Phillip Hagen joins The Cooper Union this year as a new assistant professor of electrical engineering. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho, where he also taught courses in circuit analysis, signal processing, electromagnetism, and electrical engineering capstone design. Hagen’s research combines radio-frequency engineering, machine learning, circuit stability analysis, and physical prototyping to develop adaptive and reconfigurable electronic systems.

Tell us about your research interests.

My current work focuses on adaptive and reconfigurable radio-frequency (RF) systems. I am interested in how machine learning, unconventional circuit techniques, and new forms of physical actuation can help electronic systems respond to changing operating conditions.

My recent work includes using machine learning to model nonlinear RF components, studying the stability and robustness of non-Foster impedance-matching circuits, and developing a soft-robotic variable capacitor that changes its electrical properties through pneumatic motion. More broadly, I am interested in bringing together electromagnetic modeling, circuit design, and physical prototyping to create technologies for areas such as wearable devices, sensing, and biomedical applications.

What brought you to The Cooper Union?

The Cooper Union stood out to me because of its combination of rigorous engineering education, close faculty-student interaction, and strong emphasis on undergraduate learning. My career has always been centered equally on teaching and research, and Cooper offers an environment where those activities can reinforce one another rather than compete.

I was also drawn to the opportunity to work with highly engaged students in a small, collaborative department. I want students to have meaningful roles in research ranging from simulation and circuit design through fabrication and experimental testing, and Cooper is particularly suited to that kind of hands-on, faculty-student collaboration.

What aspects of teaching are you most excited about for this academic year at Cooper?

I am most excited to work directly with Cooper students and to learn how they approach difficult engineering problems. In my courses, I emphasize understanding why a circuit or system behaves as it does, rather than treating equations as procedures to memorize. That means developing physical intuition, checking whether an answer is reasonable, and connecting mathematical models to real hardware.

I am looking forward to helping students build confidence with challenging material while also developing the habits expected of practicing engineers: communicating clearly, making defensible assumptions, and recognizing when a result does not make physical sense.