Name in Native Language Character (If Applicable): ( 송명신 , 宋明信 )

Department: Mathematics & Statistics

Country of Origin: born in Korea; raised and schooled in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia

Language(s) Spoken Other Than English: Korean, Chinese, Malay, some Japanese and German

Areas of Research Interest: Functional Analysis and Applied Harmonic Analysis. More specifically, Dr. Song works with departments like electrical engineering and physics using algorithms to compress images in such a way that minimizes loss of information while changing files from analog to digital.

How Long Have You Been in the U.S.? Since 1997

How Long Have You Been at SIUE? Since 2004

What Do You Like Most About SIUE? The campus' scenic landscape. Dr. Song appreciates the nature at SIUE as compared to living in a bustling city of 20 million plus people surrounded by only buildings.

What Do You Find To Be the Biggest Difference Between the U.S. and Your Home Country? In comparing the U.S. to Asia, Dr. Song notes that the biggest difference is that the U.S. is more laid back in terms of change and growth. Dr. Song has felt that in Asia, one's surroundings are apt to change so quickly, but in the United States one can feel like their home looks (and therefore, feels) the same for a while. Also, Dr. Song likes that it is not as crowded in the U.S. as it is in Asia. For example, she noted that in the U.S. one does not have to worry about triple-parking or being literally shoved into a train.

Interesting Facts: Dr. Song likes to pack and go! She loves to travel. Some of her favorite places include Southern Germany (especially in the fall), Argentina and anywhere that has mountains. She also loves to eat and makes a point to try the different foods that are unique to each country she visits. She would love to visit places like Mongolia and South Africa.