Education

Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

PhD in Planning, Design, and Construction, Jul 2018
Dissertation: Urban transformation in transitional economies: Lessons from the Mongolian Plateau

Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

MS in Urban and Regional Planning, Feb 2014
The best thesis award: The impact of local development on social capital in Bohol, Philippines

Handong Global University, Pohang, South Korea

Dual BS in Urban Planning and Construction Engineering, Aug 2011

Work Experience

Urban Specialist, The World Bank (2019 – Present)

• Take Team Leader (TTL)/ Co-TTL for multiple World Bank operations, including Yemen Portfolio Monitoring, Climate & Water Information System, and Integrated Urban Services Emergency Project II (pseudo), leading innovations in Result-Based Financing, Women-Owned Business, and Universal Accessibility pilots.

• Secured ~$8M in donor trust funds; Co-TTLs for knowledge products in Egypt, Jordan, and advisory programs in Saudi Arabia (FY23–26).

• Built strategic collaborations with Microsoft AI for Good Lab, European Space Agency (ESA), German Aerospace Center (DLR), and Universities Space Research Association (USRA) to advance data-driven urban development.

Big Pixel Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Diego (2018 – 2019)                               

• Developed satellite imagery–based machine learning algorithms to predict economic activity; conducted computational modeling for market accessibility.

• Delivered a core course for the Certificate in Spatial Analysis program under the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS)

Intern Researcher, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (2012 – 2013)                               

• Analyzed the social impact of irrigation projects through spatial-econometric modeling and behavioral experiments.

Volunteer, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) (2008 – 2010)                               

• Developed a GIS-based land registration and cadastral database in Pelileo and Saquisilí, Ecuador (in lieu of mandatory military service).

Awards and Honors

World Bank Group

• Prosperity MENA collaboration award

• MENA VPU team award

• Sustainable Development VPU award

• GPURL Innovation award

Selected Awards:

• Dissertation Completion Fellowship ($7,000), Michigan State University.

• Gill-Chin Lim Travel Award for 2017, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning

• Environmental Science and Policy Program (ESPP) Network Fellow, Michigan State University.

• Professional Enhancement Award, NASA–MSU.

• Doctoral Study Abroad Scholarship ($71,000), Ministry of Education, Korea.

• Best Master Thesis Award, Seoul National University.

• The 2nd prize winner of the KOICA thesis competition in international cooperation and development

• World Friends Korea Scholarship ($11,000), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

• 1st Prize Award, “Making a Clean Society” Idea Contest (Planning Process for New Town Development Project), awarded by the Chairman of the National Assembly of Korea.