Sejong University · Department of Energy Resources & Geosystems Engineering

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Meet the people driving innovation at SMART-X Lab.

👨‍🏫 Principal Investigator (PI) 

Prof. Choi leads the SMART-X Lab with over 200 publications and 50+ research projects in the areas of smart mining, renewable energy systems, AI-based automation and robotics. He is a recipient of the World Top 2% Scientist Award (Elsevier, 2021 - 2024), and has contributed significantly to academic research and national R&D in Korea and abroad. 

👨‍🔬 Researchers / Postdocs

🧑‍🔬 Dr. Shubhashish Bhakta 

Postdoctoral Researcher  

📧 bhaktamelt@gmail.com 

🗓️ Since 2024 

Dr. Bhakta holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), where he specialized in techno-economic analysis and optimum sizing of hybrid renewable energy systems. With a strong background in power electronics, renewable energy integration, and intelligent control systems, he has over a decade of academic experience in India and Ethiopia.

His current research at SMART-X Lab focuses on the development of AI-based control systems and advanced energy optimization techniques. He has published extensively in SCIE and Scopus-indexed journals, and his work bridges cutting-edge control theory with real-world applications in mining and sustainable energy.

🧑‍🔬 Dr. Farshad Khavari

Postdoctoral Researcher  

📧 farshad.khavari@gmail.com

🗓️ Since 2025 

Dr. Khavari received his Ph.D. in Energy Management Systems from Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University in Tehran, Iran, where he focused on optimal models for renewable energy-based multi-microgrid systems and aggregator coordination. His interdisciplinary expertise spans microgrid optimization, hydrogen storage, energy markets, and machine learning-based forecasting.

Prior to joining SMART-X Lab, he served as a senior data scientist in the oil and gas industry and held academic positions in Iran and South Korea. His recent research includes energy storage integration, underground hydrogen storage planning, and clean energy transition strategies. At SMART-X Lab, Dr. Khavari leads work on energy management and risk modeling for complex, renewable-integrated systems in mining and industrial applications.

👩 Dr. Pikaso Pal 

Postdoctoral Researcher  

📧 pikaso.iitism@gmail.com 

🗓️ Since 2025 

Dr. Pal earned her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), where her research focused on the feasibility and performance analysis of hybrid renewable energy systems. Her work integrates advanced control theory, nonlinear systems, and renewable energy system modeling with a special focus on intelligent control strategies and algorithmic optimization.

She has held research and academic positions at leading institutions in India and South Korea. Her current research at SMART-X Lab focuses on sliding mode control, intelligent energy management, and hybrid PV-hydrogen systems for autonomous and resilient energy infrastructures.

🎓 Ph.D. Students 

🎓 Dahee Jung (정다희)

Ph.D. Candidate

📍 Ph.D. Coursework Completed (at PKNU) 

🗓️ Since 2019 

Dahee Jung focuses on smart mining system development and simulation-based optimization for mining operations. Her research integrates AI, simulation modeling, and production system design to enhance operational efficiency and decision-making in mining contexts.

In her recent work, she developed a discrete event simulation-based system that holistically models the quarrying, crushing, and shipment stages of a stone production process. This system supports scenario analysis for production capacity, equipment utilization, and material flow, contributing to the advancement of digital mining infrastructure and AI-integrated planning tools.

🎓 Dawon Kim (김다원)

Ph.D. Candidate

📍 Ph.D. Coursework Completed (at PKNU)

🗓️ Since 2019 

Dawon Kim conducts research at the intersection of energy ICT, solar energy systems, and AI-based energy analysis. Her work focuses on developing intelligent monitoring and evaluation techniques for renewable energy systems integrated with energy storage, aiming to improve system performance and energy efficiency.

In her recent study, she proposed improved quantitative metrics for evaluating self-consumption and self-sufficiency rates in photovoltaic (PV) systems with energy storage. By analyzing real-world operational scenarios and using time-series energy flow data, her work provides practical tools for more accurate performance assessment and optimization of ESS-integrated renewable systems. This research contributes to advancing data-driven energy analysis and smart energy system design for carbon-neutral applications.

🎓 Adelya Zhamasheva

Ph.D. Student

📍 Ph.D. Coursework Completed (at PKNU)

🗓️ Since 2023 

Adelya Zhamasheva’s research lies at the intersection of critical mineral policy, supply chain modeling, and strategic simulation. Her work focuses on assessing the robustness and geopolitical vulnerability of global supply chains for energy-critical materials—such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earths—under disruptive scenarios.

In her recent work, she developed a competition index-based simulation model to evaluate country-level competitiveness in the lithium-ion battery supply chain. She also applied Monte Carlo-based resilience analysis to quantify the impact of trade route disruptions on the performance of critical mineral flows. Her interdisciplinary approach combines geopolitical risk modeling, network-based simulation, and resource economics, contributing to data-informed policymaking for secure and sustainable mineral supply systems.

🎓 Yeanjae Kim (김연재)

Ph.D. Student

📍 Doctoral Program

🗓️ Since 2019

Yeanjae Kim’s research focuses on smart mining, with a particular emphasis on IoT-based safety systems and wearable technologies for underground environments. His work aims to improve real-time situational awareness and hazard prevention for mine workers through intelligent sensing and edge computing.

