PhD candidate Yeongjin Yoon (Department of Applied Plasma Engineering, supervised by Professor Tae‑hwan Kim) received the 16th Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award at the 35th Synchrotron Radiation Users' Research Presentation and the Association's Annual General Meeting, recently held in the International Conference Hall of the POSCO International Center.

The Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award is presented by the Korea Synchrotron Radiation Users Association (a public interest corporation). The award recognizes young researchers enrolled in master's and doctoral programs who have produced excellent research outcomes using synchrotron radiation at facilities such as the Pohang Synchrotron Radiation Facility, in line with the association's founding purpose of promoting academic and technological development in synchrotron-based research.

Using the Pohang Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Yoon devised a facile method to fabricate a three-dimensional hetero-nanoparticle superlattice composed of spherical gold nanoparticles and surfactant micelles in aqueous solution. He then successfully realized three distinct hetero-nanoparticle superlattice structures using this approach.

In addition, he has published a total of six SCI papers, including three as first author on studies related to nanoparticles and soft materials. His research has achieved high recognition, including being selected as a cover article in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (American Chemical Society), a leading international journal in physical chemistry.

Yoon said, "I am grateful to my professor and fellow researchers who provided significant support for this research. I will continue to lead efforts to address the challenges of phase behavior and structural elucidation in nanostructures."