PI

Professional experience

Assistant Professor (Mar. 2025 to present), Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Department of Future Energy Engineering, Suwon, Republic of Korea

Postdoctoral Associate (Sep. 2022 to Feb. 2025), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Chemical Engineering, USA (Supervisor: Prof. Zachary P. Smith)

Teaching Fellow (Mar. 2022 to Jun. 2022), Hanyang University, Department of Energy Engineering, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Subject: Energy Nanoscience; Undergraduate Course, English-only)

Postdoctoral Associate (Sep. 2021 to Sep. 2022), Hanyang University, Department of Energy Engineering, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Supervisor: Prof. Ho Bum Park)

Education

Ph.D. (2021) Hanyang University, Department of Energy Engineering, Seoul, Republic of Korea (M.S./Ph.D. Integrated Course) 

Thesis title: “Design Aspects of Thin-film Nanocomposite Membranes Containing Metal-Organic Frameworks for Efficient Molecular Separation” (Supervisor: Prof. Ho Bum Park)

B.S. (2016) Hanyang University, Department of Energy Engineering, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Biography (updated Oct. 2025)

[한국어 소개글: 이슈메이커 (링크); 성균웹진 (링크)]

Taehoon Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Future Energy Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Republic of Korea. He earned his Ph.D. in Energy Engineering from Hanyang University in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. Ho Bum Park. His doctoral research focused on metal–organic framework (MOF)/polymer mixed matrix membranes for gas separation, encompassing defect-engineered MOFs, polyMOFs, and thin-film fabrication techniques. In 2022, he joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Zachary P. Smith’s group. At MIT, his research centered on microporous polymer membranes synthesized via interfacial polymerization for liquid and ion separation in nonaqueous environments, with applications in organic solvent nanofiltration/reverse osmosis (OSN/OSRO) and nonaqueous redox flow batteries. Since joining SKKU as a faculty member in 2025, Dr. Lee’s research group has been dedicated to the rational design and synthesis of microporous materials for energy and environmental applications, including carbon capture and utilization, the hydrogen economy, critical resource recovery, and advanced battery technologies. Dr. Lee received multiple awards from domestic and international conferences, including Young Membrane Scientist Award from North American Membrane Society (NAMS) in 2025.

Representative publications (updated Oct. 2025)

†: Equally contributed co-first author.

*: Corresponding author.

T. H. Lee: The underlined names are members of the SMART Lab (SKKU).

1.     T. H. Lee, P. A. Dean, Y. J. Yeo, Z. P. Smith, “Solution-processable, Ladder-branched Polyimides of Intrinsic Microporosity by [4+4] Cycloaddition for Membrane Gas Separation”, DOI: 10.1002/adma.202513892; Adv. Mater. e13892 (2025) 

2. T. H. Lee, M. Balcik, Z. Ali, T. Joo, M. P. Rivera, I. Pinnau, Z. P. Smith, “Microporous polyimine membranes for efficient separation of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures”, Science 388, 839–844 (2025)

3. T. H. Lee, M. Balcik, W.-N. Wu, I. Pinnau, Z. P. Smith, “Dual-phase Microporous Polymer Nanofilms by Interfacial Polymerization for Ultrafast Molecular Separation”, Sci. Adv. 10, eadp6666 (2024)

4.     T. H. Lee, Z. P. Smith, “Better Standards are Needed for Membrane Materials”, Nat. Mater. 23, 11–12 (2024) – Feature (Mini Perspective)

5. T. H. Lee, B. K. Lee, S. Y. Yoo, H. Lee, W-N. Wu, Z. P. Smith, H. B. Park, “PolyMOF Nanoparticles Constructed from Intrinsically Microporous Polymer Ligands towards Scalable Composite Membranes for CO2 Separation”, Nat. Commun. 14, 8330 (2023)

6. T. H. Lee,† A. Ozcan,† I. Park, D. Fan, J. K. Jang, P. G. M. Mileo, S. Y. Yoo, J. S. Roh, J. H. Kang, B. K. Lee, Y. H. Cho, R. Semino, H. W. Kim, G. Maurin, H. B. Park, “Disclosing the Role of Defect-engineered Metal–Organic Frameworks in Mixed Matrix Membranes for Efficient CO2 Separation”, Adv. Funct. Mater. 31(38), 2103973 (2021)

7. T. H. Lee, J. G. Jung, Y. J. Kim, J. S. Roh, H. W. Yoon, B. S. Ghanem, H. W. Kim, Y. H. Cho, I. Pinnau, H. B. Park, “Defect Engineering in Metal–Organic Frameworks Towards Advanced Mixed Matrix Membranes for Efficient Propylene/Propane Separation”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 60(23), 13081–13088 (2021)