He has developed a smart helmet system equipped with ultrasonic and BLE-based proximity warning modules to prevent worker-collision incidents in confined mining spaces. His recent work expands to smart wearable system design, including the integration of biometric monitoring and wireless communication technologies for personnel tracking and risk analysis. His contributions support the realization of next-generation smart mine infrastructure, where human-centric IoT technologies enable safer and more efficient mining operations.

🎓 Jimin Hong (홍지민)

Ph.D. Student

📍 Doctoral Program

🗓️ Since 2022

Jimin Hong specializes in energy ICT and AI-driven analysis of solar vehicle systems, focusing on vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV), solar radiation forecasting, and energy-aware mobility infrastructure.

In her recent work, she proposed a real-time parking assistance system for solar electric vehicles (SEVs) by integrating 360° VR imagery with AI-based solar forecasting, enabling drivers to maximize in-situ PV power generation. She also developed a lightweight simulation method based on normalized Sky View Factor (nSVF) to efficiently evaluate PV performance on building rooftops and vehicle surfaces in urban environments. Her research contributes to the advancement of AI-enhanced energy mobility systems and data-driven VIPV deployment strategies for urban sustainability.

🎓 Elaheh Mohammadi Valikandi

Ph.D. Student

📍 Doctoral Program

🗓️ Since 2023

Elaheh Mohammadi Valikandi’s research focuses on the convergence of AI-driven monitoring systems, flotation separation processes, and renewable energy integration in mining. Her current work explores the application of deep learning models such as YOLO for real-time image-based monitoring and anomaly detection in mineral flotation operations, enabling smarter and more autonomous mineral processing pipelines.

In parallel, she is investigating the deployment potential of floating PV systems in mine pit lakes and tailings ponds. Her recent study analyzes site suitability, solar resource potential, and land-use trade-offs associated with repurposing post-mining landscapes for clean energy generation. Her research contributes to the realization of sustainable and AI-augmented mining systems, bridging process control and renewable integration for the future of eco-friendly resource utilization.

📚 M.S. Students 

📚 Sanha Choi (최산하)

M.S. Student

📍 Master Program

🗓️ Since 2024

Sanha Choi is pursuing her Master’s degree in smart mining systems, with a focus on Arduino-based IoT and robotics applications for energy and resources engineering. Her research lies at the intersection of sensor-based hardware development and data-driven environmental analysis.

In her recent study, she developed an Arduino-based data logger for measuring power generation from vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) systems under real-world driving and parking conditions. The logger integrates a solar panel, voltage/current sensors, GPS, and an SD card module, enabling real-time solar energy data collection from typical driving environments. Deployed across 20 vehicles in Busan, this platform—CAMP-Solar—allowed for empirical analysis of irradiation loss, performance ratio, and user behavior, offering valuable insights for advancing solar-powered transportation systems and digital energy monitoring infrastructure.

📚 Hojun Yang (양호준)

M.S. Student

📍 Master Program

🗓️ Since 2024

Hojun Yang focuses on autonomous robotics and sensor fusion systems for underground mining environments. His research centers on enabling smart mining through the integration of 3D perception, localization, and spatial modeling technologies.

In his recent work, he developed a 3D location estimation and tunnel mapping system for autonomous robots operating in underground mine ramp ways. The system leverages LiDAR-RGB sensor fusion and 3D point cloud registration techniques to accurately map complex underground geometries and estimate robot trajectories under GNSS-denied conditions . His contributions support the advancement of robot-aided smart mining infrastructure, enabling safer, more efficient, and data-rich underground operations.

📚 Minkyoung Jang (장민경)

M.S. Student

📍 Master Program

🗓️ Since 2024

Minkyoung Jang is a master's student contributing to smart mining research, with a focus on acoustic-based automation systems for mining equipment operation monitoring.

Her recent work involves the development of a sound analysis-based system to automatically detect and count the number of loading and dumping operations performed by front-end loaders in surface mines. By analyzing operational sound patterns using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and time-domain feature extraction, she contributed to the implementation of a rule-based model that enables real-time activity recognition and cycle tracking of mining equipment. Her work supports the advancement of AI-integrated mine automation platforms, especially in noise-rich industrial environments where traditional sensors may underperform.

🌱 Undergraduate Interns

🌱 Taeheon Kim (김태헌)

Undergraduate Intern

📍 B.S. Program 

🗓️ Since 2025

Taeheon Kim is an undergraduate intern engaged in research aimed at achieving full automation of Smart Mining systems through the development of AI agents. 

His current work involves designing and implementing intelligent control frameworks that integrate perception, decision-making, and operational execution to enable autonomous mine operations. In addition, he contributes to techno-economic analyses of solar-powered electric vehicles, evaluating the performance, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability potential of integrating solar charging into EV systems. 

🗂️ Research Administration Team

🗂️ Areum Lee (이아름)

Research Administration Manager

🗓️ Since 2022

Areum Lee serves as the Research Administration Manager at SMART-X Lab, overseeing the full spectrum of research operations and administrative coordination. With a strong background in project management and institutional compliance, she plays a vital role in facilitating national and international R&D collaborations, managing research budgets, and ensuring the timely execution of project deliverables.

Since joining the lab in 2022, she has streamlined key administrative processes, supported major grant applications, and fostered smooth communication between academic, industrial, and governmental stakeholders. Her work ensures that the SMART-X Lab operates efficiently, enabling researchers to focus on innovation and scientific discovery in smart mining and energy AI technologies.

👨‍🎓  Alumni

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