Yong Sik Ok, Full Professor, Research Director (Global)
Director, APRU Sustainable Waste Management Program
Director, Korea Biochar Research Center
Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering
Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
H Index:103 (Total citations: 42,456)
E-mail: yongsikok[at]korea.ac.kr
https://koreauniv.pure.elsevier.com/en/persons/yong-sik-ok-2
https://apru.org/our-work/pacific-rim-challenges/sustainable-waste-management/
Scopus Author ID: 7003403766
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3401-0912
Prof. Yong Sik Ok became a highly cited researcher (HCR) in 3 fields in 2022
Curriculum Vitae and List of Publications
Dr. Ok is a Full Professor and global research director at Korea University in Seoul, Korea. His academic background covers waste management, the bioavailability of emerging contaminants, and bioenergy and value-added products (such as biochar). Further, Professor Ok has experience in fundamental soil science and the remediation of various contaminants in soils and sediments. In collaboration with graduate students and colleagues, Professor Ok has published over 600 research papers, 88 of which have been ranked as Web of Science ESI top papers (85 were nominated as “highly cited papers” [HCPs], and three were nominated as “hot papers”) since 2009. He has been a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) since 2018. In 2019, he became the first Korean to be selected as an HCR in the field of Environment and Ecology. He maintains a worldwide professional network by serving as an Editor (former Co-Editor) of Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, Editor of Environmental Pollution, and a member of the editorial advisory board of Environmental Science & Technology and editorial boards of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Chemical Engineering Journal, Chemosphere, Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, and Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology with several other top journals. Professor Ok has served in several positions worldwide: honorary professor at The University of Queensland (Australia), visiting professor at Tsinghua University (China), adjunct professor at the University of Wuppertal (Germany), and guest professor at Ghent University (Belgium), being some of them. He currently serves as Director of the Sustainable Waste Management Program for the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and Co-President of the International ESG Association. Moreover, he has served as chairman of numerous major conferences such as Engineering Sustainable Development 2019, organized by the APRU and the Institute for Sustainability of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Prof. Ok will host the first Nature conference among South Korean universities in Seoul in 2021 on waste management and valorization for a sustainable future together with Chief Editors of Nature Sustainability (Dr. Monica Contestabile), Nature Electronics (Dr. Owain Vaughan), and Nature Nanotechnology (Dr. Fabio Pulizzi).
Selected Publications
Yuan, X., Bank, M.S., Sonne, C., Ok, Y.S.* (2021). Dual closed-loop chemical recycling support sustainable mitigation of plastic pollution. Matter, 4 (4): 1095-1097(*Corresponding author).
Bank, M.S., Swarzenski, P.W., Bianchi, G., Metian, M., Ok, Y.S., Duarte, C.M. (2021) Reimagining aquaculture in the Global South. Science. 372(6539): 247-248
Bolan, N., Hoang, S.A., Beiyuan, J., Gupta, S., Hou, D., Karakoti,A., Joseph,S., Jung, S., Kim, K-H., Kirkham, M.B., Kua, H.W., Kumar, M., Kwon, E.E., Ok, Y.S., Perera, V., Rinklebe, J., Shaheen, S.M., Sarkar, B., Sarmah, A.K., Singh, B.P., Singh, G., Tsang, D. C. W., Vikrant, K., Vithanage, M., Vinu, A., Wang, H., Wijesekara, H., Yan, Y., Younis, S.A., Zwieten, L.V. (2021). Multifunctional applications of biochar beyond carbon storage, International Materials Reviews, Published online: 07 May 2021
Yuan, X., Suvarna, M., Low, S., Dissanayake, P.D., Lee, K.B., Li, J., Wang, X., Ok, Y.S. (2021). Applied Machine Learning for Prediction of CO2 Adsorption on Biomass Waste-Derived Porous Carbons, Environmental Science & Technology, Published online 21 July 2021.
Bank, M.S., Ok, Y.S., Swarzenski, P.W. (2020). Microplastic’s role in antibiotic resistance. Science, 369 (6509): 1315
You, S., Sonne, C., Ok, Y.S.* (2020). COVID-19’s unsustainable waste management. Science. 368 (6498): 1438. (*Corresponding Author)
Hou, D., O’Connor, D., Igalavithana, A.D., Alessi, D.S., Luo, J., Tsang, D.C.W., Sparks, D.L., Yamauchi, Y., Rinklebe, J., Ok, Y.S.* (2020). Metal contamination and bioremediation of agricultural soils for food safety and sustainability. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1: 366-381 (*Corresponding Author)
Lim, H., Kani, K., Henzie, J., Nagaura, T., Nugraha, A. S., Iqbal, M., Ok, Y.S., Hossain, Md. S. A., Bando, Y., Wu, K.C.W, Kim, H.-J., Rowan, A.E., Na., J., Yamauchi, Y. (2020). A Universal Approach for the Synthesis of Mesoporous Gold, Palladium and Platinum Films for Applications in Electrocatalysis. Nature Protocols, 15:2980-3008
O’Connor, D., Hou, D., Ok, Y. S., & Lanphear, B. P. (2020). The effects of iniquitous lead exposure on health. Nature Sustainability, 3(2), 77-79.
