^{Hanju Seo is a London-based tree-intelligence inventor and entrepreneur with a decade of experience turning ecological insight into practical climate solutions. A graduate of the joint MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering programme at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, he now leads a startup, EarthCode Ltd.,
that closes the gap between satellite-heavy forestry practice and what orbiting sensors miss.

Inspired by the challenges of managing his family’s small woodland in Korea, he builds low-power in-situ monitoring tools that

collect real-time field data and merge it with remote-sensing layers, giving land managers early warnings of insect outbreaks and

wildfire risk so they can act before damage escalates.}

^Education

^{• Master of Science - MS, Innovation Design Engineering
Imperial College London, London, UK
Grade: Merit (67%)}

^{Sep 2022 - Jul 2024}

^{• Master of Arts - MA, Innovation Design Engineering
Royal College of Art, London, UK}

^{Sep 2022 - Jul 2024}

^{• Bachelor of Industrial Design Engineering
Korea Polytechnic University, South Korea
Graduated with the highest academic honors in the department

Feb 2020}

^Experience

^{• Founder & CEO

EarthCode Ltd.
Jun 2024 - Current}_{-Built an AI-based platform for in-situ tree identification and health analytics.
-Winner, Dezeen × Bentley “Start Something Powerful” competition (2024).}
^{• Quest Fellow (Cohort 3)
xCelero Labs & Queen’s University

Apr 2025 – Present}
_{-Researching agritech applications of forest-data intelligence.}

^{• Immersive AR Experience Designer

Snap Inc.

Feb 2024 – Jul 2024}_{-Built Tiny Forest AR app for citizen micro-forest management.}
^{• Co-Founder & Design Engineer

PERA

Sep 2023 – Oct 2024}_{-Led design of a discreet wearable that tracks female bowel-health biomarkers.}
^{• Sustainable Wood Futures Collaborator

Aalto University

Jul 2023 – Aug 2023}_{-Selected as 1 of 4 RCA awardees; co-designed a carbon-sequestering timber pavilion that enhances human–nature interaction through modular bio-based construction.}
^{• XR Interaction Designer

CipherX Technologies
Jul 2023 – Aug 2023}_{-Created AR tattoo-visualisation pipeline and prototyped bio-ink device.}

^{• Human-Centred Medical-Robotics Concept Engineer
KAIST / EasyEndo Surgical

Apr 2020 – Oct 2020}_{-Conceptualised master & slave devices for robotic kidney-stone surgery.}
^{• Sergent
Republic of Korea Air Force, Osan AB
Jun 2014 – Jun 2016}_{-Security operations at K55 Gate.}
^{• Artwork Manager (Contract)

National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Seoul

Nov 2013 - Mar 2014}_{-Managed installation of Do-Ho Suh’s Home within Home….}

^Exhibitions

^{2025
NEST Conference, University of Sussex, Brighton – Bark-Code: A Non-Invasive System for Tree Identification and Monitoring

Dubai AI Festival, UAE – EarthCode: AI-Based In-situ Tree-Monitoring Solution

Imperial Futures Poster Exhibition, London – Tree-Based Economies: Rethinking Standing Trees as Natural Capital
Grantham Institute Climate Research Showcase, London – Analyzing Morphological Bark Patterns for Forest Management

2024

Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards Showcase, London – Being a Giraffe
RCA × Snap Augmented Un/Realities, London – Tiny Forest
RCA Graduate Show (Battersea), London – EarthCode
Imperial College London Degree Show (South Kensington) – EarthCode
Open House Exhibition, Imperial College London – PERA

2023

Across & Over, HSBC HQ, London – Being a Giraffe
PERA Showcase, Royal College of Art, London – PERA
Supergreen Exhibition, Royal College of Art, London

Aalto ARTS Summer School Exhibition, Helsinki – Modular Timber Pavilion for Human–Nature Interaction

2022

London Design Festival, OPPO Renovators Emerging Artists Project, London – From Bees for Bees

2021

Design Korea × Sweden Young Design Award, Seoul – From Bees for Bees}

^Press

^{2025

foot 1 — “A conversation between Hong Chanhee and Seo Hanju” (홍찬희와 서한주의 대화)
Core77 — “The 2025 Core77 Design Awards Emerging Technologies Winners”

2024

Bentley Magazine, Issue 83 — “Forest Fingerprints” feature interview, pp. 42–47 (print, FMS)
Design.Different Magazine, Vol. 5 (Dec 2024) — PERA, a discreet wearable that tracks bowel-health biomarkers

Dezeen — “Hanju Seo wins Start Something Powerful competition with tree-identification system”
MSN Technology — Coverage of the Dezeen × Bentley award
Royal College of Art News — “Royal College of Art announces the winners of the Helen Hamlyn Design Awards for 2024”
FAD Magazine — Helen Hamlyn Design Awards report on PERA
Auto Design Magazine — RCA Helen Hamlyn Award winners roundup
Imperial College London News — “Celebrating Imperial’s women-led startups”} ^{2021

IKEA Newsroom — “2021 Korea + Sweden Young Design Award celebrates final winners”
HeyPop — “지속가능한 미래를 위한 영 디자인 3”}

^{2020

Monthly Design (Korea) 월간 디자인 (503호) — “Youth after 199X” (199X년 이후 Youth)}

^{2019

Visual Atelier 8 — “Seo Hanju Brings Innovation in the Form of Hormongraphy”
SBS Online News (Korea) — IDEA & EPDA coverage of Hormongraphy}

^Awards

^{2025
Core77 Design Awards 2025 - Emerging Technologies (Student Winner)

D&AD Awards 2025 — Future Impact Shortlist
BeOPEN — Designing Futures 2050 — Finalist}

^{2024
WIRED Creative Hack Award — Finalist (WIRED Japan)
Dezeen × Bentley “Start Something Powerful” — 1st Prize · £15,000
Helen Hamlyn Award for Creativity & Northumbrian Water Award for Inclusive Innovation — Joint Winner · £3,000 (Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design)

Innovate UK Immersive Tech Awards — Best Technical Innovation

Mayor’s Entrepreneur Competition — Semi Finalist
WE Innovate — 3rd Prize · £5,000 (Imperial Enterprise Lab)}

^{2022
OPPO Renovators — Shortlist

2021
Korea + Sweden Young Design Award — Grand Prize · ₩5,000,000 (IKEA Korea · Embassy of Sweden Seoul · Korea Institute of Design Promotion)

2020
International Busan Design Award — Idea Award
K-Design Award — Winner
London International Creative Competition — Shortlist
Pinup Concept Design Awards — Silver
SIT Furniture Design Award — Honorable Mention
Spark Design Awards — Silver

2019
European Product Design Award — Silver
International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) — Finalist}

^Contact

^{Instagram @seopadong
phone +44) 7774 889 331

email seopadong@gmail.com}