Hyunggon Park

Biography

Hyunggon received his Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech. During his Ph.D., he worked on several research projects regarding drop impact on various surfaces, condensation frost, pool boiling, and de-icing. He is currently working with Prof Yangying Zhu in Mechanical Engineering.

Climate Action Project

Practical, affordable desalination systems provide a pure source of long-term, drought-proof water, increasing the dependability of local water supplies. Both objectives are critical to addressing the state’s water needs as climate change stresses current supply systems. Current desalination processes are energy intensive. Passive thermal desalination processes address this challenge by using sunlight as heat for distillation but have significant limitations that hinder effectiveness, such as salt accumulation and low solar-to-water conversion efficiency. As a Climate Innovation Fellow, Dr. Park will be refining a novel, passive, salt-rejecting desalination system that can operate continuously for seven (7) days with no decay in efficacy.