4/24/2026 Taylor Parks
Written by Taylor Parks
MechSE alum Jin Tae Jimmy Kim (MSTAM 2015; PhD TAM 2020) was recently named one of this year’s Outstanding Young Alumni. Kim’s award comes as an acknowledgement of his prolific continuum mechanics research efforts and early career achievements.
Now in his third year as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in the Republic of Korea, Kim leads the Continuum Mechanics Laboratory. He already has 55 peer-reviewed publications including three Nature and four Science Advances articles.
“I really don’t think that I would be where I am now without the support, collegial environment, and research focus that Illinois provided me,” Kim said.
As an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering at Oklahoma State University, Kim originally planned to enter industry following his graduation. However, this proved challenging given his status as an international student, which motivated him to seek out graduate school. In particular, he was drawn to The Grainger College of Engineering’s high rankings.
Kim’s transition to Illinois was also an exciting time in his personal life. He and his girlfriend, whom he’d met on campus during undergrad, both moved to Champaign after their graduation and got married during Kim’s first year of graduate school.
“We spent our early marriage years at the U of I, so it’s not only academically memorable, but also a highlight in our life,” he said.
During this time, Kim and his wife started their YouTube channel, which now has 114,000 subscribers.
“Somehow, the channel became really popular,” he said, noting that some videos took place within MechSE’s halls, such as this compilation of interviews with colleagues. “We would travel with our family and make content. We brought my wife’s family to Korea and to the U of I.”
Kim credits his advisor, Professor Leonardo Chamorro (now the Associate Head for Undergraduate Programs) with providing the support he needed to succeed in MechSE.
“I wasn’t as determined when I first started my program,” recalled Kim, who was Chamorro’s first PhD student. “When my first research paper got rejected, I wanted to quit. [Chamorro] told me that I had a lot of potential and was doing unique things. His encouragement helped me to push through the ups and downs of the PhD journey.”
Kim’s perseverance would pay off. “When I finished my PhD, I was able to publish roughly 17 papers and I actually won a TAM award [2020 Hassan Aref Memorial Award],” he said. “My advisor and the department showed me a lot of support.”
His fluid mechanics specialty would lead to a postdoctoral research position at Northwestern University with Professor John Rogers (former faculty in MatSE at Illinois), where he and collaborators were able to combine fluid mechanics and soft electronics concepts to model passive flying sensors, such as wind-dispersed seeds, that could monitor the health of an environment similarly to how a wearable device can monitor a human’s health. Today, Kim’s lab continues to investigate this technology, among other soft electronics applications.
In addition to his research, Kim enjoys the mentoring aspect of his faculty position. “I always emphasize for my students that they need to go deep in the science of the problems they’re trying to solve,” he said. “I learned from MechSE’s example of rigorous fundamentals.”
Kim also took Chamorro’s advising style to heart. “[Chamorro] once told me that you need to have a tough skin, but still be kind and respectful to others,” he said. He encourages graduate students to enjoy all aspects of their PhD journey—something that may feel like forever but will inevitably come to an end.
“If you do the work given to you and prove that you’re skillful, then opportunities will come to you,” he said. “Especially in a great environment like Illinois, enjoy the ride you’re on.”