The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering on Thursday awarded Yeongseon Jang, Ph.D., the 2025-2026 Pramod P. Khargonekar Award, which honors outstanding junior faculty members undergoing tenure and promotion review.
Assistant Professor
Jang is an assistant professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Chemical Engineering and the 2024-2027 Alex Moreno Rising Star Professor.
Jang’s other awards include the Outstanding Support for Women in Engineering Award from the UF Society of Women Engineers in 2023. She also received the KIChE President Young Investigator Award from the Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2021.
She attended Seoul National University, receiving her bachelor’s degree in 2008 and her doctorate in 2013.
Jang and her group develop bioinspired materials using polymers and engineered proteins. They aim to create advanced platforms that replicate or enhance biological functions by controlling intermolecular interactions and cell–material interfaces. Current efforts include developing synthetic cells for therapeutics and biocatalysis, antibacterial thin films and engineered electroactive biofilms.
This award is named for Pramod P. Khargonekar, Ph.D., who is the current vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Irvine. Prior to UC Irvine, Khargonekar was the Eckis Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at UF from 2001 to 2016, as well as the dean of the College of Engineering from 2001 to 2009.