Kwang Kim

Request as Media Expert

Distinguished Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Director, UNLV Active Materials and Smart Living Laboratory

Fellow, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Fellow, National Academy of Inventors

Expertise: Soft robotics, Active/smart materials (electroactive polymers), Energy systems

Biography

Distinguished professor Kwang J. Kim in 2012 joined UNLV’s department of mechanical engineering, where he oversees the Active Materials and Smart Living (AMSL) Laboratory. His research primarily focuses on active materials and related technologies with emphasis on soft-robotics.

Kim has authored or co-authored more than 420 technical publications, including over 200 referred journal papers and three monographs, and has been awarded five U.S. patents.

His research programs have been funded by private sectors and federal agencies including NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense. He sits on the editorial boards of several prominent academic journals. Kim is also the recipient of numerous accolades and research awards, including the the 2021 SSH lifetime achievement award from SPIE, an international professional society for optics and photonics technology; the 2016 Harry Reid Silver State Researcher Award; the 2016 Barrick Distinguished Scholar Award; and the Nevada System of Higher Education 2015 Regents’ Researcher Award.

Education

Ph.D., Arizona State University
M.S., Arizona State University
B.S., Yonsei University

Search For Other Experts On

energy, science & technology

Kwang Kim In The News

UNLV celebrates ‘a huge deal’ in winter graduation ceremony

San Diego native Jacqueline Phan passed on opportunities to study in California so she could contribute to biochemistry research here in Las Vegas.

Strides in Soft Robotics

Electronics360

Soft robots have become an area of interest due to the fact that they would make possible tasks and environments previously unachievable by traditional and rigid robotic systems. For example, soft robots could get around in rough terrain or engage in more physical contact with the human body.

They develop robotic muscles printed in 3D to improve the mobility of the prostheses

ConSalud.es

Thanks to the use of an electroactive polymer, the material could make prostheses much more flexible and can even be handled by external electronic means.

Using soft robots for artificial muscles

Robohub

Forget steel and aluminum. The robots of tomorrow may be able to squish, stretch and squeeze.