ENEP: Professor

I am an associate professor in the School of Digital Humanities & Computational Social Sciences at KAIST and also affiliated as an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Green Growth & Sustainability at KAIST. My recent research primarily focuses on investigating the effect of diverse interventions (from smart feedback to incentives) on pro-environmental behaviors such as electricity saving and suggesting policy interventions to expand, strengthen, and sustain pro-environmental behaviors. Also, I have been continuously involved in interlinked water and waste problems with energy issues.

Education

Ph.D. in Energy & Environmental Policy, University of Delaware

MA in Urban Planning, Seoul National University

BEng in Civil, Urban & Geosystem Engineering, Seoul National University

Research Interests

• Pro-environmental Behavior Promotion 

• Energy-Water Nexus 

• Community-based Energy Transition

• Circular Economy and Social Implications

Invited Presentation

• Energy demand as the key to the energy transition in the colliding world, 2nd CNU International Conference on Convergence and Innovation Technology, Daejeon, December 13, 2022. 

• Seeing the water sector as a complementary option for the energy transition, UNESCO i-WSSM, Incheon. November 22, 2022. 

• Integrated approaches for climate change responses: with a focus on water-energy nexus. Center for Anthropocene Studies Colloquium, Daejeon. April 1, 2021. 

• Resilient Climate Adaptation Measures. Climate change global negotiation, Chuncheon. November 6, 2020.

• Building Energy Commons: Three mini-PV installation cases in apartment complexes in Seoul. Energy communities for collective self-consumption. Paris, France (Virtual attendance). June 16, 2020. 

• Understanding Cities Using Networks. Large City Administration Seminar, Seoul. October 23, 2019. 

• The relief of other regions’ electricity burden through Seoul’s water-saving interventions, Climate and Energy System Engineering School Seminar, October 2, 2019.

• Nexus approaches to low carbon and sustainable energy transition, Expert Invited Talks, Seoul. April 16, 2019. 

• The Implications of Global Warming 1.5 ℃ Special Report, PAWP Negotiation Results and Future Challenges, Seoul. January 11, 2019.

• Community Energy Initiatives for Energy Transition: Seoul Energy Self-sufficient Villages. AAG Annual Meeting, Boston, United States. April 4-9, 2017.  

• Relief of Public Opposition to the Construction High-Voltage Transmission Lines: Based on the Case Study of the Events in Miryang. The Fourth European Conference on Sustainability, Energy & the Environment. Brighton, United Kingdom. July 7-10, 2016. 

• Sustainable Energy and Water Management based on Energy-Water Nexus. The ILS Luncheon Talks. Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. March 22, 2016.

• How do various actors respond to climate change and energy issues? 2016 Global Youth Eco-Leadership Summit. Seoul, Korea. January 25-29, 2016. 

• Energy-Water Interdependence: The Implications of Water Uses by Energy in S. Korea. 2015 Korea Environmental Policy and Administration Society Fall Conference. Seoul, Korea. October 30, 2015. 

• Bottom-up Energy Transition. East Asian Seminar on Climate Change and Energy Issues. Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. May 29-30, 2015.

• Fuel Poverty of the Elderly in South Korea. The 2014 Inaugural Asian Conference on the Social Sciences and Sustainability. Hiroshima, Japan. December 1-3, 2014.

• Understanding and Application of Input-Output Analysis. Intensive Course for Environmental Consultants. Chung-Ang University. November 24, 2014.

• Climate Change and Climate Change Responses, Climate Change and Global Governance. Yonsei University. October 2, 2014.

Academic Services

• Member, Central Environmental Policy Council, April 2020 to present 

• Member, Presidential Committee on 2050 Carbon Neutrality Commission, April 2021 to July 2022

• Member, Presidential Committee on Green Growth, April 2018 to April 2021 

• Member, Korea Electricity Economy Forum, September 2014 to present

• Member, Implementation of Council of One Less Nuclear Power Plant, March 2017 to December 2020

• Associate editor, Energy and Environment (Sage Publications Ltd), May 2017 to present

• Associate editor, Journal of Sustainability Science and Management (Scopus), December 2019 to 2020

• Advisor for Government representatives at the IPCC sessions, April 2017 to December 2021 

Fellowship and Honors

• Minister of Environment Award on World Meteorological Day, 2018 

• University of Delaware Dissertation Fellowship, September 2012 to May 2013

• University of Delaware Research Assistant Fellowship, February 2009 to May 2012

• Center for Energy & Environmental Policy Leadership Prize, May 2010

• Center for Energy & Environmental Policy Leadership Prize, May 2009

• Award (Korea Resources and Economics Association Student Research Competition), 2006

• The Highest Award (2006 Kyobo Environmental Research Competition), 2006