Daejong Kim

Dr. Daejong Kim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington since 2014. Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor at UTA (2008–2014) and Texas A&M University (2004–2008). His expertise spans tribology, rotordynamics, and gas bearing systems, with a focus on oil-free turbomachinery and microscale applications. He holds patents in foil bearing design and has received awards including the Foreign Expert Friendship Award (2016) and ASME’s Best Reviewer Award (2008).

Education: PhD in Mechanical Engineering (UT Austin, 2004), MS & BS in Mechanical Engineering (Seoul National University, 1993/1991). Professional memberships include ASME and STLE.

Research: Specializes in foil bearings, rotor dynamics, and thermal analysis. Key areas include hybrid thrust bearings, supercritical CO₂ power cycles, and closed-loop turbomachinery. His work emphasizes high-speed, oil-free systems for aerospace and energy applications.

Grants & Awards: Over $5M in funded projects from AFOSR, ONR, and industry partners (e.g., General Atomics, Bellkim Energy). Awards include the 2005 ASME Innovative Research Award for micro gas bearings.

Labs & Teams: Leads research in advanced bearing design and testing at UTA, with collaborations on military and commercial aerospace projects. Supervises over 30 graduate and undergraduate students in experimental and computational studies.