Education 

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

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

Appointment 

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         Hanseong Science Award, Korea

2021   RGC Research Fellow [link]

2021         UROP Faculty Research Award, HKUST

2021         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