Dayoung Kim, Ph.D.

Research Statement

Dr. Kim has utilized quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research approaches to better understand 1) what constitutes and influences the ethical practice of engineering professionals and 2) how educators can help aspiring engineers be better prepared for potential ethical challenges in their future workplaces. She has worked with both practicing engineers and engineering students, to investigate 1) practicing engineers' lived experiences of and industrial/organizational cultural influences on ethical engineering practice and 2) how engineering students learn ethics and social responsibility through various curricula (e.g., formal classes) and co-curricular (e.g., co-ops and internships) experiences.

Through her research, she aims for enhancing the fundamental understanding of the innovative and ethical practice of engineers in various employment settings, including the understanding of the regulatory and political contexts where the work of engineers is embedded. Her research generates knowledge to better support the practice of engineers through education and science & technology policy.

Biography

Dr. Dayoung Kim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education (College of Engineering) at Virginia Tech. She is broadly interested in the practice of engineers in various employment settings and its interactions with the social, economic, and political contexts where their practice is embedded. Especially interested in the ethical and innovative practice of engineers, she tries to answer questions like, how best to support the innovative and ethical practice of engineers in business settings through education and science & technology policy.

She received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Purdue University (2022) and received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering at Yonsei University (2017) and Purdue University (2021) respectively. During her doctoral study, she received the 2022 Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the 2022 College of Engineering Outstanding Research Award from Purdue University. She was also a Bilsland Fellow of the College of Engineering at Purdue University when she was a Ph.D. student.

Awards & Honors

• College of Engineering Outstanding Research Award, Purdue University, 2022
• Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellowship, Purdue University, 2022 (offered but declined)
• Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2022
• Finalist, Best Paper Award, Engineering Ethics Division, American Society of Engineering Education, 2021
• Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship, Purdue University, 2021
• Best Formal Paper by a Graduate Student Award, Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, 2020
• Finalist, Benjamin Dasher Best Paper Award, IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, 2018
• Explorer Fellowship, Purdue University, 2017

Selected Publications

Kim, D., Jesiek, B. K., & Mazzurco, A. (2022). Development and validation of the Sojourn Readiness Assessment (SRA): Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and translation to Chinese. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 88, 95-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.04.002

Howland, S. J., Kim, D., & Jesiek, B. K. (2022). Senior engineering students’ reflection on their learning of ethics and morality: A qualitative investigation of influences and lessons learned. International Journal of Ethics Education, 7, 171-199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40889-022-00139-5

Kim, D. (2022). Promoting professional socialization: A synthesis of Durkheim, Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt for professional ethics education. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 41(1), 93-114. https://doi.org/10.5840/bpej202216115

Kim, D., Jesiek, B. K., & Howland, S. J. (2021). Longitudinal investigation of moral disengagement among undergraduate engineering students: Findings from a mixed-methods study. Ethics & Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2021.1958330

Kim, D., Jesiek, B. K., Zoltowski, C. B., Loui, M. C., & Brightman, A. O. (2020). An academic-industry partnership for preparing the next generation of ethical engineers for professional practice. Advances in Engineering Education, 8(3). https://advances.asee.org/wp-content/uploads/vol08/issue3/Papers/AEE-NAE-Brightman.pdf