Stony Brook University Mechanical Engineering

    A collaborative research study co-authored by Prof. Mario Rüttgers has been published in Nature. The study presents HydroGym, a computational platform that combines reinforcement learning (RL) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for the development of flow-control strategies. A particularly striking result of the study is that learned flow-control strategies can transfer to substantially different flow environments without retraining. The authors demonstrate this transfer across different flow configurations, including from a simple channel flow to a three-dimensional aircraft-wing model. The work highlights an important emerging question at the intersection of machine learning and fluid dynamics: when an RL agent learns through a computational environment, how much of what it learns reflects general principles of the underlying physics, and how much is shaped by the environment in which it was trained? Geometry, boundary conditions, accessible flow regimes, numerical resolution, observations, actions, and rewards all influence what an agent can experience and learn. HydroGym provides a framework for systematically investigating these questions and represents an important step toward more generalizable and intelligent approaches to computational flow control in real-world applications. Read the full article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10917-6    

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at SUNY Korea is pleased to welcome Professor Mario Rüttgers, who joined the department as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2026. Professor Rüttgers specializes in computational fluid dynamics, machine learning, high-performance computing, respiratory and hemodynamic flows, nasal cavity surgery planning, urban flows, drag-efficient UAV path planning, and flow control using reinforcement learning. His interdisciplinary research combines advanced computational methods with machine learning to address a wide range of engineering and biomedical challenges. Professor Rüttgers earned his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from RWTH Aachen University and his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from POSTECH. Before joining SUNY Korea, he conducted doctoral and postdoctoral research at RWTH Aachen University and the Jülich Supercomputing Centre. He later worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Inha University and taught courses including Numerical Analysis and Turbulent Flows. His research achievements include publications in international journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings, as well as the development of computational libraries for urban flow simulation and path planning. Professor Rüttgers received the Walter Benjamin Fellowship from the German Research Foundation in 2024 and a Best Paper Award at the 2024 PPAM Conference. Through his research and teaching, Professor Rüttgers will contribute to strengthening the department’s expertise in computational engineering, fluid dynamics, machine learning, and high-performance computing.

      The Department of Mechanical Engineering at SUNY Korea is pleased to welcome Professor Jeonghan Yu, who joined the department as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2026. Professor Yu’s research focuses on human-centered robotics, mechanism design and optimization, rehabilitation and assistive robotics, and the biomechanical analysis of human movement. She is particularly interested in developing computational design and analysis methods for robotic mechanisms and human–robot systems, with applications in wearable and rehabilitation robotics. Professor Yu earned both her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University. Before joining SUNY Korea, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Chung-Ang University and later as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Rehabilitation and Robotics Laboratory at Columbia University. Her research includes wearable robotic mechanisms, autonomous mechanism design methods, and biomechanical analysis for rehabilitation and human movement. Her work has been published in journals including IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, IEEE Access, and the Journal of Mechanical Design. Through her research and teaching, Professor Yu will contribute to expanding the department’s capabilities in robotics, biomechanics, and human-centered engineering while providing students with opportunities to explore emerging technologies in mechanical engineering.    

Third-year students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at SUNY Korea proudly held their MEC 325: Manufacturing Processes term project presentation, showcasing a variety of creative 3D-printed product designs developed throughout the semester. As part of the course’s Design and Prototyping with 3D Printing project, students were challenged to design simple yet functional products within a 100 × 100 × 100 mm size limit. Using AI-assisted design tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini, they brought their ideas to life through multiple stages — from sketching concepts and CAD modeling to hands-on prototyping at the university’s Maker Space. During the final presentation, students unveiled an impressive lineup of 3D-printed creations including a Pokéball, stick storage unit, Pikachu-shaped cable organizer, rotating SD-card holder, and desk cable holder, among others. Each design reflected the students’ ingenuity, problem-solving skills, and mastery of additive manufacturing techniques. The exhibition provided an opportunity for students to discuss their design process, 3D printing strategies, and material considerations, while fostering a collaborative and innovative classroom environment. The event concluded with a lively group photo session celebrating their semester-long achievements. “This project demonstrates how creativity, engineering fundamentals, and emerging technologies like AI-assisted design can merge to inspire the next generation of makers,” said Professor Min Yang, who teaches MEC 325 and guided the students through the project. With the growing importance of digital fabrication and rapid prototyping in modern engineering, SUNY Korea’s Mechanical Engineering students continue to build a strong foundation for innovation, preparing to become future leaders in manufacturing and design.  

