He has obtained B.Eng. in Chung-Ang University, M.Eng. and Ph.D. in Korea University, and M.Sc. in Johns Hopkins University, and researched at Virginia Tech, University of Maryland - College Park, and Johns Hopkins University.
He invented a music-inspired optimization algorithm,
Harmony Search, which has been applied to various scientific and engineering problems. His research interest includes phenomenon-mimicking algorithm and its applications to energy, environment and water fields.