Fluid-integrated Electronics

Abstract 

Recent advances in soft electronics provide new opportunities to integrate sensing and actuation with fluid-mechanical systems. This talk introduces fluid-integrated electronics, a framework coupling fluid mechanics and soft electronic systems for environmental sensing and active flow control. The first direction focuses on bioinspired microfliers and floating platforms for distributed environmental sensing. Inspired by passive transport in nature, these systems exploit aerodynamic and hydrodynamic interactions for transport, dispersion, and orientation without conventional propulsion. Integration with miniaturized soft electronics transforms these structures into mobile sensing platforms. The second direction explores the inverse interaction, where electronically controlled structural deformation actively manipulates surrounding flows. Shape- and surface-morphing systems enable programmable modification of geometry and boundary conditions to regulate flow separation and wake dynamics. Together, these studies establish a bidirectional relationship between fluids and electronics: fluid flows transport distributed sensing systems, while programmable electronic structures reshape and control fluid flows.

About the Speaker

Prof. Jin-Tae Jimmy Kim is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering department at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), a position he has held since 2024. He received his M.S. (2015) and PhD (2020) degrees in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign. His research spans fluid mechanics, computer vision and soft electronics, with applications in aerospace and biomedical engineering. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in Nature (3), Science (1), Nature Electronics (1), Nature Communications (6), Science Advances (6), PNAS (5), Journal of Fluid Mechanics (6), Physical Review Fluids (5), Physics of Fluid (3), among others.  In recognition of his doctoral research, he received the Hassan Aref memorial award for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and Outstanding Young Alumni award at UIUC in 2020 and 2026, respectively.

Host: Professor Leonardo Chamorro