fascinated with the intersection of electronics and electromagnetics and pursued studies in both areas. In 2009, he received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and then went on to graduate school, where he focused on applied electromagnetics. In 2013, he received his master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Tehran.
Naghavi came to the United States to pursue his doctoral degree at the University of Michigan, which has one of the strongest programs in the nation in applied electromagnetics. His doctoral work was aimed at bringing together techniques from circuit design and electromagnetics to build terahertz integrated circuits. As a research scholar, he contributed to the development of the first fully integrated terahertz inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging system. In 2023, he graduated from the University of Michigan with his doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering. Naghavi noted the value of bringing circuit design and electromagnetics together.
“In my research area, which is terahertz circuit design, the frequency is so high that the circuit models are not accurate enough,” he said. “We need to use those electromagnetic tools to make sure our designs are accurate.”
“I would say that the best time for me during the week is when I’m in the class and teaching my students. I really like explaining these topics to students to help them understand." — UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi
Naghavi joined UW ECE in September 2023. When looking for a faculty position, he said he was interested in the UW because of the University’s long-standing reputation in electromagnetics. Many big names in this field, such as UW ECE Professor Emeritus Akira Ishimaru, have been faculty at the UW and wrote textbooks Naghavi read during his undergraduate and graduate studies. Naghavi said he was also attracted to UW ECE because it is a dynamic place that has ample resources, a large number of assistant professors conducting cutting-edge research, and outstanding students. He noted that the UW encourages and supports collaboration between faculty within UW ECE and across departments.
“One recent proposal I was a part of involved combining research from people who work in a nanofabrication lab with people that have knowledge in AI and machine learning and people that work in the communication domain,” Naghavi said. “We combined our ideas and proposed new communication systems that can resolve some of the fundamental challenges that we have with the next generation, 6G communication network. Without this kind of collaboration, it’s impossible to create a comprehensive approach to broad problems such as this one.”
Applications for high frequency electronics
Naghavi directs the Terahertz Integrated MicroElectronics Lab at the UW, where he designs microchips that use high frequency terahertz electronics built using a combination of integrated circuit design and electromagnetics techniques. His main research focus is to design microchips for high-resolution and high-precision imaging, but the chips he develops have many potential applications in sensing and communication as well. Listed below are a few use cases for the terahertz electronics Naghavi is building in his lab:
Enhancing human perception
Terahertz frequencies enable the user to see through optically opaque materials, both at close range and up to a couple of meters away. The chips being developed by Naghavi are designed to enable precise and real-time detection of still or moving objects in the environment. Achieving this requires sophisticated, integrated, on-chip systems capable of performing localization, material characterization, and high-resolution imaging. Naghavi’s ultimate goal is to develop a portable terahertz transceiver that can serve as either a compact sensory organ that enhances human perception, or, on an industrial scale, a device that systematically creates detailed material maps for object detection and classification in any setting. When integrated into augmented reality hardware, this technology has the potential to transform how the user interacts with the world. For example, a firefighter could use a terahertz-enabled AR headset to see through smoke and flames, identify hazards like high-voltage cables, and locate trapped individuals, leading to safer and more effective rescue operations. Similarly, a nurse could use terahertz vision to non-invasively monitor the healing progress of a covered wound, assessing tissue health without removing bandages and risking infections. These are just two among many possible ways this technology could enhance human perception and provide critical information in challenging environments.
Medicine
Terahertz frequencies could replace X-rays for common medical procedures, such as dental scans. Like X-rays, terahertz frequencies can be used to see cavities, root canals, and other dental features. However, there is no danger to the dentist or patient because the photons in terahertz frequencies are much lower energy than the photons in X-rays. Unlike X-rays, terahertz frequencies don’t cause cancer or DNA mutation, so they are safe to use around people. Terahertz frequencies could also be used to detect production defects in pharmaceuticals. The thickness of pharmaceutical capsules needs to be uniform and accurate, and terahertz frequencies could help with measurements and detecting defects in these capsules. In addition, the unique ability of terahertz frequencies to resonate with macromolecules, such as proteins and DNA, could create new opportunities for cancer cell detection and medical research.
Communication networks
The technology Naghavi is engineering is applicable to high-speed communication networks, including the next-generation 6G communication network, which is now in development. More specifically, this technology applies to backhaul communication networks, which connect end-users and access points, such as cell towers, to larger core networks, or “backbones” of the communication system. Current backhaul communication networks rely heavily on fiber optics, which provides high-speed data transfer between backbone networks. However, fiber-optic technology has challenges, such as requiring the burial of fiber-optic cables deep underground. In contrast, terahertz frequencies can deliver wireless, point-to-point networks with communication speeds comparable to those of fiber-optic technology. This feature is achieved because of the availability of wide bandwidth in the terahertz domain and the fact that terahertz waves can travel through inclement weather, such as fog, rain, and snow. Backhaul communication systems using terahertz frequencies can operate at close to the same speeds as those using optical frequencies, but with fewer infrastructure requirements, making terahertz frequencies a promising and potentially more affordable solution for high-speed backhaul communication networks.
Electronic sensing
In electronic sensing, Naghavi is exploring “surface screening techniques,” which are ways of using terahertz frequencies to detect microscopic defects in otherwise smooth surfaces. These techniques could be useful in manufacturing processes that require the production of a smooth surface, such as in the semiconductor industry, where precisely measuring the thickness of deposited layers on substrates, like silicon, is crucial. Also, terahertz frequencies could be used in ophthalmology to augment or replace standard ultrasound pachymetry — a test that measures the thickness of the cornea (the clear, front part of the eye). Pachymetry requires contact with the eye to measure the central and peripheral corneal thickness. In contrast, terahertz frequencies could be used to non-invasively monitor corneal thickness. Naghavi said he believed other new sensing applications for this technology will appear in the future as scientists and engineers develop more integrated circuits that adopt terahertz frequencies.
Providing unique opportunities for students
[caption id="attachment_38479" align="alignright" width="575"]
A photo of the same chip pictured above, shown here on the black-and-white grid next to coins, paperclips, coffee beans, rice, a guitar pick, ruler, and pencil.[/caption]
Investigating ways to apply terahertz frequencies to electronics can be a deep dive into physics, mathematics, circuit design, and electromagnetics. Naghavi said he is committed to this complex work because the problems engineers are facing today are so hard that innovation is required. He noted that classical engineering techniques by themselves cannot solve the problems occurring in today's applications. He also said that those building commercial products generally don’t have the time or flexibility to explore new research and techniques like what he is focusing on at UW ECE. New approaches require innovation and experimentation, which is a strength of academia.
With that in mind, Naghavi is developing high frequency electronics by exploring new ideas, theories, and techniques derived from physics and mathematics and implementing them in microchips that are built using traditional fabrication methods. By doing so, he aims to leapfrog over existing technology and significantly improve chip performance. His main industry collaborator is STMicroelectronics. This company helps to support research opportunities for students in his lab. Naghavi is also incorporating advanced electromagnetics courses into UW ECE curriculum, which provide important knowledge for students who want to design high-frequency terahertz chips. Chip fabrication courses have also been recently introduced in the Department.
“We are developing new physics and mathematics for these high-frequency devices that we create. All of my doctoral students use this knowledge to design their circuits with simulation tools. We then fabricate the chip and show that the idea we have works,” Naghavi said. He added, “It used to be that only after one to three years of doctoral-level studies, would a student be ready to do a ‘chip tape out,’ which means to fabricate a chip. But now, we are offering this experience to undergraduates, which is highly advanced and a unique opportunity.”
