On February 21st, 2019, Stephen Kwak, President of the Hwarang Silicon Valley Buisness Committee, invited Hwarang leaders to visit Stanford University and learn about Stanford’s CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) lab, which explores the origins of the universe.

At the CMB lab, Dr. Shawn Henderson explained that CMB is the oldest light in the universe created during the Big Bang, and was first discovered pretty much by accident. By studying CMB, researchers are able to better understand the age of the universe.

Hwarang leaders were also able to meet with Cyndia Yu, a Harvard University graduate, who spent two months in the South Pole installing the South Pole Telescope, an instrument capable of observing CMB.

She said, “There are three reasons why we should install the telescope in the South Pole. First, the altitude is high so that we could reduce the gap between us and the universe. Also, the atmosphere is so cold that the water vapor is frozen out and the South Pole has been settled with scientists and scientific equipment for research.”

After a brief Q&A with Dr. Henderson and Cyndia Yu, Hwarang Leaders received a tour of Stanford University, learning how Stanford was founded and visiting Stanford’s church and famous Burghers of Calais Statues.

Yu also spoke with Hwarang Leaders about her college application process saying: “I thought I would put college applications at random places. But after I considered what I really want to study and work on as my future, I [knew I would better be able to] find the college that is [right] for me.”

Thanks to Business Committee president Stephen Kwak and Dr. Kim, the father of San Jose chapter president Min Seo Kim, Hwarang Leaders not only learned CMB but also had time to consider their own future at Stanford University.

<Ha Yeon Park/ Lynbrook high school, 11thgrade.>