Alumni Himanshu Asnani, PhD, is passionate about Electrical Engineering. Fascinated by physics in high school, he began developing his expertise in communication systems, and eventually chose it as his doctoral research area. In addition to completion of his PhD, Himanshu also received the Marconi Society Young Scholars Award in 2014.
How did you develop an interest in electrical engineering?
My earliest encounter with electrical engineering was through high school physics, which fascinated me enough to choose electrical engineering as my major in my undergraduate studies, during which I developed much deeper appreciation of the communication systems. I was also involved in teaching students, as well as participating in several competitive events related to design of electrical systems, which further strengthened my ambitions and aspirations to contribute in the field of communication engineering.
Why did you choose Stanford Electrical Engineering?
Stanford as a University provides a world of opportunities like none other. Stanford has top notch faculty, well designed curriculum, and above all, it's in the center of the Silicon Valley. The Electrical Engineering department is one of the best of in the world, with highly esteemed professors in the area of information theory and communications systems, which is what I ended up choosing as my doctoral studies research area.
How has your education helped shape your career?
Encouraging a broad and open perspective towards engineering problems at large; reasoning skills from abstraction to practical implementation; patient yet determined problem solving fervor – these are but few of the many jewels that I have collected from my Stanford sojourn which has significantly shaped my future goals and aspirations for a career in the technical field.
What advice would you give to current EE students?
Tolerance, enthusiasm, patience and determination – these will always remain the key to success in graduate studies. At the same time, nothing is the end of the world. Learning to utilize your time in developing a healthy attitude and aptitude towards the larger issues of engineering – not limiting oneself to problem solving and paper publishing. Also, students must make themselves aware of issues crippling society at large – moving the pivot from themselves, to all of humanity – to see how they can create and contribute to a meaningful future.
