Dr. Wonbong Choi, a former Samsung Electronics research scientist and a leading expert in nanotechnology turned UNT professor, has built a startup that reflects both personal motivation and a shifting global research landscape.

“I saw how large corporations have retreated from investing in basic science, and so I saw an opportunity in academia to be a critical bridge between fundamental research and real-world commercial products,” he says.

That vision became a reality when he founded ARK Power Technology in 2018 to commercialize solid-state lithium-sulfur battery technology developed in his UNT lab. These next-generation batteries are lighter, safer, more flexible and offer up to six times the energy density of traditional lithium-ion batteries — making them ideal for specialized applications in the military, medical devices, drones and future mobility solutions.

Dr. Choi's path into entrepreneurship wasn’t easy. At the time, UNT had no formal policy for faculty startups, forcing him to wait a year before officially taking on a leadership role. Despite these hurdles, he successfully licensed his lab-developed technology, secured early investment — including $500,000 in seed funding — and continues to pursue additional grants like SBIR and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) to fuel growth.

With additional support from his student researchers, UNT’s collaborative environment has helped his research and commercialization thrive — producing 20 students who have studied battery-related topics and launching multiple senior design teams.

He hopes his journey will encourage other faculty to think beyond publishing papers, creating pathways for real-world impact through commercialization.

“It’s important to take this great research our faculty is doing and make something to help solve problems and make a difference.”