Soonwuk Cheong

Adjunct Faculty, Materials Science, College of Engineering

Bio

Dr. Cheong is a registered patent attorney, inventor and scientist. He advises on R&D and Business/IP strategy for US and international corporations. He has helped various VC-sponsored US start-ups to build global IP portfolios. He has prosecuted numerous U.S. patent applications for world class institutes in US, Europe and Asia. In addition to his IP experience, Dr. Cheong draws upon years of research experience in industry where he managed projects in aerospace, automotive, data storage and solar technology. He worked with NASA in Ares Launch Vehicles Program.

ADMISSION
Registered to practice before the United States Federal Courts
Registered to practice before the Courts of District of Columbia
Registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES
CL Intellectual LLC, Washington DC
(A full-fledged patent prosecution firm in DC)
Managing Member (Current)
We counsel clients on how to address the risks associated with implementation and integration, transition planning and areas of exposure in IP portfolio; help clients build internal processes for IP management and create programs that enable full value realization; and form alliances with our case specific partners to protect clients in dispute and litigation and to build valuable and transaction-ready IP portfolio.

KOTRA (Korea Trade Promotion Corporation),
US Advisor
-Served as a global technology expert for KOTRA to formulate investment strategies and form alliances with US state and local governments.

Baker Hostetler LLP, Washington DC (A top 100 US law firm) 
Attorney at Law 
- Analyzed business models and drafted intellectual property strategic memoranda to secure public and private investment funds for university spin-off companies.
- Worked with various foreign IP firms in Europe, China, Japan, India and Korea to manage global patent portfolios.
- Provided Freedom to Operate, Patent Invalidity and Clearance Analysis.
- Wrote and prosecuted US and international patent applications for fortune 500 companies, universities and research institutes in broad technologies including display devices, semiconductors, energy storage, integrated circuit and heavy machinery.

Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, LLC, Alexandria, VA
(a leading IP boutique firm in US),
US Patent Agent 
- Advised global corporations, research institutes, and top universities in US, Europe and Japan on issues from the formulation of initial strategies and “best practices” to securing IP rights.

Alcoa Technical Center, Alcoa Inc., Pittsburgh, PA,
Senior Scientist 
- Researched R&D strategies for energy business portfolio: electronic packaging; solar energy; fuel cell; wind technology; and green building.
- Consulted a plant operation for upstream mining process.
- Managed high performance Al-Li sheet program for aircraft fuselage applications.
- Project leader of NASA Ares space program.

Air Force Research Laboratory|AFRL, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton,OH
Visiting scientist 
- Researched computational metallurgy. 

Education

PhD –Materials Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

JD – University of District Columbia, David Clarke School of Law, Washington DC

MS – Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

BS – Metallurgical Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

Research

TECHNICAL SPECIALTIES
Materials Physics: Nano Engineering, Crystallography, Physical/Electrical Properties,

Physical Science: Fracture Mechanics, Materials fabrication technology, Electronic packaging

Computational Science: Molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo simulation

Characterization: X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Texture Analysis (EBSD), Secondary Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDS), Transmission Electron Microscopy(TEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Quantitative Surface Analysis

Projects

INVENTORSHIP
US Patent, US 10161020B2
European Patent, EP 2212444A1
Chinese Patent, CN101815800A