Amy Kyungwon Han, Ph.D. (한경원)

Experience:

2022 - Present: Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University
Adjunct Professor, Interdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering (since 2023)

2024 - Present: Co-chair, Technical Committee on Haptics, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

2023 - Present: Associate Vice President, Technical Activities Board, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society

2020 - 2022: Postdoctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University

Education:

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University (2015-2020)

M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University (2013-2015)

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (2009-2012)

Awards and Honors:

  • Innovators Under 35 (TR35) Asia Pacific - MIT Technology Review (2024)

  • Best Oral Presentation Award - Medical Metaverse Conference (2024)

  • Idea Contest Grand Prize - Korea Haptics Society (2023, 2024)

  • New Generation Star - Nokov New Generation Star Project at ICRA 2024 (2024)

  • APBEC Young Scholar Award - Asia Pacific Biomedical Engineering Consortium (2024)

  • KIMTEC Innovation Award Grand Prize - Korean Innovative Medical Technology Society (2023)

  • 50 Women in Robotics - Women in Robotics (2023)

  • 2022 Best RA-L Paper Award Winner - IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (2023)

  • Young Engineer Award - Korean Society for Precision Engineering (2022)

  • Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award - Institute of Controls, Robotics, and Systems (2022)

  • Best Poster Presentation Award - IEEE ICRA 2021 Workshop (2021)

  • Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering - 33 female PhD students and postdocs selected in the US (2019)

  • 2018 King-Sun Fu Memorial Best Paper Award - IEEE Transactions on Robotics (2019)

  • Best Paper Finalist - IEEE World Haptics Conference (2017)

  • Best Paper Presentation Finalist - IEEE World Haptics Conference (2017)

  • Best Student Paper Award - IEEE ICRA (2015) 

  • Samsung Scholarship - Given to 25 students from Korea in PhD programs abroad (2015–2020)

  • Kwanjeong Educational Fellowship - Given to top students from Korea in master’s programs abroad (2013-2015)

  • Faculty Honors - The highest GPA at Georgia Tech (2009-2012)

  • President’s Undergraduate Research Award at Georgia Tech (Spring 2012, Fall 2012)

Research Experience

Dr. Han’s research has focused on designing mechanisms, actuators, and sensors for haptics, medical applications, and grasping. More details of her present and past research are below:

  • Implantable medical devices

    • Devices that induce tissue growth of underdeveloped hearts

    • Biomimetic ventricular assist devices

    • Soft sensors for measuring myocardial strain

  • Electrostatic artificial muscle

    • High work density, lightweight, low power consumption actuator

  • Electrostatic gecko clutch

    • Controllable, compact, dry adhesive electrostatic clutch for robotic mechanisms and actuators

  • Dielectric elastomer electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator

    • MR-compatible haptic devices based on EAP for teleoperated MR-guided medical interventions

  • Dielectric fluid transducer (DFT), also known as liquid electroactive polymer (LEAP)

    • Haptic surface display based on miniature dielectric fluid transducers

  • Gecko-inspired dry adhesives for enhancing human and robotic grasping

    • Gecko gloves for humans for reducing repetitive stress injury

    • Integration of gecko adhesives and robotic fingers

    • Hybrid electrostatic gecko gripping pads for enhanced adhesion on micro-rough surfaces

  • Multimodal sensor network for soft robotic fingers