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School of Architecture and Civil Engineering

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

Co-president, International ESG Association, Korea

H Index: 134 (Total citations: 66,244)

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=xL2ME-IAAAAJen

http://yongsikok.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

E-mail: yongsikok[at]korea.ac.kr

Curriculum Vitae and List of Publications

Certificates Highly Cited Researcher 2022

Prof. Yong Sik Ok is a Full Professor and the Global Research Director at Korea University, Seoul, Korea. He currently serves as the Director of the Sustainable Waste Management Program for the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), and he is the Co-President of the International ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Association. Prof. Ok has been felicitated as a Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) in three fields, namely Environment and Ecology, Engineering, and Biology and Biochemistry for the year 2022. Web of Science (WoS) developed by Clarivate Analytics evaluates 21 Essential Science Indicators (ESI) to identify scientists and social scientists who have had a significant impact in their fields of research on an annual basis. These HCRs have consistently demonstrated their influence via publication of multiple highly cited academic papers over the past decade. In fact, on the day that the HCR statement was released, Prof. Ok’s publication profile included 107 highly cited articles (HCP), the highest ever by a South Korean researcher. As much as 95% of his papers are the result of international collaborative research programs, and 91.4% of his publications have been accepted by the top 10% of journals in each research category.

A total of 3981 researchers were declared HCRs in the year 2022 by Clarivate Analytics in 21 ESI fields. Among them, 219 (5.5%) scientists were present in two ESI fields, and only 32 (0.8%) including Prof. Ok were listed in three or more fields. As per WoS data, 303, 153, and 202 researchers across the globe received the honor of being named HCRs in the fields of Biology and Biochemistry, Engineering, and Environment and Ecology, respectively, in 2022. Prof. Ok has made history by being the only HCR in all three of these three ESI fields till date, which is abundant evidence of his outstanding contribution to research. Notably, he was declared an HCR in Cross Fields in 2018, and became the first Korean HCR in Environment and Ecology in 2019. Additionally, he was also ascertained as the first Korean HCR in Environment and Ecology as well as Engineering in 2021.

Prof. Ok has served on the Scientific Organizing Committee of the P4G Nature Forum: Climate Change and Biodiversity, and the Nature Forum: Plastics and Sustainability. He has also chaired several major conferences, including the Engineering Sustainable Development series (ESD series), organized by the APRU and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Prof. Ok hosted the first Nature conference in Seoul that was attended by representatives from several South Korean universities, on waste management and valorization for a sustainable future, in collaboration with the Chief Editors of Nature Sustainability, Nature Electronics, and Nature Nanotechnology in 2021. Further, he also partnered with Nature journal to host the first Nature Forum on Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) for Global Sustainability: The “E” Pillar for Sustainable Business in August 2022.

Prof. Ok is working at the vanguard of global efforts for the development of sustainable waste management strategies and technologies that will address the rising crises of electronic and plastic waste, as well as soil and air pollution by particulate matter. He has served in several prestigious positions worldwide, including as 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). He maintains a worldwide professional network by serving as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (CREST, five-year IF:13.2) at Taylor and Francis, an extremely distinguished and highly ranked international journal that publishes leading research on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ESG. Further, he is a member of the editorial advisory board of Environmental Science & Technology, as well as an editorial board member of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews and Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology among several other journals of repute.

Selected Publications

  1. Palansooriya, K. N., Li, J., Dissanayake, P. D., Suvarna, M., Li, L., Yuan, X., Sarkar, B., Tsang, D.C., Rinklebe, J., Wang, X. & Ok, Y. S. (2022). Prediction of Soil Heavy Metal Immobilization by Biochar Using Machine Learning. Environmental Science & Technology.
  2. Yuan, X., Wang, J., Deng, S., Suvarna, M., Wang, X., Zhang, W., Hamilton, S.T., Alahmed, A., Jamal, A., Park, A.H.A. and Bi, X. (2022). Recent advancements in sustainable upcycling of solid waste into porous carbons for carbon dioxide capture. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 162:112413
  3. 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).
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. Yuan, X., Wang, X., Sarkar, B., Ok, Y.S. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates a shift to a plastic circular economy. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2: 659-660 (*Corresponding Author)
  7. 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, 55(17): 11925-11936
  8. Bank, M.S., Ok, Y.S., Swarzenski, P.W. (2020). Microplastic’s role in antibiotic resistance. Science, 369 (6509): 1315
  9. You, S., Sonne, C., Ok, Y.S.* (2020). COVID-19’s unsustainable waste management. Science. 368 (6498): 1438. (*Corresponding Author)
  10. 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)
  11. 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
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Hou, D., O’Connor, D., Sonne, C., Ok, Y.S.* (2019). Trade war threatens sustainability. Science, 364 (6447): 1242-1243. (*Corresponding Author)
  15. Hou, D. and Ok, Y.S.*(2019). Speed up mapping of soil pollution. Nature, 566, 455. (*Corresponding Author)
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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)
  19. 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).
  20. 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)
  21. 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)
  22. 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).
  23. 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)
  24. 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).
  25. 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.
  26. 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.
  27. 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.
  28. 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.

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