The Grainger College of Engineering

Inki Kim

Inki Kim
Inki Kim
  • Research Assistant Professor
(217) 300-5821
1206 CSL Studio

For More Information

Education

  • BS in Industrial Engineering, February 2005, Seoul National University
  • PhD in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, August 2015, The Pennsylvania State University

Biography

Inki Kim is a specialized faculty member holding joint appointments in the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering and the Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a co-founder of Ambient Insights, Inc., Dr. Kim focuses his research on the intersection of biomedical engineering, ergonomics, and digital health innovation, specifically working to build closed-loop, AI-driven systems in extended reality (XR) that translate advanced research into real-world clinical impact. Recognized as one of the "15 Innovators Transforming Healthcare Technology" by Authority Magazine in 2026, his work spans the development of adaptive XR-based neurofunctional assessments, digital twins for healthcare, and human-centered computational environments designed to enhance clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.

Academic Positions

  • Assistant Professor, University of Virginia, 2015 - 2018
  • Research Assistant Professor, Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2024 - Present
  • Engineering Partner, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2025 - Present 

Other Professional Employment

  • Co-Founder, Ambient Insights Inc, 251 Little Falls Dr, Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware 19808, 2025
  • Chief Operating Officer (COO), Medulate Inc., State College, PA 16801, 2024

Professional Registrations

  • Co-organizer, the the 2025 Chittenden Symposium, UIUC, October 11, 2025. 
  • Co-organizer, the ASIPRE 2025 Invited Symposium, the 69th HFES International Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, October 23, 2025.  
  • Organizer, Invited Workshop on the Surgeons and Engineer Meeting, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL, March 17, 2026.
  • The Program Board Member, the 18th International Conference on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality (VAMR 2026), July 28 - 31, 2026. 
  • The Program Committee Member, the 2nd International Workshop on XR Medical Applications, IEEE VR 2026, March 22nd, Daegu, S. Korea. 

Other Professional Activities

  • Mentor for a Bolashak Scholar, Global Education and Training, UIUC, 2025 - 2026. 

Resident Instruction

  • Software Engineering for Health Technology (HT 504), SP 2025
  • Introduction to Human Factors (IE340), SP 2025
  • Special Topic on Augmented and Mixed Reality (IE598), SP 2026

Course Development

  • Design of Experiments, University of Virginia
  • Special Topic on Augmented and Mixed Reality (IE598), SP 2026

Design Teams

  • Anushree Vaida, Capstone Project, MS-HT Program, FA 2024 - SP 2025
  • Supervisor, ISE Senior Engineering Project (SE494/495), UIUC, FA 2025. 

Graduate Research Opportunities

Joining our lab offers graduate researchers the unique opportunity to work at the absolute frontier of human-centered engineering, where we transform complex theoretical models into tangible, life-saving technologies. In our collaborative environment, you will not just be studying algorithms or interfaces; you will be architecting the future of intelligent healthcare by building closed-loop, AI-driven Extended Reality (XR) systems that respond dynamically to human behavior. As a member of our team, you will engage in high-impact, transdisciplinary research that bridges the gap between engineering, medicine, and industrial application—from developing patented diagnostic tools like FlightPath to creating large-scale digital twins for clinical settings. We are looking for driven, creative thinkers who are eager to master the complexities of multimodal sensing and spatial computing while maintaining a steadfast focus on real-world societal impact. Here, your work will transcend the laboratory, moving from academic discovery to clinical validation and commercialization, empowering you to become a leader in the next generation of digital health innovation.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Undergraduate students in my lab engage in interdisciplinary, full-cycle research projects that bridge engineering, AI, and human-centered design to address complex healthcare challenges. My mentorship philosophy emphasizes a hands-on, project-driven approach, guiding students through every stage of development—from initial problem definition and sensing system integration to data analytics, simulation, and real-world deployment. Students benefit from my roles as an Engineering Partner at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine and supervisor of capstone design teams, gaining exposure to cross-disciplinary collaboration and the translation of academic prototypes into scalable clinical tools. With experience supervising over 25 undergraduates at UIUC, I provide a collaborative environment where students contribute to meaningful innovations in XR and digital health, preparing them for leadership roles in next-generation intelligent healthcare systems.

