Chemistry Professor, an Expert on Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Crude Oil and in the Environment, Joins Waters Centers of Innovation Program

At a ceremony and symposium at Kyungpook National University (KNU), Daegu, South Korea, Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) welcomed Dr. Sunghwan Kim, of Kyungpooks’ Department of Chemistry into the Waters Centers of Innovation (COI) Program. Dr. Kim is a leading expert on developing and applying analytical techniques for assessing the impact of PAHs in the environment and for crude oil processing. KNU is the first institution in South Korea to be recognized by Waters Centers of Innovation Program. 

 “Professor Kim is an expert in mass spectrometry and chromatographic separation. He set up one of the most advanced mass spectrometry and chromatography laboratories in Korea at Kyungpook National University,” said Professor Hong-In Lee, Dean at College of Natural Science. “The facility is used not only to perform his own top-notch research but also to educate undergraduate and graduate students. I am very proud to have Dr. Kim as a colleague in Kyungpook National University.”   

“Dr. Kim’s research is unique and contributing greatly to what we know about the effects of PAHs on our environment,” said Eric Fotheringham, Director – Waters Centers of Innovation Program. “Dr. Kim can see the potential of new technologies and he puts them to new uses before many of his contemporaries. We couldn’t be happier to have him and KNU in our program.”

PAHs are a component of crude oil, coal and gasoline and are a byproduct of wood and fossil fuel combustion. Known as a persistent organic pollutant, once in the environment, they are hard to get rid of and their long-term effects are not well understood. Dr. Kim employs analytical chemistry to test for and identify these pollutants in soil, air and water. It is why, in the aftermath of the BP oil spill in 2010, Dr. Kim was hired to consult on the effectiveness of the clean-up and to assess the harm done to marine and plant life.  

For his research, Dr. Kim employs Waters^® ACQUITY^® UltraPerformance Convergence Chromatography™ (UPC^2®) System, Waters ACQUITY UPLC^® System and Waters SYNAPT^® G2-S Mass Spectrometer.    

To acknowledge the work of Dr. Kim, Waters Corporation sponsored a symposium titled Chemical Analysis by Mass Spectrometry: From Non-Polar to Polar Molecules. The event featured presentations on illicit drug screening, petroleum analysis and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), and on emerging mass spectrometry techniques including paper spray ionization and flame induced atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Presenters included Dr. Hanbin Oh, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea; Prof. Sangwon Cha, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, South Korea; Dr. Sungchan Cho, Samsung Displays; Prof. Jentai Shea, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan; along with Kevin Giles, Scientific Fellow, and Eleanor Riches, Principal Scientist at Waters Corporation.

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