#SoCaltech: Justin Hong

“My parents have been talking about me coming here since I was in elementary school. We first lived in Arcadia and then moved to Pasadena. I went to Sierra Madre Middle School and Pasadena High School. Since middle school, I did Math Academy, which is an accelerated math program in PUSD [Pasadena Unified School District]. I also did its offshoot for coding and computer science. That made me interested in CS and prepared me for research. In one assignment, we replicated a Nobel Prize-winning model for how the neuron works, which got me interested in neuroscience. I was well prepared for my first year here. The first math class you take here is proof-based, and the reason that’s hard is that many people don’t do proofs in high school. I already had experience, so I was helping my friends. I think my Summer Research Connection experiences also were very helpful. My application was tailored to Caltech because of those three summers and they gave me good research experience. It was fun working with the professors. My brother Jonathan did the Caltech Planet Finder Academy. It’s cool that there are these programs at Caltech specifically for PUSD students.” 

Justin Hong, a first-year student focused on computer science and neuroscience at Caltech, is long familiar with campus. He played here as a child, participated in math competitions held in Baxter Hall, and worked with Caltech scientists while he was in high school, through Caltech’s six-week Summer Research Connection (SRC). During three summers of SRC, he conducted astronomy and data science projects with IPAC project scientist Davy Kirkpatrick; Vandana Desai, head of science staff for IPAC; and Mike Brown, Caltech’s Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Planetary Astronomy and the director and Terence D. Barr Leadership Chair of the Center for Comparative Planetary Evolution.

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.