Research Interests

  • Engineering human-system dynamics in healthcare through simulation and modeling
  • Advanced simulation methodology (digital twin, adaptive co-simulation, and XR)
  • Human-AI integration and teaming

Research Areas

Research Topics

  • Health Technology

Chapters in Books

  • Kim I, Pakdamanian E, Hiremath V. (2020) The Fundamentals and Emerging Trends of Neuroergonomics Application to Driving and Navigation. In: Nam C (ed.) Neuroergonomics. Springer, Cham. 

Selected Articles in Journals

  • A. Deshpande, I. Kim. The effects of augmented reality on improving spatial problem-solving and mental representation in ready-to-assemble products. Advanced Engineering Informatics, pp (760-775): 38, 2018.
  • C. Gay, B. Horowitz, P. Bobko, J. Elshaw, I. Kim. Operator suspicion and human-machine team performance under mission scenarios of unmanned ground vehicle operation, IEEE Access, pp (99): 1-1, 2019.
  • Anyene G, Nepomuceno A, Schultz C, Sharp L, Kim I, Digital-Twin Co-Simulation Framework to Support Informed Decision in Healthcare Planning and Management, Simulation. 2024: 00375497241283047.
  • Yoon I, Ryu J, Kim K, Kim I, What AI-Digital Competencies Should Teachers Develop throughout Their Careers? Designing a Career-Responsive Framework through a Delphi Study. Frontiers in Education, 11:1745059.
  • Yang E, Ryu J, Choi H, Kim I (2026), The Impact of Task Complexity and Self-Regulated Supports on Cognitive Load and Emotional Engagement through Multimodal Analysis in the Metaverse Learning Environment, Frontiers in Psychology, 17:1805065. 
  • Kim I, Dong Y, Systems-Theoretic Integration of VR and AI for Human Digital Twin, 2026 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (IEEE VR 2026), March 21 – 24, Daegu, S. Korea. 
  • Yang H, Caroline C, Alexandra H, Jeeheon R, Kim I, Integrating Machine Learning into Extended Reality: A Critical Review of Computational Approaches to Human Behavior Modeling, HCI International 2025 Late Breaking Papers. HCII 2025, Part VIII, LNCS 16338. 
  • Schultz C, Nepomuceno A, Kim I, An Overview and Critical Analysis: A Discussion Paper on Technological Innovations in Nursing Education, Nurse Education in Practice. 88 (2025): 104562.
  • Xu Cao, Houze Yang, Vipin Gunda, Zhongyi Zhou, Tianyu Xu, Adarsh Kowdle, Inki Kim, James M. Rehg, Gaze Target Estimation Anywhere with Concepts, 2026 IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), June 3 – 7, Denver, CO.  

Articles in Conference Proceedings

  • I. Kim, S. Miller, A. Gordon. Stochastic Event Detection in Needle-Tissue Interaction. In proceedings of the 2015 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference (IDETC), 2015.
  • C. Gay, B. Horowitz, P. Bobko, J. Elshaw, I. Kim. Operator Suspicion and Decision Responses to Cyber-Attacks on Unmanned Ground Vehicle Systems. In proceedings of the 2017 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (pp. 226-230), 2017.
  • Baee S, Pakdamanian E, Kim I, Feng L, Ordonez V, Barnes L. MEDIRL: Predicting the visual attention of drivers via maximum entropy deep inverse reinforcement learning. In Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE/CVF International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV) (pp. 13178-13188), 2021.
  • Kim I, Nepomuceno A, Michel J, Jamison S, Kesavadas T, Extensive Simulation of Human-Robot Interaction for Critical Care Telemedicine. In Proceedings of the 2022 Annual Modeling and Simulation Conference (ANNSIM’ 22), San Diego, 2022.
  • Sharma A, Nallamotu K, Umashankar M, Wang S, Kim I, Deep-Learning based Neurocognitive Performance Testing via Object Following in Mixed Reality. 2022. In Proceedings of ACM/IEEE International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies.
  • Kim I, Umashankar M, A Real-Time Analysis of Human Performance in Interactive and Adaptive Mixed-Reality Simulation. 2022. In Proceedings of ACM/IEEE International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies.
  • Anyene G, Nepomuceno A, Schultz C, Kim I, Digital Twin and Agent-Based Simulation: Co-Simulation to Support Intelligent Navigation of Healthcare Mobile Robot. In Proceedings of the 2023 Annual Modeling and Simulation Conference (ANNSIM ‘23), Mohawk College, ON, Canada, 2023.
  • Lee S, Yang E, Ryu J, Kim I, Designing a Framework for Team-Based XR Simulation. 2024 Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITE) International Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 25 – 29, 2024.
  • Hartman C, Kim I, Ryu J, Conceptualizing Collaborative Team Learning in XR for Medical Education and Training. 2024 HCI International Conference, Washington DC, July 2 – 4, 2024.
  • Nepomuceno A, Kim I, Schultz C, Cao C, Immersive Digital-Twin Simulation-Driven Nursing Education and Job Training, IISE Annual Conference & Expo, May 18-21, Montreal, Canada, 2024.
  • Annamraju S, Ye Q, Jeziorczak P, Kim I, Digital Twin for Surgical Tool-Tissue Interaction: Systems Perspective, In Proceedings of the 2024 Annual Simulation Conference (ANNSIM ‘24), May 20-23, 2024, American University, DC, USA.