Naghavi teaches and advises a mix of undergraduate and graduate students. He recommends to his undergraduate students that they seek to achieve a deep and comprehensive understanding of the topics they study, as this knowledge is foundational. For his graduate students, he recommends they study the field’s literature as well as open-ended problems engineers are trying to solve. Naghavi also said that creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students is important to him. To that end, he is part of the Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellowship Program in the UW College of Engineering, which helps faculty design undergraduate courses to make them accessible for people from diverse backgrounds.
“I would say that the best time for me during the week is when I’m in the class and teaching my students,” Naghavi said. “I really like explaining these topics to students to help them understand. The students also motivate me to continue to build my own knowledge, because when you want to explain a new topic to a person who doesn’t have any background in this area, you should understand that topic at a deep level.”
For more information about UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi, visit his UW ECE bio page and the Terahertz Integrated MicroElectronics Lab website.
[post_title] => Hossein Naghavi — developing high frequency electronics for imaging, sensing, and communication
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => hossein-naghavi-faculty-profile-2025
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-08-07 12:41:55
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-08-07 19:41:55
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38471
[menu_order] => 3
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[3] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38424
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-24 11:04:50
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-24 18:04:50
[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam / UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_38426" align="alignright" width="600"]
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li. Shown above: Bingzhao holds the LiDAR system microchip he and Professor Li engineered in the lab. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, is a remote sensing technology used for creating high-resolution 3D maps and models of the environment. It has many uses and can provide valuable information beyond what can be seen with a conventional camera. For example, self-driving cars can use LiDAR to detect pedestrians and other obstacles in their path that are difficult to see; LiDAR enables robots to perceive their surroundings, navigate complex spaces, and interact with objects; and LiDAR is useful for mapping complex terrain by those in forestry, mining, archaeology, construction, traffic control, and urban planning.
But current LiDAR systems rely on bulky mechanical components that prevent widespread adoption in compact applications. While LiDAR technology delivers superior accuracy and reliability for 3D perception, existing systems are too large, heavy, and expensive for smaller devices that need to be mobile and versatile.
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has been working on this issue with UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li (no family relation) since 2020, when the pair first came up with an idea for improving LiDAR systems during the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Li is also a member of the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems, and a member of QuantumX at the UW, which pioneers development of quantum-enabled technology.
“The idea started during the COVID-19 lockdown, when we did not have access to our lab,” Bingzhao said. “During a meeting on Zoom, Professor Li and I first conceived the idea with a simple sketch on paper, and as soon as our lab reopened, we quickly turned it into a significant research result. Now, we want to turn it into a product.”
[caption id="attachment_38428" align="alignleft" width="400"]
Bingzhao Li is a research scientist in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems as well as a co-founder and chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics. Photo courtesy of Bingzhao Li[/caption]
Bingzhao has been learning from and working with Professor Li for a long time — first as an undergraduate student in an electromagnetics course taught by Professor Li, then later, as a graduate student in Professor Li’s research group. After receiving his doctoral degree from UW ECE, Bingzhao continued to work with Professor Li as a postdoctoral research fellow. Today, Bingzhao is a research scientist in Professor Li’s UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, where he investigates integrated photonic devices, optoelectronic materials, and quantum photonics.
Over the last five years, and working alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin, Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed new technology for LiDAR systems that is much more compact and affordable than what is currently available in the marketplace. Their work has been described in the June 2023 issue of the journal Nature, and recently, in the May 2025 issue of Nature Communications.
At the core of their innovative technology is a laser-beam steering device that is about 1,000 times smaller than what is commercially available today. The device is integrated into a microchip, which makes it compact, easy to fabricate, and affordable to produce. The chip allows engineers to eliminate bulky mechanical components, enabling production of a sturdy, solid-state LiDAR system that is much smaller and lighter than current models on the market, while also significantly reducing production costs. This compact and affordable technology for LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, including self-driving vehicles, drones, traffic control systems, and robotic systems found in agriculture, global supply chains, and medical imaging.
"UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that. Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story."
— UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li
The technology Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed has attracted attention, funding, and support since they published their work in 2023. They have received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Washington Research Foundation (Technology Commercialization grant in phase 1 and 2), and UW CoMotion, which, in addition to providing a CoMotion Innovation Gap Fund award, helped them to file and license the patents for their technology.
In June 2023, Bingzhao received the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student at UW ECE for his research in optics and photonics, which included his work on technology for LiDAR systems. Now, Bingzhao has been awarded a 2025 Activate Fellowship to commercialize this technology and turn it into a marketable product.
The Activate Fellowship and LEAP Photonics
[caption id="attachment_38431" align="alignright" width="600"]
LEAP Photonics’ product for LiDAR systems uses integrated acousto-optic beam steering technology developed by Bingzhao Li and Professor Li, alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin. This technology replaces mechanical moving parts with sound waves generated on a semiconductor chip to steer laser beams for LiDAR systems. These LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, such as self-driving cars, as shown above. Illustration by Bingzhao Li and Qixuan Lin.[/caption]
Activate Global, founded in 2015, is a nonprofit organization that originated from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its fellowship program is designed to give scientists a chance to transform their technology into a valuable product. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs, like Bingzhao, with a healthy salary and research funding as well as important technical resources and valuable support from a large network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. The Fellowship is very competitive, especially the Activate Anywhere Fellowship, which supports recipients living anywhere in the United States and is the award Bingzhao received. Bingzhao is the first UW graduate to receive an Activate Fellowship in the history of the organization. In June, he began participating in the program, which supports Fellowship recipients across the country with a nationwide network of industry leaders, investors, and philanthropists.
Bingzhao is also chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics, which he and Professor Li co-founded to commercialize the LiDAR technology they developed. With Bingzhao as CEO, the company stands to benefit from the Activate Fellowship. The acronym LEAP stands for “laser-enhanced automation perception” — a nod to the broad market Bingzhao and Professor Li are trying to reach, which encompasses autonomous machinery and robotics powered by artificial intelligence.
Bingzhao said that support from the Activate Fellowship is coming during a critical time for LEAP Photonics.
“For a startup, Activate can be a bridge between government funding and potential investors,” Bingzhao said. “It also acts as an indicator. If you receive an Activate Fellowship, it means you have the potential to grow your startup into a bigger company. Venture capitalists notice that.”
[caption id="attachment_38436" align="alignleft" width="400"]
Bingzhao Li working in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
“The Fellowship also fills an important gap,” Professor Li added. “Government funding for technology development often lacks guidance for creating and growing a startup company. The Activate Fellowship provides funding while also providing marketing and product development support, which includes connecting Fellowship recipients, like Bingzhao, to a wide range of mentors and helpful contacts, including potential investors.”
The company has already had fundraising success. Very recently, it won a sizable Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation. Bingzhao and Professor Li said they anticipate that Bingzhao’s participation in the Activate Fellowship program will further augment their fundraising efforts.
Bingzhao said that the goal for LEAP Photonics over the next two years is to move their technology for LiDAR systems from what is considered to be a minimal viable product (an early version of a commercial product with minimal features) into a full-featured prototype. By the time the Fellowship concludes, he and Professor Li said they expect to have created a product ready for the marketplace.
“UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that,” Professor Li said. “Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story. There are many other stories like this one happening right now in the Department, with many more to come.”
To learn more about Bingzhao Li, read “Bingzhao Li — bringing light and sound into computer chips.” Details about Professor Mo Li’s background and research are available on his UW ECE website bio page and on the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems website. Information about LEAP Photonics is available on the company’s website.
