Sujung Hong

Biography

Dr. Sujung Hong is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on developing sustainable paper-based packaging systems through water-based bioplastic coatings and functional materials derived from agricultural byproducts. She specializes in designing high-performance, home-compostable multilayer structures using biodegradable polymers such as PHA and PLA, as well as hemicellulose extracted from biomass residues.

Education

• Ph.D., Food and Nutrition, Kyung Hee University, 2026

Research Project

• "Sustainable paper coating with bioplastics and agricultural byproduct-derived functional materials for food packaging."

Awards

Dr. Sujung Hong was recently selected as a winner of the "Young Scientist Award for the Future and Regulation Science," one of most prestigious honors conferred by Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of Republic of Korea. Dr. Hong received first place!

Dr. Hong has also been recognized as the Best PhD Dissertation Award from her university, Kyung Hee University, in the area of Science, reflecting the exceptional quality and impact of her doctoral research. She has authored more than 30 papers in internationally recognized peer review journals, including 6 papers related to bioplastics and packaging, completed during her time working in Dr. Young Kim's lab as a visiting scholar.

Advisor