I recently joined the Department of Computer Science at Kennesaw State University (KSU) as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. At KSU, my research focuses on self-evolving robot intelligence and trainable spatial representations that autonomously adapt to out-of-distribution environments. My work aims to develop autonomous systems that continuously evolve their internal world models and decision-making capabilities through long-term interaction across generated, augmented, and complex real-world environments.

Prior to joining KSU, I was a tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Mobility Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Ajou University from 2022.09 to 2026.01. At Ajou University, my research centered on multimodal deep learning, robotic platforms, spatial AI, and computer vision for autonomous mobility systems, with a strong emphasis on real-world deployment and system-level integration. During my appointment at Ajou University, I secured approximately $1M in competitive national and industry research funding in Korea, supporting multiple projects on autonomous driving, intelligent perception, and robotic systems.

Before my faculty career, I conducted machine learning–oriented postdoctoral research at the Center for Advanced Computing and Analysis at Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General Hospital (HMS/MGH) in Boston, MA, where I worked on advanced machine learning methodologies for large-scale, data-driven systems.

I also served as the Director of Software Engineering at ThorDrive US, a venture-backed startup based in Cincinnati, OH, where I led the development of software systems for fully autonomous vehicles designed for point-to-point mobility in airport ramp environments. In this role, I oversaw the design and deployment of autonomous driving technologies and collaborated on commercial projects with industry partners including Delta affiliates (Unifi), UPS, and DHL.

I received my B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University and my Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from Seoul National University (SNU), Korea. During my Ph.D. studies, I developed autonomous driving algorithms for SNU’s $100K-winning entry in the 2013 Korean Autonomous Challenge and subsequently led multiple collaborative projects on self-driving technologies with LG and Mando. I also played a key role in developing the SNU self-driving platform, which became the first urban autonomous driving platform in Korea.

Working Experience

Tenure-track Assistant Professor       2026 – Present

Department of Computer Science Marietta GA, United States

Kennesaw State University

Tenure-track Assistant Professor 2022 – 2025

Department of Mobility Engineering Suwon, Korea

(affiliated with the Department of AI ('23-present), Department of ME ('22-'23)) 

Ajou University

PostDoc. Researcher,   2022

Harvard University (MGH/HMS), Boston MA, United States

Director of Software Engineering, 2017 – 2022

ThorDrive, Inc., Cincinnati OH, United States

PhD candidate researcher, 2013 – 2017

SNU Intelligent Vehicle IT Center, Seoul, Korea

Visiting student under CARS visiting professor, 2014

Stanford University, Palo Alto CA, United States

Research Intern, 2012

Hyundai Power-Train Research Center, Hwaseong, Korea

Visiting Student Intern, 2010 – 2011

University of Central Florida, Orlando FL, United States

Data Analysis Intern 2010

BrightPower, Inc., Manhattan NY, United States

Education

Ph. D. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2013 – 2019

Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic and Electrical Engineering, 2006 – 2013

SungKyunKwan University, Suwon, Korea

English Language Institute, 2010

Queen’s College (CUNY), Queens, NY, United States

Working experience before my faculty career

Computer skills:

Languages:

Korean Native

English Professional