Hee-Tae Jung | Materials Chemistry | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Analytical Chemistry

Prof. Hee-Tae Jung | Materials Chemistry | Best Researcher Award

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | South Korea

Professor Hee-Tae Jung is a leading global scientist in chemical and biomolecular engineering whose research centers on developing advanced functional nanomaterials and nanostructures to address critical climate-related and environmental challenges. As Chair Professor at KAIST and Director of multiple international research centers including the Saudi Aramco-KAIST CO₂ Management Center and the KAIST-UCB-VNU Global Climate Change Research Center, he leads multidisciplinary teams focused on creating transformative technologies for greenhouse gas mitigation, sustainable energy production, and high-performance sensor systems. His research group, OOEM, pioneers both top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication approaches, introducing innovations such as secondary sputtering, soft-lithography, supramolecular self-assembly, and advanced nano-patterning. These techniques enable precise control of material architectures to achieve unprecedented performance in catalytic, sensing, and energy-conversion applications. A central aim of his work is to bridge fundamental nanoscience with industrial-scale practical devices, accelerating translation of high-impact research into real-world environmental solutions. Professor Jung’s contributions span CO₂ reduction systems, bifunctional water-splitting catalysts, MXene-based gas sensors with ultrahigh signal-to-noise ratios, deep-learning-assisted chemical sensing, high-density nanoparticle generation via carbothermal shock, and large-area supramolecular alignment. His research has been published in top-tier journals including Nature Electronics, Science Advances, Advanced Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, and ACS Nano. With an exemplary record of leadership serving as President of the Korean Environmental Science Society and Associate Editor for several international journals and numerous prestigious awards, Professor Jung is recognized as one of the most influential scientists in nanomaterials, CO₂ management, and climate-centric engineering innovation. His work continues to shape the future of sustainable materials and technologies.

Profiles : Scopus | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

  • Continuous biochemical profiling of the gastrointestinal tract using a multiparametric smart capsule. (2025). Nature Electronics, 8, 844.

  • Continuous flow-reactor with superior production rate and stability for CO₂ reduction using semiconductor photocatalysts. (2023). Energy & Environmental Science, 16, 2689.

  • Exploring optimal water splitting bifunctional alloy catalyst by Pareto active learning. (2023). Advanced Materials, 35, 2211497.

  • Atomic-scale homogeneous Ru–Cu alloy nanoparticles for highly efficient electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction. (2022). Advanced Materials, 34, 22055270.

  • Generation of high-density nanoparticles in the carbothermal shock method. (2021). Science Advances, 7, eabk2984.

 

Yuhua Yang | Materials Chemistry | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Analytical Chemistry

Dr. Yuhua Yang | Materials Chemistry | Best Researcher Award

Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University | China

Dr. Yuhua Yang is an accomplished materials scientist specializing in nanomaterials synthesis and advanced electrochemical energy-storage systems, with a strong focus on lithium-ion and lithium-sulfur battery technologies. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Nanchang University, a master’s degree from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and a Ph.D. from Hunan University. He has significant industrial and academic experience, having served in roles at Haier Group, China Netcom Corporation, and Yichun University before joining the School of Materials and Energy at Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University. His research portfolio centers on bio-derived nanostructures and engineered electrode materials designed to overcome critical battery challenges, including volume expansion, low coulombic efficiency, and poor cycle stability. Representative studies include innovative Sn-based and Ni-based electrodes derived from bacterial carbon and natural biotemplates, such as Bacillus subtilis-based carbon @Sn anodes and yolk-shell Ni₃P-carbon@graphene frameworks, demonstrating enhanced electrochemical stability and durability. His recent publications also explore advanced core-shell architectures and flexible bacterial-carbon/graphene systems , reflecting his continuing drive toward high-capacity, stable, and flexible battery platforms. Notably, his contribution to bacteria-derived carbon materials for Li-S batteries published in Nano Letters  has been cited 110 times, underscoring international recognition of his work. Across 15 indexed publications, Dr. Yang has accumulated 515 citations from 487 documents and holds an h-index of 7 in Scopus, indicating strong and growing impact in the fields of materials chemistry and energy storage. His innovative approach of integrating biological templates with advanced nanostructuring strategies provides sustainable pathways for next-generation battery materials, positioning him as a rising leader in energy and nanomaterials research.

Profile : Scopus 

Featured Publications

Li, F., Han, P.-T., … Yang, Y.-H. (2025). The core-shell structure of bacteria-based C@Sn/Carbon nanotubes exhibits super-stable cycling performance for lithium-ion battery anodes. Journal of Power Sources, 645.

Li, F., Han, P.-T., … Yang, Y.-H. (2025). Flexible Co₃(PO₄)₂@ bacterial carbon/reduced graphene oxides for Li-ion batteries anode. Materials Letters, 389.

Zhang, Z.-W., Li, F., … Yang, Y.-H. (2024). Ultra-high first coulombic efficiency and stable cycle performance of bacterial-based C/Sn/SnS nanomaterial for lithium-ion battery anodes. Chemical Physics Letters, 840.

Yang, Y.-H., Xi, Z.-C., … Zhou, J. (2023). Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis-based carbon @ Sn anode for high-performance Li-ion batteries. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 34(8).

Yang, Y.-H., Zhang, Z.-W., … Zhou, J. (2022). The photoluminescence materials of green light Gd₂O₃:Eu and its influencing factors. Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 91(11).