[post_title] => Bingzhao Li receives Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => bingzhao-li-2025-activate-fellowship
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-28 17:01:34
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-29 00:01:34
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38424
[menu_order] => 4
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[4] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38383
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-17 09:46:44
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-17 16:46:44
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Professor Kai-Mei Fu elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => professor-kai-mei-fu-elected-to-the-washington-state-academy-of-sciences
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-21 16:58:07
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-21 23:58:07
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38383
[menu_order] => 5
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[5] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38314
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-06-23 14:34:54
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-23 21:34:54
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Engineering research matters
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => engineering-research-matters
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-23 14:34:54
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-23 21:34:54
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38314
[menu_order] => 6
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
)
[post_count] => 6
[current_post] => -1
[before_loop] => 1
[in_the_loop] =>
[post] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38566
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-08-14 17:05:05
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-08-15 00:05:05
[post_content] => Adapted from an article by Ed Kromer / UW College of Engineering
[caption id="attachment_38569" align="alignright" width="550"] Voltair, a startup co-founded by recent UW ECE alums Ronan Nopp (BSECE ’25) and Hayden Gosch (BSECE ’25), is innovating drone technology to prevent wildfires from igniting along rural power lines. Shown above: A closeup of the Voltair drone prototype. Photo provided by Voltair.[/caption]
One night last fall, Ronan Nopp and Hayden Gosch were brainstorming names for their newly formed startup that would deploy autonomous, self-charging drones to inspect rural power lines.
After the two electrical and computer engineering seniors debated — and dismissed — scores of candidates, Nopp’s roommate chimed in from the couch: “What about Voltair?”
They liked the mashup of volt (a unit of electricity) and air (the domain of drones) — plus the nod to Voltaire, the Enlightenment thinker. It suited a company whose purpose is to “keep the lights on.”
But Voltair has become more than a clever name.
Its innovative solution to a growing environmental and economic crisis took the grand prize at two UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship competitions this year. And its founders have grander aspirations.
“Our mission,” says Nopp, “is to enable autonomous inspections of the power grid with the goal of completely eliminating wildfire risk for public utilities that use our technology.”
[caption id="attachment_38571" align="alignright" width="550"] (Upper left) Ronan Nopp demonstrates the Voltair drone prototype at the Dempsey Startup Competition. (Upper right) Hayden Gosch explaining how the drone works. Nopp and Gosch set out to reduce wildfire risk with a self-charging, autonomous drone that can inspect rural power lines (shown above) more frequently, effectively, and economically. Photos provided by Voltair and the UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship.[/caption]
Self-inflicted flames
That risk is great — and growing. In a warming world, wildfire season has become longer and more severe. Many fires are caused by breakdowns along the electrical grid. Overgrown vegetation can spark power lines during storms or heat waves. Aging apparatus and insulation can fail at any time.
“The power grid,” says Gosch, “is a ticking time bomb.”
This concerns all public utilities, which collectively bear billions of dollars in wildfire liability. But the risk looms particularly large over small rural cooperative utilities. For them, Gosch adds, “the threat is existential. It’s their single greatest fear.”
These small providers typically make do with skeleton crews of technicians to maintain thousands of miles of power lines. In remote areas, it can take five to 11 years to complete a full manual inspection of the grid.
Voltair’s founders believe they can cover the same ground every 60 days — at less than half the cost per mile.
Airborne and autonomous
Friends since middle school, Nopp and Gosch decided to cap their final year at the UW with a grand engineering and entrepreneurial challenge. Gosch, who had developed a passion for energy infrastructure while interning at Seattle City Light, posed the problem to Nopp, who had developed expertise in commercial drones.
Their solution was simple enough: equip a drone with tracking sensors, position mapping and a self-charging clamp. When its battery runs out, it simply latches onto the power line it’s inspecting. Once recharged, it’s back on its way for continuous inspection and reporting.
Motivated by the Buerk Center’s spring entrepreneurial competitions, Nopp and Gosch developed the Voltair concept last fall and presented it in January at the Science & Engineering Business Association’s annual Science & Technology Showcase.
They gradually added expertise to the enterprise, making connections through the showcase and the Buerk Center’s business plan practicum and resource events.
Sharpening the pitch
[caption id="attachment_38575" align="alignright" width="550"] The original Voltair team celebrates its grand prize at the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge. Photo: UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship[/caption]
Their “scrappy team of underdogs,” as Gosch calls it, eventually included computer science students Aryan Sharma and Andy Legrand on software and detection systems; aerospace engineering student Hudson Wood on prototype design and competitive strategy; finance and information systems student Hunter McKay on business development; and psychology, communications and business student Isabella Crosby shaping the narrative and marketing materials. Former Husky Warren Weissbluth recently joined to run operations.
“With these startup competitions, it’s all hands on deck,” Nopp says. “A cool technology is great, but the competitions are about articulating your idea, figuring out your go-to-market strategy. These are things that don’t fall neatly into any one degree. It takes everyone working together.”
The Voltair team brainstormed, prototyped, interviewed utility providers and regulators, conducted field studies, launched test flights — and created a coherent and compelling pitch.
Their proposed fleet of drones, equipped with their patent-pending charging system plus an arsenal of sensors, machine vision and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, can patrol a network continuously and autonomously, gathering and transmitting visual, thermal and ultrasonic data. Any vegetation encroachment or maintenance concern can be diagnosed on the spot and a crew can be dispatched to remedy the situation — before it becomes a fire hazard.
And these gains in efficiency, accuracy and frequency come with a significant cost saving over manual inspection.
“There’s a huge cost to troubleshooting,” Nopp says. “Our big bet is that our drones can find problems quickly so a utility crew can fix them immediately.
A win-win situation
The seasoned investors and entrepreneurs who judged both the Environmental Innovation Challenge and the Dempsey Startup Competition took that bet. Voltair became the first team to win both competitions in the same year.
“Investors and venture capitalists echo this time and time again: it’s not just the idea, it’s the team behind it,” says Buerk Center Director Amy Sallin. “Voltair set themselves apart by having a cross-disciplinary team that was able to connect not just with the judges who understand drone technology and climate tech, but the dozens and dozens who do not.”
The competitions awarded them valuable cash — $45,000 in total winnings — but also connections and confidence, which have already proved invaluable.
“Wildfire is clearly a huge problem,” Nopp says. “We were cautious at first with our solution. But the more we talked to public utilities and the feedback we got from competition judges reinforced that Voltair is a viable solution that we should pursue.”
Nopp and Gosch are doing just that — Nopp even turned down his dream job at SpaceX to pursue Voltair full time.
This summer, they are refining Voltair’s systems, conducting field tests and meeting with utility operators, insurers, wildfire experts and the FAA. They have also been accepted into the Buerk Accelerator Program to facilitate the leap from competition to marketplace.
Their path may be less taken, but it’s full of purpose.
“This definitely doesn’t feel normal,” Nopp says. “But we have this problem that we’re really passionate about solving and we’re going to keep working on it.”
The Buerk Center: Partnering to spark innovation
The Arthur W. Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, headquartered at the Foster School of Business, supports and inspires UW students from all disciplines to pursue their entrepreneurial passions. Students gain real-world experience, take innovative courses and connect with Seattle’s entrepreneurial community to bring their ideas to life.
Engineering students regularly participate in the center’s startup competitions and can take courses that lead to minors and certificates in entrepreneurship. When paired with the problem-solving mindset at the core of an engineering education, this experience helps students develop the skills and confidence to drive innovation in any field.
