Jisan Research Institute

2008 News

Starting College With Two Scientific Papers in the Bag

September 11, 2008

      John Lee is starting his first year of college this fall. He has already attended his first couple of weeks of classes. John is studying physics and engineering at the University of California San Diego. Like most freshmen in college, he is excited about being on his own, and a bit overwhelmed by the work. Unlike most college students, John has already made very significant steps forward in his professional career. And unlike most students, John is eager to continue what he started, working towards what has already begun to be a very distinguished career.
      To most of his friends and relatives, John Lee looks like an ordinary young man. John looks out at the world from behind his stylish new glasses underneath his carefully manicured hair. He walks around oblivious to the world because his brand new i-phone is blasting music into his ears. He sports a back pack and sneakers like most young men his age. But despite this, John is no ordinary young man.
      "I want to have my own laboratory one day," John tells me when we sit down for coffee. "If I do anything with my life, it would be that. I'd like to develop my own technologies and patent them." His eyes appear dreamy as he envisions his chosen career.
      What makes John believe that he can achieve this is that he has already done a significant amount of work that is moving him in the direction that he's hoping he'll be able to go in. Four years ago, John began working with Dr. Sanza Kazadi at a local "think tank for kids", the Jisan Research Institute. Since that time, John has been developing and honing skills that most people develop when they are many years older than he is now.
      Initially, John learned a few requisite skills for the budding scientist. These skills included the ability to "think", which Dr. Kazadi insists very few people actually have. This means that he has the ability to understand, apply, and extend what he knows. "While most people can follow instructions, very few people can extend what they know beyond what they've been deliberately taught", says Dr. Kazadi. John also developed the ability to "learn". Differently from what most students can do, John learned how to learn a topic independently, giving him the ability to independently study and generate an expertise about virtually anything. "This type of learning is superior to what most students know, since most students generally require an instructor to absorb any class. It isn't trivial to learn how to learn."
      Once John had learned these skills, he put them to use on a project undertaken with two other students under Dr. Kazadi's guidance. John and his colleagues wanted to determine if it is possible for the machinery of swarm engineering could be applied to economic systems. In swarm engineering, individual agents who make up a swarm (or a large number of interacting agents) are developed in such a way that the overall behavior of the group can be predicted. Like bees, which work together to build and maintain a hive, individual agents work together to accomplish specific goals. However, getting them to behave properly is very difficult, and most swarms behave very differently than the designers expect.
      Most artificial swarms that people investigate are either computer programs or robots. However, recently researchers have been using computer simulations of economic systems to try to understand how economic systems work. John and his colleagues took this one step further using swarm engineering methodology to design an economic system that had a preordained behavior. Not only did they develop an economic system that exhibits no inflation without regulation, but they published their work in the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2007, a conference held in San Francisco.
      John was then invited to write a book chapter on the topic in the upcoming book Advances in Computational Algorithms and Data Analysis which is due out later this year. John and Dr. Kazadi expanded their previous results in the book chapter, generating an understanding of topics including the capacity of an economic system to absorb aberrant behavior of its participants. With this accomplishment, John has not only demonstrated his expertise, but has been accepted in a very real way into the general scientific community.
      Now, as a freshman at UCSD, John is planning on expanding on his skills, hoping to pick up what he needs to fulfill his long term goal. He plans to find a research position later this year doing "more hardware than software". John recognizes that his research experiences are the things that changed both his plan and outlook. "Before Jisan, when I looked at things I would say, 'Oh, that's cool'. Now when I look at things, I ask myself 'Just how does that work?'. I learn so much more now than I did before, and I believe that it makes all the difference. Before I never expected much from myself. Now, I know that I can do just about anything. Now I know that nothing limits me."
Winning Recognition by Designing Floating Windmills

