Pukyong National University Student Wins Outstanding Paper Award at Joint Conference on Geological Science and Technology

Junyong Heo, Doctoral Student,
Receives Outstanding Research Achievement Award

Junyong Heo, a doctoral student in the Department of Earth Environmental System Science at the Graduate School of Pukyong National University, received the Outstanding Paper Award at the 2025 Spring Joint Conference on Geological Science and Technology.

Doctoral student Junyong Heo and Professor Minjun Yang, Pukyong National University. Courtesy of Pukyong National University

Junyong Heo presented his paper, "Assessment of PFAS Contamination Persistence in Low-Permeability Media Using Diffusion Analytical Solutions" (supervised by Professor Minjun Yang), in the Earth Environment Session - Hydrogeology field at the conference recently held at BEXCO. His work was highly evaluated.

In this paper, he modeled the long-term behavior of the short-chain perfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) TFA and the long-chain PFAS PFOA, both classified as environmental hormones, by assuming a subsurface system with low-permeability layers. He assessed the persistence of contamination due to back-diffusion and was recognized for his research, which highlighted the need for contamination management according to the molecular structure of PFAS.

The 2025 Spring Joint Conference on Geological Science and Technology was co-hosted by the Korean Society of Economic and Environmental Geology, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, the Korea Basic Science Institute, and the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation. Under the theme "Designing the Future of Geological Science and Technology Beyond Boundaries!", the conference featured six general sessions, ten special sessions, six short courses, and field geology excursions, with a total of approximately 230 papers presented.

Junyong Heo is affiliated with the Water Environment Research Laboratory in the Department of Earth Environmental System Science at Pukyong National University. He conducted this research with the support of the G-LAMP Project Group at Pukyong National University, achieving this recognition.

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