“The Buerk Center provided an invaluable framework to think about startups: what it takes and what is possible,” says Voltair co-founder Ronan Nopp. “It’s a common sentiment that giant companies with huge R&D departments are the place to innovate. But every student who graduates from the UW with an engineering degree has the tools to build something new. There’s nothing stopping you.”
[post_title] => Fighting fire before it sparks
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => fighting-fire-before-it-sparks
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-08-15 14:33:49
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-08-15 21:33:49
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38566
[menu_order] => 1
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[comment_count] => 0
[current_comment] => -1
[found_posts] => 925
[max_num_pages] => 155
[max_num_comment_pages] => 0
[is_single] =>
[is_preview] =>
[is_page] =>
[is_archive] => 1
[is_date] =>
[is_year] =>
[is_month] =>
[is_day] =>
[is_time] =>
[is_author] =>
[is_category] =>
[is_tag] =>
[is_tax] =>
[is_search] =>
[is_feed] =>
[is_comment_feed] =>
[is_trackback] =>
[is_home] =>
[is_privacy_policy] =>
[is_404] =>
[is_embed] =>
[is_paged] =>
[is_admin] =>
[is_attachment] =>
[is_singular] =>
[is_robots] =>
[is_favicon] =>
[is_posts_page] =>
[is_post_type_archive] => 1
[query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 259bd492f9be11f3568840d89049228d
[query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => 1
[thumbnails_cached] =>
[allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] =>
[stopwords:WP_Query:private] =>
[compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => query_vars_hash
[1] => query_vars_changed
)
[compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
(
[0] => init_query_flags
[1] => parse_tax_query
)
)
[_type:protected] => spotlight
[_from:protected] => newsawards_landing
[_args:protected] => Array
(
[post_type] => spotlight
[meta_query] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[key] => type
[value] => news
[compare] => LIKE
)
)
[posts_per_page] => 6
[post_status] => publish
)
[_jids:protected] =>
[_taxa:protected] => Array
(
)
[_meta:protected] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[key] => type
[value] => news
[compare] => LIKE
)
)
[_metarelation:protected] => AND
[_results:protected] => Array
(
[0] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38566
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-08-14 17:05:05
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-08-15 00:05:05
[post_content] => Adapted from an article by Ed Kromer / UW College of Engineering
[caption id="attachment_38569" align="alignright" width="550"] Voltair, a startup co-founded by recent UW ECE alums Ronan Nopp (BSECE ’25) and Hayden Gosch (BSECE ’25), is innovating drone technology to prevent wildfires from igniting along rural power lines. Shown above: A closeup of the Voltair drone prototype. Photo provided by Voltair.[/caption]
One night last fall, Ronan Nopp and Hayden Gosch were brainstorming names for their newly formed startup that would deploy autonomous, self-charging drones to inspect rural power lines.
After the two electrical and computer engineering seniors debated — and dismissed — scores of candidates, Nopp’s roommate chimed in from the couch: “What about Voltair?”
They liked the mashup of volt (a unit of electricity) and air (the domain of drones) — plus the nod to Voltaire, the Enlightenment thinker. It suited a company whose purpose is to “keep the lights on.”
But Voltair has become more than a clever name.
Its innovative solution to a growing environmental and economic crisis took the grand prize at two UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship competitions this year. And its founders have grander aspirations.
“Our mission,” says Nopp, “is to enable autonomous inspections of the power grid with the goal of completely eliminating wildfire risk for public utilities that use our technology.”
[caption id="attachment_38571" align="alignright" width="550"] (Upper left) Ronan Nopp demonstrates the Voltair drone prototype at the Dempsey Startup Competition. (Upper right) Hayden Gosch explaining how the drone works. Nopp and Gosch set out to reduce wildfire risk with a self-charging, autonomous drone that can inspect rural power lines (shown above) more frequently, effectively, and economically. Photos provided by Voltair and the UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship.[/caption]
Self-inflicted flames
That risk is great — and growing. In a warming world, wildfire season has become longer and more severe. Many fires are caused by breakdowns along the electrical grid. Overgrown vegetation can spark power lines during storms or heat waves. Aging apparatus and insulation can fail at any time.
“The power grid,” says Gosch, “is a ticking time bomb.”
This concerns all public utilities, which collectively bear billions of dollars in wildfire liability. But the risk looms particularly large over small rural cooperative utilities. For them, Gosch adds, “the threat is existential. It’s their single greatest fear.”
These small providers typically make do with skeleton crews of technicians to maintain thousands of miles of power lines. In remote areas, it can take five to 11 years to complete a full manual inspection of the grid.
Voltair’s founders believe they can cover the same ground every 60 days — at less than half the cost per mile.
Airborne and autonomous
Friends since middle school, Nopp and Gosch decided to cap their final year at the UW with a grand engineering and entrepreneurial challenge. Gosch, who had developed a passion for energy infrastructure while interning at Seattle City Light, posed the problem to Nopp, who had developed expertise in commercial drones.
Their solution was simple enough: equip a drone with tracking sensors, position mapping and a self-charging clamp. When its battery runs out, it simply latches onto the power line it’s inspecting. Once recharged, it’s back on its way for continuous inspection and reporting.
Motivated by the Buerk Center’s spring entrepreneurial competitions, Nopp and Gosch developed the Voltair concept last fall and presented it in January at the Science & Engineering Business Association’s annual Science & Technology Showcase.
They gradually added expertise to the enterprise, making connections through the showcase and the Buerk Center’s business plan practicum and resource events.
Sharpening the pitch
[caption id="attachment_38575" align="alignright" width="550"] The original Voltair team celebrates its grand prize at the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge. Photo: UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship[/caption]
Their “scrappy team of underdogs,” as Gosch calls it, eventually included computer science students Aryan Sharma and Andy Legrand on software and detection systems; aerospace engineering student Hudson Wood on prototype design and competitive strategy; finance and information systems student Hunter McKay on business development; and psychology, communications and business student Isabella Crosby shaping the narrative and marketing materials. Former Husky Warren Weissbluth recently joined to run operations.
“With these startup competitions, it’s all hands on deck,” Nopp says. “A cool technology is great, but the competitions are about articulating your idea, figuring out your go-to-market strategy. These are things that don’t fall neatly into any one degree. It takes everyone working together.”
The Voltair team brainstormed, prototyped, interviewed utility providers and regulators, conducted field studies, launched test flights — and created a coherent and compelling pitch.
Their proposed fleet of drones, equipped with their patent-pending charging system plus an arsenal of sensors, machine vision and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, can patrol a network continuously and autonomously, gathering and transmitting visual, thermal and ultrasonic data. Any vegetation encroachment or maintenance concern can be diagnosed on the spot and a crew can be dispatched to remedy the situation — before it becomes a fire hazard.
And these gains in efficiency, accuracy and frequency come with a significant cost saving over manual inspection.
“There’s a huge cost to troubleshooting,” Nopp says. “Our big bet is that our drones can find problems quickly so a utility crew can fix them immediately.
A win-win situation
The seasoned investors and entrepreneurs who judged both the Environmental Innovation Challenge and the Dempsey Startup Competition took that bet. Voltair became the first team to win both competitions in the same year.
“Investors and venture capitalists echo this time and time again: it’s not just the idea, it’s the team behind it,” says Buerk Center Director Amy Sallin. “Voltair set themselves apart by having a cross-disciplinary team that was able to connect not just with the judges who understand drone technology and climate tech, but the dozens and dozens who do not.”
The competitions awarded them valuable cash — $45,000 in total winnings — but also connections and confidence, which have already proved invaluable.
