Pusan National University | South Korea
Dr. Sung Min Cha is a distinguished environmental engineer and Senior Researcher at the Green Land & Water Management Research Institute, Pusan National University, known for impactful contributions to climate-resilient water management and nature-based environmental solutions. With a strong scholarly footprint reflected in an h-index of 13, 31documents, and 860citations his research integrates climate change adaptation, urban hydrology, nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control, Low Impact Development (LID), and digital-twin–based environmental analytics. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and a B.S. in Resources Engineering from Chosun University. His professional journey includes significant roles as Principal Researcher at the Jeonnam Environmental Industries Promotion Institute and Postdoctoral Researcher at both the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and GIST. Dr. Cha has led and contributed to major national and international research projects on urban cooling, climate disaster mitigation, and advanced NPS reduction technologies. His achievements have been recognized through multiple honors, including the Chairman’s Award, Minister’s Award, Merit Award, and Best Presentation Award. Dr. Cha continues to advance innovative environmental strategies that support climate-adaptive, sustainable, and data-driven water resource management.
Featured Publications
Lee, S. W., Lee, J., & Cha, S. M. (2020). Assessment of factors affecting the removal efficiency of suspended solids and particulate matters for pretreatment units in a stormwater management facility. Water, 12(6), 1529.
Lee, S. W., Kim, J. H., & Cha, S. M. (2020). Analysis of the relation between pollutant loading and water depth flowrate changes in a constructed wetland for agricultural nonpoint source pollution management. Ecological Engineering, 150, 105841.
Cha, S. M., Lee, S. W., Cho, K. H., Lee, S. H., & Kim, J. H. (2016). Determination of best management timing of nonpoint source pollutants using particle bins and dimensionless time in a single stormwater runoff event. Ecological Engineering, 89, 1–10.
Din, A. A., Park, Y., Lee, S. W., Cha, S. M., Cho, K. H., & Kim, J. H. (2016). Finding sources and sinks of fluorescent dissolved organic matter in a riverine system using parallel factor model. Desalination and Water Treatment, 57(32), 14990–15000.
Park, Y., Cho, K. H., Park, J., Cha, S. M., & Kim, J. H. (2015). Development of early-warning protocol for predicting chlorophyll-a concentration using machine learning models in freshwater and estuarine reservoirs, Korea. Science of the Total Environment, 502, 1–8.