SOUTHFIELD, Mich.—A prolific career that has produced almost $4 million in funded research and programs, led to major advances in autonomous vehicles, and introduced tens of thousands of pre-college students to robotics and software development was honored Friday, April 24 at Lawrence Technological University’s 13th annual Research Day.
CJ Chung, professor of computer science, director of LTU’s AI robotics lab, and creator of LTU’s Robofest K-12 robotics competition, presented at Research Day’s Presidential Colloquium, an honor reserved for LTU’s top researchers.
Chung’s presentation was a journey through his education and research, starting with his first teacher, a Sunday school teacher who was an American fluent in Korean at a Methodist church in Seoul, South Korea, when he was 6 years old. Chung found her gravestone on the Internet and thanked her for teaching creativity through fun arts and crafts activities.
His first computer, in 1977, used the FORTRAN IV language common among mainframes of the era at Seoul’s Hong-Ik University.
His first major research project involved a breakthrough, an early computerized phone switching system that was developed by using hundreds of 8-bit microprocessors in the 1980s. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has recognized that work as an electronics milestone. That success got him the chance to join a PhD program at Wayne State University in Detroit, even though he hadn’t earned a master’s degree.
And that led to him joining the Lawrence Tech faculty in 1998, where he became fascinated by small robots that worked entirely autonomously, rather than remote control—toys, actually, made by LEGO. LTU’s then-president, Charles Chambers, was intrigued by this young faculty member’s ideas, and encouraged Chung to establish Robofest in 1999.
Since then, over 36,800 students from more than 25 nations around the world have participated in the program. Chung listed many of those Robofest participants who have gone on to become successful computer scientists and computer engineers at LTU and other universities, and in private industry.
Chung’s LTU teams in the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition, a self-driving car competition created by the defense industry, are seven-time reigning world champions. He’s also conducted groundbreaking research on teaching computer science more effectively, including using body motions interpreted as mathematical functions and computer commands that he christened “MathDance.” He’s worked on using computer vision to improve the performance of medical devices measuring blood volume. And he’s won federal grants to bring undergraduate students from around the country to the Lawrence Tech campus in the summers to improve autonomous car software.
All told, Chung has published 96 peer-reviewed scientific papers that have been cited more than 1,500 times in academic research and has filed for two U.S. Patents.
And his latest venture? Working on a project to create autonomous Indy-style race cars capable of speeds of over 180 mph.
To view Chung’s presentation, visit this link.
Research Day also included a keynote address from Ashley Williams Clark, chief strategy officer of Detroit Future City—a research agency and policy advocate using data to improve Detroit’s economy—and director of its Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research. In this role, she leads the center’s work on promoting economic equity in Detroit through evidence-based research, policy recommendations, and engaging Detroit residents and community leaders to understand and use DFC research.
Also, LTU students presented more than 140 research posters to their peers, faculty, industry representatives, and the public, in LTU’s Buell Building atrium.
About Lawrence Technological University
Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932, and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU, which offers communication training programs of the former Specs Howard School, and LTU’s growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best in the Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.