Profile Photo: Joonwan Kim, Ph.D.

Joonwan
Kim, Ph.D.

Phone: 903.233.3920
Email: JoonwanKim@letu.edu

  • Department Chair, Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering

  • Professor, Electrical Engineering


My name is Dr. Joon Wan Kim, and I am a Professor and Chair of Electrical & Computer Engineering at LeTourneau University.

I grew up in Changwon, South Korea. I loved living in Korea, but from a young age I was captivated by American movies, music, and culture. I dreamed of coming to the United States, and in 1994 that dream became a reality. Shortly after marrying my wonderful wife, Sophia, I moved to Huntsville, Alabama, to begin graduate studies in electrical engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Leaving home and family was not easy for either of us. We were entering a new country, learning a new culture and language, and building a life together far from everything familiar. God graciously provided a Korean-American church community that became our extended family. Through the support of fellow believers, we grew in our faith, found lifelong friendships, and gained the strength to persevere through many challenges.

During those years, Sophia and I welcomed two wonderful children into our family. Our son, Robin, was born in 1996, and our daughter, Jenny, was born in 1999. Looking back, those years were among the most challenging and rewarding of our lives. Balancing graduate school, raising young children, and adapting to life in a new country required perseverance, sacrifice, and faith. Through every step, God remained faithful.

After earning my Ph.D. in 2003, I accepted a faculty position at LeTourneau University and moved to Longview, Texas. More than two decades later, LeTourneau continues to be a tremendous blessing to me and my family. Our children attended Spring Hill ISD, where both excelled academically. Robin graduated as Salutatorian of Spring Hill High School and went on to earn his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Rice University. Today, he serves as an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at LeTourneau University. Jenny graduated as Valedictorian of Spring Hill High School, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University, and received her M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine. She is currently a Psychiatry Resident at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut.

In 2014, Sophia and I became United States citizens. Looking back on our journey—from South Korea to Alabama, then to Texas, and now seeing our children serve others through engineering and medicine—we are deeply grateful for God's guidance and blessings. We truly feel that we have experienced the American Dream.

Teaching at LeTourneau University has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. What makes LeTourneau special is its Christ-centered mission and close-knit community. Here, students are known, cared for, and encouraged to grow both professionally and spiritually. Because of my own journey, I am passionate about helping students from around the world experience the same blessing of Christian higher education that transformed my life. Whether they come from Texas, South Korea, China, Mongolia, or elsewhere, I want every student to know they are valued, supported, and called by God to make a difference in the world.


EDUCATION

  • Ph.D.University of Alabama, Huntsville 2003
  • M.S.E.E. University of Alabama, Huntsville 1999
  • B.S.E.E. Daegu University, S. Korea 1993

University Faculty since 2003


CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Hardware Implementation of Adaptive Noise Cancellation Systems
  • Design and Development of Ultra-Lightweight, High-Torque Electric Motors
  • Semiconductor Fabrication and Maskless Lithography Systems Development

COURSES TAUGHT

  • CPGR 4233 Introduction to Microprocessors and Microcomputers
  • CPGR 4253 Microcomputer Design
  • EEGR 3213 Digital Electronics
  • EEGR 4283 Digital Signal Processing

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Director, ECE Senior Design Program, LeTourneau University; oversees industry-sponsored capstone projects supported by Collins Aerospace, STEMCO, General Dynamics, Flanders Inc., CCI Group, and EnPro Foundation. Total external funding: ~$350,000 (Aug. 2007–present).
  • Co–Principal Investigator, Sandia National Laboratories LDRD Project 20-187, Twitcher: Adversarial Signal Study; total funding: ~$300,000 (2019–2021).
  • Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation DUE-0728613, Scholarships for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS); total funding: ~$529,000 (Feb. 2008–Jan. 2014).
  • Member, NSF S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Review Panel, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. (Sept. 26–28, 2010).
  • Reviewer, Journal of Communications and Networks (JCN) (Dec. 2005–Feb. 2007).
  • Member, NSF REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) Review Panel, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. (Nov. 28–30, 2005).

