■ About

Yoon Young Kim is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical Systems at Sookmyung Women's University. After receiving a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1989, Prof. Kim served on the faculty of Seoul National University from 1991 to 2024. Research interests include topology optimization, elastic metamaterials, autonomous mechanism design, and thin-walled structures. Prof. Kim currently serves as Vice-President of the International Association for Computational Mechanics (IACM), Vice-President for Planning and Policy of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), and Congress Chair of WCCM 2028 in Korea. Major honors include the National Academy of Sciences Award of Korea (2024), the ASME Rayleigh Lecture Award (2023), the JSCES Grand Prize (2022), and the Inaugural Fellowship of ISSMO (2025).

Education

•  Ph.D., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Jan. 1989
(Thesis: End-Effects and Time-Harmonic Wave Propagation in a Semi-Infinite Cylinder; Advisor: Prof. Charles R. Steele)

•  M.S., Department of Mechanical Design and Production Engineering, Seoul National University, Feb. 1983

•  B.S., Department of Mechanical Design and Production Engineering, Seoul National University, Feb. 1981

Career

•  2024~present: Distinguished Professor, Department of Mechanical Systems, Sookmyung Women's University
                            Emeritus Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University

•  2023~present: Co-founder and Technical Advisor, IDeAOcean (a startup commercializing autonomous mechanism design technology), www.ideaocean.ai

•  2013~2016: Director, Institute of Advanced Machines and Design, Seoul National University

•  2009~2012: Director, Advanced Automobile Research Center, Seoul National University

•  2002~2011: Director, Multiscale Design Creative Research Initiatives Center (designated by the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology)

•  1991~2024: Assistant/Associate/Full/Distinguished Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University

•  1989~1990: Research Associate, Stanford University

Professional Service

•  Vice-President (2026~) and Executive Council Member (2018~), International Association for Computational Mechanics (IACM)

•  Vice-President for Planning and Policy, Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) (2025~2028)

•  Congress Chair, World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM 2028), Korea

•  Vice-President, International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ISSMO) (2015~2018)

•  Congress Committee Member, IUTAM (International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics) (2023~2026, 2026~2029)

•  Review and Senior Editor, Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (2018~)

•  Executive Council Member, Asian-Pacific Association for Computational Mechanics (APACM) (2017~)

•  President and Co-President, Asian Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ASSMO) (2016~2020)

•  President, Korean Society for Computational Mechanics (2018~2019)

•  President, Samsung Future Technology Forum (2016~2018)

•  President, Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers (KSME) (2016)

•  Co-Chairman, WCCM XII / APCOM VI (2016)

•  Academician, National Academy of Engineering of Korea (2009~)

•  Academician, Korean Academy of Science and Technology (2009~)

•  Editor-in-Chief, KSME Transactions A & B (2009~2012)

•  Editor and Editorial Advisor, Journal of Mechanics of Materials and Structures (2005~2015)

•  Editor, International Journal of Solids and Structures (2000~2005)