Kil-Wan Ko, Ph.D.

CAREER SUMMARY

Kil-Wan Ko is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at KAIST. He completed his M.S. (2017) and Ph.D. (2020) at KAIST. From 2021 to 2025, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on geotechnical earthquake engineering and geohazards, with particular interests in dynamic soil–foundation–structure interaction, soil liquefaction during earthquakes, seismic site response analysis, seismic fault modeling, seismic ground-motion characterization, and cracking and erosion of levees and dams induced by surface fault rupture. His research integrates geotechnical centrifuge modeling, numerical simulations, earthquake case-history analysis, and analytical approaches, together with probabilistic methods and uncertainty quantification. Through these multidisciplinary approaches, his research aims to better understand and predict geotechnical hazards affecting infrastructure and urban environments and to contribute to the development of safer and more resilient communities.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering                                                 2020

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

• M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering                                                   2017

KAIST

• B.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering                                                           2015

KAIST

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

• KAIST 2025 – Present

Assistant Professor - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

• KOCED Geotechincal Centrifuge Testing Center @ KAIST 2025 – Present

Associate Director

• University of California, Davis (UC Davis) 2023 – 2025

Postdoctoral Scholar - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

• University of Southern California (USC) 2022 – 2023

Postdoctoral Scholar - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

• University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) 2021 – 2023

Visiting Scholar - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

• KAIST                                     2020 – 2021

Postdoctoral Scholar - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Teaching Excellence Award 2026

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, KAIST

• Young Researcher Award 2025

Korean Society of Civil Engineers, KSCE

• Editor's Choice Paper 2025

Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE 

• Bright Spark Lecture Award 2022

International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 

• Top Cited Article 2022

Wind Energy 

• The Presidential Science Scholarship - Mathematics 2010

Korea Student Aid Foundation 

SERVICE POSITIONS

• Professional Committee Service

Member of ISSMGE, TC104, Physical Modelling in Geotechnics 2026 - Present

Member of ISSMGE, TC203, Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering 2026 - Present

Member of Korean National Committee on Large Dams 2025 - Present

Member of Korean Society of Civil Engineering   2023 - Present

Member of Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea 2021 - Present

Member of Korean Society of Geotechnical Engineers 2016 - Present

• Associate Editor

International Journal of Physical Modelling in Geotechnics 2026 - Present

• Editorial Board Member

Geomechanics and Engineering 2026 - Present

• Journal Review

Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering ASCE (2026), Engineering Geology (2025, 2026), Canadian Geotechnical Journal (2018, 2025), Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (2026),   Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering (2026), International Journal of Geo-Engineering (2025), Geomechanics and Engineering (2022, 2023, 2026), KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering (2024, 2025), Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society (2021, 2025)