Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Meet Dr. Tae Hyun Kim, Assistant Professor of ABE

 

Dr. Tae Hyun Kim joined the faculty of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) last fall as an addition to the Biological and Process Engineering focus area.

Dr. Kim’s research includes biomass pretreatment, fractionation, and enzyme and fermentation technology in biomass processing. His main research is in the bioconversion of crops, agricultural residues and cellulosic wastes for the production of fuels and chemicals.

“One of the priorities for the ABE department is to provide leadership in the bioeconomy area at Iowa State University and Dr. Kim’s expertise in critical to this mission,” said ABE Department Chair Ramesh Kanwar. “He will lead the research and teaching agenda on the utilization of biorenewable materials (cellulosic biomass) to bioproducts and biofuels and contribute to state’s economy. He is first chemical engineer we have hired in ABE (with a joint appointment in NREM) and we are very pleased that Dr. Kim decided to come to Iowa State University and become part of ABE faculty.”

Dr. Kim is beginning his research on biomass analysis, fermentation and enzymes.

“My lab is doing research in biomass analysis, and I'm just starting the enzyme experiment and fermentation work.  Setting up the laboratory is not always an easy job, and it is sometimes tedious, because I need a lot of things, and I had to find suitable enzymes, microorganisms, and students,” he said.

Iowa State University is a great place to be for his research for more than one reason, according to Dr. Kim.

“We are at the heart of the Corn Belt, and there are a lot of feedstocks of bioethanol and biobased production,” he said. “The people at ISU are very supportive, as well, including the deans of the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. My feeling was that the people at ISU were very aggressive toward the biofuel research.”

Dr. Kim has a 50 percent appointment in teaching and 50 percent in research. He is developing a couple of new interdisciplinary courses in the utilization of cellulosic biomass. The purposes of the courses are to give students knowledge and experiences in the engineering and problem solving techniques for the new bioeconomy.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Han Yang University in Chemical Engineering, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University in 2004.  He is a member of Omega Chi Epsilon, the National Honor Society for Chemical Engineering, and Alpha Theta Chi, the Auburn University Honors Society.

MAKING A ‘CORRECT CHOICE’

Dr. Kim had five years of industry experience in Korea before moving to the United States and beginning his graduate work in chemical engineering at Auburn University in Alabama.  

“When I joined Auburn University, I had to choose a special research topic and my advisor. At the time, I thought the bioengineering and biochemical engineering, especially, in the bioethanol area, was an important and emerging field. My choice was correct,” he said, speaking of the increasing importance of biofuels.

For the future, Dr. Kim plans to continue his work in the pretreatment in lignocellulosic materials and the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of fuels and chemicals. He also plans to continue teaching, and hopes to be among the national leaders in his field.

HOME LIFE

Dr. Kim got married in 2001 to his wife Mina, who has a master’s degree in piano accompaniment and a bachelor’s degree in piano performance. He said Mina also likes living in Ames. Mina gave birth to Jia, their first child, on April 9, 2008.

Dr. Kim enjoys his free time with his family and friends, playing golf and other things.

“I learned how to play golf in graduate school. On the weekends, the graduate students would get out and play, and it was fun,” he said.

He also likes to play an Asian style of chess, called Go in Japanese and Baduk in Korean. The game is similar to the game Othello.

A WILD RIDE

When Dr. Kim was in college in Korea, he was the driver of a car racing team for fun. He said he drove a regular car that his team tuned up for racing, without the help of sponsors.

“The auto industry in Korea in the early 90s was in the early stages of development, so none of them were interested in sponsoring racing teams. We are very proud that we were a kind of pioneers in Korean auto racing history,” he said.

The team raced on parking lots or deserted airport runways that would be rented out for the weekend. They raced on about a mile-long loop, and sometimes would race for 300 miles.

Dr. Kim says he was glad to have the thrill of racing cars, but now he is more conservative with his driving.

“When I was in my 20s, I had a lot of energy,” he said. “But now, at 39, I respect the rules of the road.”

---