About
Sungwon (Sean) Hwang is a professor of chemical engineering at Inha University, director of the CEPI Lab (Clean Energy Process Integration Lab.), and co-founder & CEO of CEPiEL. He spent ~17 years in industry — at GS E&C, AspenTech UK, and UOP (a Honeywell company) in the UK and US — before joining academia in 2012, and now works at the intersection of digital twins, AI, and process systems engineering for chemical and energy operations.
Now
- Directing the CEPI Lab at Inha University — hybrid first-principles + ML digital twins for chemical and energy processes (CCU, hydrogen liquefaction, SAF, RPB, batteries). 14 graduate researchers; 65+ SCI(E) papers; 14 patents.
- Co-founder & CEO of CEPiEL — commercializing a decade of CEPI Lab IP as the CEPiDTS™ industrial-AI digital-twin platform (CEPiPM™ / CEPiML™ / CEPiMS™). Korea HQ at Inha Dream Center; Germany office in Schwetzingen.
- Active industry programs with LG Chem, Lotte Chem, Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Solutions, Samsung Heavy, GS E&C, KOGAS, SK Nexilis, Doosan Enerbility, RIST.
- Writing on this site, slowly.
Background
- Ph.D., Process Integration Centre — UMIST (now University of Manchester), UK, 2004. Supervisor: Prof. Robin Smith. Thesis on Synthesis of Continuous Heterogeneous Catalytic Reactors.
- M.Sc., Process Integration Centre — UMIST, UK, 2000.
- B.Sc., Chemical Engineering — Inha University, Korea, 1995.
- ~17 years in industry before academia: GS E&C (process engineer, plant division; NODCO Qatar / Thai Petrochemical / GS Caltex projects, 1995–99) → AspenTech UK (staff consultant, advanced process design, 2004–06) → UOP — A Honeywell Company (technology specialist, Guildford UK & Des Plaines IL; hydroprocessing catalysts and project management for global refineries, 2006–12).
- Chartered Engineer (CEng), Engineering Council UK — 2008 to present.
Interests
Digital twins for chemical and energy plants; hybrid first-principles + ML modeling (PINN, LSTM, AutoML, BO/GA); soft-sensing for unmeasurable high-temperature regions; carbon capture and utilization (CCU); hydrogen production and liquefaction; sustainable aviation fuel (SAF); LLM agents and ontologies for plant operations; and the gap between research papers and what actually runs in a control room.
Selected affiliations
Ongoing projects
- Complex-plant utility system optimization2025.06 – 2026.06
LG Chem · Industry-academia
- Real-time predictive soft-sensing technology for petrochemical processes2025.06 – 2026.06
LG Chem · Industry-academia
- Rotating Packed Bed modeling technology development2025.06 – 2026.06
LG Chem · Industry-academia
- LNG liquefaction process digital twin technology development2024.10 – 2026.09
Samsung Heavy Industries · Industry-academia
- Low-temperature CO₂ electrolysis + Fischer-Tropsch integrated modeling2024.10 – 2025.09
GS Engineering & Construction · Industry-academia
- Alcohol-to-Jet SAF process development and optimization2024.10 – 2025.06
GS Engineering & Construction · Industry-academia
- CO₂-added propane dehydrogenation catalyst and process development2024.05 – 2027.04
National Research Foundation (NRF) · Government R&D
- Digital-based sustainable energy process innovation graduate program2023.04 – 2027.12
Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) · Government R&D
- Onboard carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCUS) research2022.10 – 2025.09
J&I SysTech, Union · Industry-academia
- 3D Nano-Convergence Device Research Center2022.06 – 2025.02
National Research Foundation (NRF) · Government R&D
- Smart Energy Materials and Process Education Research Group2020.09 – 2027.08
National Research Foundation (NRF) · Government R&D
45+ completed industry-academia and government R&D projects since 2012 — full list at cepi.inha.ac.kr.
Industry & funding partners
- Advanced Technology Research InstituteDaewoo Shipbuilding & Marine EngineeringGS Engineering & ConstructionGovernment R&D programsHRSHanwha OceanJ&I SysTech, UnionK-TECKorea BiogenKorea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT)Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS)Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT)Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP)LG ChemNational Research Foundation (NRF)PlasmatechSK NexilisSamsung Heavy IndustriesTexas A&M University
Recognition
16 awards including the Daeju AI Award and the Daeju Industry-Academia Collaboration Award. Editor-in-Chief, Publication Committee, KIChE (2024–2025); Chair, Process Systems Sub-committee, KIChE (2023); Auditor, KSIEC (2026–2027).