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POSCO TJ Park Foundation
Press Releases
Award Ceremony Held for the‘15th 2021 POSCO TJ Park Prize ’
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The POSCO TJ Park Foundation hosted the award ceremony for the 15th ‘2021 POSCO TJ Park Prize’ at the POSCO Center on April 6
At the awards ceremony, a plaque and prize money of 200 million won were presented to each of the following winners. Mu-Hyun Baik, Professor, Department of Chemistry/ Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology for the Science Award, Sacheon Yongnam Middle School for the Education Award, Child Welfare Practice SEUM for the Service Award, and Chung Han/CEO, i3system Inc. for the Technology Award.
Sun-wook Kim, Chairman of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation, said in a welcoming speech, "The POSCO TJ Park Foundation will continue to find and support those who take up the challenge to tackle the major problems facing mankind in a creative and dedicated manner. We will try to enrich our society by finding and supporting those who strive for a better world."
While only about 50 persons, including the award winners and those involved with the POSCO TJ Park Prize, attended the award ceremony due to the effect of Corona 19, the entire award ceremony was broadcast live on a YouTube channel, allowing more than 1,000 people to participate online.
Mu-Hyun Baik, Professor, Department of Chemistry/ Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (Associate Director/Institute for Basic Science), and the Science Award Winner, is a chemist who discovered the principle behind the chemical reaction that occurs when a transition metal catalyst is used as the medium. He also established the principle that makes development of better catalysts possible. In particular, he is a pioneer of transformational research which demonstrates that chemical reactions can be predicted and designed using computers and theoretical·computational chemistry research methods.
In 2016, Dr. Baik predicted the catalyst candidates that can activate methane gas with computational chemistry, and in 2020, he suggested the possibility of an "all-around functional group" that can freely control the atoms that determine the electrical properties of organic compounds by using fine differences in voltage. In particular, the study of all-around functional group is highly regarded as an innovative achievement that can replace the existing paradigm, and it is expected to have a significant ripple effect if the research results are applied to the chemical industry in the future.
Sacheon Yongnam Middle School, the Education Award Winner, was on the verge of closing due to a drop in the number of students that was caused by a decrease in the population of Sacheon up to 2011. However, it has been transformed into an innovative school that the Korean education community pays attention to. This was accomplished by teachers who led the way in innovation, and by students, parents, and the local government that actively supported and participated to successfully bring about an innovation in the education space.
In particular, the teachers played a leading role in remodeling the teaching staff room into a cafe-type space, resulting in a turning point in teaching staff room culture of Korea. They also provided students with 'Full Garden', a space for relaxation and recreation and 'Jihye Saem', a cultural and educational space. This school has been highly praised for presenting a successful future model for rural schools in farming and fishing communities such as introducing two-way digital classes as a response to the corona age.
Child Welfare Practice SEUM, the Service Award Winner, was established in 2015, for the first time in Korea, to support the "world where children of prisoners live proudly" in terms of children's human rights. This institution has been highly praised for establishing a sustainable integrated support platform to pursue changes in the social structure and the system, in addition to supporting the daily lives of the children of prisoners and their families.
Since its establishment, it has provided basic support such as emergency living expenses, daily necessities, and medical treatment expenses, and it has pushed for continuous academic progress through scholarships, as well as providing various mentoring programs so that children of prisoners can lead normal lives. It has also steadily pursued activities like integrated family support to also look after family members other than the children of prisoners. In addition, it has played a leading role in changing policies to protect human rights of children of prisoners by expanding family visiting rights, strengthening human rights protection for the children of prisoners, and by improving social awareness activities.
Chung, Han/CEO, i3system Inc. and the Technology Award Winner, is a first-generation researcher of infrared imaging sensors in Korea who has dedicated 30 years to develop infrared imaging sensors. After obtaining a Ph.D. from KAIST, he founded the company in 1998 and played a key role in making Korea the 7th nation in the world to mass produce infrared imaging sensors by accelerating the development of infrared imaging sensors.
The infrared imaging sensor, developed and mass-produced by Dr. Chung for the first time in Korea, is used to identify objects in dark spaces and is in high demand in national strategic fields such as defense, space, and medical care. In particular, the 12㎛ ultra-small infrared imaging sensor, which was recently developed with its own technology, is an essential part of self-driving cars that has been commercialized only in the U.S. and it is assessed as a stepping stone for Korea to become a technology leader in the field of infrared image sensors.
Kim Joo-sung, an assistant manager in the POSCO Stainless Steel Marketing Department, sang “At this moment” like a professional singer to congratulate the winners and made the occasion more memorable.
The POSCO TJ Park Foundation established the POSCO TJ Park Prize in 2006 to contribute to national development by spreading public interest and participation for POSCO's founding ideology consisting of creativity, human resource development, sacrifice, and service spirit and it is taking the lead in realizing 'corporate citizens who develop together.'
The POSCO TJ Park Prize Award is presented for science, education, service, and technology, with 200 million won in prize money for each category. The Science Award is given to a Korean a scientist who has contributed to the advancement of science and technology, with Korea as the basis of activity, by accomplishing creative achievements in natural science and engineering. The Education Award is given to a person or an organization that systematically implements creative education programs and spread them throughout the educational world, and the Service Award is presented to a person or an organization that is dedicated to practicing love and sharing, to improve the quality of life in human society. In connection with Asia Fellowship, the core project of the foundation, candidates from the Asian region are also considered for the award. The Technology Award is awarded to a person who has contributed to the progress of the national industry by developing and commercializing world-class technologies directly in each field of industry-academic relations.