September 10, 2008

      A few days ago, I asked a student at my lab whether she believed that it was possible to have a floating windmill. The student was visiting the Jisan Research Institute for the first time, and I was giving her a tour of the facilities. She flatly told me that a floating windmill is impossible, and she didn't believe there was one. Of course, I had to prove her wrong, so I pulled one out of storage and showed it to her. It was clearly imperfect, but the effect on her was measurable.
      For the first ten years at the Jisan Research Institute, the research students have done has been computational in nature. We've examined topics in evolutionary computation, image recognition, fuzzy logic, and swarm engineering. JRI students have presented their work around the world at scientific conferences and published journal articles about their work. The work has been fulfilling, but I've always felt that something was missing. Our swarms of virtual robots lacked the reality of the swarms of robots that I worked with during my time at Caltech. True, we learned to do very interesting things with our swarms, but it always seemed a bit empty.
      Four years ago, the Jisan Research Institute began building a hardware laboratory in the hopes of expanding our research to other areas. Students began working in the hardware laboratory one year later. This summer, the JRI student research group comprised of Brian Kim (from Loyola High School), Chan-Hee Koh (from Pacific Christian High School), Kevin Kim (from Crescenta Valley High School), Kyle Jung (from The Webb School), and Hubert Wang (from Troy High School) became the first JRI research group to complete a hardware-related research project. The group investigated the design of a device known as an e-axle. This device is an axle in which one end is supported via magnetic levitation while the other end is attached to a stationary support. The team not only investigated the basic design of the device, but they adapted it to a simple windmill design. The newly designed windmill has only one point of friction, limiting its potential wear and tear to that single point of friction.
      The team of students, along with their Research Mentor Dr. Sanza T. Kazadi, submitted their paper to the upcoming International Conference on Intelligent Automation and Robotics. The paper has been accepted as a full paper and nominated for a best paper award. The team is now preparing to present the paper in San Francisco in October of 2008. For the students, this is a significant achievement for many reasons. They have not only completed a significant scientific study, but had their research report accepted for publication and presentation. All students have earned their first potential best paper award, a feat many scientists do not achieve for several years into their scientific career.
      Kyle, Kevin, and Chan-Hee are starting their senior year in high school. As they ponder their futures and the colleges they wish to attend, they know they have added a powerful aid to their resumes. Hubert and Brian are freshman at UCLA and UC Berkeley, respectively. Both intend to attend medical school four years hence. Both are in the process of finding research positions currently, and expect to be working in a laboratory by the end of the semester. JRI has a very strong long term student success rate with its graduates attaining medical school or PhD programs 70% of the time.
JRI students rock the Los Angeles and California State Science Fair

May 15, 2008

     Five weeks prior to the Los Angeles County Science Fair, JRI and Ribet Academy students Haixiang Huang and Sukyeon Jung approached Dr. Sanza Kazadi of the Jisan Research Institute with a question. "Can you find a project for us to compete in the Los Angeles County Science Fair with?"

      Dr. Kazadi told them he'd think about it, but the prospects weren't that great, as the time was so short.

      After several days, Dr. Kazadi called Haixiang and Sukyeon at home, excited. "I think I've got a project for you! I want to talk to you about it tomorrow. Can you come to JRI?"

      Over the following several weeks, Haixiang and Sukyeon worked on a project in a new field invented at JRI called swarm economics. In swarm economics, the general rules for how a specific economic system can be built are created. These rules are aimed at determining ways of guaranteeing a specific global outcome despite the nonlinear way in which agents interact. This is a hard problem to solve because even simple interactions between agents can lead to somewhat unpredictable global outcomes.

      The problem that Haixiang and Sukyeon examined was the way in which a simple economic system consisting of vendors and consumers behaved in the face of interference by "rogue" agents. Building on work by JRI students John S. Lee, Joshua Lee, and Paul Kim, who earlier demonstrated that a similar system could be built in which inflation was eliminated without government supervision, Haixiang and Sukyeon set out to determine what happens to such a controlled system when badly behaving "rogue" agents exist in the system. These agents do not follow the same behaviors as the rest of the group, but rather, do what they can to disrupt the group's behaviors. Under these conditions, the students pondered, can one still guarantee the group dynamic of limiting prices?

      What the two found is both encouraging and discouraging. Under certain conditions, the agents in the system can react in such a way as to limit effect of the rogue agents. This means that the rogue agents can be nullified as long as the individual normal agents in the system react correctly. However, despite this encouraging news, which tells us how to control the effect of the rogue agents, their results also indicated that the effect had limitations. If there are too many rogue agents, too few vendors, or if the normal agents do not react strongly, the effect of the rogue agents will win and the system will go into unlimited inflation. The research has important implications for worldwide economic systems.

      The research project, though quickly achieved, required a significant amount of work. The two young researchers needed to create a new computer simulation which simulates the interaction between the three types of agents. This was accomplished in the space of two weeks after which the young scientists examined the effects of the various parameters of the system. Three weeks later, the two emerged, exhausted, and competed in the LA County Science Fair. Here, they won a gold medal and advancement to the California State Science Fair. Weeks later, they again competed at the California Science Fair, where their project was again received well, winning top honors and $1,000.00.

      Nobody was more surprised than the two young researchers at their success. "We only wanted a project to compete with that we could complete very quickly," commented Haixiang. "Dr. K said our project should be 'very competitive'. Who knew we'd take it all the way!"

