Hongjian Xiao
Role: Final year PhD student, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London
Subject area: Communication and Signal Processing Group
Nationality: Chinese
I am from China and I have been studying in the UK for a couple of years since undergraduate. I am currently a PhD student in my last year working in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London.
Education
GCSE (or equivalent): High school diploma in China
A-level (or equivalent): Chinese, English, Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, History, Geography, Politics
Degrees
• BEng in Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester
• MSc in Communications and Signal Processing, Imperial College London
• PhD Electrical Engineering Research (ongoing), University College London
Detail about Hongjian
My research
My research focuses on the complexity-based analysis of biosignal processing, including brain wave, heart rate variability and gaze movement, to estimate the stress level of human body systems in contrast to the healthy and young state.
My inspiration
I found my interest in biological signals when I was doing my Master’s project in a similar realm. All the information about the human body is in the signals it shows: my work is to reveal the secrets of our bodies.
Who is your STEM hero?
My supervisor, Prof. Danilo Mandic, is the most research-enthusiastic and energetic person I’ve ever seen. He works on both theoretical algorithms (i.e. machine learning) for healthy and practical ear-piece sensor development (i.e. hardware design). His research has influenced numerous scholars to contribute to human science.
Most significant discovery/invention?
Shannon Equation, proposed by Claude Shannon in 1948, links the relationship between microstates and the macro world and has been the cornerstone of information communication and advanced nonlinear signals processing.
Career options after study
Considering my interest in biological systems, I would like to join research groups of hospitals or health centres and continue working on human science-related projects after I finish my PhD.
My hobbies
I am an active white-collar boxer. Apart from boxing, I am also keen on collecting vintage earrings and baking.