I am currently working as a full professor in School of Mechanical Engineering at Yeungnam University, where I continue to develop cutting edge research in the gas-phase processing of nanomaterials, direct deposition of nanoparticles, and electric charging of aerosol nanoparticles as well as develop patents on the fabrication processes that result from this work.

I am also passionate about teaching and love to train students and excite them about the rich possibilities of gas-phase nanomaterial processing and the environmental advantages they can yield. Possible teaching subjects would be Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Unit Operation, Reaction Kinetics, Air Pollution Control, Physical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, and other engineering fundamentals for undergraduate students, and Aerosol Technology, Gas-phase Materials Processing, Indoor Air Management and Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry for graduate students. 

My current research is related to three of my innovations: the aerosol self-assembly "Byeon-Roberts Method," nanoseed ultrasonic flame (NUF) synthesis, and gas-phase optical tracer fabrication. These techniques are employed to prepare biofunctional nanomaterials, perovskite-based nanocomposites, and quantum/fluorescent nanodots, respectively.

In contrast to classical wet chemical methods, aerosol-based processing involves a much more limited number of preparation steps. It also produces materials continuously, allowing for a straightforward collection of materials and the generation of low waste. However, conventional aerosol-based synthesis of nanomaterials typically requires high temperatures, and thus can only be used to fabricate inorganic/monofunctional nanomaterials.

I have a PhD in mechanical engineering, and three years experience as a senior engineer at Samsung Electronics Company, developing new technologies for printed electronics, materials fabrication and patterning, and contamination control in Samsung’s LCD R&D Center. After that, I entered the Department of Chemistry at Purdue as a PostDoc Research Associate in order to pursue my research interests in the biomedical, energy, environmental, and microelectronics purposes.

Thus far, I have published a book chapter, 111 international journal articles, presented at 51 international conferences, and procured approximately 2,850k USD (from Sep 2014) in Korean corporate and government funding for my research. I also have 16 applied and 95 registered Korean patents, including 2 registered trademark rights, and 6 (US) registered and 7 (US)+4 (EU)+3 (CN)+22 (PCT) applied patents.