Seho Kim

I am an assistant professor at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and a faculty member of the Hawaiʻi Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL), specializing in advanced microwave remote sensing techniques for retrieving key geophysical parameters on Earth and across the solar system.

Research Fields

Signals of Opportunity-Reflectometry (SoOp-R), Radio Science, Planetary Radar, Spacecraft Mission Design & Analysis, Spacecraft Systems, Astrodynamics and Space Applications

Research Overview

I aim to advance the science and engineering of microwave remote sensing to support the next generation of Earth and planetary missions. Current projects include (i) FRAMES (Faraday Rotation Analysis for Magnetic Environment Sensing), which focuses on developing a radio science instrument for monitoring ionospheric and magnetic field environments; and (ii) HiTechSat-1, which develops a rapidly integrable 3U platform for university CubeSat missions.

Applications

My research supports diverse scientific and societal applications, including:

• Agriculture & Carbon Cycle: Monitoring root-zone soil moisture, F/T cycles, and vegetation water content to inform crop production and assess carbon fluxes

• Hydrology: Evaluating soil moisture and F/T dynamics to improve understanding of terrestrial water cycle processes

• Cryosphere: Measuring sea-ice thickness and snow cover to investigate climate variability in polar regions

• Natural Hazards: Detecting and monitoring droughts, floods, harmful algal blooms, and wildfires using satellite-based microwave remote sensing

• Planetary Science: Investigating planetary surfaces using bistatic radar, atmospheres via radio occultation, interiors through Doppler tracking, and magnetic fields using radio scintillation and Faraday rotation

Academic Appointments

• Assistant Professor in Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaiʻi, 2026 - Present

• Postdoctoral Fellow in Radio Science and Solar System Radar Group, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2023 - 2025

Education

• Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, 2023

• M.S. in Electronic and Information Engineering, Korea Aerospace University, 2018

• B.S. in Electronics and Avionics Engineering, Korea Aerospace University, 2016