Electrical Engineer with Bright Future in Photonics Receives M.S. Ghausi Medal
The College of Engineering at the University of California, Davis, has selected electrical engineering student Hari Rakul Ambethkar to receive its highest honor for a graduating senior, the M.S. Ghausi Medal.
The annual award is named after Mohammed S. Ghausi, who served as the college’s third dean from 1983 to 1996. He championed the expansion of the Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement STEM College Preparedness School Program, or MESA, designed to serve educationally disadvantaged students. In 1991, he created the Women in Engineering program, the first of its kind in the UC system.
"I am incredibly honored to receive the medal,” Ambethkar said. “The past four years have not been a linear trajectory, involving much exploration and shifting goals. While the medal is a wonderful validation of my efforts as an undergraduate, I also view it as a strong foundation for my continued journey in engineering."
While maintaining a perfect GPA, Ambethkar provided significant research contributions to two labs.
In his first quarter at UC Davis, he joined the Jeong Research Laboratory, led by Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Hyoyoung Jeong. Ambethkar assisted with the design of a wearable, non-invasive medical monitoring device for jaundice, research that led to a paper published by SPIE.
“Hari stands out as a proactive and capable student researcher,” Jeong said. “In my lab, he combined strong technical ability with initiative, careful attention to detail and effective teamwork, which made him a valuable contributor to multiple projects in our group.”
Ambethkar also worked on firmware programming and mobile application development for wearable and implantable optical systems under Jeong. Through this research, he became interested in the applications of photonics (the science of generating and manipulating light), leading him to work as an undergraduate research assistant in the lab of Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering S.J. Ben Yoo.
With Ben Yoo, Ambethkar researched how photonics can be a medium for high-bandwidth, energy-efficient technology capable of accelerating artificial intelligence or powering neuromorphic computing. He developed physics simulation models to verify the performance and energy usage of different electronic-photonic system designs, allowing the team to iteratively improve them before device fabrication.
“These research experiences provided me with the skills to gain internships and broaden my perspectives outside of academia,” Ambethkar said.
While a full-time student, Ambethkar found time to intern at Sandia National Laboratories, Tesla and SpaceX. He said these three internships provided him with practical experience in embedded systems and electronics design, making him a more versatile engineer.
During the summer of 2025, he received a Research Experience for Undergraduate Fellowship from the National Science Foundation to study under Troy Olsson, a professor of electrical and systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. There, he spent 10 weeks researching micro-electro-mechanical systems, or MEMS, nanofabrication. Ambethkar developed a novel ion-milling dry-etch process for both platinum and aluminum scandium nitride thin films, useful for ongoing research on the development of highly sensitive magnetic field sensors.
“These research experiences, along with my industry involvement through internships, continue to inspire me with the breadth of impactful problems that can be solved with engineering,” he said.
Ambethkar has also contributed to the UC Davis engineering community through mentorship. As an undergraduate lab assistant for introductory courses on circuits and analog systems, he helped students understand core engineering concepts and gave pointers on effective problem-solving methods. An experience that has added direction to his career aspirations.
“I aim to continue educating and inspiring the next generation of engineers in my future endeavors,” he said.
Following graduation, Ambethkar will begin an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in electrical engineering and photonics at MIT. Long-term, he wants to pursue paths in both industry leadership and academia to advance electronic-photonic technologies for computing and communications.
“I am grateful for the academic and professional opportunities that UC Davis provided, which have helped me define my future directions as an engineer,” Ambethkar said. "I am especially thankful to my mentors, Professor Hyoyoung Jeong, Professor S.J. Ben Yoo, and graduate student Luis El Srouji in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, for their guidance and support throughout my journey as an undergraduate researcher."
In addition to receiving the M.S. Ghausi Medal, Ambethkar also received the Outstanding Senior Award in electrical engineering, which honors one student per major who have made significant contributions to the learning environment through active academic engagement at UC Davis.
