UNIST Wins Grand Prize at the 27th Human Tech Paper Awards... Total of 9 Winners Achieved

Oh Jongwon, Graduate Student in Energy Chemical Engineering, Honored with Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Grand Prize

2 Silver, 5 Bronze, and 1 Encouragement Award Winners Totaling 9, Demonstrating Outstanding Research Capabilities ↑

UNIST produced 9 awardees at the 27th Human Tech Thesis Awards.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST, President Lee Yong-hoon) produced a total of nine awardees, including the grand prize winner, at the 27th HumanTech Thesis Awards.

This is the first time a grand prize winner has come from UNIST. The recipient is graduate student Oh Jong-won from the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering (advisor Professor Lee Ji-seok), who was recognized for the excellence in developing the ‘Conjugated Polymer-Based Multi-Dimensional 3D Hologram Technology.’

The HumanTech Thesis Awards are hosted by Samsung Electronics and sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT and JoongAng Ilbo. Established in 1994 to discover and nurture outstanding talent in the science and technology fields, the university division awards gold, silver, bronze, and encouragement prizes annually across ten categories, with only one grand prize selected overall.

Graduate student Oh Jong-won won the grand prize by developing an anti-counterfeiting core technology based on multi-dimensional 3D holograms using micro conjugated polymers.

This technology implements 3D holograms, structural colors, and fluorescent properties on microparticles, enabling security information at a level that cannot be replicated.

Oh Jong-won said, “I started applying my research topic while looking at the holograms attached to student ID cards. This study is the world’s first case of producing multi-signal holograms using conjugated polymers, which holds great academic significance and is also highly valued industrially due to its ease of commercialization.”

He added, “I am pleased to achieve good results at the most prestigious academic conference available during my degree program. I am most grateful to my advisor Professor Lee Ji-seok, who has taught me since I joined the lab as a founding member in 2015, and I also thank Professors Kwak Sang-gyu, Kim Jung-wook, and Park Jung-hoon for their co-supervision.”

The silver prize was awarded to graduate students Yoon Moon-soo (advisor Professor Jo Jae-pil) and Kim Jung-hwi (advisor Professor Lee Sang-young) from the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering. Both students received high evaluations in the Energy & Environment field.

The bronze prize went to graduate students Kim Tae-jung (advisor Professor Shin Heung-joo) and Kang Min-soo (advisor Professor Jung Hoon-ui) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering; Cho So-young (advisor Professor Son Jae-sung) from the Department of New Materials Engineering; and Kim Dong-yeon (advisor Professor Kim Kwang-soo) and Kim Hyun-tak (advisor Professor Kwon Tae-hyuk) from the Department of Chemistry. Graduate student Seo Jong-deuk from the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering (advisor Professor Kim Jin-young) received the encouragement prize.

President Lee Yong-hoon said, “Despite our short history, achieving such a valuable result as the grand prize is the outcome of consistently emphasizing high-quality research. I congratulate the research teams who achieved excellent results through outstanding research.”

UNIST became the fourth university to produce a grand prize winner, following KAIST, Seoul National University, and Sungkyunkwan University. The grand prize winner receives a cash award of 20 million KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.