HYUNWOO YUK RESEARCH & MORE
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  • Research
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About Hyunwoo (CV, Google Scholar)

I am scientist, engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur with research focuses on inventing, developing, and translating soft material technologies to solve challenges in human health. As an experimentalist by training, I love working on hands-on technologies with great emphasis on reproducibility & practical utility.

Degree &
​Education

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering                                                                                                                                                                     Jun 2016 - Dec 2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
(Thesis title: Wet Adhesion and Bioadhesive Technology (defense slide & recording))

M.S. in Mechanical Engineering​                                                                                                                                                                        Sep 2014 - Jun 2016
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
(Thesis title: Tough Wet Adhesion of Hydrogel on Various Materials - Mechanism and Application)

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering​                                                                                                                                                                        Feb 2007 - Feb 2014

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea
Graduation with Summa Cum Laude
(Note: military service during June 2011 to June 2013)

Awards &
Honors

  • Innovator Under 35, MIT Technology Review, 2022
  • MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovations Prize (SHIP) (SanaHeal, Inc.; Grand Prize Winner), MIT Sloan, 2022
  • Collegiate Inventors Competition Graduate Winner, National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2020
  • BMES Student Design and Research Award, Biomedical Engineering Society, 2019
  • ​de Florez Graduate Design Award - 1st Place, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 2019
  • Wunsch - Outstanding Graduate Research Award, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, 2019
  • MRS Graduate Student Award - Gold, Materials Research Society, 2019
  • Peebles Award, The Adhesion Society, 2019​
  • Forbes 30 Under 30 2019: Science, Forbes, 2019
  • Face of the Year, Samsung Scholarship, 2018
  • MRS Graduate Student Award - Silver, Materials Research Society, 2018
  • Samsung Scholarship, Samsung Foundation of Culture, 2015
  • Summa Cum Laude, KAIST, 2014
  • Samsung Scholarship, Samsung Foundation of Culture, 2013
  • Outstanding Achievement Cum Laude Award,  Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, 2010
  • Outstanding Achievement Cum Laude Award,  Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, 2009
  • Korean Govermental Scholarship, 2007 - 2010

Professional Experience

Founder & CTO                                                                                                                                                                                                            Oct 2021 - Present
SanaHeal, Inc., Boston, USA

Research Scientist                                                                                                                                                                                                  Jan 2021 - Mar 2022
Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, USA

Graduate Research Assistant                                                                                                                                                                             Sep 2014 - Dec 2020
Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, USA
  • Hydrogel technologies for human-machine interfacing
  • Wet adhesion and bioadhesive technologies
  • Hydrogel bioelectronics
  • 3D printing of functional soft materials
  • Soft active materials and robots

Undergraduate Researcher                                                                                                                                                                                  Jun 2009 - Apr 2011
Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea
  • Development of C.elegans inspired small crawling robots

Undergraduate Research Program (URP)                                                                                                                                                  Dec 2009 - May 2010
Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea
  • Dynamic analysis and computational simulation on rotating mass control (RMC) for floating body stabilization amid at mobile harbor applications

Selected Media Coverage

  • MIT News on tough hydrogel bonding
  • Forbes on tough hydrogel bonding
  • MIT News on stretchable hydrogel electronics
  • MIT Technology Review on stretchable hydrogel electronics
  • Bloomberg on stretchable hydrogel electronics & hydrogel-elastomer hybrids
  • BBC on stretchable hydrogel electronics
  • MDDI Interview on Medtech's Rising Stars​
  • MIT News on hydrogel-elastomer hybrids
  • MIT News on hydrogel robots and actuators
  • Fox News on hydrogel robots and actuators
  • Popular Science on hydrogel robots and actuators
  • IEEE Spectrum on hydrogel robots and actuators
  • MIT News on stretchable hydrogel optical fiber
  • Fox News on stretchable hydrogel optical fiber
  • MIT News on hydrogel-elastomer hybrid living sensor
  • World Economic Forum on hydrogel-elastomer hybrid living sensor
  • MIT News on hydrogel coating on medical devices​
  • Advanced Science News on new 3D printing strategy
  • MIT News on 3D printing living materials and device
  • Advanced Science News on 3D printing living materials and device
  • MIT News on printing ferromagnetic domains for untethered fast-transforming soft materials
  • ​Forbes on printing ferromagnetic domains for untethered fast-transforming soft materials
  • Forbes on 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30: Science (MIT News coverage)
  • MIT News on dry double-sided tape for adhesion of wet tissues and devices
  • BBC News on dry double-sided tape for adhesion of wet tissues and devices
  • MIT News on strong adhesion of conducting polymers
  • MIT News on 3D printing of conducting polymers
  • MIT News on instant tough bioadhesive with triggerable benign detachment
  • PR Newswire on 2020 Collegiate Inventors Competition Graduate Winner
  • MIT News on multifunctional origami patch for minimally invasive tissue sealing​
  • MIT News and MIT Spotlight feature my story on bioadhesive technologies
  • MIT News on barnacle-glue-inspired paste for hemostatic tissue sealing​
  • MIT News on bioadhesive patch for sutureless repair of gastrointestinal defects
© 2023 Hyunwoo Yuk. All right reserved.