“Wildfire is clearly a huge problem,” Nopp says. “We were cautious at first with our solution. But the more we talked to public utilities and the feedback we got from competition judges reinforced that Voltair is a viable solution that we should pursue.”
Nopp and Gosch are doing just that — Nopp even turned down his dream job at SpaceX to pursue Voltair full time.
This summer, they are refining Voltair’s systems, conducting field tests and meeting with utility operators, insurers, wildfire experts and the FAA. They have also been accepted into the Buerk Accelerator Program to facilitate the leap from competition to marketplace.
Their path may be less taken, but it’s full of purpose.
“This definitely doesn’t feel normal,” Nopp says. “But we have this problem that we’re really passionate about solving and we’re going to keep working on it.”
The Buerk Center: Partnering to spark innovation
The Arthur W. Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, headquartered at the Foster School of Business, supports and inspires UW students from all disciplines to pursue their entrepreneurial passions. Students gain real-world experience, take innovative courses and connect with Seattle’s entrepreneurial community to bring their ideas to life.
Engineering students regularly participate in the center’s startup competitions and can take courses that lead to minors and certificates in entrepreneurship. When paired with the problem-solving mindset at the core of an engineering education, this experience helps students develop the skills and confidence to drive innovation in any field.
“The Buerk Center provided an invaluable framework to think about startups: what it takes and what is possible,” says Voltair co-founder Ronan Nopp. “It’s a common sentiment that giant companies with huge R&D departments are the place to innovate. But every student who graduates from the UW with an engineering degree has the tools to build something new. There’s nothing stopping you.”
[post_title] => Fighting fire before it sparks
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => fighting-fire-before-it-sparks
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-08-15 14:33:49
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-08-15 21:33:49
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38566
[menu_order] => 1
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[1] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38536
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-08-07 15:35:24
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-08-07 22:35:24
[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam / UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_38537" align="alignright" width="600"] UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi is engineering high-frequency power converters for advanced and emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, robotics, biomedical devices, and renewable energy systems. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
We live in a world powered by electricity. But few people stop to think about where that power comes from, let alone how it is transformed to run the devices they use every day. Electrical energy can be generated from fossil fuels or renewable sources, such as the sun, wind, and flowing water. But we cannot plug this raw power directly into electronics. It must first be processed and optimized for specific systems and devices. This is the role of power electronics, a branch of electrical engineering focused on transforming electrical energy from one form to another. A good example of power electronics in everyday life are the power adapters used to charge smartphones and laptops. Each power adapter contains a small power converter that changes alternating electrical current from a wall outlet into a form the device can use.
Modern electronic systems have been rapidly evolving to support advanced and emerging technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotics. But while these technologies are changing fast, an efficient charging system for them has not yet been developed. In addition, countries worldwide are transitioning to renewable energy sources and systems that are electrified. As demand for clean energy grows, enabling technologies, such as photovoltaics, smart-grid systems, semiconductor devices, and power converters, become essential. It’s fair to say that power-electronic circuits will form the backbone of the next-generation electric grid. So, efficient power converter designs with high-power capacity will be crucial to improving the performance of the entire grid system. With these things in mind, engineering intelligent, compact, and efficient charging systems is a pressing need.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi is conducting research that addresses this challenge and points toward the future, bridging state-of-the-art power electronics and the needs of modern technology. Her aim is to miniaturize power electronics circuits and optimize them for wireless technologies. This work is focused on enabling compact and reliable power conversion systems for electrification as well as extending these systems to provide wireless power transfer.
“I try to break down the walls that prevent us from improving the power density of applications,” Choi said. “In other words, I engineer power converters to improve their power capacity and efficiency for emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles, robotics, biomedical devices, and renewable energy systems. My work is also for data centers that support new applications, such as advanced forms of artificial intelligence and machine learning.”
Academic background
[caption id="attachment_38540" align="alignright" width="575"] Choi with UW ECE graduate students Ghovindo Siadari (left) and Manas Palmal (right) in the UW Power Electronics Research Lab. Choi’s lab focuses on power electronics and sustainable energy, power semiconductor devices, control systems, and magnetic designs. Photo by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/caption]
Choi’s interest in power electronics began at a young age, and she said it seemed natural for her to select electrical engineering as a major when pursuing her undergraduate degree. In 2009, she received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Korea University in Seoul, South Korea. She then worked for three years at KT Corporation, a Korean telecommunications company. While at KT, she decided that she wanted to go to graduate school. She moved from South Korea to the United States and studied at the University of Michigan, where, in 2013, she received her master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science. She then went on to earn her doctoral degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2019. After completing her doctoral degree, she accepted a position as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, where she focused on power electronics, power semiconductor devices, wireless power transfer, and magnetics.
In September 2023, Choi became an assistant professor at UW ECE. She said that she chose to join the Department because it offered many collaborative opportunities that were a good fit for her research as well as an outstanding curriculum for students. She also knew that Seattle was home to many potential industry partners. She realized that this combination could provide strong support for the direction her work was headed, while enabling her to teach more students about power electronics.
Choi’s collaborators in UW ECE include professors Daniel Kirschen, Baosen Zhang, and June Lukuyu, who are all experts in various aspects of power and energy systems. Choi is also a member of the Clean Energy Institute at the UW. In addition, she works with UW ECE Professor and Associate Chair for Research Mo Li in UPWARDS, a program aimed at providing advanced training and research opportunities that will grow the nation’s semiconductor workforce.
Choi has received many awards and honors in her career. In 2017, she was selected as one of the Rising Stars in EECS at Stanford University. In 2019 and 2020, she received Unlock Ideas awards from Lam Research, and in 2021, she received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. Earlier this year, she was selected for a secretary position in the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) Technical Committee (TC2), focusing on power components, integration, and power integrated circuits.
The UW Power Electronics Research Lab
[caption id="attachment_38544" align="alignright" width="575"] An illustration of a spiral coil design for wireless power transfer that Choi is working on with her students in the lab. Photo by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/caption]
Choi directs the UW Power Electronics Research Laboratory at the UW, which includes graduate students pursuing their master’s and doctoral degrees. Her lab focuses on power electronics and sustainable energy, power semiconductor devices, control systems, and magnetic designs. This work encompasses development of high-frequency power converters and wireless power transfer for battery-powered vehicles; industrial and biomedical applications; system controls at high frequencies; energy storage; and wide-bandgap devices — electronic components made from nontraditional semiconductor materials that can withstand higher voltages and operate at higher frequencies than silicon. Choi’s research applies to a broad range of applications and includes collaboration with leading technology companies and faculty from different disciplines.
For example, one of Choi’s main research projects is designing flexible charging systems for robots that move items, such as packages, from one place to another in factories and warehouses. The primary drawback of using these robots is that the time it takes to charge them is nearly as long as the time they spend working. Another challenge is that the systems used to charge the robots are large and unwieldy. Choi seeks to address these problems through a couple of different approaches. First, she and her research team are developing wireless power transfer pads that will allow the robots to charge autonomously without needing to be plugged into a physical adapter. When the robot parks itself over the pad, it will be charging. Second, Choi is devising ways to charge the robots while they are driving and working. This could greatly reduce or even eliminate altogether time spent on the charging pad. This second approach will require shrinking the size of the robot’s wireless charging system. To achieve this goal, Choi and her research team are developing many detailed and innovative modifications to the system’s power converter circuit and coil design.
