Hyung Kim

Hyung Nam Kim, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University. Dr. Kim’s research sits at the intersection of engineering and psychology. He draws on psychology to understand human capabilities, limitations, and behavior, then applies human factors engineering methods to design user-centered technologies. This psychological foundation runs through all his work. 

How do people perceive, express, and respond to emotion through technology? This is the core question of emotional ergonomics. Dr. Kim studies the role of emotion in human-computer interaction. This includes how vocal tone, facial expression, and other emotional signals shape user experience, decision-making, and trust. He also explores emotional intelligence as a design competency: how designers can better recognize and respond to user emotions. This work applies to any technology where emotion matters: virtual teams, online learning, mental health apps, and social platforms.

Technology should work for everyone, regardless of ability/disability. Dr. Kim’s inclusive design research focuses specifically on people with visual disabilities and their use of assistive technology. He designs and evaluates how people who are blind or have low vision interact with smartphones, smartwatches, voice assistants, and other digital tools. He identifies usability barriers, privacy concerns, and unmet needs. Then he proposes design solutions that make mainstream and assistive technologies more accessible, usable, and empowering. This work is grounded in participatory methods: Dr. Kim designs with disability communities, not just for them.

As machines become more capable and autonomous, new questions emerge for human factors engineering. Dr. Kim’s research explores the frontiers of how humans and advanced intelligent systems can interact safely and productively. He is interested in how we measure, guide, and oversee system behavior, particularly in situations where traditional evaluation methods fall short. He also studies safety issues where systems generate confident but incorrect outputs, and how to design interfaces to address these emerging challenges today. The underlying goal is to help ensure that as intelligent & autonomous systems grow more powerful, they remain aligned with human values and within human control.

Over the years, Dr. Kim’s commitment to impactful research and innovation has been recognized through several honors. In 2025, he was named a ScholarGPS Top Scholar, ranking among the top 0.5% globally (12^th worldwide) for research in visual impairment, reflecting his contributions in productivity, citation impact, and h-index. He was also a finalist for the Best Paper Award in the Human Factors/Ergonomics Track at the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Annual Conference in 2025 for his work on activity tracking and perceived loneliness in people with visual disabilities. Earlier, Dr. Kim received the NC A&T Research Excellence Award (Rookie of the Year) in 2018 as the top-performing tenure-track assistant professor, and in 2017, he was recognized as an mHealth Scholar and participated in the NIH-funded mHealth Training Institute. These awards underscore his dedication to advancing research and improving lives.

Interested in Dr. Kim's research?
Undergraduate and graduate students interested in engineering psychology are encouraged to reach out. https://hnkim25.wixsite.com/hnkim