 Her doctorate in biotech systems was conferred on February 29, 2008 in a ceremony at KAIST although she was unable to be present due to her training commitments in Russia.In 2010, she enrolled in the MBA program at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley  In 2015 she taught at Everett Community College in Washington State as an Engineering Physics Professor.Yi was one of the two finalists chosen on December 25, 2006 through the Korean Astronaut Program.