Inaugural Caltech-Kavli Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Ahyoung Kim
Ahyoung Kim is a Caltech-Kavli Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow working in the laboratories of Dr. Mikhail Shapiro and Dr. Chiara Daraio. Her research aims to develop nanomaterials as wireless acoustic nanorobots for applications in bioelectric medicine and neurotechnology. To realize this vision, Ahyoung integrates her interdisciplinary expertise in nanomaterials, bioengineering, and physical chemistry during her postdoctoral training at Caltech.
Ahyoung earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2022. Her thesis focused on designing, synthesizing, and characterizing novel nanomaterials by decorating nanoparticles with polymer grafts at precisely controlled sites to create patchy "nano-Legos." She also utilized liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy to visualize nanoparticle self-assembly and reconfiguration pathways. Before pursuing her doctoral studies in the U.S., Ahyoung grew up in Korea and earned a B.Sc. in Engineering from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in Korea. She was selected as a 2023 Schmidt Science Fellow, received the Graduate Student Gold Award from the Materials Research Society, and was named a Rising Star in Soft and Biomaterials as well as in Materials Science and Engineering.
An advocate for STEM outreach, Ahyoung currently serves as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) coordinator for the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. She is dedicated to supporting underrepresented next-generation students in STEM as a presidential postdoctoral fellow.
Funding for this fellowship is generously provided by the Kavli Foundation to support postdocs working in nanoscience. Learn more about Caltech's Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows program here.