"I find it fascinating to work on challenges in power electronics, not just by myself, but also with my graduate students and by collaborating with other researchers. Together, we can make next-generation circuits and devices, and by doing so, we can solve problems that no one has ever solved before.” — UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi
Choi is also improving spiral coil designs for wireless power transfer systems operating at high frequencies. She has created several coil prototypes and, as described in one of her IEEE papers, she is using machine learning to optimize the coil design for energy efficiency and performance. This is a long-term project with broad applications. A key advantage of optimizing coil designs is that the efficiency of the power conversion system can be greatly improved. For wireless power transfer, power can also be sent over longer distances. This can benefit a wide range of technologies — from reducing the size of the power converters for electronic devices, to charging robots and vehicles while they are operating, to shrinking the size of biomedical equipment. Most recently, she has been collaborating with UW ECE Professor Maryam Fazel, who is helping Choi build machine learning algorithms capable of running coil design simulations in a fraction of the time they usually take.
In another recent project, Choi collaborated with Lam Research to engineer a more compact, energy-efficient source for generating plasma — a conductive, ionized gas. Plasma can be used to etch intricate patterns on silicon wafers and is a crucial part of the microchip manufacturing process. It takes a lot of power to generate plasma. Current plasma generation systems tend to be big and bulky, and they reside outside the vacuum chamber where plasma is created. The large size and physical location of the equipment lead to energy losses. Choi is continuing work on this project and intends to remedy these problems by reducing the size of the power conversion system and placing it inside the vacuum chamber, thereby increasing the energy efficiency of the power source.
Choi plans to share her research findings widely.
“Right now, the field is moving from low-frequency design to high-frequency design. But there is not that much knowledge out there about how to design high-frequency power converters, how to control them, or how we can use wireless power transfer with these high-frequency converters,” Choi said. “What I’m envisioning is improving power converter performance by collaborating with people from many different fields, including devices, machine learning, and systems. That way, we can produce a solid outcome and design a reliable, high-efficiency, high-frequency power converter while providing everyone with access to our techniques.”
Practical education for the next generation
[caption id="attachment_38545" align="alignright" width="575"] A close-up of the spiral coil design prototype illustrated above. Photo by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/caption]
Choi teaches power electronics courses designed for undergraduate and graduate students. She constructs her courses to be engaging, fun, and to spark interest in the field. Choi said that she wants her students to experience how enjoyable studying and working with power electronics can be. She also considers the courses she teaches to be gateways for students to get into related fields, such as engineering electric vehicles or designing sustainable power systems.
Choi seeks to guide her students along the lines of their interests and to whatever field or endeavor might be a good fit for them. For her undergraduate students interested in making a career in power electronics, she recommends they review materials from their sophomore and junior-level circuit courses, building strong fundamental knowledge in basic circuits and electromagnetics. She said this knowledge is foundational and supports more complex concepts they will later learn. For graduate students, she recommends doctoral students do a summer internship because power electronics is an industry-based discipline. Choi said that graduate students need to be aware of what problems those in industry are grappling with, and then as academics, find ways to help solve those problems.
Outside of UW ECE, Choi is a faculty adviser for UW Formula Motorsports, which is a student organization that designs, builds, and races cars. Choi helps the students with power and electronics-related issues and guides them through engineering challenges and any other problems the group is trying to solve. In her spare time, Choi enjoys skiing with her family.
“As an educator, I really enjoy working with students. I not only mentor them, but sometimes, through our conversations, I might get a new idea and be inspired by them,” Choi said. “As a researcher, I find it fascinating to work on challenges in power electronics, not just by myself, but also with my graduate students and by collaborating with other researchers. Together, we can make next-generation circuits and devices, and by doing so, we can solve problems that no one has ever solved before.”
For more information about UW ECE Assistant Professor Jungwon Choi, visit her bio page.
[post_title] => Jungwon Choi — engineering power conversion systems for emerging technologies
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => jungwon-choi-2025-faculty-profile
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-08-07 15:35:24
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-08-07 22:35:24
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38536
[menu_order] => 2
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[2] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38471
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-31 11:33:21
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-31 18:33:21
[post_content] => Article by Wayne Gillam, photos by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_38473" align="alignright" width="575"] UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi directs the Terahertz Integrated MicroElectronics Lab at the UW, where he designs microchips that use high frequency terahertz electronics built using a combination of integrated circuit design and electromagnetics techniques.[/caption]
Nestled between the microwave frequencies commonly used in cell phones and higher frequencies used in optical technologies is a new frontier — a range of electromagnetic waves known to scientists and engineers as the “terahertz band.” Wave frequencies in this band span 100 gigahertz to 10 terahertz, and until recently, they were passed over when it came to using them in electronic devices. In fact, the terahertz band was once called the “terahertz gap” because of the difficulty in generating and detecting these frequencies. However, advancements in technology over the last 25 years have allowed engineers to explore terahertz frequencies and their potential applications.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi has dedicated his career to exploring terahertz frequencies and applying his discoveries to electronics. More specifically, he develops electronics and integrated circuit designs that use frequencies above 100 gigahertz for imaging, sensing, and communication.
“Terahertz frequencies have opened a plethora of unique applications in the fields of sensing, spectroscopy, imaging, and communications,” Naghavi noted in the introduction to his UW ECE Research Colloquium talk. “The short wavelength, see-through capability, and availability of wide bandwidth in the terahertz band make it an essential player for high-resolution sensing and imaging and high-speed communication networks.”
Naghavi’s work with terahertz frequencies requires a deep understanding of circuit design and electromagnetics as well as the complex physics and mathematics that underpins both of these domains. It is a knowledge base he has built through years of study and scholarship.
Combining integrated circuit design and electromagnetics
[caption id="attachment_38476" align="alignright" width="575"] A microchip designed in Naghavi's lab, placed next to a penny. The inset box shows a closeup view of this tiny chip.[/caption]
Growing up in Ghaen, Iran, Naghavi first became interested in electrical engineering when he was in high school and his uncle made a walkie-talkie for fun. Naghavi was intrigued with the device, and he wanted to learn how it worked. He was a good student and had an interest in studying electrical engineering at the university level, so after high school, he attended the Amirkabir University of Technology. There, he became fascinated with the intersection of electronics and electromagnetics and pursued studies in both areas. In 2009, he received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and then went on to graduate school, where he focused on applied electromagnetics. In 2013, he received his master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Tehran.
Naghavi came to the United States to pursue his doctoral degree at the University of Michigan, which has one of the strongest programs in the nation in applied electromagnetics. His doctoral work was aimed at bringing together techniques from circuit design and electromagnetics to build terahertz integrated circuits. As a research scholar, he contributed to the development of the first fully integrated terahertz inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging system. In 2023, he graduated from the University of Michigan with his doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering. Naghavi noted the value of bringing circuit design and electromagnetics together.
“In my research area, which is terahertz circuit design, the frequency is so high that the circuit models are not accurate enough,” he said. “We need to use those electromagnetic tools to make sure our designs are accurate.”
“I would say that the best time for me during the week is when I’m in the class and teaching my students. I really like explaining these topics to students to help them understand." — UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi
Naghavi joined UW ECE in September 2023. When looking for a faculty position, he said he was interested in the UW because of the University’s long-standing reputation in electromagnetics. Many big names in this field, such as UW ECE Professor Emeritus Akira Ishimaru, have been faculty at the UW and wrote textbooks Naghavi read during his undergraduate and graduate studies. Naghavi said he was also attracted to UW ECE because it is a dynamic place that has ample resources, a large number of assistant professors conducting cutting-edge research, and outstanding students. He noted that the UW encourages and supports collaboration between faculty within UW ECE and across departments.
