Education 

2004 - 10   Massachusetts Institute of Technology , PhD in Atomic Physics  

2000 - 03   Seoul National University,  BS in Physics and Mathematics 

Appointment 

2026          Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice

2025          Professor of Physics and Astronomy, RICE

2023-25    Director, Center for Complex Quantum Systems, HKUST

2023-25    Professor of Physics, HKUST

2021-23    Hari Harilela Associate Professor of Physics, HKUST

2019-23    Associate Professor, HKUST

2013-19    Assistant professor, HKUST

2010-13    Postdoc. Associate in Dan Stamper-Kurn group, UC Berkeley 

2004-10    Graduate student in Center for Ultracold Atoms (CUA), MIT 

2003-04    Research Assistant, Seoul. Nat. Univ. 

Awards 

2025         Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigator 

2025         Hansung Science Award, Korea

2021   RGC Research Fellow 

2021         UROP Faculty Research Award, HKUST

2021         Hari Harilela Named Professorship, HKUST 

2019         School Research Award, School of Science, HKUST

2016         Croucher Innovation Awards, Croucher Foundation [link]

2014         Early Career Award, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong

2013         AKPA Outstanding Young Researcher Award [link]

2004-09   Samsung Foundation Fellowship  [link]

Editorial Boards

Quantum Science and Technology IOP

JOSA B, OPTICA

Scientific Reports 

Research Interests 

Experimental quantum science in ultracold atomic systems including:

Quantum simulation,

Synthetic quantum materials, 

Quantum gases in engineered optical lattices, 

Atom and quantum optics, 

Atom interferometry, 

Ultracold Fermi gases and Bose-Einstein Condensation