Dr. MinJun Kim presently holds the Robert C. Womack Endowed Chair Professor of Engineering position at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southern Methodist University. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Yonsei University in Korea and Texas A&M University, respectively. Dr. Kim completed his Ph.D. degree in the Division of Engineering at Brown University, where he was a recipient of the prestigious Simon Ostrach Fellowship. Following his graduate studies, Dr. Kim served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Rowland Institute at Harvard University. In 2006, he joined Drexel University as Assistant Professor and later earned a promotion to Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics. Dr. Kim has been dedicated to exploring biological transport phenomena, encompassing cellular/molecular mechanics and engineering in novel nano/microscale architectures, with the goal of advancing new types of nanobiotechology. This includes groundbreaking work in nanopore technology and nano/microrobotics. Throughout his career, Dr. Kim has garnered numerous accolades, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2008), Drexel Career Development Award (2008), Human Frontier Science Program Young Investigator Award (2009), Army Research Office Young Investigator Award (2010), Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (2011), KOFST Fellowship (2013 & 2015), Bionic Engineering Outstanding Contribution Award (2013), Louis & Bessie Stein Fellowship (2008 & 2014), ISBE Fellow (2014), ASME Fellow (2014), UNESCO/Netexplo Top10 Technology Innovation Award (2016), KSEA & KOFST Engineer of the Year Award (2016), IEEE Senior Member (2017), Gerald J. Ford Research Fellowship (2018), and Protégé of the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (2019), Brain Pool Fellowship of the National Research Foundation of Korea (2023), and AIMBE Fellow (2024).

Topic title: Finding Bacteria: The Bad, The Good, and The Better

Abstract:

There are over 10,000 species of bacteria that have been identified thus far, and it is estimated that there are still millions more yet to be discovered. Of the known species, around 20% are known to be ‘bad’ for humans; that is, they can be infectious or harmful to the environment. For example, certain spices of Escherichia coli and Salmonella are well known for their ability to infect our digestive system. On the other hand, there are many bacteria that are ‘good’ for humans. Take, for example, Lactobacillus bacteria which are used to ferment dairy products (e.g., cheese and kimchi), Pseudomonas that are used in bioremediation, and Bifidobacterium that live in our guts and protect against inflammation and infection. Still, while they have been exploited for their beneficial natural functions, better uses for bacteria can be found. One example of finding better uses of bacteria is the use of their organelles, specifically their flagella, for engineering applications. Flagella are helical nanotubes that bacteria rotate in order to move. These naturally occurring nanostructures have many unique properties that can be manipulated for numerous applications. Since the 1960s, it has been known that self-assembly of flagella can be manipulated in vitro, such that flagella can be ‘grown’ to lengths 10 times their normal length. Utilizing this knowledge, flagella have been used as sensors and actuators for nano/microrobotics. Using flagella as nanotemplates versus fabrication of purely inorganic nanotubes has a number of advantages, including lower cost, faster fabrication times, and greater environmental friendliness. Once fabricated, bacterial flagella by themselves can be used for the propulsion of abiotic swimming micro/nanorobots. Mimicking how real bacteria swim, using a low power rotating magnetic field to rotate flagellated magnetic microparticles, a possible tool for in vivo applications, such as targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery, could be achieved.