Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Professor Jung‑Hee Lee of the BIN Department of Convergence Engineering has been selected as the June recipient of the 'Scientist of the Month Award' presented by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

For more than 20 years, Professor Lee has produced world-class research achievements in the field of composite materials through original and creative research on manufacturing technologies for nanocomposite materials. He was recognized for his contributions to the 'Development of an Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing Technology for Highly Conductive Nanocomposite Materials' and received this award.

The technique is an environmentally friendly and simple method for producing highly conductive nanocomposite materials. It simultaneously reduces graphene oxide (GO) by heat treatment and enables polymer resin polymerization, thereby producing highly conductive nanocomposites.

The graphene obtained through this method exhibits electrical conductivity and mechanical properties far superior to graphene produced by chemical methods. By developing a technique that manufactures nanocomposite materials without using the harmful chemicals commonly employed in graphene reduction, this research offers outcomes applicable to a variety of fields.

These research results were published in Nano Letters (IF: 13.198), one of the world's leading journals in the field of composite materials. Through related research, Professor Lee has published 69 papers in SCI journals over the past three years (total IF: 321.35). Of these, 45 were published in Top 10% journals, demonstrating a strong record of publication in leading international journals.

In particular, papers published in the past three years have been cited 1,211 times, indicating that Professor Lee's research has very high academic impact.

He has also succeeded in commercializing his creative research through technology transfer. Professor Lee developed polymer/clay nanocomposites with high gas-barrier properties and achieved the world’s first application of these materials to hydrogen storage tanks, successfully commercializing the technology. He obtained domestic and international patents and certifications and transferred the technology to industry.

The ultralight nanocomposite hydrogen tanks developed through this work were applied to Hyundai Motor Company's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and the related technology was transferred to Iljin Composite Co., Ltd. for mass production. By developing numerous high-performance nanocomposite materials and transferring them to industry for production, he has also made significant contributions to industrial development.

In particular, he developed a charcoal-based polymer manufacturing technology and transferred it to KCT Co., Ltd. This technology has produced excellent results, being applied to Winia Mando's kimchi refrigerator kimchi containers and to food waste separation containers used by several local governments.

His research on functional composite materials did not stop there. He developed octopus (jjukumi) capture gear using calcium carbonate/HDPE that is durable yet easy to handle. This innovation has dramatically extended service life and made octopus harvesting easier, and it is currently used in many fishing communities.