Shin-Chan Han was born, grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and studied Earth Sciences.  In 1998, Han immigrated to US and started postgraduate study in Geodetic Science and Surveying at The Ohio State University.  After finishing PhD in 2003, Han stayed at The Ohio State University as a postdoc and a research scientist.  In 2006, Han accepted a position at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to join Space Geodesy group.  In 2015, he was appointed as a Geodesy professor at University of Newcastle, Australia and led a surveying and geospatial degree program.  In 2025, he returned to his academic home! 

His research focus is on the analysis of space geodetic measurements and theoretical modeling of geophysical processes that govern mass changes within the Earth and the terrestrial planets.  Han started out using GPS and other satellite ranging measurements to analyze spacecraft orbits as well as surface deformation and gravity fields of the Earth and recently those of the Moon and Mars.  Han endeavored to exploit space geodetic measurements to tackle various geophysical problems, ranging from solid Earth, to terrestrial and atmospheric water, to ice mass and ocean, to ocean tides and bathymetry, to ionosphere, and to the gravity and topography of the Moon and Mars.  Han demonstrated his ability to develop cross-disciplinary research program and establish collaboration with scientists from various fields.  He received awards from American Geophysical Union, NASA Headquarter, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, US Department of the Interior, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, Institute of Navigation, The Ohio State University, and the South Korean government.

Han has been participating as a science team member for the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its Follow-On satellite missions since 2004.  Han has demonstrated applicability of satellite geodetic data to various problems in the Earth sciences: many of them being the “first-time” applications.  Han has pioneered a number of geodetic techniques to process GRACE data and helped to maximize the science return from the mission.  Han also participated in NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission for the Moon as a guest science team member and was a principal investigator of the project on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter gravity field and topography analysis.  The other focus of his research is utilizing a massive array ('constellation') of small (a shoebox-sized) satellites to map Earth's system changes at scales never considered. 

Some highlights of his works:

Tiny but mighty together:
https://eos.org/opinions/looking-to-the-sky-for-better-tsunami-warnings

Pushing the limit of the GRACE satellite measurements:
https://www.newcastle.edu.au/hippocampus/story/2021/nasa-flooding

It is not just global warming:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/big-earthquakes-might-make-sea-level-rise-worse

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2419166-earthquakes-hastened-sea-rise-in-pacific-islands-by-sinking-the-ground

If you find interest in any, please feel free to contact him (han.104@osu.edu) for possible PhD research opportunities.