Faculty Spotlight

While studying engineering as an undergraduate at the National Tsing-Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Yen-Lin Han, PhD, couldn’t stand one thing: the cleanroom “bunny” suits.

Required for her labs, the coverall suits protected from contaminants but covered Dr. Han’s integral form of self-expression—fashion. 

“My college had a low female-to-male ratio and I was always the one who dressed outrageously,” says Dr. Han, who is a professor and chair of SU's Mechanical Engineering program. “I liked to wear heels but in labs. That was a bad call.”

Her decision to study engineering was arrived at by process of elimination. When Dr. Han was growing up in Taiwan, the college system was based on student exam scores that dictate comparable majors and schools. She wasn’t interested in history, geography or the arts, passes out at the sight of blood—ruling out becoming a medical doctor—and that left her with engineering as the chosen vocational path.

“I liked math and physics, but I had no frame of reference for what engineers do or how they do it,” Dr. Han says. “I questioned if it was the right fit for me. I wasn’t inspired.”

After graduating, propelled by her distaste for cleanroom bunny suits, Dr. Han pursued a career in fashion retail. Five years later, she moved to California to earn a master's in business administration.

“I wanted to be in fashion management,” she says. “One of my group-mates in the MBA was an aerospace engineer and she was very fashionable and almost my age. I started thinking maybe I can still do engineering and do something more impactful than fast fashion.”

Dr. Han obtained her master’s in electrical engineering and PhD in aerospace and mechanical engineering from USC. In the process, she realized the importance of role models and changemakers. If not her, then who else?

“I wanted to do something creative but also beneficial for the world and engineering is still a male-dominated field,” she says. “I liked to teach and see people grow. I was a mother already and I loved helping them become them. That led me to an academic career in engineering, which I still love.”

in 2012 she began teaching at SU and immediately loved the whole-person education focus that differs from her own undergraduate experience. Throughout her time leading the mechanical engineering department, Dr. Han has spearheaded many research projects, working with undergraduates who have led to publications and patents. And she can do it in an Alexander McQueen suit and Gucci heels!

“Every individual deserves some ways to express themselves, no matter what way they choose. Fashion is my way,” she says. “I bought the suit for the first in-person Projects Day after COVID to celebrate my team’s work with the Kenworth Truck Company, who I’ve partnered with for senior design projects since 2012.”

Along with her students, Dr. Han holds several patents with Kenworth for their work on the autonomous driving system. Another patent is with T-Mobile for a device-testing robot that sits in the back of a truck and can test mobile phone connections while driving through various locations.

Recently, her research has been in the field of soft robotics for medical applications. Soft robotics is just what it sounds like—a robot that is created with softer materials. This cuts down the cost and makes it easier to produce.

In 2023, Dr. Han was awarded a National Science Foundation Mid-Career Award for her work developing a robot to help stroke patients do hand rehabilitation. And recently she presented this work at the International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Its Social Impact in Vienna.

“Our device works like a party blower. You can slide it under a very tight hand and blow air to move the hand open,” Dr. Han says. “It’s very easy and cheap to create the 3D-printed device. I want to help people get more accessible rehabilitation exercise.”

Another project she is working on is a prosthetic hand. Currently, the prototype can hold up to one pound with the soft gripper. Prosthetics are usually custom-built and expensive, so Dr. Han hopes to create an inexpensive option.

A project Dr. Han is working on features a prosthetic hand. The prototype can hold up to one pound with this soft gripper.

“My focus is using soft robotics principles and design to make biomedical devices to improve human health,” she says. “I’ll be working on it with 15 undergraduates for this summer’s research.”

Outside of teaching and research, Dr. Han loves to cook with her husband, knit and visit her two sons, one of whom followed her inspiration and studies fashion in New York.

Dr. Han’s philosophy that spans her personal—and professional—life is to act as a facilitator for growth, from her kids to students to her teaching peers.

“At SU, we have great students and colleagues who are very supportive. I know we’re going through a lot of changes, but if we help each other out, we’ll weather many storms.”