Rate My Professor Shin-Chan Han

Professor Shin-Chan Han serves as Honorary Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, part of the College of Engineering, Science and Environment. Born and raised in South Korea, he earned a BSc in Earth Science from Seoul National University in 1998. He then pursued graduate studies in the United States, obtaining an MS in 2000 and a PhD in 2003, both in Geodetic Science and Surveying from The Ohio State University. After completing his doctorate, he remained at Ohio State as a postdoctoral researcher and research scientist until 2006. That year, he joined NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as a Geodesist, serving until 2014 and advancing to a position equivalent to tenured professorship in 2012. In 2015, he was appointed professor in geodesy and surveying at the University of Newcastle. There, he has supervised PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, many of whom have progressed to prominent roles at institutions such as the University of West Bohemia, NASA Goddard, and Australian National University.

Professor Han's research centers on analyzing space geodetic measurements, including GPS and satellite ranging data, to model geophysical processes governing mass distribution and transport in Earth and terrestrial planets. His applications span spacecraft orbits, surface deformation, gravity fields of Earth, Moon, and Mars, and address solid Earth dynamics, terrestrial and atmospheric water, ice mass, oceans, tides, bathymetry, ionosphere, and planetary gravity and topography. A science team member for NASA's GRACE and GRACE-FO missions since 2004, he has pioneered techniques to process gravity data, enabling first-time applications in Earth sciences. He also served as a guest science team member on the GRAIL lunar mission and principal investigator for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter gravity field and topography project. During his NASA tenure, he secured over $2.4 million in grants as Chief Investigator. His accolades include the 2010 NASA Early Career Fellowship, 2009 AGU Geodesy Section Award, 2009 NASA Goddard Robert H. Goddard Honor Award, 2007 William T. Pecora Award for the GRACE team, and awards from the Institute of Navigation, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, Ohio State University, and South Korean government. He currently edits the Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth. Key publications feature "Design of Superconducting Gravity Gradiometer Cryogenic System for Mars Mission" (2016), "GRACE Follow-On revealed Bangladesh was flooded early" (PNAS, 2021), and contributions to GRACE gravity observations (2024).