Bonggeun earned PhD degree in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, focusing on organic functionalization of semiconductor surfaces. When in the Friend Lab he was investigating structural and catalytic properties of oxygen-activated gold surfaces under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. Multiple surface science techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS), and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) are utilized in his research. Bonggeun is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Chungnam National University.