HKUST and Seoul National University Hosted Joint Workshop to Advance Collaboration in Materials Science and Chemical Engineering

The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) successfully hosted the HKUST CBE–SNU MSE Joint Workshop on February 26, 2026, bringing together faculty members from HKUST and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at Seoul National University (SNU) for a full day of academic exchange and discussion.

The workshop provided a valuable platform for strengthening ties between the two departments and for sharing recent advances in materials science, chemical engineering, and interdisciplinary research.

HKUST’s CBE Department was honored to welcome Prof. Myoung Gyu LEE, Chair of SNU’s MSE Department, and Prof. Heung Nam HAN, Former Chair of SNU’s MSE Department, who delivered opening remarks and introduced the teaching, research, and history of their department. The workshop was led with strong support from Prof. SHAO Minhua, Head of the CBE Department at HKUST, and Former Head Prof. HSING I-Ming, whose guidance was instrumental in the organization of the event. HKUST Dean of Engineering Prof. Hong K. LO and colleagues from the CBE Department also joined the workshop activities and discussions.

The workshop featured a series of scholarly presentations highlighting recent advances at the forefront of materials science, chemical engineering, and related interdisciplinary fields, stimulating active discussion and academic exchange.

• Prof. Jeong Woo HAN (SNU MSE) presented work on metal–nitrogen–carbon architectures for electrocatalysis.
• Prof. Junwoo SON (SNU MSE) shared research on heteroepitaxial thin film growth of emerging materials.
• Prof. Min Hyuk PARK (SNU MSE) presented studies on ferroelectric materials for next generation 3D DRAM.
• Prof. Tom LUO, Prof. SUN Fei, and Prof. GAO Hanyu (all from HKUST CBE) showcased recent research activities in two-dimensional materials, engineering biology, and AI enabled chemical information extraction.

The HKUST CBE–SNU MSE Joint Workshop represents an important step toward deeper collaboration between the two departments. Both sides expressed strong interest in exploring future cooperation through joint research projects, student exchanges, co-organized seminars, and reciprocal visits.