Professor

Biography

Hyungho Na is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering (IE) with a joint appointment in the Artificial Intelligence Graduate School (AIGS) at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). His research interests include fundamental AI as well as AI applications in various domains. From 2013 to 2021, he worked as a researcher and senior researcher at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), where he contributed to the R&D of missile defense systems. He holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering (with a concentration in multi-agent reinforcement learning), all from KAIST.

Professional History

• Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering (Joint Appointment with Artificial Intelligence Graduate School), UNIST (Nov. 2025 - Present)

• Postdoctoral Researcher, KAIST Institute for Robotics / InnoCore AITA (KAIST) (Mar. 2025 - Oct. 2025)

• Senior Researcher, Agency for Defense Development (Jan. 2019 - Feb. 2021)

• Researcher, Agency for Defense Development (Feb. 2013 - Dec. 2018) 

Education

• Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, KAIST, Feb. 2025 (Advisor: Prof. Il-Chul Moon, Co-Advisor: Prof. Jaemyung Ahn)

• M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, KAIST, Feb. 2013 (Advisor: Prof. Jaemyung Ahn)

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, KAIST, Aug. 2011 (Summa Cum Laude)

Honors and Awards

• Global Leadership Awards (Challenge), Granted to the student who has been recognized for their spirit of challenges, KAIST, 2025

• Character Scholarship (Merit Category), Granted to the student who has contributed to enhancing the school’s reputation through excellence, KAIST, 2024

• Outstanding Champion (the 1st Place in the Challenge), Team AAILAB, Multi-modal Foundation Model meets Embodied AI (MFM-EAI) Workshop, ICML, 2024 

• Innovation Award (Innovative Idea in the Challenge), Team AAILAB, Multi-modal Foundation Model meets Embodied AI (MFM-EAI) Workshop, ICML, 2024 

• Achievement Award: Theater Defense Research Center, Agency for Defense Development, 2023 

• Outstanding Paper Presentation Award, The Korean Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, 2021 

• Achievement Award: MSAM-II PIP, Agency for Defense Development, 2018 

• Bronze Prize (Defense Science Contest), Agency for Defense Development, 2018 

• Achievement Award: the 47th Anniversary of the Foundation, Agency for Defense Development, 2017 

• Defense Acquisition Program Administration Commissioner’s Award: LSAM Critical Design, Defense Acquisition Program Administration, 2016 

• The Excellence Award, Granted to the student who graduated with the highest GPA in the department, KAIST, 2012