[2020 Women’s Forum] Global Nanoparticle Expert Emphasizes 'Collective Best Effort'

Nobel Chemistry Prize Candidate, Professor Hyun Taek-hwan, Seoul National University, Keynote Speech

Hyuntaek Hwan, Distinguished Professor at Seoul National University, is delivering the keynote speech at the '2020 Asia Women Leaders Forum' held on the 28th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] "Do your best and god will do the rest."

At the '2020 Asia Women Leaders Forum' held on the 28th at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, Hyun Taek-hwan, Chair Professor at Seoul National University and Director of the Institute for Basic Science’s Center for Nanoparticle Research, delivered the keynote speech emphasizing a common sense phrase as a 'life motto.' He always wrote this phrase in his notebook during middle and high school and never forgot it. However, his best effort was never alone but aimed 'together.' The nearly 40-minute-long lecture by Professor Hyun repeatedly stressed the significance of this value.

As is well known, Professor Hyun was the only Korean candidate selected by the global information service company Clarivate Analytics as a 'Highly Cited Researcher of 2020,' and he has recently attracted public attention as a strong candidate for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Recognized as a world-renowned scholar in the field of nanoparticles, he succinctly summarized the background of his achievements as a 'collective best effort.'

Professor Hyun’s track record can be easily confirmed by his awards. He received the 'Young Scientist Award' in 2002, the 'POSCO Chungam Science Award' in 2008, the 'Ho-Am Engineering Award' in 2012, and the 'Grand Scientist Award' in 2016. In 2010, he became an associate editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a position that alone indicates his standing in the academic community. He has published over 400 papers in world-class journals in chemistry, nanoscience, and materials science, which have been cited more than 58,000 times.

Professor Hyun describes himself as "someone who would have starved if he had not done chemistry." During his doctoral studies at the University of Illinois (1991?1996), which he attended with government funding, he had no results for the first three years. He recalled that period as "feeling like banging my head against a concrete wall."

However, he accepted the process of frustration and continuously sought new ideas from his colleagues’ papers. After earning his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry with a specialization in sonochemistry at the University of Illinois, he started a completely different 'nano' research field when he became a professor at Seoul National University in 1997, which he considers a turning point in his life.

Without following existing research, he stepped into a new area and succeeded in developing the 'hot-injection method' capable of mass-producing uniformly sized nanoparticles, leaving a life achievement in expanding the applicability of nanoparticles. Professor Hyun emphasized, "If you do your best, remain humble, considerate, and constantly take notes to build a solid 'foundation,' you will eventually achieve great results."

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