astronomy

Sukbok Chang

Sukbok Chang 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 Sukbok Chang rather than just read about it. In short: Sukbok Chang (Korean: 장석복; born August 1, 1962) is a South Korean organic chemist. He is a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Sukbok Chang (Korean: 장석복; born August 1, 1962) is a South Korean organic chemist. He is a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). He is also the director of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalizations (CCHF). He is the fourth president of IBS and the first to serve in the role after first being a principal investigator at that institute. He was an associate editor on ACS Catalysis and has served on the editorial advisory boards of The Journal of Organic Chemistry, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Accounts of Chemical Research. His major research interest is transition metal catalyzed C-H bond functionalization for the carbon-carbon bond and carbon-heteroatom bond formation.

Career Sukbok Chang received his B.S degree from Korea University in 1985, and M.S degree from KAIST in 1987. Then, he joined Eric N. Jacobsen's group and received his PhD in 1996 at Harvard University. He subsequently worked with Robert H. Grubbs at Caltech as a postdoctoral fellow from 1996 to 1998. In early 1998, he joined the faculty of Ewha Womans University as an assistant professor, and moved to KAIST as a full professor in 2002. In 2012, he was selected as a director of the Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalizations at the Institute for Basic Science, which is the biggest Korean government funded research institute. He also has been working as an associate editor of the journal ACS Catalysis since 2015. In 2023, he was selected to co-run the KAIST Cross Generation Creation Lab, a laboratory designed to continue the know-how of professors about to retire through collaboration with younger professors. In mid 2026, he was appointed president of the Institute for Basic Science where he will serve a five-year term.

Major contributions Chang's group studies new organic reactions and mechanisms with transition metal catalysis. In particular, his group contributed to the development of "copper catalyzed multicomponent coupling" in the 2000s. Since 2008, his group has focused on C-H functionalization and made a number of contributions.

Copper-catalyzed multicomponent coupling

Cu-catalyzed multicomponent coupling is a notable process developed by Chang's group. In 2005, they published a highly efficient and mild catalytic three component coupling between an alkyne, sulfonyl azide, and amine. Unlike click chemistry which generates 1,4-triazoles as products, in this case a Cu(I) catalyst, sulfonyl azide and alkyne generate ketenimine intermediate after releasing N2 gas. This electrophilic ketenimine intermediate reacts with amines and to generate asymmetric imines as products. Chang's group also showed water, alcohols, the C3 position of pyrrole and other nucleophiles can be used in this reaction.

Rhodium, Iridium-catalyzed C-N bond formation

Rhodium or iridium catalyzed C-H amidation and amination are other achievements of his group. In 2012, his group published rhodium catalyzed intermolecular amidation of arenes using sulfonyl azide as a nitrene precursor. This reaction generates N2 as the single byproduct, doesn't need external oxidant, has broad substrate scope and high functional group tolerance. Chang's group advanced their work by using different directing groups, different azides and various substrates. They also published that iridium also works well for C-H amidation/amination.

In 2016, Chang's group discovered new nitrogen sources. Their new nitrene precursor, 1,4,2-dioxazol-5-one, is more convenient to prepare, store and use compared to azides. Moreover, it has a strong affinity to the rhodium or Iridium metal center, and thus gives excellent amidation efficiency. They later published selective formation of gamma-lactams via C-H amidation with this type of nucleophile.

Honors and awards

2023: Asian Scientist 100, Asian Scientist 2022: Ho-Am Prize in Science 2019: Top Scientist and Technologist Award of Korea, Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (ko) 2018: Korea Toray Science Award, Korea Toray Science Foundation 2018: JSPS Invitational Fellowship, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 2018: Grand Academic Research Award, KAIST 2017: 1st ACS-KCS Excellence Award, American Chemical Society and Korean Chemical Society 2017: Humboldt Research Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation 2016: Yoshida Prize, International Organic Chemistry Foundation 2015-2020: Highly Cited Researcher in chemistry, Clarivate Analytics 2015: Knowledge Creation Award, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning 2014: Member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology 2013: Korea Science Award 2013: Kyung-Ahm Prize, Kyung-Ahm Education & Cultural Foundation 2010: KCS Academic Award, Korean Chemical Society 2008: Star Faculty, Korea Research Foundation 2006: One of 50 Representative Research Performances, Korea Science & Engineering Foundation 2005: Shim Sang Cheol Award, Korean Chemical Society 2003: Thieme Journals Award, Synlett/Synthesis Professorship Award in Asian Area 2002: Young Chemist Award, Korean Chemical Society sponsored by WILEY

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sukbok Chang

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sukbok Chang 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 Sukbok Chang 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 Sukbok Chang 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 Sukbok Chang

In research: Sukbok Chang 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 Sukbok Chang 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: Sukbok Chang is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1962 births, Academic staff of Ewha Womans University, Academic staff of KAIST, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sukbok Chang 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 Sukbok Chang in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sukbok Chang 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 Sukbok Chang out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sukbok Chang in simple terms?

Why does Sukbok Chang 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 Sukbok Chang?

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 Sukbok Chang.