Development of World's Most Efficient Electrochemical Catalyst ... 9 UNIST Graduate Students Win Human Tech Paper Award

A UNIST graduate student who won the '28th Samsung Human Tech Thesis Award' is taking a group commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) produced nine awardees at the ‘28th Samsung Human Tech Thesis Award’ hosted by Samsung Electronics.

The list of awardees included one Gold Prize winner in the Energy and Environment field, one Silver Prize winner, five Bronze Prize winners, and two Encouragement Prize winners.

Lee Ho-jung, a graduate student in the Department of Energy Chemical Engineering at UNIST and the Gold Prize winner, received the highest evaluation in the ‘Energy & Environment’ category.

This research developed the world’s most efficient electrochemical catalyst capable of producing ethylene using carbon dioxide.

Ethylene, a key raw material in the petrochemical industry, emits a large amount of greenhouse gases because it is produced through high-temperature and high-pressure processes using petroleum or natural gas as raw materials.

The carbon dioxide conversion technology using electrochemical catalyst technology is a core technology for eco-friendly processes linked with renewable energy, and Lee Ho-jung is conducting research to advance the technology development to commercialization.

Graduate student Lee Ho-jung said, “Seeing my family and those around me happy with the award gave me great motivation for my future research life. I am always grateful to Professor Kwon Young-guk and my colleagues who have helped me a lot in my research, and I want to continue research that benefits the world.”

The Silver Prize winner was Koo Yeon-jung, a graduate student in the Department of Physics, who won in the Basic Science field.

The five Bronze Prize winners were Seo Sang-jin, a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering; Kim Sa-hee, a graduate student in the Department of Life Sciences; Kim Jung-hwi, a graduate student in the Department of Energy Chemical Engineering; Lee Sung-yong, a graduate student in the Department of Computer Engineering; and Lee Yeon-joo, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry.

The Encouragement Prize winners were Jeong Do-sol and Na Sang-yoon, both graduate students in the Department of Energy Chemical Engineering.

President Lee Yong-hoon said, “UNIST students can take great pride in consistently producing top awardees such as grand prize and gold prize winners every year.”

The Samsung Human Tech Thesis Award is the largest academic thesis competition in Korea, selecting awardees annually since 1994 to discover and nurture outstanding talents in the science and technology fields.

The awards are divided into university and high school categories. In the university category, gold, silver, bronze, and encouragement prizes are selected across 10 categories, and only one grand prize is awarded overall.

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