My research is focused on understanding surface and interfacial phenomena under liquid, ambient conditions and ultra-high vacuum (UHV) at the molecular scale using scanning-probe microscopy (SPM). The SPM includes atomic-force microscopy (AFM) , magnetic-force microscopy (MFM) , electric-force microscopy (EFM) , scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) , interfacial-force microscopy (IFM) , and friction-force microscopy (FFM). During the last fifteen years, I have employed these SPM tools to solve problems in nanophysics and biophysics.

             My SPM research started when I was a graduate student at Seoul National University in 1991. At that time, there was no AFM system in Korea. I designed and constructed an entire AFM system (the first AFM developed in Korea) for my M. S. research project while in the Khim group of the physics department. Through the eight-year experience of the construction and development of SPM during my M.S. and Ph.D courses in Seoul National University, which included the AFM, MFM and EFM work, I mastered the SPM instrumentation ( including electronic circuits, software and a mechanical design) with various modulation techniques and imaging modes (such as contact, non-contact and tapping mode).

             Immediately after my Ph D study, I joined the Perry group as a post-doc in the chemistry department at the University of Houston in 1998. I acquired a strong background in UHV STM/AFM and UHV nanotribology. I also have extensive experience in many UHV surface analysis techniques for the preparation of well-defined samples, including organic molecular beam deposition(OMBD), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), x-ray photoemission (XPS), and Auger electron spectroscopy(AES).

             During my stay in the Bunker group of Biomolecular Materials & Interfaces Department at Sandia National Laboratories before joining Boise State University, I mastered a new SPM technique called IFM (developed by Jack Houston at Sandia) that enables us to probe the attractive intermolecular interaction near the sample surface without encountering the snap-to-contact problem. I also learned many important biophysics skills related to the liquid SPM techniques and surface functionalization using thiol or silane coupling agents.

             Currently, I am developing a unique research/education program for single-molecular biophysics and condensed-matter physics at Boise State University. I am interested in performing interdisciplinary collaborative research on- and off-campus in diverse research areas from biomolecular science to engineering. Recently, as an effort toward integrating research and education, I introduced the single molecular AFM/force spectroscopy to the biophysics lab. I believe that the strong technical skills I have acquired through my long-time hands-on experiences will be valuable for the success of student teaching and research.