PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Inkyu Park

Inkyu Park is a mechanical engineer at KAIST who builds smart sensors and wearable electronics, with AI and sensor fusion among his research interests. He earned his degrees at KAIST in 1998, UIUC in 2003 and UC Berkeley in 2007, then joined KAIST's Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2009. His laboratory reported an optical wearable strain sensor in 2020, an ionic-liquid sensor array for pressure-ulcer prevention in 2023, and a thermoformed tactile sensor in Science Advances in 2025. The Korean Academy of Science and Technology elected him a Fellow in 2026. At KAIST, he is a Distinguished Professor and an adjunct professor in the College of AI, with research areas in statistical learning, machine learning and optimization.

Now at
KAIST
Badges

Timeline

  1. 1998–2007

    Degrees from KAIST to Berkeley

    He earns his B.S. from KAIST in 1998, his M.S. from UIUC in 2003 and his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 2007, all in mechanical engineering.

  2. 2009

    Joining KAIST mechanical engineering

    He joins the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST as a faculty member in 2009. His research interests are nanofabrication, smart sensors, nanomaterial-based sensors and flexible and wearable electronics.

  3. 2010

    IEEE NANO Best Paper Award

    He receives the IEEE NANO Best Paper Award in 2010.

  4. 2020

    An optical wearable strain sensor

    In 2020, his Micro/Nano Transducers Laboratory at KAIST reports a wearable strain sensor that reads light-transmittance changes in a carbon-nanotube-embedded Ecoflex elastomer, a front-cover article in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. The sensor works over a 0 to 400% range, is ten times more sensitive than earlier optical stretchable sensors, and its finger-bending signals control a robot.

  5. March 2023

    Sensing for pressure-ulcer prevention

    With Yongseok Oh of Changwon National University, he serves as corresponding author on an ionic-liquid sensor array placed in beds and wheelchairs to track pressure and temperature around the bony prominences of paralyzed patients. The study appears online in the journal Small in March 2023.

  6. May 2025

    Thermoformed 3D tactile sensors

    Working with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), his Machine Intelligence & Novel sensor Technology Lab at KAIST builds a customized tactile sensor with Thermoformed 3D Electronics (T3DE) that detects light breath, pressure and sound. The work appears in Science Advances in May 2025.

  7. 2026

    Korean Academy fellowship

    In 2026, he is elected a Fellow of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology. He holds the title of KAIST Endowed Chair Professor, and his interests span MEMS and NEMS devices, smart sensors for healthcare, environment and robotics, and AI and sensor/actuator fusion.

  8. As of October 2026

    Distinguished Professor at KAIST

    He is a Distinguished Professor in KAIST's Department of Mechanical Engineering and an adjunct professor in KAIST's College of AI, where his research areas are statistical learning, machine learning and optimization. In March 2026, his team publishes a wireless, battery-free smart dressing patch for diabetic ulcer care in Advanced Functional Materials, built with partners that include Caltech's Wei Gao.

Career

  1. Since 2009KAISTDistinguished Professor, Endowed Chair Professor

Education

  1. 2007University of California, BerkeleyPh.D.
  2. 2003University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignM.S.
  3. 1998KAISTB.S.

From the biography.

  1. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes KAIST. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes KAIST. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes KAIST. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. 44% of AI career moves go from one university to anotherIncludes KAIST. We estimate how 26,439 AI career moves link universities, companies, labs, nonprofits and government research centers, with decade counts, net flows and the top paths.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Inkyu Park yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Inkyu PARK - IEEE Open Journal of Nanotechnology oj-nano.ieeenano.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Wearable Strain Sensor Using Light Transmittance Helps Measure Physical Signals Better kaist.ac.kr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Changwon National University-KAIST Develop Technology to Minimize Position Changes for Preventing Patient Pressure Ulcers - The Asia Business Daily view.asiae.co.kr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. KAIST Develops Customized Tactile Sensor That Can Detect Light Breath, Pressure and Sound kaist.ac.kr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. 한림원 - Member - Member Directory kast.or.kr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Faculty | KAIST AI 대학 aicollege.kaist.ac.kr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. KAIST Develops Real-Time Diagnostic Smart Dressing Patch to End the Fear of Diabetic Foot Amputation kaist.ac.kr. Checked 21 October 2026.