Professor Kim Yoon-Young has been awarded the Rayleigh Lecture Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), becoming the first Asian scholar to receive this honor. The Rayleigh Lecture Award is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to science and industry in the field of noise control and acoustics. Recipients notly receive a monetary prize but also the opportunity to deliver a special lecture. Since its establishment in 1985, no Asian scholar had previously received this award.
 
Professor Kim Yoon-Young has been recognized for outstanding research achievements in the field of 'elastic metamaterials,' which is crucial for advancing non-destructive testing and diagnostic technologies using techniques like ultrasound. According to reports, Professor Kim excels in designing these metamaterials, developing technologies that overcome previously challenging or impossible problems. Some of these innovations include the ability to evaluate the accumulation of foreign substances in pipes through the design of metamaterials without dismantling the pipes where fluid flows and imaging the interior of sunken ships underwater using ultrasound.