His research focuses on understanding quantum nature of light and matter and developing ways to harness them for next generation quantum technologies including quantum computing. His teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include integrated science and advanced physics.

Hwang has a B.Sc. and a Ph.D in physics from Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea. Before joining Duke Kunshan, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Ulm University, Germany.