“One recent proposal I was a part of involved combining research from people who work in a nanofabrication lab with people that have knowledge in AI and machine learning and people that work in the communication domain,” Naghavi said. “We combined our ideas and proposed new communication systems that can resolve some of the fundamental challenges that we have with the next generation, 6G communication network. Without this kind of collaboration, it’s impossible to create a comprehensive approach to broad problems such as this one.”
Applications for high frequency electronics
Naghavi directs the Terahertz Integrated MicroElectronics Lab at the UW, where he designs microchips that use high frequency terahertz electronics built using a combination of integrated circuit design and electromagnetics techniques. His main research focus is to design microchips for high-resolution and high-precision imaging, but the chips he develops have many potential applications in sensing and communication as well. Listed below are a few use cases for the terahertz electronics Naghavi is building in his lab:
Enhancing human perception
Terahertz frequencies enable the user to see through optically opaque materials, both at close range and up to a couple of meters away. The chips being developed by Naghavi are designed to enable precise and real-time detection of still or moving objects in the environment. Achieving this requires sophisticated, integrated, on-chip systems capable of performing localization, material characterization, and high-resolution imaging. Naghavi’s ultimate goal is to develop a portable terahertz transceiver that can serve as either a compact sensory organ that enhances human perception, or, on an industrial scale, a device that systematically creates detailed material maps for object detection and classification in any setting. When integrated into augmented reality hardware, this technology has the potential to transform how the user interacts with the world. For example, a firefighter could use a terahertz-enabled AR headset to see through smoke and flames, identify hazards like high-voltage cables, and locate trapped individuals, leading to safer and more effective rescue operations. Similarly, a nurse could use terahertz vision to non-invasively monitor the healing progress of a covered wound, assessing tissue health without removing bandages and risking infections. These are just two among many possible ways this technology could enhance human perception and provide critical information in challenging environments.
Medicine
Terahertz frequencies could replace X-rays for common medical procedures, such as dental scans. Like X-rays, terahertz frequencies can be used to see cavities, root canals, and other dental features. However, there is no danger to the dentist or patient because the photons in terahertz frequencies are much lower energy than the photons in X-rays. Unlike X-rays, terahertz frequencies don’t cause cancer or DNA mutation, so they are safe to use around people. Terahertz frequencies could also be used to detect production defects in pharmaceuticals. The thickness of pharmaceutical capsules needs to be uniform and accurate, and terahertz frequencies could help with measurements and detecting defects in these capsules. In addition, the unique ability of terahertz frequencies to resonate with macromolecules, such as proteins and DNA, could create new opportunities for cancer cell detection and medical research.
Communication networks
The technology Naghavi is engineering is applicable to high-speed communication networks, including the next-generation 6G communication network, which is now in development. More specifically, this technology applies to backhaul communication networks, which connect end-users and access points, such as cell towers, to larger core networks, or “backbones” of the communication system. Current backhaul communication networks rely heavily on fiber optics, which provides high-speed data transfer between backbone networks. However, fiber-optic technology has challenges, such as requiring the burial of fiber-optic cables deep underground. In contrast, terahertz frequencies can deliver wireless, point-to-point networks with communication speeds comparable to those of fiber-optic technology. This feature is achieved because of the availability of wide bandwidth in the terahertz domain and the fact that terahertz waves can travel through inclement weather, such as fog, rain, and snow. Backhaul communication systems using terahertz frequencies can operate at close to the same speeds as those using optical frequencies, but with fewer infrastructure requirements, making terahertz frequencies a promising and potentially more affordable solution for high-speed backhaul communication networks.
Electronic sensing
In electronic sensing, Naghavi is exploring “surface screening techniques,” which are ways of using terahertz frequencies to detect microscopic defects in otherwise smooth surfaces. These techniques could be useful in manufacturing processes that require the production of a smooth surface, such as in the semiconductor industry, where precisely measuring the thickness of deposited layers on substrates, like silicon, is crucial. Also, terahertz frequencies could be used in ophthalmology to augment or replace standard ultrasound pachymetry — a test that measures the thickness of the cornea (the clear, front part of the eye). Pachymetry requires contact with the eye to measure the central and peripheral corneal thickness. In contrast, terahertz frequencies could be used to non-invasively monitor corneal thickness. Naghavi said he believed other new sensing applications for this technology will appear in the future as scientists and engineers develop more integrated circuits that adopt terahertz frequencies.
Providing unique opportunities for students
[caption id="attachment_38479" align="alignright" width="575"] A photo of the same chip pictured above, shown here on the black-and-white grid next to coins, paperclips, coffee beans, rice, a guitar pick, ruler, and pencil.[/caption]
Investigating ways to apply terahertz frequencies to electronics can be a deep dive into physics, mathematics, circuit design, and electromagnetics. Naghavi said he is committed to this complex work because the problems engineers are facing today are so hard that innovation is required. He noted that classical engineering techniques by themselves cannot solve the problems occurring in today's applications. He also said that those building commercial products generally don’t have the time or flexibility to explore new research and techniques like what he is focusing on at UW ECE. New approaches require innovation and experimentation, which is a strength of academia.
With that in mind, Naghavi is developing high frequency electronics by exploring new ideas, theories, and techniques derived from physics and mathematics and implementing them in microchips that are built using traditional fabrication methods. By doing so, he aims to leapfrog over existing technology and significantly improve chip performance. His main industry collaborator is STMicroelectronics. This company helps to support research opportunities for students in his lab. Naghavi is also incorporating advanced electromagnetics courses into UW ECE curriculum, which provide important knowledge for students who want to design high-frequency terahertz chips. Chip fabrication courses have also been recently introduced in the Department.
“We are developing new physics and mathematics for these high-frequency devices that we create. All of my doctoral students use this knowledge to design their circuits with simulation tools. We then fabricate the chip and show that the idea we have works,” Naghavi said. He added, “It used to be that only after one to three years of doctoral-level studies, would a student be ready to do a ‘chip tape out,’ which means to fabricate a chip. But now, we are offering this experience to undergraduates, which is highly advanced and a unique opportunity.”
Naghavi teaches and advises a mix of undergraduate and graduate students. He recommends to his undergraduate students that they seek to achieve a deep and comprehensive understanding of the topics they study, as this knowledge is foundational. For his graduate students, he recommends they study the field’s literature as well as open-ended problems engineers are trying to solve. Naghavi also said that creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students is important to him. To that end, he is part of the Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellowship Program in the UW College of Engineering, which helps faculty design undergraduate courses to make them accessible for people from diverse backgrounds.
“I would say that the best time for me during the week is when I’m in the class and teaching my students,” Naghavi said. “I really like explaining these topics to students to help them understand. The students also motivate me to continue to build my own knowledge, because when you want to explain a new topic to a person who doesn’t have any background in this area, you should understand that topic at a deep level.”
For more information about UW ECE Assistant Professor Hossein Naghavi, visit his UW ECE bio page and the Terahertz Integrated MicroElectronics Lab website.
[post_title] => Hossein Naghavi — developing high frequency electronics for imaging, sensing, and communication
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => hossein-naghavi-faculty-profile-2025
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-08-07 12:41:55
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-08-07 19:41:55
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38471
[menu_order] => 3
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[3] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38424
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-24 11:04:50
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-24 18:04:50
[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam / UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_38426" align="alignright" width="600"] UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has received an Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology he helped to develop in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, which is directed by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li. Shown above: Bingzhao holds the LiDAR system microchip he and Professor Li engineered in the lab. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, is a remote sensing technology used for creating high-resolution 3D maps and models of the environment. It has many uses and can provide valuable information beyond what can be seen with a conventional camera. For example, self-driving cars can use LiDAR to detect pedestrians and other obstacles in their path that are difficult to see; LiDAR enables robots to perceive their surroundings, navigate complex spaces, and interact with objects; and LiDAR is useful for mapping complex terrain by those in forestry, mining, archaeology, construction, traffic control, and urban planning.
