About: Welcome friends! This site is a work in progress, designed and dedicated to showcase my personal and professional passions. Herein you will find my love for the mountains, photography and academics. Please browse what I have on display, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask or say hello. Enjoy your visit.

Contact info

The best way to reach me is email - leangkk 'aT' gmail dot com.

Currently, I teach and do research in mechanical engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. My specialty is designing control and mechatronic systems, primarily for high-precision positioning applications like Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)-based imaging, nanofabrication, and nanomanufacturing. I am also fascinated with smart-materials such as piezoceramics, shape memory alloys, and electroactive polymers.  I enjoy very much figuring out ways to better control them for useful applications, and when the need arises I like developing the theory to better understand their behavior.  And of course, there's nothing more exciting (and rewarding) than teaching students of all levels (including K-12) about the beauty of math, science, and engineering.  For more information about my work, please visit my research and teaching website.

Copyright info

Please note that ALL material (i.e., folders, files, photos, figures, movies, documents, and etc.) contained within the domain http://www.leang.com is copyrighted by me (Kam K. Leang), unless stated otherwise. Unauthorized use of any material is strictly prohibited. Please send me a note to request usage information. Thank you, and I appreciate your cooperation.

Disclaimer

Folks, this isn't rocket science, but outdoor activities such as biking, climbing, skiing, and etc. are extremely dangerous. You can seriously injure yourself, fall down go boom, or even die. Do not, under any circumstances, trust anything you read on this site. I am not an expert and this website is not a guide. Please read/view at your own risk and that goes for other information such as ski building, robotics, etc! I assume no responsibility for how you use the information on this site, either. Have a good and safe day.

More about me and my family

In early 1980 my family was given a chance to start a new life -- we were sponsored into the States from Cambodia by the Borups: Carl and Elizabeth, and Don and Evelyn (read the short newspaper article about my family). The Borups rescued my family from the Khmer Rouge, the not-so-friendly people. Our lives after that was forever transformed, and we started all over again in Tremonton, a small farming community in northern Utah. We were very fortunate to survive and leave the hell and my family is very grateful to the Borups.  Even till this day I continue to be amazed by how lucky we are.

My family is Chinese. Our roots start in the province of Guangdong (or Canton). My grandfather, at the age of 16, fled the mainland to avoid a draft. He took shelter in Vietnam, learning the language and making a living as a jewelry smith. For whatever reason he left Vietnam and settled in Cambodia, where he married and had nine children. Of the nine, only four are living at the time of this writing -- my dad, his two brothers (one older and one younger), and his younger sister. Sadly, my grandmother died at the young age of 39 -- my father was only 16 at the time. Being a strong man my grandfather continued to provide for his children and he never remarried. (There an interesting story behind why he never did.) But sadly, he died of an illness when I was 4-years old, two-years before my family and I left for the United States. I have some vague (but wonderful) memories of my grandfather, for instance how much attention and love he use to give me.

My mother's life was quite different compared to my father's. She was adopted at a very young age when her biological mother was unable to provide for her. Interestingly, my grandfather (my dad's father) was offered the adoption, but already with his hands full he declined.  Funny to think what could have been.  My siblings and I know very little about my mother.  We know that she only finished middle school, and we continue to be amazed with her limited education how she supported and inspired us to learn.  It seems that she was never short of inspiring qualities, for example her dedication and love for the family.  Because of her we are a strong family unit and always looking after one another.

My family has a very fascinating history and more information about it will soon appear in a family collaboration called the Leang Family History Project. The work is dedicated to my mother, Ngor Lay Leang - she left us on August 15, 2004 at the age of 55. The project's purpose is to document my family history for future generations.

The better part of my younger years -- the part I choose to remember -- was in northern Utah.   My family and I arrived in Tremonton several months before I turned seven. I have three siblings: two younger brothers and one younger sister. Like me, they are all engineers with degrees in mechanical, electrical and computer engineering. I am very, very close to them.

Growing up in a very small town I enjoyed many benefits, mainly having very close friends and the security of a tight community. Just before I started high school my parents decided to relocate and settle in southern California to be closer to family members we have been reunited with. Most of my teen-years was spent riding BMX bikes -- I think I'm better at riding a bike than walking.

Two weeks after high-school graduation I continued my education at a local community college. I chose to stay close to home to figure out what I wanted to study. Art was my first choice after discovering I had a love for it in high school. But at the same time I was also intrigued by computer science and technology. For the first two quarters of my college career I majored in art and computer science.  But shortly after I felt something was missing.  Immediately I went to talk with an academic counselor and she suggested, based on my talent with hands-on projects and interest in math and science, a degree in mechanical engineering (ME). At the time I knew nothing about mechanical engineering, but being open minded I gave it a try. The rest is pretty much history.

After two years at the local community college I applied for a transfer to the University of Utah. No, it wasn't because they had an exceptional ME program; it was because I wanted to ski. Skiing was a new love I discovered shortly after high school. I skied and skied and skied and skied during my undergraduate career, of course. From first hand experience, Utah does have "the greatest snow on earth!"  Somehow, I managed to keep up my grades and several years later I graduated and continued into the Masters ME program. At the same time I developed an even stronger love for the mountains and I took up backcountry skiing and climbing.  Again, the rest is pretty much history.

After the Masters degree, I moved to the Northwest to pursue a doctorate degree in ME and then finally graduated from the University of Washington at the end of 2004 (December). Moving to the northwest was one of the best decisions I ever made. The Cascades Mountains are simply amazing. Throughout my studies I tried to maintain balance by spending as much time as possible in the mountains. I like being in the mountains because it relaxes me, and in turn it becomes one of the most important things in my life.  At the same time to satisfy my love for art I took up photography -- the art of painting with light. I have a strong passion for making photographs, especially of friends, family, and the mountains. After finishing school I decided to pursue a career in academics. Now I teach and do research in mechanical engineering: these two things (research and teaching) also compete for space on my plate of passions.  My philosophy is to surround myself in my passions and hope for the best...  Thanks for your attention.