Korea Toray Science Foundation to award 100 million won each
Kim Sang-kyu, a chemistry professor at KAIST, and Kim Yun-hee, a chemistry professor at Gyeongsang National University, have been named recipients of the Korea Toray Science and Technology Award — Kim Sang-kyu in the basic chemistry and materials category and Kim Yun-hee in the applied category.
The Korea Toray Science Promotion Foundation announced Tuesday that each winner will receive a prize of 100 million won ($74,500).
Kim Sang-kyu was recognized for developing original experimental techniques to track how chemical reactivity changes with molecular structure, enabling observation of fleeting molecular transformations. His work shed light on the structural dynamics of "transition states" and "conical intersections" — the mechanisms that govern the speed of chemical reactions. He was also credited with presenting a novel experimental framework for understanding the fundamental relationship between electrons and atomic nuclei by arbitrarily controlling anionic electrons.
Kim Yun-hee was honored for her outstanding contributions to the synthesis of organic semiconductor materials. She secured core technology for high-efficiency deep-blue OLED materials and has driven technological advancement through collaboration with industry.
The foundation also selected five early-career scientists, including Professor Song In-taek, for the Korea Toray Fellowship. Each fellow will receive a total of 150 million won in research funding over three years.
In the basic chemistry and materials category, Song In-taek of DGIST's Department of Chemistry and Physics and Hong Seung-yun of Seoul National University's Department of Chemistry were selected. The applied category recipients are Kim Hyung-jun of Sogang University's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cheon Dong-won of Postech's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Ham Dong-hyo of Hanyang University's Department of Chemical Engineering. An awards ceremony will be held in October.
Founded in 2018, the foundation has to date selected 18 Science and Technology Award recipients and 40 fellowship researchers, including this year's honorees. It also provides annual scholarships to 30 science and engineering undergraduates; through the first half of this year, a cumulative total of 255 students have received support.
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