Promotion of Young Kim

We would like to congratulate Young Kim on his recent promotion to Associate Professor, with Tenure, in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials here at Virginia Tech. Dr. Kim is an expert with 10+ years’ experience in sustainable packaging, bioplastics, smart packaging, biosensors, and nano-composite structures for food and health care products. Dr. Kim graduated from Clemson University majoring in Packaging Science. He joined our department in 2010 as a co-founder of the packaging B.S. degree. For the last several years, he has served as the primary advisor for the packaging student club at Virginia Tech.

Because of his significant academic achievements and contributions to the packaging program, Dr. Kim received the promotion to Associate Professor. His goals for the next five years are to build the problem-solving capacity and strength of the primary packaging area of research, which is currently in its beginning stages. He also plans to create new, equipment-based, hands-on educational approaches for students which, he feels, is still the largest challenge in the program. As always, he will continue to help students create their professional futures by being their mentor and friend.

Dr. Kim has taught courses about packaging materials (paper, corrugated, and packaging polymers) and their applications focusing on packaging materials’ interaction with food and health care products.

For the last decade, Dr. Kim and his research team have focused on developing new packaging materials and composites, and on their structure and functionality through using a variety of natural or synthetic polymers, and functional or active agents derived from biomaterials. His current work includes the study of composite structures within nanomaterials such as carbon-based nanomaterials or other inorganic nanomaterials. Recently, Dr. Kim has filed patent applications in the areas of isolation and utilization of biopolymeric materials from agricultural wastes, under the concept of zero-waste production for their applications to packaging systems.

Dr. Kim currently lives with his lovely family in Blacksburg and enjoys watching his son’s musical performances.