변영운|Young-Woon Byeon
I believe good research begins with good questions. Unexpected experimental results give us new questions to pursue. Understanding why observations differ from our expectations helps us build a deeper understanding of materials.
My research uses advanced electron microscopy to examine material structures and how they change, and to explain how these observations relate to material properties.
Biography
Young-Woon Byeon is the group leader of the Advanced Electron Microscopy Laboratory (AEML) at the Advanced Analysis and Data Center (AADC), KIST. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Sciences and Engineering from Korea University (Seoul, Korea) in 2020, where he studied under Dr. Jae-Pyoung Ahn and Prof. Jae-Chul Lee. During his doctoral research, he focused on the diffusion kinetics of lithium (Li+) and sodium (Na+) ions in alloying anodes such as tin (Sn), silicon (Si), antimony (Sb). Utilizing in-situ/operando electron microscopy techniques, he revealed how the diffusion of charge-carrier-ions was mitigated at the migrating interface during the volume expansion.
Following his Ph.D., he joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) as a postdoctoral research employee, working with Dr. Haegyeom Kim and Dr. Peter Ercius. There, he explored the complexities of material properties under various processing conditions, with applications spanning all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs), proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), and nanoporous bio-ceramics. In November 2023, Young-Woon began his tenure-track position as a senior research scientist at AADC, KIST in Seoul, Korea.
Education
- Ph.D. 2020, Materials Sciences and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
- B.S. 2013, Materials Sciences and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
Work Experience
- 2023.11 - present — Senior Research Scientist, AADC, KIST, Seoul, Korea
- 2020.03 - 2023.10 — Postdoctoral Research Employee, Materials Sciences Division, LBNL, Berkeley, CA, USA
- 2009.03 - 2011.04 — Sergeant (Honorably Discharged), Education and Training Command, ROKAF, Jinju, Korea
Service & Outreach
- Editor-in-Chief, Korean Society of Surface Analysis (2025 – Present)
- Editorial Director, Korean Society of Microscopy: Applied Microscopy (2024 – Present)
- Committee Member, Materials Data Standardization Committee, KRISS (2025 – Present)
- Member, Electrochemical Society (2022 – Present)
- Member, Materials Research Society (2018 – Present)
- Member, Korean Society of Metals and Materials (2014 – Present)
- Member, Korean Society of Microscopy (2014 – Present)
- President, KSEA Berkeley Local Chapter (2021 – 2023)
- Journal Reviewer: Materials Today Energy, Electrochimica Acta, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Applied Sciences, Materials, IJMS, Molecules, Batteries, Energies, etc.