Professor Seok-Woo Lee’s Journey from Alchemy Dreams to Materials Science
By Razil Fernandes, Written Communications Specialist
Seok-Woo Lee, associate professor of material science and engineering
From a young age, Associate Professor Seok-Woo Lee was drawn to stories of alchemists transforming elements into gold. This childhood interest translated into what is now a lifelong journey revolving around materials science. Today, Professor Lee follows his quest to push the boundaries of materials as he explores the impact materials science innovations can have on our lives.
When he joined UConn in 2014, he was drawn by the collaborative spirit he felt during his interview. He chose UConn over other universities, charmed by the warmth and camaraderie of faculty and students. As the MSE Director of Undergraduate Studies, he works to refine the curriculum and connects with high school students at outreach events to share the excitement of materials science.
Research is at the heart of Professor Lee’s work, and his latest project demonstrates just how impactful materials science can be. His team, along with collaborators at UMass-Amherst, UW-Madison, and Caltech, made a recent breakthrough published in Nature Communications entitled “Nanoporous amorphous carbon nanopillars with lightweight, ultrahigh strength, large fracture strain, and high damping capability.” His former PhD student, Zhongyuan Li, was the first author of this paper. The main conclusion from this work is that nanoporous amorphous carbon nanopillars demonstrate superior strength, are lightweight, and are simultaneously highly deformable due to uniquely self-assembled nanoscale pore structures. Surprisingly, the strength of these nanopillars is higher than most engineering materials with the same mass density (0.8~1.6g/cm3). Thus, they are “light, but still extraordinarily strong.” Such a material could have major impacts in terms of reducing the weight of engineering systems. His advice for students interested in pursuing materials science and engineering is to consider the impacts and importance of such a field: “Developing lightweight high-strength materials is crucial in many aspects. Cars and airplanes made from such material can fly further and require less fuel, saving money and resources. This goes hand in hand with the fact that high-strength materials last longer which saves raw materials, money, and energy, ultimately preserving the environment.” He emphasizes, “I hope that a student knows that making lightweight high-strength materials is not just simply making something unbreakable but one of the wonderful ways to improve our society.”
Another major focus for Professor Lee over the past seven years has been studying the mechanical properties of ThCr₂Si₂-structured intermetallic compounds. “These materials exhibit super-elasticity through a mechanism that makes and breaks chemical bonds,” he explains. This super-elasticity opens up fascinating materials research areas related to phase transformation, magnetism, superconductivity, elastocaloric cooling, and mechanical damping. Professor Lee describes this research as one of the most enjoyable aspects of his career, particularly because of the collaboration it entails. He works closely with UConn’s Professor Mark Aindow and several esteemed colleagues outside of UConn, such as Professor Paul Canfield from Iowa State University in materials synthesis, and Professors Roser Valentí from Goethe University in Germany and Christopher Weinberger from Colorado State University who each specialize in computer simulations. This ongoing work highlights the collaborative spirit of his research and his dedication to exploring the structural potential of materials—a passion that continues to drive his innovations and contributions to the field.
Professor Lee received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2011 and has been at UConn for the past 10 years. After completing 4 years of MSE undergraduate studies and a 2-year MSE master’s program in South Korea, Professor Lee traveled to the United States to pursue further studies. Now, he has 63 scientific articles published on topics related to alloy synthesis and mechanical characterization.
Book cover of ‘Make Materials that Change the World! Materials Science’
Collaboration is clearly a key to his success. Working closely with Professor Mark Aindow’s group on electron microscopy, they examine how the atomic structure of materials affects their mechanical properties. Additionally, he collaborates with Professor Avinash Dongare’s group, who run atomic simulations to better understand material behavior under various conditions. Dr. Lee says, “this work is deeply rewarding, especially as it allows me to guide and be inspired by the students who contribute fresh perspectives and ideas to the research.”
Outside of research, Professor Lee is the MSE director of undergraduate studies. In this role, he answers questions from about UConn’s undergraduate program, helps to improve the MSE curriculum, and is involved with undergraduate student recruiting. In fact, he is so committed to informing high school students about the importance of materials engineering that he recently published a book entitled “Make Materials that Change the World! Materials Science’“his book was written to introduce the fundamental ideas of materials science, and its important role in the development of modern technologies to high school students.
Mentorship is as important to Professor Lee as innovation. He holds several awards such as the MSE Teaching Excellence of the Year from UConn in 2018 and 2017, as well as the Mentorship Excellence Award in 2019. His dedication to his students was recognized with the latter award when one of his undergraduate students, Hetal Patel, nominated him—a surprise honor that he considers his proudest accomplishment. Seok-Woo says, “Watching students grow into skilled scientists is one of the most gratifying aspects of his role at UConn.”
Looking ahead, Professor Lee envisions an exciting future for innovative structural materials. He believes that as techniques like nanoscale 3D printing and self-assembly advance, scientists will be able to create high-strength, lightweight nano-structured materials at larger scales.
Published: December 5, 2024
Categories: faculty, membership, news, research, teaching
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