Jin-Woo Kim

TITLE:

Designing Bio-Hybrid Nanomaterials: Translating Ideas into Nanobiotechnology Advances

ABSTRACT:

Recent advances in nanotechnology have enabled the development of a vast spectrum of bio/nanomaterials with diverse shapes, sizes, and compositions. Both rigid and flexible forms display unique physicochemical properties that unlock transformative opportunities in areas such as molecular and nanoscale sensing, biosecurity, nanomedicine, optoelectronics, and nanophotonics. Increasingly, the focus has shifted from discovery to deliberate design – crafting multifunctional bio-hybrid nanomaterials engineered to meet specific application needs. These hybrids not only enhance intrinsic material properties but also provide a versatile platform for customizing nanoagents tailored to emerging challenges in nanobiotechnology. This presentation will highlight our latest innovations in the design, assembly, and functionalization of advanced bio-hybrid nanocomposites, with a particular emphasis on their applications in nanobiotechnology. We will also address the key challenges of precisely controlling nanoparticle organization into structures with predefined architectures and functionalities, and share strategies for achieving greater control, scalability, and performance. Together, these efforts demonstrate how careful material design can translate ideas into impactful nanobiotechnology advances.
This work was supported in part by the Arkansas Biosciences Institute (ABI) and the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) Impact Grant.

BIO:

Jin-Woo Kim is Director of the Bio/Nano Technology Group at the Institute for Nanoscience & Engineering and a Distinguished Professor of Biological Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Arkansas, as well as an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH). He earned dual B.S. degrees in Chemical Technology (now Chemical & Biological Engineering) from Seoul National University and in Microbiology from the University of Iowa, followed by an M.S. in Biology from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in Biological Engineering from Texas A&M University. He has held visiting appointments at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials. Dr. Kim’s research centers on biologically inspired nanotechnology, bridging biological/biomedical engineering, biology, chemistry, and nanotechnology. By learning from natural systems, his group develops innovative approaches for “panoscale” system integration – constructing multifunctional, hierarchical structures for advanced biomimetic materials and devices. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, delivered more than 275 presentations (including over 100 invited talks), and holds six patents (granted or pending). He has received multiple awards for teaching and research, serves as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Open Journal of Nanotechnology, and is on the editorial boards of several leading journals. He has also reviewed for Science, PNAS, Nature Nanotechnology, and other top-tier publications. In professional leadership, Dr. Kim is President of the IEEE Nanotechnology Council (2024–2025) after serving as President-Elect (2023), Vice President for Conferences (2021–2022), and Vice President for Publications (2017–2019). He chairs the steering committees of IEEE-NANOMED and IEEE-LANANO and has organized numerous international conferences, including general chair or co-chair roles for IEEE-NANOMED (2011, 2015, 2017, 2019), IEEE-NANO (2019, 2023), IEEE-NEMS (2020), and IEEE-NMDC (2025). He was an IEEE Nanotechnology Distinguished Lecturer (2017–2018) and is an elected Fellow of both IEEE and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).