51°µÍø

Education

• Postdoc. in Single Molecule Biophysics, Harvard University

• Ph.D. in Engineering, Brown University

• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University

Biography

Dr. MinJun Kim presently holds the Robert C. Womack Endowed Chair Professor of Engineering position at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, 51°µÍø. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Yonsei University in Korea and Texas A&M University, respectively. Dr. Kim completed his Ph.D. degree in the Division of Engineering at Brown University, where he was a recipient of the prestigious Simon Ostrach Fellowship. Following his graduate studies, Dr. Kim served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Rowland Institute at Harvard University. In 2006, he joined Drexel University as Assistant Professor and later earned a promotion to Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics. Dr. Kim has been dedicated to exploring biological transport phenomena, encompassing cellular/molecular mechanics and engineering in novel nano/microscale architectures, with the goal of advancing new types of nanobiotechology. This includes groundbreaking work in nanopore technology and nano/microrobotics. Throughout his career, Dr. Kim has garnered numerous accolades, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2008), Drexel Career Development Award (2008), Human Frontier Science Program Young Investigator Award (2009), Army Research Office Young Investigator Award (2010), Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (2011), KOFST Fellowship (2013 & 2015), Bionic Engineering Outstanding Contribution Award (2013), Louis & Bessie Stein Fellowship (2008 & 2014), ISBE Fellow (2014), ASME Fellow (2014), UNESCO/Netexplo Top10 Technology Innovation Award (2016), KSEA & KOFST Engineer of the Year Award (2016), IEEE Senior Member (2017), Gerald J. Ford Research Fellowship (2018), and Protégé of the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (2019), Brain Pool Fellowship of the National Research Foundation of Korea (2023), and AIMBE Fellow (2024).

Honors and Awards

• AIMBE Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (2024)

• Brain Pool Fellowship, National Research Foundation of Korea (2023-2025)

• Best Paper Award Finalist, The 18th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots (2021)

• Protégé, The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (2019)

• Best Paper Award, The 15th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots (2018)

• Professor With the Coolest Research, Lyle School of Engineering, 51°µÍø (2018)

• Gerald J. Ford Research Fellowship, 51°µÍø (2018)

• Sam Taylor Fellowship, The United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (2018)

• Senior Member, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2017)

• Engineer of the Year Award, Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association and Korean Federation of Science Science and Technology Societies (2016)

• UNESCO-Netexplo Award, Global Observatory on Digital Society in partnership with the French Senate, the French Ministry for the Digital Economy, and UNESCO (2016)

• Best Conference Paper Award, The 12th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence (2015)

• Brain Pool Fellowship, Korean Federation of Science Science and Technology Societies (2015)

• MEM Outstanding Research Award, Drexel University (2014)

• ISBE Fellow, International Society of Bionic Engineering (2014)

• Best Paper Award Finalist, The IEEE International Conference on CYBER Technology in Automation, Control, and Intelligent Systems (2014)

• ASME Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2014)

• Stein Fellowship, Louis and Bessie Stein Family Foundation (2014-2015)

• Best Paper Award Finalist, The IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (2013)

• Best Application Paper Award, The 10th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence (2013)

• Bionic Engineering Outstanding Contribution Award, International Society of Bionic Engineering (2013)

• Brain Pool Fellowship, Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (2013)

• Gold Award, James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation (2013)

• Humboldt Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2012 - 2013)

• ARO Young Investigator Award, U.S. Army Research Office (2010 - 2013)

• Silver Award & Merit Award, James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation (2010)

• Best Paper Award, ASME IMECE: Fluid Engineering in Micro- and Nanosystems (2009)

• HFSP Young Investigator Award, Human Frontier Science Program Office (2009 - 2012)

• Drexel University Faculty Career Development Award, Drexel University (2008 - 2009)

• NSF Fellowship, NSF Summer Institute on Nanomechanics, Nanomaterials and Micro/Nanomanufacturing (2008)

• Stein Fellowship, Louis and Bessie Stein Family Foundation (2008 - 2009)

• NSF Faculty Early CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2008 - 2013)

• Best of Program Award, James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation (2007)

• Simon Ostrach Fellowship in Fluid Mechanics, Brown University (2004 - 2005)