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[Music]

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I have a creative side and

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I have a, I'll say, more STEM-focused side.

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and I was always torn between did I want to purse

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my passions in artwork and storytelling

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or if I wanted to pursue this career in engineering.

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And of course, we know which way I ended up going

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MEET

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WAYNE

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WONG

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As supervisor of the thermal energy conversion branch,

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I lead a team of very talented scientists and engineers

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to develop the next generation power system for NASA.

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These are some of the most challenging missions

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where solar energy is not practical.

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For those missions,
we rely on nuclear power

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either radioisotope power or fission reactor power.

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So my branch is working on the technologies that convert the heat

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from those nuclear sources into useful electrical power.

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The application for the technologies that we're working on typically

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are for those missions where solar energy isn't practical or isn't feasible.

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I like to refer to them as those dark, dusty or distant environments.

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What are some of your hobbies?

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I enjoy certainly family and I also dabble in filmmaking.

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I've been in a number of short films, I've written screenplays,

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and I've also done a little bit of acting on the side myself.

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I'm a huge fan of action films myself when I watch it.

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Those tend to be the types of stories that I enjoy making and creating.

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I also enjoy volunteering for the community that I grew up in

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in AsiaTown in Cleveland.

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I'm also part of an organization that puts on the Cleveland Asian Festival.

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It started in 2010.

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My wife is one of the co-founders and I've been involved 
since the beginning.

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We started the Cleveland Asian Festival to really showcase 
AsiaTown Cleveland,

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but we also hold it in the month of May because it's

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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and I perform

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as part of a dragon dance team as part of our culture and custom.

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The dragon that we perform with requires

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nine people inside the dragon to move the dragon around

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There's also a drummer.

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There's a wisdom pearl.

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There's a flag.

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So it's a it's a large crew.

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It's a lot of fun.

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What advice do you have for the next generation 
of STEM students?

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Our two rovers on Mars that happen to be radioisotope fueled

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is very aptly named: Curiosity

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and Perseverance.  For those young people,

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be curious.

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Wonder why do things work?
How do they work?

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Find out. Learn.

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But being in a STEM field is not easy,
and it does require that perseverance.

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Something on your Bucket List

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I was born in Hong Kong, but I've not been back to Hong Kong since.

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To go back to Asia and be able

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to experience and enjoy those authentic meals,