Boksun Kim

Academic profile

Dr Boksun Kim

Associate Head of School (Resources)
School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

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The Global Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Boksun's work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

Goal 04: SDG 4 - Quality EducationGoal 05: SDG 5 - Gender EqualityGoal 07: SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean EnergyGoal 14: SDG 14 - Life Below Water

About Boksun

As Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Plymouth (UoP), Dr Boksun Kim has obtained over £3 million in research grants from Horizon Europe, the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), the Academy of Medical Sciences since 2021. She created a Consortium for Recycled Aggregates in Concrete to invite global experts to tackle global challenges in construction materials, as part of the Royal Academy of Engineering Frontiers Champion project on Recycled Aggregate Concrete in Southeast Asia in 2020. Since then, she has been working on projects involving steel and concrete structures, graphene oxide concrete, recycled aggregates in concrete and plastic bottle houses, which have led to over 55 research publications. 

 Dr Kim established the UoP Civil Engineering Professional Mentoring Advisory Committee in 2018 to pair Civil Engineering students with Plymouth graduates who are working in the Civil Engineering Industry and has been successfully implementing the mentoring scheme since. This mentoring scheme has extended to Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on training and mentoring women graduates in STEM in the region, funded by the RAEng to empower women in STEM in Africa.

 As a Fellow of the Institutions of Civil and Structural Engineers, a Chartered Structural Engineer, the Past Chair (2018-20) of the IStructE Devon and Cornwall Regional Group, and a member of the Engineering Professors’ Council, she has actively been promoting civil and structural engineering.

Supervised Research Degrees

Current PhD students:

  • Henrique Comba Gomes on ‘Development of NetZero carbonated recycled aggregates and recycled aggregate concrete’ as Director of Studies since 01/10/2024.
  • Carol Primmer on ‘Developing high performance, durable graphene oxide concrete for structural applications in the coastal environment’ as Director of Studies since 01/10/2022, part-time.   
  • Xin Jia on ‘Effect of the Q345DNH weathering steel on the behaviour of bridges’ as Second Supervisor since 15/01/2026.

 

Completed PhD students:

  • 2023: Dr Nirvan Razaghi-Kashani on ‘An analysis of Iranian post-earthquake management and structural assessment system’ as Director of Studies.
  • 2023: Dr Lixuan Mao on ‘Modelling behaviour of chloride transport in concrete’ as Second Supervisor.
  • 2023: Dr Qi Ye  on ‘Structural analysis and design of semi-submersible platform for floating offshore wind turbines’ as Second Supervisor.
  • 2022: Dr Nanting Yu on ‘Buckling behaviour of perforated cold-form steel channel-section beams with circular holes in the web’ as Director of Studies.
  • 2019: Dr Sahar Elaiwi on ‘Analysis and design of castellated beams’ as Second Supervisor.
  • 2018: Dr Ganlin Feng on ‘Micro-scale study of multi-component ionic transport in concrete’ as Second Supervisor.
  • 2015: Dr Shanshan Cheng on ‘Fire performance of cold-formed steel sections’ as Second Supervisor.

 

Ph.D theses that I examined: 

  • 2025: Dr Gaurav Chand on ‘Waste Glass in Concrete: A Move Towards High Percentage of Cement Replacement by Quantifying and Improving the Strength Contribution of C-S-H’, University of Manchester, UK.
  • 2022: Dr K. K. Gaayathri on ‘Performance assessment of expanded clay based structural lightweight concrete beams incorporating polypropylene fibres’, Annamalai University, India.
  • 2022: Dr Jie Ji on ‘Bond behaviour between carbon fibre strand and concrete under marine environment’, University of Plymouth, UK.
  • 2021: Dr John Henry Cawood on ‘Enhancement of domestic solar photovoltaic unit productivity through the use of a cost effective tracking system’, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.
  • 2019: Dr Aissa Bouaiss on ‘Synthesis and manufacture of high performance FA-GGBS-HMNS based geoploymer concrete’, University of Plymouth, UK. 
  • 2016: Dr Raymond Sieh on ‘Self-lubricating non-cyanide Ag-PTFE composite coating for threaded compression fittings’, University of Plymouth, UK.
  • 2014: Dr Qing-feng Liu on ‘Muli-phase modelling of multi-species ionic migration in concrete’, University of Plymouth, UK. 
  • 2004: Dr Eng Han TEE on ‘Geometric optimisation of yield line patterns using generic algorithms’, University of Portsmouth, UK.

 

Teaching

I teach the following structural analysis and design modules:

  • STAD200 Structural Analysis and Design 1- This module extends the theoretical base established by the Stage 1 Mechanics and Structures module. It is intended to combine the basic principles of analysis with design to develop an integrated approach to solving problems in Structural Engineering. The module is supported by the use of computer software (MasterSeries) and laboratory work.
  • STAD300 Structural Analysis and Design 2- This module focuses on the analyses and design of whole structures, i.e. multi-storey buildings. It includes computer modelling and analysis using LUSAS FEA, and methods of the validation of the obtained results using approximate analysis.

 

Contact Boksun

Room 021, Reynolds, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
+44 1752 586135