Conference Presentations and Papers

  • Hoo Kim, Joshua R. Millikan, Joon Wan Kim, Alan Clipperton, “Developing Hands-On Semiconductor Fabrication and Testing Courses Through Industry-University Partnerships in a Teaching-Focused Undergraduate School,” ASEE-GSW Annual Conference, Arlington, TX, March 2025.
  • H. Kim, P. Leiffer, and J. Kim, “Essential Elements in the Application of a Story-Building Approach Learned from Three Engineering Senior Design Projects,” Christian Engineering Conference, 2022.
  • Hoo Kim, Paul R. Leiffer, Laura Kathryn Neal, Kathleen Mays, Joon Wan Kim, “Engineering Capstone Senior Design Project as a Story-Building Platform,” Proceedings of the 128th ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, July 2021.
  • Andrew Gohn, Joon Wan Kim, “Implementation of LMS Adaptive Filter Algorithm Based on FPGA,” Proceedings of the 62nd IEEE Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems (MWSCAS), Dallas, TX, August 2019.
  • Ryan Tiemann, Joon Wan Kim, “LeTourneau Motor Analyzer Senior Design Project,” Proceedings of the International System-on-Chip Design Conference (ISOCC), Jeju, South Korea, November 2014.
  • Zachary Phillips, Joon Wan Kim, “High-Frequency Antenna Coupler Using an Arduino,” Embedded Systems Conference (ESC), Boston, MA, September 2012.
  • Donald E. Willcox, John Wineman, Joon Wan Kim, “Implementation of Digital Radio Mondiale Receiver – Part II,” Proceedings of the IEEE 43rd Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, Auburn University, AL, March 2011.
  • Paul Leiffer, Joon Wan Kim, “Diversity Receiver for Digital Radio Mondiale – A Multi-Year Design Project,” Proceedings of the 117th ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, KY, June 2010.
  • Boo-Shik Ryu, Joon Wan Kim, “Hardware Implementation of an Adaptive Noise Canceller in an Automobile Environment,” IEEE Electrical Design of Advanced Packaging and Systems Symposium, Seoul, South Korea, December 2008.
  • Boo-Shik Ryu, Joon Wan Kim, “The Performance of an Adaptive Noise Canceller with DSP Processor,” Proceedings of the IEEE Fortieth Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, University of New Orleans, LA, March 2008.
  • Si-Woo Kim, Joon Wan Kim, “Implementation of the Embedded System Using the AD Code and TTS,” Korea Information and Communications Society Conference, August 2007.
  • Joon Wan Kim, Chae-Wook Lee, “Performance Analysis of Adaptive Noise Canceller in Real-Time Automobile Environments,” Proceedings of the IEEE Thirty-Ninth Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, March 2007.
  • Joon Wan Kim, Chae-Wook Lee, “Comparison of Adaptive Systems for Noise Reduction in Speech,” Proceedings of the IEEE Thirty-Eighth Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, March 2006.
  • Joon Wan Kim, Eric T. Perry, “Performance Analysis of the Self Correcting Adaptive Filter,” Proceedings of the IEEE Thirty-Seventh Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, March 2005.
  • Joon Wan Kim, A. D. Poularikas, “Performance Analysis of the Adjusted Step Size NLMS Algorithm,” Proceedings of the IEEE Thirty-Sixth Southeastern Symposium on System Theory, March 2004.

Selected Publications

  • Savannah Orton, Joon W. Kim, “Non-invasive Respiratory Rate Detection Using Thermal Imaging and Facial Recognition,” SPIE Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems Conference, Long Beach, CA, March 2023.
  • Jacob Landreth, Hoo Kim, Joon Wan Kim, Nathan Green, “Implementation of Convolutional Neural Networks for Respiratory Rate Detection,” SPIE Medical Imaging Conference, San Diego, CA, February 2022.
  • Jeremy Goossen, Joon Wan Kim, “Development of a Versatile ADS-B Communications System,” Proceedings of the IEEE Texas Symposium on Wireless and Microwave Circuits and Systems, Waco, TX, April 2018.
  • Tim Hong, Joon Wan Kim, “FPGA Implementation of JADE ICA Algorithm,” Proceedings of the International System-on-Chip Design Conference (ISOCC), Gyeongju, South Korea, November 2015.