Dr. Steven Jung, chief commercial officer at Rolla, Missouri, based specialty glass manufacturer MO-SCI Corp., shared four keys to career success with master’s degree and Ph.D. graduates during Missouri S&T’s graduate commencement ceremony, held Friday, Dec. 19, at the Gale Bullman Building on the S&T campus. More than 700 degrees were awarded during S&T’s three commencement ceremonies.

“This is a significant accomplishment,” Jung said. “Probably one of the hardest things you’ll do in your life, so congratulations.”

He then shared things that were important in building his career at MO-SCI Corp. and his professional network.

“We impact a lot of people,” Jung said. His own graduate research in specialty glasses has resulted in patented technologies now found in over a dozen FDA-approved medical devices that improve hundreds of thousands of lives every year. 

“I could never have guessed that these things would happen or that I would be here telling you about them tonight.”

But Jung says success happened for him because of years of doing four things consistently.

First – Embrace failure. “You’re going to do a lot of work that doesn’t amount to what you were hoping for,” he said. “But never throw away those experiences or ideas. You just build upon them for later date.”

Second – Be in a state that’s uncomfortable. “You’re going to find yourself doing new and different things, but new and different also comes with new rules to learn,” Jung said. “That takes time, and it’s a challenge. Embrace it, because once you get good at it, that’s how you can evolve your career.”

Third – Actively look for opportunities. “Opportunities literally are everywhere. The most important thing I learned was to learn everything about the problem in front of me. Then I could really pick it apart and find the opportunity to move forward with something innovative.” 

Last – Build your network. “It’s super important to just say hello to the person next to you and build your network,” Jung said. “This translates to any career or purpose you’re interested in. 

“I want to congratulate you all. You’ve achieved something quite rare, and you should all be proud. And if any of your paths one day cross with mine, I look forward to meeting you.” 

Jung earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ceramic engineering and a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Missouri S&T in 2005, 2007 and 2010, respectively. His doctoral research focused on developing bioactive glass scaffolds for hard and soft tissue regeneration.

An internationally recognized innovator in biomaterials and bioactive glass technology, Jung invented scaffold technology and a family of bioactive glass materials now used in bone implants, spinal devices and advanced wound care products. His work has been incorporated into medical devices commercialized by major companies including J&J Med Tech, Globus Medical, Synergy Biomedical, Zavation and ETS Wound Care.

Jung holds 35 U.S. patents and more than 100 total U.S. and international patents and applications, with 13 commercial medical devices using technologies he helped develop.

Jung is a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, and a member of the S&T Academy of Mines and Metallurgy Academy and the S&T Academy of Miner Athletics.