Ranyang Zhou - ECE PhD Student of the Month - March 2023
Ranyang Zhou is a Ph.D. candidate supervised by Prof. Shaahin Angizi at ACAD Lab in the ECE Department at NJIT. Before joining NJIT, he was an M.S. student at George Washington University in D.C. His research interests include Processing-in-Memory and Row Hammer Attack Mitigation.
What would you say that could be the next big thing in your area of research?
Chip size is severely limited today due to physical limitations. Therefore, we must open our minds to improve performance in other directions. Processing-in-Memory is a good breakthrough for the dilemma. In addition, application security has always been a hot issue, so if we can combine the two, we will get security at a meager cost.
Do you prefer more theoretical research or more experimental research? Why?
It's hard to say which one I prefer because theoretical and experimental research has division and unity. Theoretical research is discovering the infinite possibilities based on existing knowledge, while experimental research aims to verify them. Both of them are essential components in research.
Tell us about a non-technical thing that you have learned from your research advisor.
My advisor Prof. Shaahin Angizi is a very organized person. Since I joined ACAD Lab, the most significant inspiration has been his ability to assign and manage team tasks. I think I will learn and apply these skills in my future work and research because a good team leader can improve efficiency and strengthen communication and coordination among team members.
Your research group has been keeping a very regular on campus attendance. What do you think are the benefits of regular on-campus activities?
It's easy to overlook some common but critical points when concentrating on a research project. Therefore, if you can communicate with the advisor and team members face to face, you can quickly find problems and develop new ideas, which is very helpful for the whole project. On the other hand, regular on-campus activities help maintain a good atmosphere for studies, thereby improving work efficiency.