Hoyong CHUNG
Edited by EEH on July 16, 2014
Biosketch
· Assistant Professor – Chemical and Biomedical Engineering,
FSU, 2014
· Postdoctoral scholar, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
California Institute of Technology 2014 (Advisor: Robert H.
Grubbs)
· Ph.D., Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University 2011 (Advisor:
Newell R. Washburn)
· M.S., Chemistry, University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2006
· B.S., Polymer Science and Engineering, Kyungpook National
University, Daegu, South Korea 2004
Research Interests (Key words)
· Development and applications of new polymeric materials
· Polymer synthesis
· Biomaterials
· Smart materials (multi-functional, stimulus responsive, and
self-healing polymers)
· Functional polymeric materials synthesis using organometallic
catalysts
· New polymerization development and kinetics of
polymerization
· Polymer Science and Engineering
Research experience: My research experience includes the
synthesis and appropriate characterization of bio-inspired medical
adhesives, medically applied temperature sensitive polymers to
remove ophthalmological impurities, targeted microbubbles for
kidney stone fragmentation, Ru-based olefin metathesis
polymerization catalysts and chemical modification to lignin-based
biopolymers. My combined research experience is highly
interdisciplinary including aspects of mechanical engineering,
clinical medical practice, material science and biomedical
engineering. Although my initial background is in polymer
synthesis, I proactively developed various practical engineering
skills to optimize the performance of new polymeric materials. My
capability as a practical interdisciplinary polymer chemist was
proved by multiple patents and peer-reviewed journal publications.
I plan to continue his research to develop new multifunctional
polymers relevant to human health and sustainability.
Research details: My group studies the design and synthesis of
application-oriented polymers using interdisciplinary concepts from
biology, materials science, organic chemistry, and chemical
engineering. This research includes development of new biomedical
materials, sustainable smart materials, and catalytic polymer
materials. Each research topic seeks to answer fundamental
questions in polymer chemistry and utilize this insight to solve
real-world issues.
New polymers from bio-inspired chemistry:
Synthesis and application of innovative biomedical materials
Bio-inspired chemistry offers important opportunities for the
design of new materials. For instance, special functional groups
from marine organisms exhibit unparalleled adhesive properties,
even in the presence of water. These unique properties foreshadow a
new class of biomedical adhesives and biomaterials, which we aim to
develop using novel synthetic methods. These studies are ultimately
aimed at developing practical bio-medical adhesives and
biomaterials.
Sustainable smart materials
Developing smart polymers from sustainable raw materials that
have stimuli-responsive, self-healing and/or shape memory functions
would provide important environmental and functional advances over
traditional commodity polymers. My research group studies
strategies for generating such smart polymers by integrating
traditional organic chemistry, synthetic polymer methodologies, and
biomedical material design. These potential smart materials provide
promising routes towards renewable, sustainable, and functional
materials for a wide range of applications.
Catalysts for advanced polymeric materials
Defined organometallic catalysts are ubiquitous across nearly
all fields of chemistry including polymerization methodology,
monomer synthesis, modification of polymers, and the generation of
carbon-carbon bonds. Our research focuses on the development of
highly controllable polymerizations, catalyst recycling systems,
and new materials for the aforementioned stimuli responsive and
self-healing polymers.