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Sung Hoon Kang

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology · Engineering

About the Lab

Professor Sung Hoon Kang's research lab specializes in the design and mechanics of advanced functional materials, with a focus on architected materials, flexible and stretchable sensors, and bio-inspired mechanical systems. The lab explores principles of geometric frustration, buckling-induced instabilities, and viscoelastic responses to engineer materials with tunable, reversible, and stimuli-responsive behaviors. Key research directions include the development of high-performance piezoresistive sensors for wearable electronics, energy-absorbing materials using liquid crystal elastomers, and chiral metamaterials with switchable optical and mechanical properties. The work bridges fundamental mechanics with applications in healthcare, human-machine interfaces, and smart structures.

architected materialsbuckling mechanicsflexible sensorsliquid crystal elastomersgeometric frustration

Research Overview

Papers
160
Total Citations
9,777
Papers (5y)
48
Primary Field
Engineering

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
48total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
330total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|422 citations·2017
Harvesting ambient wind energy with an inverted piezoelectric flag
Santiago Orrego, Kourosh Shoele, Andre Ruas, Kyle Doran, Brett Caggiano, Rajat Mittal, Sung Hoon Kang
SJR Q1Applied Energy
Mechanical EngineeringEngineering
2
Article|221 citations·2020
Review—Recent Progress in Flexible and Stretchable Piezoresistive Sensors and Their Applications
Jing Li, Lichen Fang, Bohan Sun, Xixing Li, Sung Hoon Kang
SJR Q1Journal of The Electrochemical SocietyOA

The recent advances in wearable electronics and intelligent human-machine interface systems have garnered great interests in electromechanical sensors, which can measure and quantify physical stimuli. Among different types of electromechanical sensors, piezoresistive sensors have been extensively investigated due to the excellent sensitivity, simple construction, and durability. Especially, there have been remarkable developments of flexible and stretchable piezoresistive sensors for wearable de

Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
3
Article|136 citations·2014
Complex Ordered Patterns in Mechanical Instability Induced Geometrically Frustrated Triangular Cellular Structures
Sung Hoon Kang, Sicong Shan, Andrej Košmrlj, Wim L. Noorduin, Samuel Shian, James C. Weaver, David R. Clarke, Katia Bertoldi
SJR Q1Physical Review Letters

Geometrical frustration arises when a local order cannot propagate throughout the space because of geometrical constraints. This phenomenon plays a major role in many systems leading to disordered ground-state configurations. Here, we report a theoretical and experimental study on the behavior of buckling-induced geometrically frustrated triangular cellular structures. To our surprise, we find that buckling induces complex ordered patterns which can be tuned by controlling the porosity of the st

Condensed Matter PhysicsPhysics and Astronomy
4
Article|119 citations·2022
Synergistic Energy Absorption Mechanisms of Architected Liquid Crystal Elastomers
Seung‐Yeol Jeon, Beijun Shen, Nicholas A. Traugutt, Zeyu Zhu, Lichen Fang, Christopher M. Yakacki, Thao D. Nguyen, Sung Hoon Kang
SJR Q1Advanced MaterialsOA

Abstract A unique rate‐dependent energy absorption behavior of liquid crystal elastomer (LCE)‐based architected materials is reported. The architected materials consist of repeating unit cells of bistable tilted LCE beams sandwiched between stiff supports. The viscoelastic behavior of the LCE causes the energy absorption to increase with strain rate according to a power‐law relationship, which can be modulated by changing the degree of mesogen alignment and the loading direction relative to the

Mechanical EngineeringEngineering
5
Article|91 citations·2013
Buckling‐Induced Reversible Symmetry Breaking and Amplification of Chirality Using Supported Cellular Structures
Sung Hoon Kang, Sicong Shan, Wim L. Noorduin, Mughees Khan, Joanna Aizenberg, Katia Bertoldi
SJR Q1Advanced MaterialsOA

Buckling-induced reversible symmetry breaking and amplification of chirality using macro- and microscale supported cellular structures is described. Guided by extensive theoretical analysis, cellular structures are rationally designed, in which buckling induces a reversible switching between achiral and chiral configurations. Additionally, it is demonstrated that the proposed mechanism can be generalized over a wide range of length scales, geometries, materials, and stimuli.

