Jiwoong Yang

Jiwoong Yang

Associate professor,

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology

Jiwoong Yang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering (Chemical Engineering Track) at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Republic of Korea. He joined DGIST in 2019. He received his B.S. degree (2011, Summa Cum Laude) and Ph.D. degree (2016) in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Seoul National University (SNU) under the supervision of Prof. Taeghwan Hyeon. After his Ph.D., he conducted postdoctoral research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, 2017-2019). At LBNL, he worked under the guidance of Dr. Haimei Zheng, developing and applying in situ liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to directly visualize nanoscale transformations in liquids and to investigate heterogeneity and fluctuations at solid–liquid interfaces.

Prof. Yang’s group focuses on design and synthesis of quantum-sized semiconductor nanomaterials—particularly colloidal quantum dots and related nanocrystals—for display applications. A central objective is to establish mechanistic links between nanocrystal formation pathways, surface/interface chemistry, and functional optoelectronic performance. The group integrates materials synthesis with state-of-the-art characterization, including in situ TEM together with optical and X-ray spectroscopy, to follow structure evolution and correlate it with properties. His work emphasizes translating mechanistic insight into robust materials and device architectures, with interests that include scalable processing and high-resolution patterning/transfer strategies for next-generation optoelectronics, as well as nanocrystal-enabled photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical reactions.

His have published about 85 peer-reviewed papers. He has led multiple studies as a corresponding author in leading journals, including corresponding-author papers in Nature Electronics (2024), Nature Photonics (2024), Matter (2025), and Advanced Materials (2025, 2026), among other high-impact venues. His honors include the POSCO Science Fellowship (2020) and Miwon Young Scientist Award (2020), as well as DGIST Best Teaching Award (2023) and DGIST Best Academic Award (2025). He also contributes to the community as a peer reviewer for journals including Nature Photonics, Science Advances, JACS, ACS Nano, Nano Letters, and Advanced Materials. At DGIST, he leads an interdisciplinary team at the interface of nanochemistry, characterization, and device engineering, and mentors students and postdoctoral researchers.

Title

Nonlinear Light Field Manipulation via Ferroelectric Nematic Microstructures

Abstract：

Quantum dots (QDs) offer tunable bandgap, wide color gamut, and high brightness for display technologies, yet operational stability and process compatibility remain key barriers to practical deployment. Here I present a mechanistic design strategy that connects synthesis, surface/interface chemistry, and degradation pathways to display-relevant performance metrics. In situ X-ray scattering captures kinetic signatures of phase evolution and formation pathways during colloidal nanocrystal growth, providing synthesis handles to control structural heterogeneity and defect landscapes that ultimately influence optoelectronic performance and reliability [1,2]. Complementarily, in situ liquid-phase TEM—used to track structural and chemical evolution under reactive environments rather than complete nucleation—together with in situ X-ray analysis reveals moisture- and environment-driven degradation mechanisms and clarifies how passivation chemistry redirects failure pathways to improve material stability [3–5]. Finally, I discuss how these materials-level rules translate to display integration, including high-definition QD-displays [6,7], stretchable QD-displays [8,9], and interactive displays [10,11]. Collectively, this mechanistic perspective moves beyond empirical optimization and provides generalizable pathways toward durable, high-performance next-generation QD display technologies.