Tel: (office) +82-42-350-2821, (lab) +82-42-350-2861
Location: (office) Room 604 (E6-6), (lab) Room 613 (E6-6)
Fax: +82-42-350-2810

Ph.D. in Chemistry, KAIST, 2014-2019. (Advisor: Sukbok Chang)
B.S. in Chemistry, KAIST, 2010 - 2014.

2022–, Assistant Professor, KAIST
2019–2021, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Princeton University (Advisor: Paul J. Chirik)
2019, Research Fellow, Institute for Basic Science (IBS)
2017, Visiting student, University of Utah (Advisor: Matthew S. Sigman)

• S-Oil Best Ph.D. Thesis Award, The Korean Academy of Science and Technology & S-Oil (2019).
• The Reaxys Ph.D. Prize Finalist, Elsevier (2019).
• The Best Ph.D. Thesis Award, Korean Chemical Society, (2019).
• 2019 CAS Future Leaders Award, American Chemical Society (2019).
• The Best Ph.D. Thesis Award, KAIST, (2019).
• The First Poster Award, The CaRLa Winter School in Heidelberg, (2019).
• Poster Award, Korean Society of Organic Synthesis (KSOS) General Meeting, (2018).
• Oral Presentation Award, Asian Core Program (ACP) Junior in Lanzhou (2017).
• Best Oral Presentation Award, KCS Organic Chemistry Division (2017).
• Kwanjeong Fellowship, Kwanjeong Educational Foundation, (2014–2015).
• CHEMISTAR Award, KAIST (2014).
• Alumni Association Award at KAIST Commencement (2014).
• KCS Presidential Award, Korean Chemical Society (2014).
• KAIST Presidential Fellowship, (2013–2014).
• URP Excellent Research Award (2014).
• Diamond Scholarship, Dow Chemical Korea (2014).
• EDISON Competition the Best Award, Korean Chemical Society (2013).

The Park lab will conduct research at the interface of organic and inorganic synthesis with a special focus on sustainable catalysis. Chemical synthesis is a vital tool for constructing new substances with a molecular precision; however, its intrinsic complexity raises critical issues associated with efficiency, selectivity, and environmental impact. Our goal is to address these unmet challenges by seamless integration of techniques in synthetic chemistry, excited state chemistry, and data science. To this end, we are targeting rational design of novel reagents and transition metal catalysts to trigger unconventional reactivity with a minimal, sustainable energy input. Computational techniques including quantum chemical calculation and statistical big data modelling are our workhorse to develop mechanistically guided hypothesis. Trainees will acquire synthetic techniques in air-free chemical synthesis, high-pressure gas chemistry, and physical organic analysis.

Organic and organometallic Synthesis
Big data-driven asymmetric catalysis
Hydrocarbon upgrading/upcycling
Inorganic Photochemistry

• Park, Y.; Kim, S.; Tian, L.; Zhong, H.; Scholes, G. D.; Chirik, P. J. Visible Light Enables Catalytic Formation of Weak Chemical Bonds with Molecular Hydrogen.
Nature Chem. 2021, DOI: 10.1038/s41557-021-00732-z.
• Park, Y.; Semproni, S. P.; Zhong, H. Chirik, P. J. Synthesis, Electronic Structure, and Reactivity of a Planar Four-Coordinate, Cobalt-Imido Complex.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 14376-14380.
• Jung, H.; Schrader, M.; Kim, D.; Baik, M.-H.*; Park, Y.*; Chang, S.* Harnessing Secondary Coordination Sphere Interactions that Enable the Selective Amidation of Benzylic C−H Bonds (*Co-corresponding author).J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 15356-15366.
• Park, Y.; Chang, S. Asymmetric Formation of of γ-Lactams via C–H Amidation Enabled by Chiral Hydrogen-Bond-Donor Catalysts,
Nature Catal. 2019, 2, 219–227.
• Hong, S. Y.†; Park, Y.†; Hwang, Y.; Kim, Y.; Baik, M.-H.; Chang, S. Selective Formation of γ-Lactams via C–H Amidation Enabled by Tailored Iridium Catalysts, (†Co-first author).
Science 2018, 359, 1016–1021
• Park, Y.; Niemeyer, Z. L.; Yu, J.-Q.; Sigman, M. S. Quantifying Structural Effects of Amino Acid Ligands in Pd(II)-Catalyzed Enantioselective C–H Functionalization Reactions.
Organometallics 2018, 37, 203–210.
• Park, Y.; Kim, Y.; Chang, S. Transition Metal-Catalyzed C–H Amination: Scope, Mechanism and Applications.Chem. Rev. 2017, 117, 9247–9301.
• Park, Y.; Heo, J.; Baik, M.-H.; Chang, S. Why is the Ir(III)-Mediated Amido Transfer So Much Faster than the Rh(III)-Mediated Reaction? A Combined Experimental and Computational Study.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 14020-14029.
• Park, Y.; Park, K. T.; Kim, J. G; Chang S. Mechanistic Studies on the Rh(III)-Mediated Amido Transfer Process Leading to Robust C–H Amination with a New Type of Amidating Reagent.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 4534–4542.