February 11, 2025
2025 Clark & Karen Bright Scholarship Honoring Angus Macleod goes to Jae-Ik Choi, Purdue University
Congratulations to Jae-Ik Choi – recipient of the 2025 Clark and Karen Bright Scholarship Honoring Angus Macleod from the SVC Foundation. Jae-Ik has a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from the Korea Aerospace University and is now pursuing a PhD in Materials Engineering at Purdue University. Before coming to Purdue, he started his research career as an R&D engineer at Cuprum Materials, a startup founded by his undergraduate advisor, where he developed electronic materials for the semiconductor industry. He says, “Working in a small team required flexibility, and I gained hands-on experience with vacuum coating technologies, particularly in co-sputtering to create thin films for electronic devices.”
He continues, “The startup environment allowed me to work on various projects, including stretchable displays, heat dissipation substrates, next-generation antennas, and novel semiconductor interconnects, all of which utilized vacuum technology. I was fascinated by the versatility of this technology, enabling the formation of unique materials, like amorphous alloys, that are difficult to achieve in bulk form. This experience ignited my passion for advancing this field through further research, which led me to pursue a Ph.D. at Purdue University, where I am now studying nanophotonics – an area that will revolutionize the technological industry with its remarkable speed and ultrahigh frequencies—focusing on transparent conducting oxides (TCOs).”
His PhD advisor, Dr. Alexandra Boltasseva, says, “Jae-Ik is currently working on fascinating research with transparent conducting oxides (TCO) to develop a time-varying medium modulating in ultrafast regimes. His ability to go beyond conventions and bring a fresh perspective stands out to me. As such, he is working on combining experimental skills with physics-informed machine-learning techniques that have rarely been done in TCOs. This enables fully leveraging the fascinating material by designing and optimizing unprecedented plasmonic structures.”
Jae Ik writes, “I want to take a moment to thank you for awarding me the Clark & Karen Bright Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship means so much to me because it helps with the financial side of my studies and reminds me that my hard work is being noticed and appreciated. It is incredibly motivating to have this kind of support as I continue pursuing my studies and research in photonics. Your generosity truly makes a difference, and it inspires me and my colleagues to work even harder. Thank you for believing in me and supporting students like me.”
