Dr. Hyun Jin Kim

Education

• Postdoc, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 2020
• Ph.D., Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019
• M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014
• B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Rice University, 2011
• B.A., Visual Arts, Rice University, 2011

Biography

Dr. Hyun Jin Kim’s research focuses on energy and thermal transport systems, based on microscale thermofluid science fundamentals. Her experimental approaches are centered around mechanistic understanding of phase-change heat transfer in structures/surfaces engineered at nano-, mini-, and microscale, which is critical in various sectors including energy, HVAC&R, electronics thermal management, and water-energy-food nexus.

Before joining UA, Dr. Hyun Jin Kim was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University during 2019 – 2020. She earned her Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in 2019 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She was the recipient of the 2017 – 2018 Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship and the 2014 – 2016 Clean Energy Education Fellowship at UIUC.

She received her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UIUC in 2014, and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and B.A. in Visual Arts from Rice University in 2011. She also studied at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2009 as an exchange student from Rice.

Throughout her academic career, she has been also actively engaged in service and leadership to promote diversity and inclusion in STEM. She is the Faculty Mentor for GradSWE at UA. She was a co-founder of the GradSWE (Graduate Society of Women Engineers) and the weSTEM (Women Empowered in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Conference at UIUC.

Dr. Hyun Jin Kim is also affiliated with the Alabama Water Institute (AWI).

Honors and Awards

• Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor, The Office for Undergraduate Research, UA, 2023
• John L. Blackburn Advisor of the Year Award, Office of Student Involvement, UA, 2023
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award, Mechanical Engineering, UA, 2022
• The Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 2018
• 2nd Place Paper Award, 17th International Refrigeration & Air conditioning Conference, 2018
• Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship, UIUC, 2017 – 2018
• Clean Energy Education Fellowship, UIUC, 2014 – 2016
• Best Paper Award, 8th International Conference on Micromanufacturing (ICOMM), 2013