      Students at the Jisan Research Institute are often encouraged to enter the Los Angeles County Science Fair, very often winning top honors and money. "This last year, we competed against professional scientists at a scientific conference and won a top paper honor. It stands to reason, then, that we would do well in a high school science fair. Students have fun, stand out, and sometimes make money for college."

      JRI students have also won honors in other science competitions including the Intel Science Talent Search, America's most prestigious science competition. "Our research is in an area that does not traditionally compete well in these competitions. Nevertheless, two of our students have won semifinalist status in the Intel competition. Our future students will eventually do better."

The Jisan Research Institute moves to Alhambra, CA

March 20, 2008

       So what do you guys do, anyway? is a typical question fielded by the Jisan Research Institute's (JRI) Dr. Sanza Kazadi. It's easy to see why the question is so common. JRI is not your common company or research program.
       By day, the Jisan Research Institute is like most other small research laboratories. A handful of researchers examine a number of different problems, both computational and engineering. From time to time the work seems like that of a machine shop, with small, table-top mills and lathes grinding away at stock material. Other times, it seems like a computer bank, with researchers running programs on data for days, trying to generate data that increases understanding of one system or another.
       After school hours, the laboratory transforms itself from a mild mannered research laboratory to a life changing experience for young people wishing to participate in science. Every weekday except Mondays, during the hours of 4-7 p.m., the Jisan Research Institute becomes a classroom for anywhere from three to thirty youngsters wishing to explore scientific research. The students work with instructors and scientists, building skills needed for research and participating in research programs.
       While most research programs attach students to existing research projects that are being actively pursued by PhD students and scientist, JRI students create their own research programs under the guidance of PhD scientists or students. This means that they must review the field, decide what they're going to do research on, decide how they will proceed, carry out the research, and write up the results. Rather than being added to the author list out of the goodness of the researcher's heart, these students actually carry out every part of the projects they work on. Many high school research students working in laboratories become laboratory technicians while in university laboratories. Jisan students are generally much better prepared and informed when they finish the program.
       For some students, the Institute has changed their lives. Many students have transformed themselves from`B/C' students to 'A' students while at Jisan. Others have found their way out of violent street gangs in favor of careers in research. Finally, others have participated in generating new technologies that are poised to bring world changing improvements about.
       Now, the Jisan Research Institute is moving to Alhambra, California. JRI's new location boasts a much larger engineering lab workspace as well as the traditional classroom space that Jisan students have come to expect. Located only one mile from the 10 freeway, the new office is located near commercial areas, making it convenient for parents and students alike.
       For Alhambra residents, the move makes it much more convenient to take advantage of the Jisan program. Tommy Hyunh and Chris Lee both plan to bike to the lab, rather than being driven. Since the laboratory is within walking distance of Alhambra High School, many students at the school may conveniently travel to the laboratory after school. For other JRI students, the easy freeway access makes it nearly as convenient to travel to Alhambra as to travel to Pasadena.
       For Dr. Kazadi, the move has a more personal significance. Alhambra is a nice place to live. I feel at home here. It's nice to be able to bring my company to the same city that has made me feel more welcome than I have since leaving Illinois for Caltech, nearly 18 years ago. says Dr. Kazadi. For JRI, it's something of a homecoming, since I started the Institute in my apartment here in Alhambra when I was a student.
JRI Summer Program Planned

February 11, 2008

       The Jisan Research Institute is proud to announce the creation of the 2008 Summer Precollege Research Program. This program, which is scheduled to take place between June 16, 2008 and August 11, 2008, is intended for students who wish to have a relatively brief research experience which will give them a meaningful introduction to the research world.
       This year will build on the success of the 2007 Summer Precollege Research Program. During that year, three high school seniors (Alex Park, Andrew Kim, and Nalee Kim) designed and constructed a water pump. The pump has no moving parts, no specialized materials, is completely solar powered, and purifies water as it pumps it. It is currently capable of pumping and purifying one to two gallons of water daily, but will be able to increase that to between sixteen and twenty gallons of water when planned upgrades are completed. The project started four years ago when Dr. Kazadi proposed the pump mechanism to his students as a demonstration of swarm engineering methodologies.
       The new program information is available here. Out of state students will be required to find lodging accommodations nearby the JRI office, and transportation to and from the laboratory may be arranged upon request. Questions may be addressed to the JRI general email or may be answered by calling the main office at (626) 458-0000.
       JRI is looking forward to another exciting and successful summer research program. Students may expect to participate in developing new technology based on JRI's existing or emerging research!