Yonsei Advanced Science Institute

ACS Publications successfully held its first-ever forum in South Korea, “ACS Publications & IBS Forum: Nanomaterials for Energy and Life Sciences.” The two-day event was held September 30-October 1, 2019, in partnership with the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) for NanoMedicine and hosted at Yonsei University. The forum featured top international researchers and ACS Editors from Accounts of Chemical Research, ACS Nano, Chemistry of Materials, Journal of the American Chemical Society, ACS Central Science, and Chemical Research in Toxicology. Programming also included a poster session, ACS on Campus presentations and discussions, a media conference, and a cultural excursion for speakers and organizers.

This event attracted nearly 400 researchers and students from 11 countries. Students presented their research during poster sessions, then networked with ACS Editors and speakers working at the forefront of nanomaterials chemistry. “It was really a nice opportunity to [get to] know a lot about on-going researches and interact with researchers too,” remarked one attendee.

Professor Jillian Buriak, Editor-in-Chief, Chemistry of Materials, participated in the energy session, where she explained how her group is applying design-of-experiment principles and machine learning to optimize organic solar cell efficiency. Buriak also participated in a panel discussion on “10 Tips for Scholarly Publishing” along with ACS Editors, including Professor Peidong Yang, Associate Editor of Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Professor So-Jung Park, Associate Editor of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

This panel also featured Professor Joanna Aizenberg of Harvard University, who, in her talk titled “Inverse-opal colloidal assemblies decorated with nanoparticles for energy and medical application,” spoke about how her group is taking inspiration from biological structures to design multifunctional, adaptive materials for photonic, catalytic, and sensing applications. Aizenberg said, “This technology was inspired by a carnivorous plant with a jar-shaped structure. When insects touch the plant, they slide in and get eaten by the plant. I have completed the technology by studying the surface of nanostructures and lubricants of the plants.”

Professor Jinwoo Cheon, Director of Institute of Basic Science, Center for NanoMedicine, presented his talk, “Design of Nanomaterials for Next-Generation Imaging and Cell Manipulations,” at the forum as an invited speaker. Director Cheon discussed the “unique uses of nanomaterials in MRI imaging, cancer cell heat treatment, controlled drug delivery, and the cell function control in single-cell and gene-level.” “One of the important trends in life science for the next generation is to develop new devices capable of monitoring and imaging targets,” said Cheon.

“The theme of the forum, ‘Nanomaterials for Energy and Life Sciences,’ could not have been more topical or relevant to the research interests of the host country. South Korea is a global leader in scientific research, and much of its R&D spending is concentrated in technology and materials,” said Dr. Bibiana Campos Seijo, Editor-in-Chief, Chemical & Engineering News who attended the forum. “An excellent way to celebrate nanomaterials research.”