But current LiDAR systems rely on bulky mechanical components that prevent widespread adoption in compact applications. While LiDAR technology delivers superior accuracy and reliability for 3D perception, existing systems are too large, heavy, and expensive for smaller devices that need to be mobile and versatile.
UW ECE alumnus Bingzhao Li (Ph.D. ‘22) has been working on this issue with UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li (no family relation) since 2020, when the pair first came up with an idea for improving LiDAR systems during the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Li is also a member of the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems, and a member of QuantumX at the UW, which pioneers development of quantum-enabled technology.
“The idea started during the COVID-19 lockdown, when we did not have access to our lab,” Bingzhao said. “During a meeting on Zoom, Professor Li and I first conceived the idea with a simple sketch on paper, and as soon as our lab reopened, we quickly turned it into a significant research result. Now, we want to turn it into a product.”
[caption id="attachment_38428" align="alignleft" width="400"] Bingzhao Li is a research scientist in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems as well as a co-founder and chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics. Photo courtesy of Bingzhao Li[/caption]
Bingzhao has been learning from and working with Professor Li for a long time — first as an undergraduate student in an electromagnetics course taught by Professor Li, then later, as a graduate student in Professor Li’s research group. After receiving his doctoral degree from UW ECE, Bingzhao continued to work with Professor Li as a postdoctoral research fellow. Today, Bingzhao is a research scientist in Professor Li’s UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems, where he investigates integrated photonic devices, optoelectronic materials, and quantum photonics.
Over the last five years, and working alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin, Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed new technology for LiDAR systems that is much more compact and affordable than what is currently available in the marketplace. Their work has been described in the June 2023 issue of the journal Nature, and recently, in the May 2025 issue of Nature Communications.
At the core of their innovative technology is a laser-beam steering device that is about 1,000 times smaller than what is commercially available today. The device is integrated into a microchip, which makes it compact, easy to fabricate, and affordable to produce. The chip allows engineers to eliminate bulky mechanical components, enabling production of a sturdy, solid-state LiDAR system that is much smaller and lighter than current models on the market, while also significantly reducing production costs. This compact and affordable technology for LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, including self-driving vehicles, drones, traffic control systems, and robotic systems found in agriculture, global supply chains, and medical imaging.
"UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that. Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story."
— UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li
The technology Bingzhao and Professor Li have developed has attracted attention, funding, and support since they published their work in 2023. They have received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Washington Research Foundation (Technology Commercialization grant in phase 1 and 2), and UW CoMotion, which, in addition to providing a CoMotion Innovation Gap Fund award, helped them to file and license the patents for their technology.
In June 2023, Bingzhao received the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student at UW ECE for his research in optics and photonics, which included his work on technology for LiDAR systems. Now, Bingzhao has been awarded a 2025 Activate Fellowship to commercialize this technology and turn it into a marketable product.
The Activate Fellowship and LEAP Photonics
[caption id="attachment_38431" align="alignright" width="600"] LEAP Photonics’ product for LiDAR systems uses integrated acousto-optic beam steering technology developed by Bingzhao Li and Professor Li, alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin. This technology replaces mechanical moving parts with sound waves generated on a semiconductor chip to steer laser beams for LiDAR systems. These LiDAR systems can be used in a wide range of applications, such as self-driving cars, as shown above. Illustration by Bingzhao Li and Qixuan Lin.[/caption]
Activate Global, founded in 2015, is a nonprofit organization that originated from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its fellowship program is designed to give scientists a chance to transform their technology into a valuable product. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs, like Bingzhao, with a healthy salary and research funding as well as important technical resources and valuable support from a large network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. The Fellowship is very competitive, especially the Activate Anywhere Fellowship, which supports recipients living anywhere in the United States and is the award Bingzhao received. Bingzhao is the first UW graduate to receive an Activate Fellowship in the history of the organization. In June, he began participating in the program, which supports Fellowship recipients across the country with a nationwide network of industry leaders, investors, and philanthropists.
Bingzhao is also chief executive officer of a new startup, LEAP Photonics, which he and Professor Li co-founded to commercialize the LiDAR technology they developed. With Bingzhao as CEO, the company stands to benefit from the Activate Fellowship. The acronym LEAP stands for “laser-enhanced automation perception” — a nod to the broad market Bingzhao and Professor Li are trying to reach, which encompasses autonomous machinery and robotics powered by artificial intelligence.
Bingzhao said that support from the Activate Fellowship is coming during a critical time for LEAP Photonics.
“For a startup, Activate can be a bridge between government funding and potential investors,” Bingzhao said. “It also acts as an indicator. If you receive an Activate Fellowship, it means you have the potential to grow your startup into a bigger company. Venture capitalists notice that.”
[caption id="attachment_38436" align="alignleft" width="400"] Bingzhao Li working in the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
“The Fellowship also fills an important gap,” Professor Li added. “Government funding for technology development often lacks guidance for creating and growing a startup company. The Activate Fellowship provides funding while also providing marketing and product development support, which includes connecting Fellowship recipients, like Bingzhao, to a wide range of mentors and helpful contacts, including potential investors.”
The company has already had fundraising success. Very recently, it won a sizable Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation. Bingzhao and Professor Li said they anticipate that Bingzhao’s participation in the Activate Fellowship program will further augment their fundraising efforts.
Bingzhao said that the goal for LEAP Photonics over the next two years is to move their technology for LiDAR systems from what is considered to be a minimal viable product (an early version of a commercial product with minimal features) into a full-featured prototype. By the time the Fellowship concludes, he and Professor Li said they expect to have created a product ready for the marketplace.
“UW ECE releases a lot of commercial technology, and this LiDAR technology is a good example of that,” Professor Li said. “Bingzhao was my student first, then he became a postdoc, and now he is an entrepreneur based in the Department. So, this is a UW ECE success story. There are many other stories like this one happening right now in the Department, with many more to come.”
To learn more about Bingzhao Li, read “Bingzhao Li — bringing light and sound into computer chips.” Details about Professor Mo Li’s background and research are available on his UW ECE website bio page and on the UW Laboratory of Photonic Systems website. Information about LEAP Photonics is available on the company’s website.
[post_title] => Bingzhao Li receives Activate Fellowship to commercialize compact, affordable LiDAR technology
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => bingzhao-li-2025-activate-fellowship
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-28 17:01:34
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-29 00:01:34
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38424
[menu_order] => 4
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[4] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38383
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-07-17 09:46:44
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-07-17 16:46:44
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Professor Kai-Mei Fu elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => professor-kai-mei-fu-elected-to-the-washington-state-academy-of-sciences
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-07-21 16:58:07
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-07-21 23:58:07
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38383
[menu_order] => 5
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
[5] => WP_Post Object
(
[ID] => 38314
[post_author] => 27
[post_date] => 2025-06-23 14:34:54
[post_date_gmt] => 2025-06-23 21:34:54
[post_content] =>
[post_title] => Engineering research matters
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] =>
[post_name] => engineering-research-matters
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2025-06-23 14:34:54
[post_modified_gmt] => 2025-06-23 21:34:54
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/?post_type=spotlight&p=38314
[menu_order] => 6
[post_type] => spotlight
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw
)
)
[_numposts:protected] => 6
[_showAnnouncements:protected] =>
[_showTitle:protected] =>
[showMore] =>
)