Six senior students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at SUNY Korea—Hyoung-Dong Jin, You-Sung Doh, Wha-Rang Shin, Sun-Jae Lee, Joon-Heong Kim, and Joo-Hyun Lee—have been selected as one of the Top 30 finalists in the Growth Track (A) category of the 2025 Student Startup Promising Team 300+ Competition, hosted by the Ministry of Education and organized by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation. The SUNY Eagles will showcase their startup innovation, NanoTrace — a total solution for democratizing high-precision analytical instrumentation, at the final exhibition and evaluation, which will be held from October 29 to 31 at EXCO in Daegu. The event is part of the Industry-Academia-Research EXPO 2025, where selected university startup teams nationwide present their prototypes and business models before investors, accelerators, and industry experts. The Student Startup Promising Team 300+ Program aims to nurture entrepreneurial talent in Korea by discovering and supporting 300 promising student startup teams across the country through mentoring, commercialization training, and prototype support. Among these, only 30 outstanding teams are chosen for the final exhibition round. NanoTrace, developed by the SUNY Eagles, focuses on making cutting-edge SERS-based analytical devices more accessible and affordable for real-world applications in environmental monitoring, food safety, and precision medicine. Further details about the team’s project and the competition can be found at https://www.u300.kr/ipo/detail/1/123.   Reference: https://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/news/html/sub04/04.html?mode=V&mng_no=1298

Joonhyeong Kim, a senior in the Mechanical Engineering Department, has received the WeGO Global Youth Award in the Advanced Technology category at the 2025 Global Youth Award Ceremony held at COEX, Seoul on October 1st, an event organized by the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization (WeGO). WeGO is a youth capacity-building program that helps young people exchange knowledge and develop expertise in urban development, sustainability, and smart cities, with workshops held all over the world, such as in Geneva, New York, Kuala Lumpur, Athens, Milan, Brescia, and Seoul. This program recognizes exceptional young leaders who demonstrate strong potential in shaping the future of smart cities, advanced technologies, net-zero initiatives, social media impact, entrepreneurship, leadership, culture, and more.  Joonghyeong Kim has demonstrated strong academic performance throughout his four years at SUNY Korea. Among his numerous achievements, he has been awarded 2nd place in the 2025 IGC Research Showcase, received an Excellence Prize in the Barrier-free Ideathon, and earned Honorable Mention Award in the 2023 IGC Research Showcase. He actively participated in many research labs, completed his 2025 summer internship at POSTECH, and was recognized by many professors in the ME Department for his academic excellence. These accomplishments have culminated in Joonghyeong receiving the Global Youth Award in the Advanced Technology category. Along with his achievement, he will be joining KAIST to pursue his Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering next spring. SUNY Korea congratulates Joonhyeong Kim on these remarkable accomplishments. His recognition with the WeGO Global Youth Award and his admission to KAIST showcase not only his strong academic excellence and potential for advanced research in the field of mechanical engineering, but also SUNY Korea’s role in nurturing the next generation of leaders who will drive innovation in engineering and global collaboration.   Reference: https://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/news/html/sub04/04.html?mode=V&mng_no=1294

    Prof. Brad Choi is recipient of 2025 Young Scientist Award of KSME Reliability Division for his talk entitled “EV-PINN: Electric Vehicle Battery Surrogate Model using Transformer-Based Physics Informed Neural Network “ at the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers (KSME) for Reliability 2025 Conference held in April 9-11, 2025 in Gyeongju, South Korea.    

Prof. Brad Choi is recipient of Outstanding Presentation Award for his talk entitled “Physics-informed Neural Network (PINN) and Hyper-realistic Digital Twin (3DGS) for Predictive Engineering System Assessment” at PRESM 2025 (International Conference on Precision Engineering and Sustainable Manufacturing 2025) held in July 6-11, 2025 at Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel, Chiang Mai, Thailand.   

Professor Jongseong Brad Choi, from the Mechanical Engineering Department at SUNY Korea, and his Mechanical Systems with Intelligence and Computer Vision (MEIC) Lab are conducting an industry-academia research project with Hyundai Motor Group, as reported on April 8th. Professor Choi’s research has been selected for the 2025 Future Technology Research Project (Future PoC Project), hosted by Hyundai Motor Group. This collaboration highlights the MEIC Lab’s dedication to cutting-edge research in AI-driven automotive technologies, and serves as a key achievement that demonstrates SUNY Korea’s research capabilities and academic excellence in the development of next-generation electric vehicle systems.   Reference: https://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/news/html/sub03/03.html?mode=V&mng_no=1257&skey=&sval=&list_s_date=&list_e_date=&GotoPage=1

