Explorer Alum Featured on the Cover of Newsweek

Albert Lin, who earned his bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. here at the Jacobs School, has been on a high-tech quest for the tomb of Genghis Khan since 2005--and last month, his work was featured on the cover of Newsweek. 

Lin’s explorations are groundbreaking, in part, because he never breaks ground. He uses non-invasive, computer technologies to gather, synthesize and visualize data from previously unreachable places, with no damage to the environment. Cutting-edge tools such as satellite imagery, ground-penetrating radar and remote sensors allow Lin to make archaeological discoveries while respecting traditional beliefs of indigenous people. As a research scientist in the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), Lin is also using 3D immersive technologies to study satellite images and data gathered during field expeditions to Mongolia.

“I was lucky. I’m a scientist and engineer who stumbled across this extraordinary 800-year-old mystery,” Lin told Newsweek. “I felt that perhaps the rapid advancement of technologies might [open] up a new scientific chapter in a lost piece of world history.”

Read the full Newsweek story here.

Learn more about Lin's quest for Ghenkis Khan's tomb here.