Hee-Jeong Kim earns early career award for research
Craig M. Berge Dean David W. Hahn presents CAEM assistant professor Hee-Jeong Kim with the Peterson Family Outstanding Early Career Faculty award at the 2026 College Awards.
CAEM assistant professor Hee-Jeong Kim earned honors at the 2026 College of Engineering Awards luncheon.
At the celebration, five awards recognized faculty members conducting original research while inspiring emerging graduate students. Their efforts grew the college’s research spending by 160% over the last six years.
Kim was honored with the Peterson Family Outstanding Early Career Faculty award.
“In just a few short years, she has established an impressive research record focused on sustainable infrastructure materials,” said David W. Hahn, Craig M. Berge Dean of the college.
She received a BS, MS, and PhD in civil and environmental engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and conducted postdoctoral research at MIT. Her research involves developing construction materials based on advanced multi-scale computational modeling and experimental characterization.
Kim also serves as an assistant professor in the School of Mining Engineering and Mineral Resources and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Cac Dao, professor of practice and adjunct lecturer of CAEM, won the Teacher of the Year – Career-Track award.
Hahn also announced that CAEM Professor Yao-Jan Wu was selected as the 2026 da Vinci Circle Fellow. Wu is the executive director of the Center for Applied Transportation Sciences and the Arizona Transportation Institute, a tri-university consortium backed by the Arizona Department of Transportation that conducts transportation research to improve the state’s roadways.
“He’s built powerful partnerships that unite the universities across the state, public agencies and industry,” Hahn said. “Advancing research that directly serves across Arizona and beyond.”