Physical metallurgy in steels
The strength of steel has surprisingly wide span.For example, a steel bottle-can has strength around 200MPa, but its strength can be increased to around 2000MPa by proper addition of alloy elements and heat treatment. Difference of strength by an order of magnitude is a unique feature of steel and that is why it has been used as major material in various industries. Actually, the wide span of strength in steel originates from the flexibility of microstructure. Steel may be the only material which has five distinctive microstructural constituent with characteristic properties. We are trying to control the microstructure of steels for unexplored properties by taking full advantage of microstructure flexibility. Thermo-mechanical treatment is a powerful tool for manipulating the microstructure, but a precise control of the microstructure usually requires deeper understanding on thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transformation.
Next generation higher-performance steels
There are diverse requirements for higher-performance steel products, in particular, from the transportation and energy industries. To cope with the demand, a concept of performance-oriented alloy and microstructure design will be essential. In steel research, the application of computational metallurgy for development of new steel product seems to go in rather slower manner compared with other fields. One of the reasons is that steel has a complicated microstructural hierarchy with various aspects of application properties. The materials design in steel is tricky without an insight on the microstructure scale critical to obtain the desired properties. We are trying to tackle the problem by combining the traditional view of physical metallurgy principles with the computational approach, which is expected to provides a synergetic effect for the successful development of next generation higher-performance steels.
Education
B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering, Seoul National University, 1993
M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering, Seoul National University, 1995
Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering, Seoul National University, 2000
Professional Experience
1995 ~ 2000 : Teaching Assistant, Seoul National University
2000 ~ 2001 : Post-doc. Research Institute of Advance Materials, Seoul National University
2001 ~ 2002 : STA fellow, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan
2002 ~ 2002 : Research Engineer, Technical Research Laboratories, POSCO
2003 ~ 2009 : Senior Researcher, Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS)
2010 ~ 2012 : Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology, POSTECH
2013 ~ 2017 : Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology, POSTECH
2018 ~ 2022 : Professor, Graduate Institute of Ferrous and Engery Materials Technology,
POSTECH
2023 ~ present : Professor, Graduate Institute of Ferrous and Eco-Materials Technology
and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, POSTECH
2024 ~ present : Dean, Graduate Institute of Ferrous and Eco-Materials Technology, POSTECH
Fellowship and Award
SeAh Chair professor, POSTECH, 2024 ~ 2027
Award from Minister of Science and ICT, Korea, 2021
Seok-Chun Academic award, Korean Institute of Metals and Materials, 2019
Yoon Dong-Seok award, Korean Institute of Metals and Materials, 2016
Excellent reviewer award, Scripta Materialia, 2016
MMI good reviewer award, Korean Institute of Metals and Materials, 2015
Young Scientist award, Korean Institute of Metals and Materials, 2008
STA fellowship, Japanese Government, 2001
Activities in Academic Societies
Editor-in-Chief, Jounal of Korean Insitute of Metals and Materials, 2023 ~ present
Advisory Board, ISIJ International, 2023 ~ present
Editorial Board, Materials Characterization, 2019 ~ present
Board of Review (Key Reader), Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 2014 ~ present
Editorial Board, Materials Science and Technology, 2013 ~ present
Editor, Metals and Materials International, 2019 ~ 2022
Editorial Committee, Metals and Materials International, 2010 ~ 2022
Deputy Editor, Scripta Materialia, 2014 ~ 2019
Editorial Committee, Korean Journal of Metals and Materials, 2012 ~ 2017
Guest Editor, Scripta Materialia, Viewpoint Set on “Low-density steels”, 2013
International Panel of the Charles-Hatchett Award, 2013 ~ 2015
His research field is physical metallurgy of advanced structural alloys focusing on the microstructure control using alloy design and thermo-mechanical processing based on the understanding on phase transformation.