The University of Utah Department of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to announce the arrival of associate professor Jungkyu (Jay) Kim. Kim’s passion is on designing and fabricating miniaturized devices to find answers for various engineering and scientific questions. Categorically, his research focuses on developing micro-nanosystems for space exploration, in-vitro pathophysiological studies, and medical diagnostics.
“The U is a fascinating place to ramp up my academic contribution since the College of Engineering has an excellent reputation for research and education,” said Kim. “Furthermore, the U has a well matured collaborative research environment, which is a great place to perform multi-disciplinary biomedical research. In addition to academic reasons, I like outdoor activities, which makes Utah a perfect place.”
Kim received his B.S. in biomedical engineering from Inje University, South Korea, his M.S. in mechanical engineering from Sogang University, South Korea, in 2000 and 2002, respectively, and his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Utah in 2009. During his doctoral studies, he was a recipient of the National Research Foundation of Korea, scholarships from 2003 to 2005. More recently he was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and an assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department at Texas Tech University in 2012 and 2019, respectively. It is noteworthy that during his time at Texas Tech, Kim was awarded the 2016 Whitacre Research Excellence Award from their College of Engineering.
“With my intensive experience in the field of biomedical micro-nano systems, my group is focused on developing biomedical micro/nanodevices for organ chips, astrobiology research tools, and point-of-care diagnostics with various biosensing techniques. Specifically, for biomimetic organ chip studies, my team is designing and evaluating heart valve-on-a-chip and cornea-on-a-chip to mimic biomechanical and microphysiological environments to allow systematic drug screenings related with valvular and ophthalmological diseases, respectively. For astrobiology research, programmable microfluidic platforms coupling with bioanalytical sensors is under development to utilize for searching life signature on Enceladus and Europa. Lastly, we are seeking integrated novel biosensors which can be used for screening cytokine, cardiac panel, and heavy metals without any human intervention. My team is looking forward to working together with various groups at the U and to innovative important discoveries in these research fields.”
Kim’s work is supported collaboratively and independently by the DOE, NASA, NSF, Texas Caner Research Institute, and other non-governmental agencies. Moreover, the scientific community knows him for his ongoing service. In his wake, he has organized symposiums and sessions for IEEE-EMBC, IEEE-Nanomed, ASME-Nanoengineering in medicine and biology, and BMES meeting. Currently he serves as an associate editor for Scientific Report (NPG) and a guest editor for multiple scientific journals.
In addition to research, Kim enjoys working with his team members who have various backgrounds. “I enjoy discussing various aspects since all have different point of view so that we can learn from each other. People can be blinded easily with their previous experience. I am especially excited to see when students think outside the box for their research by breaking their boundaries.”
Learn more about Professor Kim, his research and his students by visiting the BMNS (Biomedical Micro-Nano Systems Lab).