Hyoung Jin “Joe” Cho joined the University of Central Florida in 2002 and has held several leadership roles within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, including Associate Chair, Interim Chair, and Chair. In these roles, he has helped guide the department’s continued growth in academics and research, supporting the expansion of undergraduate enrollment while advancing its broader educational and research mission. He joined UCF as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2007 and professor in 2013.

He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2002 and his M.S. and B.S. degrees from Seoul National University (Korea) in 1991 and 1989, respectively. Before joining UCF, he worked as a Research Engineer at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute from 1993 to 1997, where he built a strong foundation in applied research and technology development. His honors include the NSF CAREER Award and a World Class University Visiting Professorship from Korea’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

He has led numerous research and education projects funded by NSF, NIH, the U.S. Department of Defense, and industry as principal investigator or co-principal investigator. His research focuses on sensors, microfluidic devices, and micro- and nanofabrication, with particular emphasis on miniaturized systems and technologies that support environmental safety and health-related applications. He has authored more than 140 peer-reviewed publications, holds 12 U.S. patents and 6 Korea patents, and served for more than a decade as Co-Director of the UCF site of the NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Multifunctional Integrated System Technology through Phases I and II.