Youngki Kim PhD is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Michigan - Dearborn (UM-Dearborn).
He received his Ph.D. degree (2014) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where his thesis focused on the control and estimation of Li-ion battery systems and hybrid electrified vehicles. He earned B.S. (2001) and M.S. (2003) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Seoul National University, South Korea.
Before joining the UM-Dearborn, he worked as a Research Engineer at Ann Arbor Technical Center, Southwest Research Institute, where he focused on vehicle modeling and control algorithm development for advanced powertrain and autonomous vehicles. From 2003 to 2008, he was with Hyundai-Kia Motor Company, contributing to the design and calibration of powertrains, including internal combustion engines and automatic transmissions for improved sound quality.
Dr. Kim received the SAE Russell S. Springer award (2017) for his outstanding technical paper in 2019. He has published 40 articles in archival journals, 43 papers in refereed conference proceedings, and holds 6 patents.
His research focuses on the modeling, simulation, optimization and control of dynamic systems in the automotive, energy, and transportation sectors. His current research projects include energy-efficient operation of electrified vehicles, smart cruise control for light-duty vehicles, modeling and control of vehicle thermal management systems, modeling and estimation of lithium-ion battery systems, and data-driven approaches for diagnosis and prognosis of lithium-ion battery degradation.
He serves as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification and ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control.
Research Staff
Dr. Kyoung Hyun Kwak Assistant Research Scientist
Development of thermal management systems for EVs
Development of personalized braking algorithms for EVs
PhD
Ruixin Zheng (2022-present) Mechanical Engineering
State of health estimation of Li-ion batteries
Open-circuit Voltage Reconstruction
Syed Adil Ahmed (2024-present) Mechanical Engineering
Reinforcement-learning (RL) based EV control
Driver Propensity Modeling for Energy Consumption Prediction
I am looking for a highly motivated PhD student who is interested in Reinforcement Learning, Optimal Control, and their applications to vehicle control and Li-ion batteries.
MS
I am looking for motivated MS student who are interested in the topics: 1) Li-ion battery state and parameter estimation, 2) optimal control of vehicle dynamics and powertrain operation
PhD
Yu He (2022) @ Stoneridge
Dissertation: Powertrain and Vehicle Longitudinal Motion Control for Personalized Eco-driving of P0+P4 Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Youyi Chen (2024) @ A123
Dissertation: Model Predictive Control-based Strategies for Energy-efficient Thermal Management of Electric Vehicles
MS
Lalith Chandra Gaddala (2023) @ TESLA
Matthew Wickman (2023) @ HARMAN International
Thesis: ANC System Performance Estimation Enabled Via CAE Simulation
Rodolfo Rodriguez (2019) @ GM
Thesis: A Study on the Impact of Driver Behavior on the Energy Consumption of Electric Vehicles in a Virtual Traffic Environment
Isaiah Oyewole (2019) PhD IMSE UM-Dearborn
Thesis: Optimal Model Reduction of Lithium-Ion Battery Systems Using Particle Swarm Optimization
Jihun Kim (2019) @ Rivian
Hadi Abbas (2018) @ Ford Motor Company
Thesis: Optimization of Energy-Efficient Speed Profile for Electrified Vehicles
Pranav Radha Krishna (2018) @ Honda
Kushagra Upreti (2018) @ FCA
Visiting Scholar
Seungjae Yum (2024-2025)
Prof. Je-Heon Han (2023-2024)
Seongki Kang (2021-2023)