Astrid Tomczak-Plewka
Fail. Fail. And fail again. This is often a daily experience for researchers, and Hyun Suk Wang is no exception. For his thesis at ETH, the South Korean puzzled over a process to completely recycle plastics. In other words, to fully restore the basic components. He conducted experiment after experiment for six months. Unsuccessfully. Then, after half a year, a flicker of hope. Half of one per cent of the plastic had indeed been changed back. “This tiny signal showed me that it might work. My motivation returned in full,” recalls Wang.
Important approach to recycling
The breakthrough achieved by the PhD student after the months of frustration not only restored his enthusiasm for his subject, but also won him the Prix Schläfli for Chemistry. The process is called “depolymerisation” and has been studied closely by researchers for years. Controlled breakdown is new. “Plastics consist of long chains,” explains the young materials scientist. He has developed a method that allows these chains to be broken down evenly and slowly, rather than simply disintegrating, as before. It is also possible to precisely determine the chains’ structure using this process. “Think of it as blue and red beads on a thread,” explains the 32-year-old. “By using depolymerisation we can control their arrangement.” The South Korean has made an important contribution in two fields with this process. “It is helpful with regard to the circular economy as well as plastics characterisation.”
Wang was born in South Korea, and grew up in Hong Kong as the second son of a linguist and a businessman. He returned to his native land for his first degree. He decided to study chemical engineering because it was “more concrete and intuitive” and “not as abstract” as literature, or history, for example. The Prix Schläfli means a great deal to him – for one because of its history. “The founder does not seem to have been particularly wealthy, but he liked science so much that he decided to donate everything to research,” he says. “I was inspired and very touched by this.” There is also the fact that “someone has actually taken the trouble to read my publications and recognise the potential impact.”
“He is known for his friendliness and respectfulness”
It may sound like flattery, but if you read his supervisor’s letter of recommendation, you will realise that, despite his scientific ability, Hyun Suk Wang has remained modest. The supervisor describes an episode that Wang deems hardly worthy of mention. It happened at an American Chemical Society conference. A junior researcher was rattled by a “not very kind” question from the audience. Wang could have used the opportunity to turn the spotlight on himself. But he didn’t. “My colleague didn’t quite understand the question because his English wasn’t so good. I didn’t want to answer for him – that would have shown him up. So I simply helped him to understand the question, so that he could answer it himself.” Wang’s mentor, Athina Anastasaki, regards this episode as typical of her PhD student. “He is known for his friendliness and respectfulness,” she writes. To Wang it’s obvious: “If you only look after your own interests, things can become quite toxic. It simply drains the soul from everyone.”
Wang is also passionate about sports. He has loved playing basketball since his childhood. At 1.75 metres tall, he is on the small side for a player, but his strengths lie in passing and distance shots. He also enjoys winter sports. And he has expanded his cultural repertoire since he met his wife, who is an opera singer at Basel Theatre. “I had to get used to it first,” he says with a laugh. “We are used to a story developing quickly. Opera takes time.” But in the meantime he has discovered an appreciation for it. “I have a glass of wine and immerse myself in the world of opera.”
“You should want to do some good”
Wang would very much like to establish his own research group as a professor one day. “Preferably one like that where I work now, where the people don’t drive each other mad, but work closely together on a project and help people develop their potential.” He then adds: “I don’t want to use the term ‘philanthropy’. But yes, when you conduct research, you should have it in the back of your mind that you want to do some good.”
