Nam finding flexibility in academia, electronics

In 2009, SungWoo Nam, a Harvard University Ph.D. student at the time, had what he called a "crazy idea:" perhaps all electronics did not need to be rigid. He considered a floppy sensor. What if he could make rigid electronics soft and flexible instead? The technology might be more versatile. The question led to Nam’s next three years of research in nanotechnology.

"We know that a variety of materials are known to be very flexible," Nam said. "Then, we thought that if we can go down in scale to as thin as a piece of carbon atom (i.e., graphene), things become more interesting. You are dealing with such a thin sheet of material."

With the thin sheet of material, Nam’s flexible technology applications broadened. He and his Harvard advisor, Professor Charles Lieber, explored biological probes, and even wearable electronics. As a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley, he carried on his research in graphene, and expanded optical functions of graphene by creating hybrid materials based on graphene and nanoplasmonics. He continues coming up with innovations today. Nam’s most recent proposal based on such ultrathin graphene materials is a light-sensitive sensor.

"The graphene-nanoparticle layers are so thin and small that you can’t see them in the bright light, but you can boost the photodetector’s sensitivity and performance," Nam said. "An ultrathin, transparent sensor at your window can be used to detect and thus potentially control the amount of light that is coming in."

As of the Fall 2012 semester, Nam is an assistant professor in MechSE, where he continues expanding his research. He develops and teaches a new course ‒ Introduction to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ME 498), a class that introduces physical properties of nanostructures, synthesis and fabrication of nanostructures and functional nanosystems with applications to nanoelectronics, nanoenergy, nanophotonics and nano-bio interface. He had initially created the course for senior undergraduate students, but he welcomes graduate students, who now make up the majority of his class. He modified his lesson plans accordingly, and his class features a lecture as well as tours of facilities on campus.

"I brought them to see the micro-nanotechnology labs," Nam said. "I am hoping that in the future I will be able to add lab components related to nanoscale science and engineering to the class. I think that will be a great learning experience."

For the years ahead, Nam plans on teaching more undergraduate and graduate courses, such as Engineering Materials, MEMS-NEMS Theory & Fabrication and Thermodynamics classes, and integrating lab work and practical applications into his class structure.

Nam entered the Ph.D. program at Harvard with three years of industry experience after working at a carbon nanotube manufacturer.

"Carbon nanotube is another form of carbon in the nanoscale," Nam said. "The industry is focused on manufacturing in large quantities with high yield. That is the best way to introduce the technology to the market to potential applications."

While Nam had the option of pursuing a route other than teaching and research, he values the freedom of research that academia provides.

"While industry is driven by practical agendas and a focused approach, in academia, if you have an idea, you can try them with fewer restrictions and bounds on scope and have greater degree of freedom," Nam said.

Nam plans to focus his nanotechnology creations on soft bioelectronics and optoelectronic materials. With soft bioelectronic materials and devices, he can develop soft and ultrasensitive biocompatible sensors. With optoelectronic materials, he will explore optical detectors and sensors. He admires the development of the transistor in the late 1940s. To Nam, though the invention itself was a small step at that time, it became an integral part of larger technologies used on an everyday basis.

"My work will be on a nanoscale," Nam said. "But I would like to create something that changes the way people do things on a large scale."