| 1986 | B.S., Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Seoul National University |
| 1991 | Ph.D., Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Il, USA |
| 1994 ~ Present | Professor, KAIST |
| 2008 ~ Present | Dean, College of Life Science and Bioengineering, KAIST |
| 2010 ~ Present | Foreign associate of the National Academy of Engineering |
Professor Lee originated the research areas of systems biotechnology and systems metabolic engineering by converging chemical engineering, biotechnology, and computer science, among others. Leveraging such studies, he developed a number of platform technologies to allow chemical substances, fuels, and high molecules needed by mankind to be produced through eco-friendly bioprocesses, thereby having a profound effect on the advancement of industrial biotechnology worldwide.
With global problems such as climate change and resource depletion becoming increasingly severe, the technology to produce a wide range of chemical substances required for sustaining our way of life from non-edible bio materials is indispensable for the living of humankind. However, microorganisms isolated from nature cannot be utilized for actual production processes because they are inefficient in producing such materials. Professor Sang Yup Lee has conducted world-class studies in the field of metabolic engineering to efficiently produce such substances as needed by man by comprehensively deciphering and improving the metabolic pathways of microorganisms. He, in particular, broke fresh ground for system metabolic engineering to apply technologies such as virtual cells to industrial biotechnology. His paper on the technology he developed to efficiently produce succinic acid, a widely-used chemical, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, is recognized as the first genome paper in Korea.
In addition, his papers on system metabolic bioengineering research where amino acids and other substances were model products were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America and the Molecular Systems Biology journal. Those articles are acclaimed as model papers for system metabolic bioengineering.
Furthermore, he developed technology to produce polylactic acid, a high polymer that had been produced through chemical synthesis, by means of biotechnology for the first time in the world; and technology to produce the ultra high molecular weight spider silk proteins, which is stronger than steel. He also developed technology to use biomass to efficiently produce butanol that can be used for production of nylon, which is made from crude oil, and for high-efficient biofuels; and technology to biologically produce metal nanoparticles such as quantum dots.
These achievements have been published in world-renowned scientific journals such as Nature and Science and attracted considerable attention from international academia. His papers have recorded more than 6,000 citations in journals, which is a rare feat in the field of engineering, and he retains original technology patents related to his studies. Professor Lee is frequently invited to international symposia as a key-note speaker and has been elected as an editor-in-chief of international scientific journals, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Microbiology, and the Society for Industrial Microbiology, and a foreign associate of the National Academy of Engineering, the highest professional distinction accorded to an engineer, thus raising the nation's stature in the field of biotechnology.
