Professor Kang Yoon-seok, a 1996 graduate of our university’s Department of Automotive Engineering, has been promoted to Full Professor in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University.

Professor Kang Yoon-seok graduated from the Department of Automotive Engineering at Kookmin University and earned a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Automotive Engineering at Kookmin University before receiving his Ph.D. from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Ohio State University. He subsequently served as a Research Scientist in the Department of Anatomy at The Ohio State University, followed by positions as an Assistant Professor and Tenured Associate Professor in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the College of Medicine. He was promoted to Full Professor in recognition of his outstanding research achievements and academic contributions.

Professor Kang is recognized as a world-renowned authority in the field of “Injury Biomechanics,” which focuses on elucidating the impact and injury mechanisms experienced by the human body during automotive collisions and advancing occupant protection technologies. In particular, he is leading research to establish safety standards and biomechanical data for occupants in rear-facing seating environments, which is considered a key safety issue in the era of autonomous vehicles. He has also conducted various automotive safety studies, including research on cervical spine injury mechanisms, rear-impact passenger injuries, and chest injuries in frontal, rear, and side collisions.

His research achievements are highly regarded in both academia and industry. Professor Kang has won the John Paul Stapp Award, the Best Paper Award at the Stapp Car Crash Conference—a prestigious academic conference in the field of injury biomechanics—three times: in 2019, 2022, and 2025. His related research has been cited more than 1,600 times worldwide. He also contributes to the advancement of automotive safety standards and occupant protection technologies through collaborations with global automotive companies, including the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Professor Kang currently leads the Injury Biomechanics Research Center at Ohio State University and is conducting large-scale research projects. He has secured a total of $18.5 million in research funding throughout his career, and as the principal investigator (PI) on a project worth approximately $9.2 million, he is leading a team of researchers from around the world.

This promotion to full professor is a prime example of how the engineering foundation and research capabilities cultivated at Kookmin University have led to world-class academic achievements. Professor Kang laid the groundwork for his expertise as an engineer and researcher at Kookmin University’s Department of Automotive Engineering and Graduate School of Automotive Engineering, and based on this foundation, he has grown into a leading scholar in the fields of automotive safety and injury biomechanics at prestigious universities in the United States.

Professor Kang Yoon-seok told his juniors, “The lecture halls at Kookmin University where you are sitting right now are the starting point for your journey to the global stage,” adding, “I hope you believe in your own potential and take on challenges with confidence.”

△ Kang Yoon-seok (Class of '96, Department of Automotive Engineering)