Special Seminar: Philseok Kim

ARPA-E Programs on Transformational Energy Technologies and Opportunities

An overview of ARPA‐E, an R&D funding agency in the U.S. Department of Energy, and its programs supporting the nation’s high‐risk, high-reward future energy technologies will be presented. Opportunities for getting involved as a project performer, an external reviewer, or as part of ARPA-E team will be also presented followed by a Q&A session.

Dr. Philseok Kim is a Program Director at ARPA-E, spearheads cutting-edge energy technology programs (ULTIMATE, HITEMMP, GOPHURRS, and Direct Air Capture cohort) to propel decarbonization and advancement of energy infrastructure. His focus spans ultrahigh-temperature refractory alloy systems for gas turbines, high-temperature and high-pressure heat exchangers, and autonomous drilling systems and subsurface sensors for grid reliability and rapid grid deployment. Dr. Kim is currently dedicated to establishing secure domestic critical minerals supply chains using phytoextraction, leveraging metalliferous plants on natural and waste sites. His forthcoming endeavor attempts to integrate domain experts and AI/ML experts, employing large language models for knowledge bridging and autonomous and high-throughput experiments for validation of newly gained knowledge. With a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Georgia Tech, Dr. Kim brings 12 years of industrial experience in petrochemicals, polymers, and coatings. Before ARPA-E, he co-founded Adaptive Surface Technologies, driving the commercialization of fouling-resistant ship coatings.