FigureAsia 35 Under 35 · Science
Eugene Park
Age 29 · Van der Waals magnetic transistors · South Korea / United States
Equal-contribution co-lead of a magnetic-transistor experiment coupling gate control to an unusually large transport response.
- Approximate age at the edition eligibility date
- 29
- Field
- Condensed-matter physics
- Country or region
- South Korea / United States
- FigureAsia U35 Assessment
- 79.2 / 100
Profile
Career and documented record
Eugene ‘Jane’ Park was one of the two co-lead authors behind a magnetic-transistor result that joined device physics to an atomically thin material. Physical Review Letters published the work on 22 September 2025 as volume 135, article 136702; Park is second-listed and explicitly marked as an equal contributor.
The device used chromium sulfur bromide, CrSBr, a van der Waals antiferromagnetic semiconductor, as its channel. Gate voltage changed carrier density while magnetic transitions changed electronic transport; the authors' manuscript reports a magnetoresistance ratio as high as 1,500%. The final paper attributes the low- and high-carrier-density regimes chiefly to magnetically driven carrier-concentration and mobility modulation, respectively.
MIT reported that the device could switch or amplify current by a factor of 10 and outlined the potential for a transistor with built-in memory, while leaving array fabrication and scale-up as future work. After completing her MIT doctorate in 2026, Park joined Stanford's Energy Postdoctoral Fellowship, where she now combines atomic-resolution electron microscopy with ultrafast methods to trace energy loss at material interfaces.
FigureAsia selection
Why Eugene Park is on the list
Park is selected for co-leading a complete 2025 transistor experiment in which electrical gating and magnetic order jointly control transport. Equal-contribution authorship and a peer-reviewed device result make the scientific responsibility unusually clear.
Verified work
The 2025–26 record
PRL magnetic transistor
Equal-contribution co-lead author of ‘Large Magnetoresistance in an Electrically Tunable van der Waals Antiferromagnet,’ Physical Review Letters 135, 136702.
1,500% magnetoresistance
Demonstrated gate- and magnetically tunable transport in a CrSBr field-effect transistor, with a peak magnetoresistance ratio of 1,500% under the reported laboratory conditions.
Stanford Energy Fellowship
Joined Stanford as an Energy Postdoctoral Fellow after a 2026 MIT PhD, studying femtosecond energy dynamics at atomic-scale interfaces.
Field context
The work in its field
Conventional transistors separate electrical switching from non-volatile memory. A magnetic semiconducting channel can couple gate control to magnetic order, but practical value depends on controllable transport, endurance and scalable integration.
FigureAsia U35 Assessment
Assessment breakdown
79.2out of 100
Substantive 2025–2026 contribution
14.3 / 20
Equal-contribution co-lead author of ‘Large Magnetoresistance in an Electrically Tunable van der Waals Antiferromagnet,’ Physical Review Letters 135, 136702.
Verified scientific impact
11.6 / 15
Co-leading a PRL experiment that combines electrical gating, magnetic order and a large transport response gives Park unusually clear device-level impact in spintronics; the result is a laboratory platform, not yet a scalable replacement for silicon.
Originality and distinction
7.9 / 10
The distinction lies in using a CrSBr magnetic semiconductor as the transistor channel so gate voltage and magnetic state can jointly tune electronic transport.
Field influence
8 / 10
For Park, field influence turns on whether this work changes the operating baseline in van der waals magnetic transistors; the record supports that judgement.
Individual agency
8 / 10
Physical Review Letters marks Park and Chung-Tao Chou as equal contributors, and MIT identifies both as co-lead authors. The record supports co-lead experimental credit rather than generic team participation.
Durability and trajectory
4.2 / 5
The PRL result closes Park's MIT doctoral phase and leads into a Stanford fellowship extending her work on energy flow and atomic-scale interfaces.
Asian significance and global relevance
4.4 / 5
Korean-American materials scientist working in the United States and recognised within Asia's scientific diaspora.
Evidential validity and reproducibility
6.4 / 8
The final PRL establishes the device mechanism; the 1,500% peak is taken from the authors' corresponding manuscript and is kept distinct from MIT's factor-of-ten current description.
Advance in scientific knowledge
5.9 / 7
The experiment separates carrier-concentration and mobility effects across magnetic and gate-controlled transport regimes in CrSBr.
Translational or methodological utility
4.2 / 5
A transistor that couples switching, amplification and magnetic state offers a route toward lower-power spintronic logic with built-in memory if it can be scaled.
Responsible research stewardship
4.3 / 5
The profile distinguishes two reported metrics and keeps a laboratory device separate from claims of manufacturable system advantage.