Professor Jongseong Brad Choi from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at SUNY Korea has been selected as the sole recipient of the prestigious “Metaverse Lab Support Program,” jointly organized by the Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) and the Ministry of Science and ICT (co-PIs: Professors Y. Eugene Pak, Byungkon Kang, Jungmin Hong, and Yeji Seok). In previous years, three to four labs were selected annually; however, due to a nationwide reduction in R&D funding, only one lab was chosen this year—Professor Choi’s—making the selection process exceptionally competitive. The program provides 666 million KRW (~555k USD) in research funding over a period of three years. Including continuing participants in their second and third years, a total of four universities are currently part of the program: Yonsei University, KAIST, Korea University, and SUNY Korea. SUNY Korea’s inclusion alongside Korea’s top-tier R1 universities highlights its emerging strength and growing influence in research excellence. Professor Choi’s winning project, titled:“Metareal: Commercialization of Ultra-Realistic Real Estate Spatial Information Metaverse Technology,” focuses on transforming his AI-powered, hyper-realistic 3D modeling algorithms into commercially viable metaverse technologies for the real estate sector. As part of the project, Professor Choi will establish a tech startup, MEIC-AI Co., Ltd., and plans to hire more than 10 undergraduate and graduate researchers among SUNY Korea students, fostering both innovation and student opportunity. Professor Choi’s consistent success in securing competitive R&D grants is especially notable in the context of significant reductions in national research funding for individual researchers. It represents not only a major personal milestone for Professor Choi but a significant institutional accomplishment, underscoring SUNY Korea’s rising reputation as a globally competitive, research-intensive university. It further demonstrates a testament to SUNY Korea’s commitment and focus to becoming a globally recognized research hub through innovative and practical research endeavors. Professor Choi leads the MEIC (Mechanical Systems with Intelligence and Computer Vision) Lab, which is dedicated to the concept of Engineering Soft Power. The lab’s core research areas include visual intelligence systems, vision-based control, digital twins, and human-machine interaction. The current team consists of 12 researchers, including five Ph.D. candidates, three master’s students, and three undergraduates, who have contributed to a series of award-winning research accomplishments.   Reference: https://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/news/html/sub03/03.html?mode=V&mng_no=1268&skey=&sval=&list_s_date=&list_e_date=&GotoPage=1

  The 2025 IGC Research Showcase was held on May 16 in the IGC Auditorium, bringing together approximately 300 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professors from all four universities on the Incheon Global Campus (IGC). Participants shared their innovative research through poster exhibitions, presentations, and panel discussions. Among the six awarded teams, the first and second place were claimed by SUNY Korea’s Mechanical Engineering students: Team OneDirection and Team YASRIC First place was awarded to Team OneDirection, comprising of team members Hyoungdong Jin, Aung Ko Khant, Geonwoo Kim, Sunjae Lee, and Yousung Doh. Their project, titled "Directional Audio System for Private Listening Environments Using Resonant Acoustic Damping," focused on delivering sound with high spatial precision while minimizing acoustic leakage. “Our research is centered on creating a directional audio system that provides private listening experiences in shared spaces like libraries and museums,” the team explained. “A key feature is the integration of a passive damping system—specifically, a Helmholtz resonator—embedded in a chair to enhance acoustic performance.” Second place went to Team YASRIC, consisting of Junhyeong Park, Sungwook Choi, Joonhyeong Kim, and Sunghoon Jeong. Their project, "Bulletproof Shield for Urban Counterterrorism Operations with Automatic Movement and Intelligent Target Detection," introduced a robotic system designed for high-risk urban missions. The system includes specialized tracks for stair climbing, a manipulator arm for transporting explosives, and an adjustable tilting bulletproof shield that protects operatives. Its "follow-me" function autonomously tracks the pointman, while AI-driven firearm and facial recognition capabilities enhance operational efficiency and safety. The IGC Research Showcase served as a valuable platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and academic networking among SUNY Korea, George Mason University Korea, Ghent University Global Campus, and the University of Utah Asia Campus.   Reference: https://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/news/html/sub04/04.html?mode=V&mng_no=1272  

Professor Seung-Bok Choi (MEC) has received the “2025 Best Researcher Award” from the International Research Awards on Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (IRAA, MO). His main contribution and honorable achievement in innovative research is the molecular analysis of Magnetorheological Fluids (MRF). He has published more than 50 articles in MO related journals such as Internal Journal of Molecular Sciences. Specifically, he has focused on constitutive modeling of nana-particle based MRF via SEM images and XRD to identify the chain structures of the particle along with the magnetic field direction.  This marks the second consecutive year that Professor Choi has received a Best Researcher Award, having been recognized in a different category in 2024 by the International Research Awards on Sensing Technology. Professor Choi has been working at SUNY Korea since March 2021, after retirement from Inha University where he worked for 30 years. He is still actively serving as a journal editor for more than 15 international journals (SCI), including Smart Materials and Structures, Scientific Report and Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures. The number of his publications to date is 887, based on Web of Science. According to the platform ScholarGPS.com, his word ranking of Vibration Control is #1 and #2 in the Smart Materials. Currently, he is a fellow of both the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) and the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK). Read about his acheivement in 2024: HERE Reference: https://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/news/html/sub03/03.html?mode=V&mng_no=1253&skey=&sval=&list_s_date=&list_e_date=&GotoPage=1

