Professor Changgu Lee's interview with Sung-kyun Webzine
- 기계과 이창구 교수님 연구실
- 조회수1017
- 2021-03-12
Graphene Engineering Lab, Professor Lee Chang-gu.
Journalist Kim Jae-hyun, Editor-in-chief Ahn So-hyun, who entered article 421 article entry
Samsung recently unveiled its "Galaxy Fold" product in advance, and "FLEXIBLE DISPLAY," which used to only appear in movies in the past, is becoming a reality. The core technology of this product is graphene. After hearing that there was a laboratory that intensively studies graphene at the Industrial-Academic Cooperation Center of the Natural Science Campus, I visited Professor Lee Chang-gu of the graphene engineering lab and conducted an interview.
◎ What is the graphene engineering lab like?
Our lab is where we study graphene and two-dimensional materials. Graphene is a very thin material consisting of a layer of carbon atoms. You can make hundreds of two-dimensional materials using different elements, not carbon. Such two-dimensional materials have very different physical properties. For example, graphene is made up of three bonds of carbon, so it is a conductor, but if you make a two-dimensional material using Boron nitride, the material becomes an adductor, and if you make it using another element, the material becomes a semiconductor (sometimes an electrical material).
What kind of research do you conduct and how is this research used in real life?
Currently, there are many different types of materials in the field of studying two-dimensional materials. As we are majoring in mechanical engineering, we are studying materials in mechanical engineering characteristics. These studies can be used in various products and fields. For example, in the past, if tennis rackets were made of wood and aluminum, recently they are made of composite materials, which contain graphene. Because graphene is a very strong substance. Graphene is made up of very thin and light carbon, but it can be the strongest and lightest product in the world if it builds up that thin and light product and becomes as thick as thick as other materials. It can also be used for various sports items such as skiing and snowboarding.
In addition, it is used for VR, but it is not yet practical, but it is applied only as a concept. It is also used for the semiconductor portion of the flexible display. Flexible display should bend well because 2D material is very thin, so it bends well. Graphene or two-dimensional materials are very thin and have a wide surface, and these products are very sensitive. Therefore, it is also useful for many sensors.
◎ Professor is mechanical engineering, how did you come to do the material research?
I also conducted research on turbines, pumps, etc., which is a traditional mechanical engineering field, in micro-unit. Then I first came across graphene nanomaterials when I was a researcher after my doctorate. Microtechnology and nanotechnology are quite similar. At the end of my Ph.D. research, graphene first appeared and after my Ph.D., I thought I wanted to apply graphene to mechanical engineering. So we started measuring the elasticity and strength of graphene, the mechanical properties of graphene. There are not certain products and materials that are studied in each department. Machines also have chemical properties, so various departments conduct research in various fields, including those studied by chemical engineers.
◎ Showing off the lab
The researchers in our lab are all Ph.D. and postdoctoral researchers. As such, we have done a lot of basic research, and excellent students are conducting quality research and publishing a lot of high-quality papers. In 2015, it developed the world's first low-cost two-dimensional material low-temperature synthesis method, and last year, it was able to identify lattice structure using two-dimensional optics.
I am providing scholarships to all the students in the lab. This is because I don't think students pay such tuition fees to come to graduate school and give precious time to conduct research together. We provide 100% tuition and additional living expenses. I'm planning to support students who come to the lab like that from now.
◎ Professor's dream
I've done a lot of fundamental research so far, and it's my wish to see that my research is used a lot in real life. It has been saying for years that it can produce flexible displays using graphene and two-dimensional materials, but it is still not commercialized. I also want to implement it quickly, but there are still many limitations. To solve this problem, we are conducting various research and experiments in various ways.
◎ Which student would be a good candidate for mechanical engineering?
Since I was young, I have loved assembling and making things (robots, cars, etc.). As such, I wanted to go to the mechanical engineering department when I was a student, and I went to school with great satisfaction after I went to school. If you like circuits, it would be right to go to the electronics department, and if you like to make something like me, I think it would fit well with mechanical engineering.
◎ What kind of student should come to the graphene engineering lab?
It doesn't seem to matter that the student's grades are high. I think the most important thing is passion. If you don't have passion, you will have a hard time overcoming big difficulties while conducting graduate courses. After observing various students, I have seen many cases of passionate students succeed in graduate school, so I am actually the first to check "enthusiasm" in graduate interviews. When a student who is passionate, wants to study, and likes to study comes into our lab, I will also provide a lot of support for the student to achieve excellent results and the career he or she wants.
I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Lee Chang-gu for his kind explanation despite the long interview. I sincerely support the professor to see the flexible display and the bent and folded cell phone are commercialized and everyone uses it as soon as possible.
https://webzine.skku.edu/skkuzine/section/culture03.do?mode=list&&pagerLimit=10&articleNo=72928&pager.offset=0
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