Mechanical EngineeringEngineering
6
Article|84 citations·2020
3D printing and characterization of a soft and biostable elastomer with high flexibility and strength for biomedical applications
Emilio Bachtiar, Ozan Erol, Michal A. Millrod, Runhan Tao, David H. Gracias, Lewis H. Romer, Sung Hoon Kang
SJR Q2Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials/Journal of mechanical behavior of biomedical materialsOA
Automotive EngineeringEngineering
7
Article|80 citations·2019
Ultrasensitive, flexible, and low-cost nanoporous piezoresistive composites for tactile pressure sensing
Jing Li, Santiago Orrego, Junjie Pan, Peisheng He, Sung Hoon Kang
SJR Q1Nanoscale

Highly sensitive flexible tactile sensors are of continuing interest for various applications including wearable devices, human-machine interface systems, and internet of things. Current technologies for high sensitivity piezoresistive sensors rely on costly materials and/or fabrication methods such as graphene-based and micro-structured composites limiting accessibility and scalability. Here, we report a facile sacrificial casting-etching method to synthesize nanoporous carbon nanotube/polymer

Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
8
Article|74 citations·2010
Control of Shape and Size of Nanopillar Assembly by Adhesion-Mediated Elastocapillary Interaction
Sung Hoon Kang, Boaz Pokroy, L. Mahadevan, Joanna Aizenberg
SJR Q1ACS NanoOA

Control of self-organization of nanofibers into regular clusters upon evaporation-induced assembly is receiving increasing attention due to the potential importance of this process in a range of applications including particle trapping, adhesives, and structural color. Here we present a comprehensive study of this phenomenon using a periodic array of polymeric nanopillars with tunable parameters as a model system to study how geometry, mechanical properties, as well as surface properties influen

Surfaces, Coatings and FilmsMaterials Science
9
Article|62 citations·2005
Morphological control of calcium carbonate crystallized in reverse micelle system with anionic surfactants SDS and AOT
Sung Hoon Kang, Izumi Hirasawa, Woo‐Sik Kim, Chang Kyun Choi
SJR Q1Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
BiomaterialsMaterials Science
10
Article|57 citations·2022
Enhanced mechanical properties of epoxy composites embedded with MF/TiO2 hybrid shell microcapsules containing n-octadecane
Guangjian Peng, Yahao Hu, Guijing Dou, Yiheng Sun, Yong Huan, Sung Hoon Kang, Zhongyu Piao
SJR Q1Journal of Industrial and Engineering ChemistryOA
Mechanical EngineeringEngineering
11
Article|57 citations·2004
Memory effect from charge trapping in layered organic structures
Sung Hoon Kang, Todd Crisp, Ioannis Kymissis, Vladimir Bulović
SJR Q1Applied Physics Letters

We demonstrate organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) with a charge trap layer that show memory behavior. These OLEDs demonstrate that organic heterojunction structures can controllably trap and release electronic charges. The trap layer is either 5-nm-thick clustered silver islands, or a 10-nm-thick organic laser dye DCM2 ([2-methyl-6-[2-(2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[i,j]quinolizin-9-yl)-ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene] propane-dinitrile) doped into TPD (N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-1,1

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringEngineering
12
Article|53 citations·2020
Effects of Environmental Temperature and Humidity on the Geometry and Strength of Polycarbonate Specimens Prepared by Fused Filament Fabrication
Lichen Fang, Yishu Yan, Ojaswi Agarwal, Shengyu Yao, Jonathan E. Seppala, Sung Hoon Kang
SJR Q2MaterialsOA

It is widely known that the printing quality of fused filament fabrication (FFF) is heavily affected by environmental temperature and humidity, taking the form of warping and porosity. However, there is little understanding about the quantitative relations between environmental conditions, geometry, and the mechanical properties of printed parts. In this study, we systematically investigated those relations using bisphenol A polycarbonate as a model material system. For the environmental tempera

Automotive EngineeringEngineering
13
Article|49 citations·2003
Effect of Taylor vortices on calcium carbonate crystallization by gas–liquid reaction
Sung Hoon Kang, Sang Goo Lee, Wang Mo Jung, Min Chan Kim, Woo‐Sik Kim, Chang Kyun Choi, Robert S. Feigelson
SJR Q2Journal of Crystal Growth
BiomaterialsMaterials Science
14
Article|46 citations·2021
Designing self-oscillating matter
Beijun Shen, Sung Hoon Kang
SJR Q1Matter
Condensed Matter PhysicsPhysics and Astronomy
15
Article|45 citations·2019
Programming the time into 3D printing: current advances and future directions in 4D printing
Beijun Shen, Ozan Erol, Lichen Fang, Sung Hoon Kang
SJR Q1Multifunctional MaterialsOA

Abstract 3D printing technology has revolutionized various fields since it was first developed in the 1980s. In 2013, time was introduced to the spatial dimensions of the 3D printing as a new dimension leading to 4D printing. This emerging technology integrates stimuli-responsive materials with 3D printing technologies and opened up new possibilities for challenging problems by allowing the fabrication of complex structures that can undergo programmed temporal changes in response to external sti

Mechanical EngineeringEngineering

Research Areas

Mechanical EngineeringBiomedical EngineeringElectrical and Electronic EngineeringPsychiatry and Mental healthAutomotive EngineeringBiomaterials

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