Prof. Hyo-Jick Choi, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

Antimicrobial technologies (PPEs/air filters/food/hospital/disinfectants) colorimetric gas sensors radiation sensing/shielding technologies nanobiological materials drug/vaccine formulations

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About

Dr. Hyo-Jick Choi received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Ceramic Engineering from Yonsei University, Korea. He pursued his Ph.D. studies in Biomedical Engineering at UCLA (2002–2006) and the University of Cincinnati (2006–2007) under the supervision of Dr. Carlo Montemagno, followed by postdoctoral research at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Prausnitz. Dr. Choi has made influential scientific contributions in public safety and global health through the development of preparatory technologies for pandemic and epidemic disease prevention, cold chain-free and long-term stable solid oral vaccines, antimicrobial materials effective against food-borne, air-borne, water-borne, and hospital-acquired infections, as well as colorimetric gas & radiation sensors for environmental monitoring. His expertise in integrative and translational technologies has led to successful commercialization outcomes, including the establishment of a start-up company based on his research innovations. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of Scientific Reports and is the President of the Association of Korean-Canadian Scientists and Engineers (AKCSE), where he leads initiatives that advance Canada’s international research collaboration and innovation partnerships.

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Research

Dr. Hyo-Jick Choi’s research integrates materials science, biomedical engineering, device fabrication, and polymer chemistry to address global challenges in health, safety, energy, and the environment. His group develops antimicrobial and sterilization materials for advanced air filtration and personal/public protection, including face masks, HEPA filters, disinfectants, and self-sanitizing surfaces, as well as cold chain-free, long-term stable solid oral vaccine and pharmaceutical formulations designed to improve accessibility in global health.

In parallel, his team develops colorimetric gas-sensing technologies capable of detecting key industrial and environmental gases such as H₂, CO₂, CO, H₂S, NH₃, and CH₄. These sensing platforms are being developed for environmental monitoring, energy infrastructure, hydrogen systems, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), including applications under high-pressure and supercritical CO₂ conditions relevant to subsurface CO₂ storage and monitoring. By combining functional sensing materials with quantitative colorimetric analysis and advanced monitoring approaches, this research aims to improve the safety and reliability of emerging clean-energy and industrial systems.

His group is also developing advanced materials and technologies for radiation detection, monitoring, and protection. Current research focuses on polymer-based colorimetric radiation-sensing materials that provide rapid, localized, and dose-dependent visual responses to ionizing radiation, enabling radiation detection, localization, and spatial mapping over large or complex surfaces. Complementary radiation-shielding materials and coatings are being developed for localized radiation attenuation and surface protection. These technologies are being explored in multiple formats, including conformable coatings, flexible films, wearable sensing patches, and 2D/3D dosimetric materials, with potential applications in nuclear and small modular reactor (SMR) facilities, healthcare, industrial radiation monitoring, defence, and emergency response.

Dr. Choi’s research philosophy is grounded in the belief that the foundation of any new technology must rest on strong scientific principles. From the earliest stages of experimental design, his research is guided by the dual objective of achieving both academic excellence and practical applicability. Each project is conceived with a clear vision toward real-world implementation, ensuring that scientific discoveries are not only intellectually rigorous but also capable of evolving into sustainable technologies that enhance public health, energy and radiation safety, environmental protection, and societal resilience.

MAT E 303 - Principles of Nonmetallic-inorganic Materials

Structure, properties and application of nonmetallic-inorganic materials. Structure of crystalline and amorphous materials. Reciprocal lattice, Brillouin Zone, crystal vibrations, and energy bands. Sintering theory, defect chemistry and Brouwer diagram. Processing and fabrication of glasses. Electrical, dielectric, thermal and optical properties. Advanced application in energy conversion and storage. Prerequisites: (MAT E 202, MAT E 211 and MAT E 204) or consent of instructor.

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MAT E 661 - Structure and Characterization of Materials

Basic symmetry elements and operations, crystallographic point groups and space groups, application of symmetry in materials analysis. Fundamentals of crystal chemistry, transformations, defects in metals and ionic crystals, interactions between point defects and interfaces. Reciprocal lattice, Brillouin zones, construction of Fermi surfaces, theory of diffraction. Fundamental principles of electron scattering, production and detection of x-rays, diffraction methods, application to crystal structure determination, chemical analysis x-ray spectrometry.

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Browse more courses taught by Hyo-Jick Choi

S. Han, E. Oh, E. Keltie, J.S. Kim, Hyo-Jick Choi*

ACS Accounts of Materials Research. 2022 January; 3 (3):297–308 10.1021/accountsmr.1c00188

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S. Kumaran, E. Oh, S. Han, H.-J. Choi*

Nano Letters. 2021 April; 21 (12):5422–5429 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00525

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I. Rubino, S. Han, E. Oh, S. Kumaran, M. Lawson, Y.-J. Jung, K.-H. Kim, N. Bhatnagar, S.-H. Lee, H.-J. Kang, D.-H. Lee, K.-B. Chu, S.-M. Kang, F.-S. Quan*, H.-J. Choi*

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 2021 April; 13 (14):16084–16096 10.1021/acsami.1c01837

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I. Rubino, H. –J. Choi*

Trends in Biotechnology. 2017 July; 35 (10):907–910 10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.06.005

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E. Oh, S.J. Choi, S. Han, K.H. Lee*, H.-J. Choi*

ACS Nano. 0223 August; 17 (18):17811–17825 10.1021/acsnano.3c03315