Sonne, C., Alstrup, A.K.O., Ok, Y.S., Dietz, R., Kanstrup, N. (2019). Time to ban lead hunting accumulation. Science, 366 (6468): 961-962.
Hou, D., O’Connor, D., Sonne, C., Ok, Y.S.* (2019). Trade war threatens sustainability. Science, 364 (6447): 1242-1243. (*Corresponding Author)
Hou, D. and Ok, Y.S.*(2019). Speed up mapping of soil pollution. Nature, 566, 455. (*Corresponding Author)
Shaheen, S. M., Niazi, N. K., Hassan, N. E. E., Bibi, I., Wang, H., Tsang, D. C. W., Ok, Y. S., Bolan, N., & Rinklebe, J. (2019). Wood-based biochar for the removal of potentially toxic elements in water and wastewater: a critical review. International Materials Reviews, 64(4), 216-247.
Kankala, R.K., Han, Y.H., Na, J., Lee, C.H., Sun, Z., Wang, S.B., Kimura, T., Ok, Y.S., Yamauchi, Y., Chen, A.Z., Wu, K.C.W. (2020). Nanoartitectured Structure and Surface Biofunctionality of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles. Advanced Materials. 1907035.
Kumar, A. N.K., Dissanayake, P.D., Masek, O., Priya, A., Lin, C. S. K., Ok, Y.S.*, Kim, S-H. (2021). Recent Trends in biochar integration with anaerobic fermentation: Win-win strategies in a closed-loop. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 149: 111371 (*Corresponding Author)
Dissanayake, P. D., Choi, S. W., Igalavithana, A. D., Yang, X., Tsang, D. C. W., Wang, C. H., Kua, H. W., Lee, K. B., & Ok, Y. S.* (2020). Sustainable gasification biochar as a high efficiency adsorbent for CO2 capture: A facile method to designer biochar fabrication. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 124, 109785. (*Corresponding author).
Zhang M., Song G., Gelardi D.L., Huang L., Khan E., Mašek O., Parikh S.J., Ok Y.S.* (2020). Evaluating biochar and its modifications for the removal of ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate in water. Water Research, 186: 116303 (*Corresponding Author)
Zhao W., Chen Z., Yang X., Qian X., Liu C., Zhou D., Sun T., Zhang M., Wei G., Dissanayake P.D., Ok Y.S.* (2020). Recent advances in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution with high-performance catalysts without precious metals. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 132: 110040 (*Corresponding Author)
Dissanayake, P. D., You, S., Igalavithana, A. D., Xia, Y., Bhatnagar, A., Gupta, S., Kua, H. W., Kim, S., Kwon, J. H., Tsang, D. C. W., & Ok, Y. S.* (2020). Biochar-based adsorbents for carbon dioxide capture: A critical review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 119, 109582. (*Corresponding author).
Cao, L., Dai, P., Tang, J., Li, D., Chen, R., Liu, D., Gu, X., Li, L., Bando, Y., Ok, Y.S., Zhao, X. (2020). Spherical Superstructure of Boron Nitride Nanosheets Derived from Boron-Containing Metal-Organic Framework. Journal of American Chemical Society. (Published online: 28 March 2020)
Yu, I.K.M., Tsang, D.C.W., Yip, A.C.K., Hunt, A.J., Sherwood, J., Shang, J., Song, H., Ok, Y.S.*, Poon, C.S. (2018). Propylene carbonate and γ-valerolactone as green solvents enhance Sn (IV)-catalysed hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) production from bread waste. Green Chemistry, 20: 2064-2074. (*Corresponding author).
Qin, Y., Li, G., Gao, Y., Zhang, L., Ok, Y. S., & An, T. (2018). Persistent free radicals in carbon-based materials on transformation of refractory organic contaminants (ROCs) in water: A critical review. Water Research, 137, 130-143.
Alam, M. S., Gorman-Lewis, D., Chen, N., Flynn, S. L., Ok, Y. S., Konhauser, K. O., & Alessi, D. S. (2018). Thermodynamic Analysis of Nickel(II) and Zinc(II) Adsorption to Biochar. Environmental Science and Technology, 52(11), 6246-6255.
Rajapaksha, A. U., Vithanage, M., Ok, Y. S., & Oze, C. (2013). Cr(VI) formation related to Cr(III)-muscovite and birnessite interactions in ultramafic environments. Environmental Science and Technology, 47(17), 9722-9729.
Van Ginkel, S. W., Hassan, S. H. A., Ok, Y. S., Yang, J. E., Kim, Y. S., & Oh, S. E. (2011). Detecting oxidized contaminants in water using sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Environmental Science and Technology, 45(8), 3739-3745.
