Rate My Professor Hyoung Jin Cho

Hyoung Jin Cho is a Professor and Interim Department Chair in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering within the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2002, with a dissertation on micromachined permanent magnets and their MEMS applications. He received his M.S. and B.S. degrees in Materials Engineering from Seoul National University in 1991 and 1989, respectively. From 1993 to 1997, he served as a Research Engineer at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, where he developed multilayered chip inductors and piezoelectric ceramic filters, filing six Korean patents. Cho joined the University of Central Florida in 2002 as an Assistant Professor in Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, advancing to Associate Professor in 2007 and Full Professor in 2013. He has held the position of Associate Chair since 2014 and currently serves as Interim Department Chair. Additionally, he is co-director of the NSF Multi-Functional Integrated System Technology Center site at UCF.

Cho's research specializes in miniaturized actuators, sensors, and microfluidic components based on MEMS technology, encompassing chemical and bio-sensors, magnetic and graphene-based microactuators, EWOD micropumps, nanomaterials integration, and micro/nanofabrication techniques. His programs have received support from NSF CAREER, MRI, REU, NUE, RET, Manufacturing, I/UCRC, and NIH STTR. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award in 2004 for a micro SPR sensor project, the Distinguished Researcher Award from UCF's College of Engineering and Computer Science in 2007, the WCU Visiting Professorship from Korea's Ministry of Education in 2009-2010, and the IOP Select recognition in 2003. Cho has authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, including 'A novel nanoporous bismuth electrode sensor for in situ heavy metal detection' (Electrochimica Acta, 2019), 'Microfluidic Devices Developed for and Inspired by Thermotaxis and Chemotaxis' (Micromachines, 2018), 'Graphene-based Bimorph Microactuators' (Nano Letters, 2011), and recent works on laser-induced graphene UV sensors and self-powered flexible sensors. His publications have accumulated over 3,100 citations. He has served on editorial boards, such as the International Journal of Optomechatronics, and various university committees including Faculty Senate, Graduate Committee, and Faculty Search Committees.