POSTECH News

Professor Moon Jeong Park (Dept. of Chemistry) Selected as ‘Scientist of the Month’ for October 2024

2024-10-08 101

Professor Moon Jeong Park from POSTECH’s Department of Chemistry has been named the Scientist of the Month for October 2024 by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).

The Scientist of the Month award, presented by MSIT and the NRF, recognizes researchers for outstanding contributions to science and technology. Recipients of the award also receive a prize of 10 million won (approximately USD 7,200).

Professor Park was honored for her groundbreaking work in polymer end-group chemistry, which has redefined the understanding of polymer phase transitions. Her innovations are rooted in advanced techniques in polymer synthesis and structural analysis.

In response to receiving the award, Professor Park remarked, “I am delighted that my seven years of dedicated research on a topic not covered in textbooks has yielded results. I will continue to strive to enhance the international standing of charge transport polymers used in energy materials.”

Professor Park recognized the critical role of polymer end groups in controlling nanostructural changes. By developing a new methodology that allowed for the substitution of these end groups, she discovered the ‘Plumber’s Nightmare’ structure in block copolymer systems—a theoretical concept once thought impossible to achieve. This structure, in which all polymer chain ends converge at the center, was predicted to have unique properties, but it had remained only a theoretical construct until now.
In response to this challenge, Professor Park systematically modified the intermolecular forces of polymer chain end groups, successfully developing block copolymers with diverse properties. This breakthrough enabled the creation of complex network structures, now recognized for their meta-properties. Her findings were published in Science in January 2024.

Professor Park received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Seoul National University. Since joining POSTECH in 2009, she has been an influential mentor to students. Among her many accolades, she was the first Korean recipient of the John H. Dillon Medal from the American Physical Society (APS) and was elected an APS Fellow in 2021. In 2023, she became the first foreign professor to serve as Vice Chair of the APS Division of Polymer Physics.