Prof. Said Sadki and Prof. Patrice Rannou from University Grenoble Alpes, France, visited SKKU on behalf of SKKU-UGA collaboration and gave special seminars in the topic of "Silicon-Based 3D Hierarchical Nanostructures for u-supercapacitors and Batteries Implementation" (Prof. Said) and "Mono-End-Capped Single-Ion Polymer Electrolytes (MEC-SIPES): Polymer End-Group Modification Meets Advanced Polymer Electrolytes For Next Generation Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices" (Prof. Patrice).

Prof. Liming Dai from Case Western Reserve University, USA, visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park and gave a special seminar in the topic of "Functional Energy Materials: From 1D and 2D Polymers to 3D Carbon Nanomaterials", which is a good opportunity for the discussion in the current research of energy storage materials and their applications.

Dr. Yu Seung Kim from Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA, visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park and gave a special seminar in the topic of "Advanced Materials for Next Generation Fuel Cell Vehicles", which is a good chance for the discussion in the current research of energy storage and automotive application.

Prof. Yongchai Kwon from Department of New Energy Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park and gave a special lecture in the topic of "Enzymatic biofuel cells and their electron transfer mechanism", which has gained our knowledge on fundamental biology and electrochemistry for future energy applications.

Dr. Seung Ho Choi from University of California, Los Angeles, visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park and gave a special seminar in the topic of "Advanced Aerosol Synthesis of Functional Electrode Materials for Rechargeable Batteries", which is good opportunities to discuss about batteries research.

Professor Qiang Zhang from Tsinghua University and Prof. Jia-Qi Huang from Beijing Institute of Technology, Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Science, visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park and gave special lectures on the topic of "Li Metal Anode Protection in Safe Rechargeable Batteries" (Prof. Qiang) and "Lithium Sulfur Batteries: Membrane Design and Interface Engineering" (Prof. Jia-Qi) which have gained our knowledge of energy storage system and battery research.

On September 18-20, SKKU got the opportunity to be the host of the graduate student workshop in collaboration with HUST (Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China). In this workshop, Professor Park and Min Kyu Jung, Ph.D. student, have participated in the presentation and discussion with SKKU's and HUST's Professors and graduate students about the research in the energy field. We have gained the knowledge and updated the current trend of nowadays technology through this beautiful meeting.

Professor Reginald M. Penner, associate editor of ACS Nano, from University of California, Irvine, visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park and gave a special lecture in the topic of "Biosensor for early cancer detection based on upon electrical interfaces to virus particles" which has gained the knowledge of material design and practical applications to the wide audience.

Ariana Levitt, Ph.D. candidate under the direction of Prof. Yury Gogotsi and Prof. Genevieve Dion from Drexel University, visited SKKU and gave a special seminar in the topic of "Mxene Fibers and Yarns for Smart Textile Applications". We have a good opportunity to welcome and exchange the knowledge and opinion related to Mxene and its applications.

Prof. Ji Eon Kwon from Seoul National University visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park Ho Seok and gave a special lecture in the topic of "Organic Electrode Materials for the Next-Generation Secondary Batteries" which has gained our knowledge in material design for future electrochemical applications.

On May 2-4, all ESEM members have traveled to Deagu to participate in 2018 KSIEC spring meeting. In this conference, all of our members have presented their own work individually and three of us received the excellent paper presentation award from the general chair of the conference including Seon Hwa Kim, Min Kyu Jung, and Dr.Ji Young Kim, congratulations! We had a funny moment and enjoyed a warm picnic with sightseeing of the beautiful city of Deagu.

Prof. Yusuke Yamauchi from The University of Queensland (Australia) and NIMS (Japan), visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park Ho Seok and gave a special lecture in the topic of "New Chemistry: 'Polymeric Micelle Assembly' for Synthesis of Porous Materials with Highly Crystallized Frameworks" which is one of the good strategies for electrochemical applications.

Prof. Philippe Poizot from Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel (IMN), CNRS, Université de Nantes, France, visited SKKU in the invitation of Prof. Park and gave a special lecture in the topic of "Organic host materials for rechargeable batteries: Potentialities and challenges".

Prof. Manish Chhowalla, associate editor of ACSNano, from Rutgers University, USA, visited SKKU in the invitation of Prof. Park and gave a special lecture in the topic of "Metallic 2D Materials for Electrochemical Applications".

ESEM had an opportunity to have a discussion with Prof. Manish Chhowalla, associate editor of ACSNano, from Rutgers University, USA. With this regard, we have discussed in the topic of two-dimensional materials for an electrochemical application which is very helpful for our future experiments.

ESEM had an opportunity to have a discussion with Prof. Yury Gogotsi, associate editor of ACSNano, from Drexel University, USA, on behalf of lab meeting. With this regard, we have discussed in the topic of two-dimensional materials for energy and environmental application which is very helpful for our experiments in the future.

Prof. Yury Gogotsi, associate editor of ACSNano, from Drexel University, USA, visited SKKU in the invitation of Prof. Park and gave a special lecture in the topic of "2D Metallic Carbides and Nitrides (MXenes) and Advancement of Technology".

ESEM has traveled to Gwangju to participate in 2017 KSIEC spring meeting. In this conference, ten of our members have presented their own work individually. We had a funny moment and enjoyed a warm picnic with sightseeing of the beautiful city of Gwangju.

Dr. Xu Yu has passed a final round of interview and he will be a professor at Yangzhou University. With this regard, we celebrated and had a farewell party for him. Good Luck!

Congratulations and welcome the freshmen including Jea Min Park and So Hyun Park to ESEM laboratory who will take up the master degree in chemical engineering and further Ph.D. program. Enjoy!

Prof. Paul Braun from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), USA, visited SKKU in the invitation of Professor Park Ho Seok and gave special lectures in topics of "Direct electrodeposition of High Performance Solid and Mesostructured Li-ion Cathodes and Anodes" and "3D Gradient Refractive Index Micro-Optics and 3D Photonic Crystals Formed via SelfAssembly and Materials Chemistry". The lectures were held in two days, Sep.28 and Sep.29, respectively.

Prof. Park visited University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), USA, to meet Prof. Paul Braun, director of Frederick Seitz Materials Research Lab.

Prof. Park Ho Seok visited Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, to meet Prof. Jing Kong, a principal investigator in the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE) and director of Nanomaterials and Electronics group.

Prof. Park visited University of Wollongong (UOW), Australia, to talk with Prof. Gordon G. Wallace, executive research director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science.

Congratulations to Xu Yu!, our lab member who has graduated Ph.D degree program in chemical engineering.