This week, I interviewed another professor from the faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Prof. James Tung. He is an interesting professor, who’s had many experiences in the industry and who pursues intriguing research interests. Overall, I was charmed by his welcoming personality and his ability to speak casually while conducting this interview. James is a very wonderful person, so this week’s prof personality was super fun to write, and I’m glad I got to spend time with him.
What courses do you teach?
I teach Digital Logic and Microprocessors (ME262), Capstone Tron (MTE481/482), and I will be teaching a new course called Neural and Rehabilitation Engineering, which is a graduate course too (ME597 & ME780 grad) in the near future.
Favourite course to teach?
I like them all for different reasons, but my favourite is the capstone because students have a lot of responsibility and creativity. It’s the final project so it’s always interesting. I supervise about 14 groups, which all have fantastic projects in mind, and are well motivated. I couldn’t be prouder.
How’d you end up as a Professor?
My background is in biomedical engineering at Guelph, went to McGill for a while, worked for a while at IBM, Kelloggs, Bayless Medical, and Sunnybrook for about 5 years. In between that I also travelled for a year. I’ve always liked the research part at my job, and was encouraged to do a PhD. Sunnybrook said they would fund it, so why not? I was going to do the same type of work for a while, so I chose the PhD route. From there, I did it at UofT in a clinical rehabilitation program so I could interact with patients. Then I came to UW for a post-doc (moved around CompSci, Kin, then Tron), and now I’m a professor.
Favourite part of being a Professor?
Well it’s definitely not being called Professor, I don’t really enjoy that, to be honest. But my favourite would be the encouragement to think and expand knowledge and research. I have the autonomy to go after projects. Since 2014, teaching has been really rewarding. I’m very invested in how well my students do, and it hurts me when they’re not doing well. It hurts me more when they’re struggling through life and I care a lot about the well-being of my students.
Hardest part?
Forms are definitely the hardest part, as there’s a large volume of them, multiple approvals, and arduous processes with lots of rules. It takes up a lot of my time, and limits what I can do. But involving my students, the hardest part is when I don’t have control over the things they struggle with. When they’re struggling mentally/socially, I don’t have control over that, so I feel that pain.
Teaching philosophy?
I don’t really have a single philosophy, but one thing I try is to understand individual context. Everyone has their own story/background/beliefs/expectations. You have to put that into perspective for everything. It’s all important to the student so I try to understand as best as I can.
If you weren’t a professor, what would you be doing?
As a kid, I wanted to be the first Canadian born Chinese player to be in the NBA, but I was so-so at basketball, and on the smaller size, so that was difficult.
So interviews are upcoming. Do you have any tips for 1B students?
Prepare as much as you can. Dress for the job, which is not always a suit. Also be prepared for common questions (strengths, weaknesses, tell me about yourself, why do you want this job, etc.) If you don’t have an answer for that, it’s not going to reflect well. Always have some questions prepared for them, as it shows that you have actually prepared for it.
3 tips for undergrads?
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Find time to explore. You can easily get caught in the bubble of school. Student design, intramurals, activities, events, volunteer, etc. There’s so much happening in university that is so important. You’re going to find things you like and don’t. Now is the time to find out. Same thing for coop. Find what you like and don’t.
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Learn teamwork. I do the 4th year capstone. It’s not the course or the content that is difficult for students. It’s the team. You have to do it outside of class, so learn now how to work in teams.
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Mental health is real, don’t be afraid to talk. Some people aren’t cognisant of how real it can be. It’s not responsibility of school, or the students, it’s EVERYBODY. Open that up if we can. Tomorrow is Jan 25th, Mental Health Awareness Day. If you have problems, please talk them out.
Favourite memory of undergrad?
Some of my eccentric profs shared moments in class that we continue to share. They’re fun.
One of my professors was completely oblivious to one of my classmates, messing with everything. The lights, projectors, etc., but no matter what happened, she would always have her back turned to the class.
Where have you travelled?
Southeast Asia, went with girlfriend (now wife) for 4 months in China. Highlight: 1 month in Burma. It was difficult at the time, but we still did it. It gives you perspective on developed vs. underdeveloped. Travelling always puts things into perspective. There’s so many ways to do things that are not always better, but different. Not always better or worse either, because they’re happy. There’s no healthcare or material possessions, but people are still happy. They grow food, their climate is more tropical, and have family and friends, so they don’t need as much as us.
One thing I can say that’s important is people can deal with hardships in a lot of different and impressive ways, which continues to drive me. There’s a lot of creativity born from harsh conditions.
My favourite places were the remote ones, as it offered a more authentic experience. We helped put together the first internet connection somewhere in rural China. Some guy brought a computer from Western China (14 hr train ride, 7 hr pickup truck). It was a tower computer, and the man asked me to fix it. So I fixed his graphics card and modem, and with that we were able to send the first email from that computer. He asked how much long distance was? I said it was about $3 US per email, so that deterred him from sending more.
The email was a thank you to a colleague who helped find the original computer. He didn’t get a reply.
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