astronomy

Ki Tae Nam

Ki Tae Nam is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ki Tae Nam rather than just read about it. In short: Ki Tae Nam (Korean: 남기태) is a South Korean materials scientist, engineer, and professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU). He is known for his research in bioinspired materials, chiral nanomaterials, and electrochemical CO₂ utilization.

Key takeaways

Ki Tae Nam belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ki Tae Nam to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ki Tae Nam from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ki Tae Nam (Korean: 남기태) is a South Korean materials scientist, engineer, and professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU). He is known for his research in bioinspired materials, chiral nanomaterials, and electrochemical CO₂ utilization. He received the POSCO TJ Park Prize and Presidential Young Scientist Award

Early life and education Nam earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University. He received his Ph.D. in the same field from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was awarded the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award in 2007 for his dissertation on virus-based electrochemical devices, including the first virus-based lithium-ion battery.

Career Following his doctorate, Nam conducted postdoctoral research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Molecular Foundry from 2007 to 2010. There, under Ron Zuckermann's guidance, he developed sequence-specific peptoid nanosheets—a breakthrough in peptide-mimetic materials published in Nature Materials. In 2010, he joined SNU's faculty. His work has since spanned bioinspired synthesis of chiral plasmonic nanomaterials, electrochemical CO₂ conversion, and advanced optoelectronic applications. Nam also contributes to national science and technology policy. In 2022 and 2023, he served on South Korea's Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology, among other strategic roles.

Research Nam's research spans several interconnected areas within bioinspired nanomaterials, chiral plasmonics, and electrochemical CO₂ utilization. In the field of bioinspired nanomaterials and energy applications, he co-authored a 2006 Science paper reporting the first battery built using genetically engineered viruses to assemble oxide nanowires for lithium-ion electrodes. In 2010, as a postdoctoral researcher, he advanced peptide-mimetic two-dimensional materials through the development of free-floating peptoid nanosheets, published in Nature Materials. His contributions to chiral nanomaterials include a 2018 Nature study demonstrating amino-acid-directed synthesis of plasmonic gold nanoparticles with tailored chiral optical properties. In 2022, he developed chiral sensors based on collective circular dichroism for enantioselective molecular detection, followed in 2024 by a Nature Materials publication elucidating the mechanistic pathways of chiral nanoparticle formation using generative approaches. In electrochemical CO₂ utilization, Nam achieved the first electrochemical synthesis of dimethyl carbonate directly from CO₂ in a 2021 Nature Energy paper, and in 2024 reported the electrochemically initiated conversion of CO₂ into ethylene carbonate in Nature Synthesis. He has also advanced methods for CO₂ capture and conversion, including paired electrosynthesis and catalyst development, reinforcing his leadership in applied CO₂ electrochemistry.

Awards Outstanding PhD Thesis Award, MIT (2007) Presidential Young Scientist Award (2018) Shinyang Engineering Academy Award (2021) POSCO TJ Park Prize (2022)

Selected publications Nam, Ki Tae; Kim, Dong-Wan; Yoo, Pil J.; Chiang, Chung-Yi; Meethong, Nonglak; Hammond, Paula T.; Chiang, Yet-Ming; Belcher, Angela M. (2006-05-12). "Virus-Enabled Synthesis and Assembly of Nanowires for Lithium Ion Battery Electrodes". Science. 312 (5775): 885–888. Bibcode:2006Sci...312..885N. doi:10.1126/science.1122716. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 16601154. Nam, Ki Tae; Shelby, Sarah A.; Choi, Philip H.; Marciel, Amanda B.; Chen, Ritchie; Tan, Li; Chu, Tammy K.; Mesch, Ryan A.; Lee, Byoung-Chul; Connolly, Michael D.; Kisielowski, Christian; Zuckermann, Ronald N. (2010-04-11). "Free-floating ultrathin two-dimensional crystals from sequence-specific peptoid polymers". Nature Materials. 9 (5): 454–460. Bibcode:2010NatMa...9..454N. doi:10.1038/nmat2742. ISSN 1476-1122. PMID 20383129. Lee, Hye-Eun; Ahn, Hyo-Yong; Mun, Jungho; Lee, Yoon Young; Kim, Minkyung; Cho, Nam Heon; Chang, Kiseok; Kim, Wook Sung; Rho, Junsuk; Nam, Ki Tae (2018). "Amino-acid- and peptide-directed synthesis of chiral plasmonic gold nanoparticles". Nature. 556 (7701): 360–365. Bibcode:2018Natur.556..360L. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0034-1. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 29670265. Kim, Ryeong Myeong; Huh, Ji-Hyeok; Yoo, SeokJae; Kim, Tae Gyun; Kim, Changwon; Kim, Hyeohn; Han, Jeong Hyun; Cho, Nam Heon; Lim, Yae-Chan; Im, Sang Won; Im, EunJi; Jeong, Jae Ryeol; Lee, Min Hyung; Yoon, Tae-Young; Lee, Ho-Young (2022-12-14). "Enantioselective sensing by collective circular dichroism". Nature. 612 (7940): 470–476. Bibcode:2022Natur.612..470K. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05353-1. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 36517715. Lee, Kyu Min; Jang, Jun Ho; Balamurugan, Mani; Kim, Jeong Eun; Jo, Young In; Nam, Ki Tae (2021-07-08). "Redox-neutral electrochemical conversion of CO2 to dimethyl carbonate". Nature Energy. 6 (7): 733–741. doi:10.1038/s41560-021-00862-1. ISSN 2058-7546. Jang, Jun Ho; Kim, Changsoo; Nayal, Onkar S.; Yeo, Jia Bin; Kim, Gyu Ri; Kim, Jinju; Jo, Young In; Lee, Ung; Kwon, Min Sang; Nam, Ki Tae (2024-05-23). "Electrochemically initiated synthesis of ethylene carbonate from CO2". Nature Synthesis. 3 (7): 846–857. doi:10.1038/s44160-024-00543-3. ISSN 2731-0582.

References

External links Ki Tae Nam Research Lab

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ki Tae Nam

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ki Tae Nam claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ki Tae Nam before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ki Tae Nam ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ki Tae Nam

In research: Ki Tae Nam appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ki Tae Nam in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ki Tae Nam is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic staff of Seoul National University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory people, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ki Tae Nam outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ki Tae Nam in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ki Tae Nam means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ki Tae Nam out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ki Tae Nam in simple terms?

Why does Ki Tae Nam matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ki Tae Nam?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ki Tae Nam.