Jonathan Ho ‘24 is a double major in Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering, but he’s also helped race a custom-designed, student-built Formula-style car at Michigan International Speedway. As Electrical and Data Acquisition Team Leader for Hartford Racing Formula SAE, he is responsible for the car’s electrical harness and data acquisition system. In 2023 at an annual event in Michigan, he says, “we successfully raced our car through multiple track events and met many other students and industry professionals.”
Jonathan is also involved in the NASA Eclipse Ballooning Project, which builds balloon-launched devices to help study solar eclipses. Jonathan is responsible for many of the onboard electronics, especially the helium venting system. In 2023, he enjoyed traveling to New Mexico for an annular eclipse—one in which the sun’s disc isn’t completely covered by the moon’s shadow—and in just a few weeks, he’ll head to Illinois for the highly anticipated total eclipse.
As a member of the Robotics Club, Jonathan designed, manufactured, and mostly programmed a custom full-sized quadrupedal robot called HARQ. The robot is Jonathan’s capstone project, with nearly 1,100 unique parts—an ambitious project, according to several professors who gave Jonathan manufacturing and design feedback.
Jonathan chose his field of study because he wants to be near the cutting edge of technology. He explains, “I enjoy working hands-on, and I enjoy being part of large-scale projects. Computer engineering and electrical engineering are applicable to many evolving technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, internet of things, electric vehicles, and more.”
His favorite part about being a student at UHart is having access to tools, equipment, and resources such as the Campus Makerspace, Robotics lab, and Internet of Things (IoT) lab. He also enjoys the small class sizes. “There is a much greater connection between students and professors,” he says, “and everyone mostly knows each other outside of a student-student or student-professor relationship.”
Jonathan has applied the skills he’s learned in class to four internships, including an electrical engineering internship at TRIUMPH Systems, Electronics and Controls where he was involved in the research and development of a product. “I learned many advanced embedded systems technologies, such as multiprocessor systems-on-chips (MPSoC) which are uncommon for engineering students generally. I was also able to conduct practical testing for an actual product.”
He also completed an engineering internship at Hartford Steam Boiler, where he was able to observe the wireless sensor network HSB has created. He says the hands-on experience with Internet of Things networks and data analysis helped prepare him for the future.
Jonathan says two CETA faculty members, Ying Yu and Kiwon Sohn, have gone beyond “professors” to help him develop personal and professional skills and gain access to lab spaces and equipment. This was important to Jonathan—a commuter—as he spends a lot of time on campus on weekends. He also credits the professors behind the robotics lab and IoT lab for equipping the space with the equipment, tools, and knowledge necessary for young engineers to grow.
Jonathan Ho '24, College of Engineering, Technology, and ArchitectureI have learned many practical and analytical skills throughout my 4 years at UHart working on various projects available to me as a student.