(3cn) Advanced Molecular Separations for Energy and Environmental Sciences

Molecular separations are fundamental processes used in many energy and environmental sciences as well as chemical industries. Most separation processes widely used require multiple unit operations or consume large amount of energy to obtain high quality products. Hence, the development of new functional materials and processes capable of energy-efficient molecular separations is of interest in many fields.

 In my first Ph.D. work at Seoul National University, as a polymer scientist, I have studied polymeric membranes and their processes for water and wastewater treatments. I have earned the second Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology after studying nanoporous materials such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks for application in gas separation membranes. Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher in chemistry department at University of California, Berkely, I am working on chemistry of metal-organic frameworks for application in CO₂capture. Based on extensive experiences on nanoporous materials, polymer science and separation processes, I will be working on “advanced molecular separations for energy and environmental sciences” in the future.

I am interested in development of metal-organic framework membranes capable of carrier-mediated facilitated transport. Key requirement for successful fabrication of the facilitated transport membrane is to uniformly distribute carriers in membranes. In realizing such membrane, metal-organic frameworks have a great advantage over other materials due to their porous crystalline structures and tunable functionality, allowing uniform introduction of carriers to molecular paths in membranes. Development of nanopore membranes capable of sharp molecular discrimination is also my research interest.

Short bio

Postdoc: Jeffrey R. Long Research Group, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley

Ph.D. 2: School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Ph.D. 1: School of Biological Resources and Materials Engineering, Seoul National University, Korea