Professor Jeong Kyeongmin of UNIST’s School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, which boasts the best capabilities in the battery field

The secondary battery is commercialized in the order of material-electrode-battery-pack (bundled battery) and applied to automobiles and mobile phones. Although these individual technologies have been independently studied and developed, all of them are essential and need to be combined to complete a battery. This is where UNIST shines, boasting unrivaled competitiveness. UNIST has experts in lithium-ion batteries, which are the most widely used, and researchers in all-solid-state batteries, which are drawing attention as next-generation secondary batteries, as well as research personnel with pack-related experience. In other words, UNIST is composed of faculty members who can cover all the technologies required to make batteries and have a precise research direction. In addition, its various labs have achieved excellent joint research results in each field through active exchanges.

The battery sector is related to the science of inter-disciplinary convergence in which chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical and electronic engineering need to be integrated. UNIST has laid the groundwork for cultivating experts ever since its early period by including electrochemistry in the third year of its undergraduate curriculum. Compared to the United States, where students study electrochemistry only after entering a graduate school, UNIST students are quickly introduced to the subject. The experts produced through such a system follow a doctoral program and grow into research personnel, and many of them work as engineers in energy-related industries such as battery companies and electric vehicle companies.
Leaving aside UNIST’s active role, the shortage of personnel in the energy industry is not just a recent phenomenon. Furthermore, it is not a mere coincidence that UNIST’s curriculum has drawn attention as a solution to this problem, but rather the fruit of UNIST’s focused efforts to date. UNIST is currently participating as a selected institution in carrying out a national task called the “Energy Manpower Fostering Business” while simultaneously operating contract departments in connection with the industry. UNIST will continue making a strong contribution to nurturing special talents who will lead the energy industry in the future.
The Energy Manpower Fostering Business aims to cultivate at least twenty-five key industry talents in the secondary battery field each year. As the importance of preserving the environment and promoting renewable energy is increasing day by day, it is clear that energy storage device-related technologies and the related industrial base will form part of a key strategy for leading the national economy. Therefore, the vision of this business and the direction of UNIST as an implementing institution are both focused on the production of key personnel who will lead the global market for the secondary battery industry.

• 
• 

• 

  Graduate student Choi Ah-reum wins
  the Prize of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.
  
  

  Choi Ah-reum was dispatched to take part in joint research at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, where she studied the Thermally Regenerative Electrochemical Cycle (TREC), a hybrid battery-energy harvesting system that converts thermal energy into electrochemical energy. As a result, Choi’s research was published in the international academic journal Advanced Materials in 2021. In addition, another part of her research showed that the performance of sodium ion batteries can be greatly improved by using a water-in-salt electrolyte, an aqueous electrolyte, rather than the conventional organic electrolyte, as the anode material of batteries. The results of this research were published in Advanced Functional Materials in 2022, and an application for a domestic patent has been submitted.
  The following is a Q&A with the prize winner Choi Ah-reum.

  How did you come to participate in the overseas joint research program?

  A. __ Our research team has been conducting joint research and exchanges with Professor Lee Seok-woo at the NUT’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering for quite a long time already. Currently, Professor Lee’s team is studying energy harvesting. As it is related to my own research subject, namely “anode materials for a sodium ion battery system and a thermal energy harvesting system,” Professor Lee recommended that I participate in the overseas dispatch program for the Energy Manpower Fostering Business.

  What did you learn and feel through the research exchanges?

  A. __ At NTU, more than half of the lab members are postdoc researchers. Because of this, I had an opportunity to learn from their research experience and know-how. As there is a lot of active communication on problem-solving during research, it helped me to develop my research capabilities. In particular, unlike myself who majored in chemical engineering and materials engineering, most of the lab researchers were majors in mechanical engineering. There was an atmosphere in which the opinions of different majors were respected without dwelling on differences in our research careers. The doctors in the lab to which I was dispatched often asked for my opinion and interpretation, and they were interested in my opinion as a specialist. As I felt that I was playing an active role as a proper researcher, I was able to focus on my research even better.

  What are your goals for the future?

  A. __ I would like to expand my research domain by applying my studies to other fields. I also have a desire to learn new knowledge in various areas without any preconceptions along with the research field. To this end, I will have to study and take a constant interest in various areas. My experience on the overseas dispatch program of the Energy Manpower Fostering Business has also been very helpful in broadening my research field. I will continue to take up new challenges and move towards my goals without shying away from new attempts and unfamiliar experiences. When I decided to do a Ph.D., I thought that I would lead a life of study and development. So, even since after graduation, I have always wanted to study what I am curious about, and I will remain that way. In addition, my ultimate goal is that no matter where I am, I’d like to consistently grow and lead a life which brings me satisfaction.

• 

  Graduate student Lee Chan-hui wins
  the Presidential Prize of Korea Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning.

  He used X-rays to visualize side reactions in his research, the results of which were published in Nature Materials. He also identified “Joule” and the short-circuit behavior according to pressurization by analyzing the pressure behavior according to the alloy reaction of the cathode of the sulfide all-solid-state battery, and this result was published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. His research papers have been published in many scientific journals.
  The following is a Q&A with the prize winner Lee Chan-hui.

  How did you come to participate in the overseas joint research program?

  A. __ During my master’s course, I studied oxide solid electrolytes which are used in sea water batteries. Accordingly, I hoped to carry out research on various solid electrolyte materials abroad. Professor Matthew T. McDowell at Georgia Tech is a leader in sulfide solid electrolyte research, so Georgia Tech was one of the places where I wanted to go. I obtained a good opportunity to study abroad through this program and was able to start working on joint research in connection with the professor.

  What did you learn and feel through the research exchanges?

  A. __ The lab I was sent to was composed of many people of diverse nationalities. As Americans, Indians, Asians, Hispanics and Europeans got together, we were able to exchange different cultures and ideas. We went on outings every first semester, so we all became close and naturally discussed our respective research fields and shared ideas. In particular, the department I was sent to was that of Mechanical Engineering, so I was able to cultivate a lot of mechanical engineering knowledge. I also had the opportunity to adopt a mechanical approach to batteries by taking a break from electrochemical knowledge, and to design cells by myself from an engineering point of view. In the process, my passive attitude was changed into an active one and I became more extrovert. Thanks to this, after returning to Korea, I took the initiative in conducting research on the design of a new type of all-solid-state battery.

  What are your goals for the future?

  A. __ Recently, all-solid-state batteries have come under the spotlight. In particular, companies are conducting many studies and making commercialization efforts, based on the sulfide solid electrolyte that I studied. As I am still a doctoral student, I’m still lacking experience and knowledge. However, if I can acquire more in-depth knowledge, I would like to contribute to the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries and next-generation batteries with a company. The Energy Manpower Fostering Business provided me with a very useful opportunity to directly experience the overseas market, personnel, and infrastructure, and I now hope to lead this field not only in Korea but also abroad. I was worried about being dispatched overseas at first, but in the end my worries turned into opportunities and led to good results. As I have experienced the power of a virtuous cycle, I will gladly take up future challenges and do my best to create new opportunities and results.