BS Chemistry, Dongguk University, Seoul, Korea, 1986
MS Chemistry,  Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, Seoul, Korea, 1988
PhD University of Illinois, Chicago, 2001
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley, 2001-2003 
Postdoctoral Associate, Iowa State University, 2003-2004

Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, 2004-2005
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, 2005-present

We focus on the development and application of the state-of-the-art techniques of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) spectroscopy to study diverse problems in biological science and modern materials related to future energy development. SSNMR spectroscopy covers a wide range of applications that cannot be addressed by liquid-state experiments and is a powerful tool to determine structural and dynamic information of sample systems of interest on the molecular level, regardless of their morphology.

Our recent research interests include:

• NMR crystallography: conformational and interfacial structures of protein-protein, protein-ligand, and protein-DNA complexes that are challenging to be co-crystallized into mesocrystals or microcrystals for X-ray diffraction but are practically feasible to be prepared into nanocrystals for SSNMR magic-angle spinning (MAS) experiments for structural and dynamic investigations.
• Characterizations of dynamic supramolecular structures of membrane-bound antimicrobial peptides and membrane proteins.
• Morphological characterization of polymeric membrane materials for fuel-cell applications or ionic separations.

1. Spano, J.; Wi, S. Dipolar-Coupling-Mediated Total Correlation Spectroscopy in Solid-State ¹³C NMR: Selection of Individual ¹³C-¹³C Dipolar Interactions, J. Magn. Reson. 2010, in press.
2. Park, J.K.; Spano, J.; Moore, R. B.; Wi, S. Counterion motions and thermal ordering effects in perfluorosulfonate ionomers probed by solid-state NMR, Polymer 2009, 50, 5720-5727. 
3. Kim, C.; Spano, J.; Park, E.K.; Wi, S. Evidence of pores and thinned lipid bilayers induced in oriented lipid membranes interacting with the antimicrobial peptides, magainin-2 and aurein-3.3, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, Biomembr. 2009, 1788, 1482-1496.
4. Suga, T.; Wi, S.; Long, T. E. Synthesis of Diazocine-Containing Poly(arylene ethersulfone)s for Tailored Mechanical and Electrochemical Performance, Macromolecules 2009, 42, 1526-1532.
5. Wi, S.; Kim, C. Pore Structure, Thinning Effect, and Lateral Diffusive Dynamics of Oriented Lipid Membranes Interacting with Antimicrobial Peptide Protegrin-1: ³¹P and ²H Solid-State NMR Study, J. Phys. Chem. B 2008, 112, 11402-11414
6. Mao, M.; Kim, C.; Wi, S.; Turner, S. R. Chain structure of substituted stilbene–maleic anhydride alternating copolymer probed by solid-state NMR, Macromolecules 2008, 41, 387-389.
7. Wi, S.; Hwang, S. Multiple-Quantum ¹³C Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy under Moderate Magic-Angle Spinning, Chem. Phys. Lett. 2006, 426, 187-191.