Refereed Conference Papers and Presentations

  • The 2nd International Workshop on XR Medical Applications, IEEE VR 2026, March 22nd, Daegu, S. Korea. 
  • The 18th International Conference on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality (VAMR 2026)

Invited Lectures

  • Three Pathways to Advance Healthcare MR: Adaptivity, Digital Twining, and Multimodality

Patents

  • I. Kim, A. Cross. Systems and Methods of Providing Deep Learning Based Neurocognitive Impairment Evaluation Using Extended Reality. US Patent Application No. 18/530,965 (Issued: Dec 9, 2025).
  • S. Miller, J. Moore, D. Han, K. Mirkin, D. Pepley, M. Yovanoff, I. Kim, Dynamic Haptic Robotic Trainer, US Application No. 62/377, 149 (Issued: Aug 19, 2016).

Magazine Articles

Conferences Organized or Chaired

  • General Chair, the 1st Interdisciplinary Workshop on XR + AI Integration for Healthcare Applications, the IEEE/ACM CHASE 2022, Washington DC, November 17-19
  • Organized the meeting on “Digital Computing for TBI Assessment, Diagnosis, and Management”, supported by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana, IL, May 1, 2024.
  • Co-organized the parallel session on “Human Interaction Principles for the Design of XR-Based Environments”, the 26th HCI International 2024, Washington DC, 29 June – 4 July.
  • Program Committee of the Digital Twin and CPS track, the Society for Modeling & Simulation International (SCS), 2022 - 2025
  • Co-organized the parallel session on “Human Interaction Principles for the Design of XR-Based Environments”, the 27th HCI International 2025, Gothenburg, Sweden, 22 – 27 June. 
  • Co-organized the ASPIRE 2025 Invited Symposium on “Visual Perception and Tracking Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence”, the 69th HFES International Annual Meeting.
  • Co-organized the 2025 Chittenden Symposium on “Lifelong Health by Design”, UIUC.
  • Organized an invited workshop on “Transforming Surgical Performance and Education using Mixed-Reality Technology: How to Get Started in Cross-Disciplinary Teams”, the Surgeons and Engineers Meeting, American College of Surgeons, Chicago IL, March 2026.

Professional Societies

  • Panelist for multiple programs at the National Science Foundation, 2016 - 2025

Teaching Honors

  • The Faculty of The Year, Korean Scientists and Engineers Association (2018)

Research Honors

  • Best Student Paper, Computer & Information Systems Division, Institute of Industrial Engineers (2013)
  • Alphonse Chapanis Best Student Paper Award (Finalist), Human Factors and Ergonomic Society (2014)
  • Faculty fellow, The National Center for Supercomputing Applications, UIUC (2023)

Recent Courses Taught

  • HT 504 - Software Eng Health Tech
  • IE 340 (PSYC 358) - Human Factors
  • IE 498 AMR (IE 598 AMR) - Augmented and Mixed Reality

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