Myunghee Kim receives NSF CAREER award to investigate robotic prosthetic technology
Myunghee Kim, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, has received the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.
Her proposed research, titled “CAREER: Personalized, wearable robot mobility assistance considering human-robot co-adaptation that incorporates biofeedback, user coaching, and real-time optimization,” focuses on advancing robotic prosthetic technology for individuals with below-knee amputations.
The CAREER Award is one of the NSF’s most prestigious awards and supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to advance the mission of their department.
With the CAREER award, Kim wants to innovate the dynamic and ever-changing needs of below-knee amputation users, who have unique movement patterns and sensory requirements. She is looking at two key factors – how to personalize the devices and how to best guide users.
“The aim is to develop a new form of personalized robotic prosthesis that is capable of adjusting to the individual movement patterns of below-knee amputation users, thereby enhancing their mobility and overall quality of life,” said Kim, who is the director of the Rehabilitation Robotics Laboratory at UIC. “It is about making the robotic prosthesis for the individuals with below the amputation more efficiently and more comfortably for the user.”
Beyond the technological advancements, this project has significant societal implications. It aims to deepen the understanding of human-robot interaction and foster more inclusive technology designs.
In addition to research, the project will implement educational activities geared toward enhancing STEM education and raising awareness about advanced technology among diverse student groups, which includes those with limited mobility and those who are underrepresented in STEM fields.
“This approach not only promotes inclusive education but also inspires a new generation of STEM professionals, contributing positively to society,” she said. “As a delivery method, our lab has a vertically integrated team. There are Ph.D. students, senior students, and undergrads working together as in a team, which helps with retention as the younger students learn from the older students who are acting as role models.”
Kim joined UIC in 2018. She received her BS degree in mechanical engineering from Hanyang University in 2002. She obtained a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in 2004 and an additional one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006. She earned her PhD in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2015. She held a postdoctoral appointment at Harvard University and worked as a control engineer specializing in humanoid robots at Samsung. She received a Best Paper Award in the Medical Devices category at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in 2015. Her work has been funded by the NSF with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Army Research Labs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, The Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence, and more.