Speaker: Yunsang Kim, Assistant Professor with the Department of Sustainable Bioproducts at Mississippi State University
Title: Cellulosic Nanomaterials as a Platform Material from Renewable Resources for Accelerating Materials Discovery and Design
Abstract: In this research seminar, Dr. Yunsang Kim will introduce cellulosic nanomaterials (CNMs) as a platform material from renewable resources for accelerating materials discovery and design. CNMs offer a unique combination of characteristics such as sustainability, on-axis stiffness, a large surface area, and abundant surface hydroxyls. For example, an inherent amphiphilic property allows CNM to act as an interfacial stabilizer for oil-in-water Pickering emulsions and microcapsules. A systematic study on the synthesis and processing of CNM-based microcapsules has enabled Dr. Kim’s research group to design functional CNM microcapsules that can serve as thermal energy storage (with a phase change material) and a high-capacity absorbent (with a hollow structure), which also offer enhanced stability, biodegradability, and stimuli responsiveness.
Bio: Dr. Yunsang Kim earned his Ph.D. in 2014 from the School of Polymer, Textile and Fiber Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology under the supervision of Dr. Joseph Perry, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. After working with Dr. Sergiy Minko as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Georgia for cellulosic nanomaterials research, Dr. Kim currently hold the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Sustainable Bioproducts at Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS. As Lead PI and Co-PI at Mississippi State University and University of Georgia, Dr. Kim have secured more than $2.4M research funding (32% share) through external and internal sources as well as cooperate agreements, including US Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service, The Elsevier Foundation, and Cotton Incorporated. His current primary research interests center around the synthesis and processing of functional soft materials from renewable resources for applications in energy, electronics, and buildings.