Research interests

• My main research interests have focused on the construction of 3D velocity and radial anisotropic models for crust and mantle. By dramatically improving the resolution with complementary multiple data sets, I could shed new light on tectonic evolution especially on the Arabian Peninsula and subduction zones around the Pacific Ocean. Now my study extends to global scale to obtain radially anisotropic structure, which will ensue new revelation on mantle convection and Earth's evolution.

• Crustal velocity structure - Joint inversion of receiver functions & surface wave dispersions/ regional broadband waveforms & travel times

• Mantle velocity structure - Joint tomography of regional waveform fits, group velocities, teleseismic travel times, and Moho constraints

• Global radially anisotropic mantle structure- fundamental and overtone phase velocities, group velocities, travel times, and normal mode splitting

• Tectonics around Arabia, Afar, and East Africa - mantle plumes and associated flow

• Tectonics of East Asia - Mechanism for intraplate volcanoes

• Western Pacific - Caroline and Coral Sea plumes 

Articles for the public & News

• Donga Science - Initiation of plate tectonics

• Yonhap News - Dynamic flow in the lower mantle (Nature Geoscience)

• Science Times - Mechanism to generate Mt. Beakdu and Halla

Awards

• Excellent Paper Award in Science and Technology by Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST) (2024)

• Distinguished Research Award by Korean Society of Earth and Exploration Geophysicists (2019)

• Best Teaching Professor Award at KNU (2017)

• 100 Excellent National R&D Award (2017)

• Seo JeongHee Award by Korean Society of Earth and Exploration Geophysicists (2015)

Email address contact me