Center for Functional Nanomaterials Colloquium

Abstract Recent advances in 2D van der Waals (vdW) crystals opened new avenues of studying 2D electron transport, which has been one of the most important topics in science and technology for decades. I will discuss how we can use the large-scale processes for generating 2D crystalline semiconductor films and superlattices to realize nonelectronic "magical" 2D transport phenomena observed from phonons, photons and mass. These understandings could empower the development of 2D phononics, 2D photonics and 2D mechanics. I will conclude with our latest work studying how one can engineer novel molecule-inorganic hybrid 2D systems for further advancing this research area. Biography: Jiwoong Park is a professor in Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago. His research focuses on the science and application of nanoscale materials, especially 2D materials such as graphene and transition-metal dichalcogenides. He received a BS degree from Seoul National University (1996) and a PhD degree in physics from the University of California, Berkeley (2003; advisor: Professor Paul McEuen). Before coming to The University of Chicago in 2016, he was one of the first Junior Rowland Fellows at the Rowland Institute at Harvard University (2003–2006) and was a faculty member (2006–2016) at Cornell University. Park is a recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award (2008), Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2009), Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2010), Scientist of the Year Award from the Korean Foundation of Science and Technology (KFST) (2023), and David Turnbull Lectureship from MRS (2025). His previous and current service roles include Associate Editor of Nano Letters (2017–2023) and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at The University of Chicago (2023–present).