Han-Gyu Kim and Min Deng are joining the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as assistant professors starting in the fall 2026 semester, bringing with them expertise in composite structures and robotics.
Han-Gyu Kim
Assistant Professor
Kim joins from Mississippi State University, where he was an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and received back-to-back Faculty of the Year Awards. His research is focused on developing multiscale, multi-physics experimental and computational frameworks for structural response and damage prediction in composite structures, with active collaborations spanning the Air Force Research Laboratory (high-speed aircraft aerostructures), the Federal Aviation Administration (stitched resin-infused composites), and the NASA Glenn Research Center (high-energy impact damage models). For interdisciplinary work, he is developing carbon-fiber composite rotor sleeves for high-speed electric motors with National Science Foundation support. For international collaboration, he is investigating stitched carbon-fiber composite rebars for concrete systems with Yonsei University, Korea and thermal damage in stitched composites with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
Kim earned his PhD in civil engineering from the University of Washington in 2019 and continued his research as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics until 2021. Before entering academia, he spent nearly six-and-a-half years in the civil engineering industry, managing international infrastructure contracts and working on a large-scale subway project for stations and tunnels in Singapore.
“I am thrilled to join UT CEE, where the warm, collegial atmosphere and breadth of research expertise create an environment that is truly rare among engineering departments,” Kim said. “Building on the experience and collaborations I developed at Mississippi State, I look forward to expanding my international partnerships and growing a strong, interdisciplinary research group in structural engineering that spans civil, aerospace, space, mechanical, and materials engineering. I am especially excited to develop new research ideas alongside the faculty in the structural group, learn from the senior professors in CEE, and explore new opportunities with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing. Knoxville is a remarkable hub for engineering innovation, and I look forward to contributing to that tradition.”
Min Deng
Assistant Professor
Deng received his PhD degree in Civil Engineering and master’s degree in robotics from the University of Michigan. He also holds master’s degrees in intelligent building technology and civil engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, as well as a bachelor’s degree in architectural environment engineering from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Deng’s research focuses on embodied AI, contact-rich robot manipulation, human-robot collaboration, and coordinated multi-robot systems. His work combines digital twins, multimodal sensing, robot learning, and adaptive control to enable intelligent robotic systems capable of operating safely and effectively in complex, uncertain, and human-centered environments. His research has applications in robotic construction, advanced manufacturing, intelligent infrastructure systems, autonomous robotic operations in unstructured environments, and next-generation human-AI teaming.
“I am excited to join UT because of its collaborative research environment and its strong partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory,” said Deng. “UT offers a unique opportunity to bring together expertise in artificial intelligence, robotics, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing to tackle some of the most challenging problems in autonomous systems. I look forward to working with students and colleagues across disciplines to develop intelligent robotic systems that address important challenges in infrastructure, construction, and other complex real-world settings.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])