Professor Jongseong Brad Choi of the Mechanical Engineering Department at SUNY Korea has been selected for the “Outstanding Young Researcher Program” under the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Basic Research Support Initiative for 2025. This year's selection was highly competitive, with the number of awarded projects reduced by half compared to the previous year. With this selection, SUNY Korea has secured a total of 1.25 billion KRW in funding over five years. This is one of the largest awards ever granted under this initiative and reinforces the university’s growing research impact.   The research project, themed "Human Machine Interaction," is titled “True Twin: Development of AI-Based Hyper-Realistic Digital Twin Core Technology for Multi-Party Distributed Collaboration and Predictive Maintenance in Mixed Reality.” It focuses on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and visual technologies to develop a real-time remote collaboration system. This research aims to overcome the limitations of physical distance by enabling real-time multi-party collaboration in virtual spaces. By leveraging hyper-realistic visual information, it allows engineers to work together as if they were in the same location without having to visit the site in person. This innovation is expected to establish a new paradigm for remote communication and could become a standard for telecommunication in the future, particularly as remote work becomes more widespread. Furthermore, in the context of a shrinking population and a growing shortage of engineering professionals, this technology is expected to play a key role in supporting the remote operation of global manufacturing industries, such as managing overseas factory facilities. Professor Choi expressed his passion, stating, “At a time when the field of engineering is undergoing rapid transformation with the advent of AI, I am delighted to contribute to expanding academic horizons by incorporating research on visual intelligence.” He added, “This research grant is not just a personal achievement but an opportunity to showcase SUNY Korea’s strong global network and accessibility to cutting-edge technology, while also reinforcing the university’s high research standards among domestic institutions.” Furthermore, he emphasized his commitment to fostering an inclusive research environment, saying, “I want to help undergraduate students become more familiar with AI and other emerging technologies by encouraging them to collaborate with graduate students in meaningful research projects.” Currently, Professor Choi leads the MEIC (Mechanical Systems with Intelligence and Computer Vision) Lab, which focuses on Engineering-Soft-Power as its key research theme. His lab specializes in visual intelligence systems, vision-based control, digital twins, and human-machine interaction. The lab consists of 12 researchers, including four Ph.D. students, four master’s students, and three undergraduate students, all of whom have contributed to innovative research achievements and received numerous awards.  The selection of this Outstanding Young Researcher Project is a significant milestone demonstrating SUNY Korea’s research competitiveness and potential for continued growth. It also marks a meaningful achievement to Professor Choi’s dedicated efforts and the university’s ongoing industry-academia collaboration efforts. SUNY Korea reiterated its commitment to further advancing as a global research hub through innovative and practical research initiatives.   MEIC Lab Website:  https://www.meic-lab.com/ Reference: https://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/news/html/sub03/03.html?mode=V&mng_no=1249

The Mechanical Engineering senior design group, CARmodynamics, won a bronze award at the 14th KSME Student Creative Design Competition (SCDC), organized by the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers (KSME). CARmodynamics consists of five Mechanical Engineering students: Jinkyu Lee, Yunjeong Kim, Hojin Song, Sooyeun Yang, and Sehyeon Jeong. They were selected as one of 15 teams, out of a total of 180 entries, to present at the competition. Their presentation addressed the growing problem of potholes and the need for efficient detection methods. The team developed an automated pothole detection system to replace current manual reporting methods, using a YOLO v5 deep learning model, GPS, and machine learning-based vibration analyses to accurately identify and document pothole locations. Testing was conducted with a custom-built electric vehicle, with structural integrity verified through Finite Element Analyses using ANSYS. The results validated each module's performance, demonstrating the system's potential to improve pothole detection and enhance road maintenance efficiency.   Reference: https://www.sunykorea.ac.kr/en/html/sub05/0501.html?mode=V&no=d1562cb79dd3dccf75c63813f71b769d&GotoPage=1

  ScholarGPS celebrates Highly Ranked Scholars™ for their exceptional performance in various Fields, Disciplines, and Specialties. Prof. Seung Bok Choi's prolific publication record, high-impact work, and outstanding scholarly contributions have positioned him in the top 0.05% of all scholars worldwide. Prof. Choi has achieved 1st rank in Vibration Control and 2nd in Smart Materials. Please join me in congratulating Prof. Choi!