POSCO TJ Park Foundation awarded its "2017 POSCO TJ Park Prizes" at the POSCO Center on March 29. POSCO TJ Park Foundation selected POSCO TJ Park Prize winners for this year: the Science prize winner is Prof.
- The Science prize winner is Prof. Jong-heun Lee, Korea University, and
the Education prize winner is Kyungpook National University's Attached Middle
School, and the Community Development and Philanthropy prize winner is Jimmy
Pham of Vietnam.
- The Technology prize, newly created to publicize the importance of technology
industrialization, goes to Myeong-hwan Kim, head of the Battery Research Institute
of LG Chem.
- POSCO TJ Park Prize celebrates its 11th anniversary this year···the
awardees receive KRW 200 million each.
POSCO TJ Park Foundation awarded its "2017
POSCO TJ Park Prizes" at the POSCO Center on March 29.
POSCO TJ Park Foundation selected POSCO TJ Park
Prize winners for this year: the Science prize winner is Prof. Jong-heun Lee,
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University; the Education
prize winner is Kyungpook National University¡¯s Attached Middle School; the
Community Development and Philanthropy prize winner is Jimmy Pham of Vietnam,
CEO of KOTO; the Technology prize went to Myeong-hwan Kim, head of the Battery
Research Institute, LG Chem. Each prize winner received a plaque and prize money
of KRW 200 million.
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¢º POSCO TJ Park Foundation awarded POSCO TJ Park prizes at the POSCO Center on March 29, and encouraged the winners. From left, Chang-hee Kang, former Chairman of the National Assembly, Prof. Jong-heun Lee of Korea University and his wife, Jimmy Pham, CEO of KOTO, Mr. and Mrs. Myung-hwan Kim, Mrs. Ok-ja Chang, and Chairman Ohjoon Kwon. |
The POSCO TJ Park Prize was established in 2006 with the aim of honoring
the legacy of the late Chairman Tae-joon Park, founder of POSCO, who laid the
foundation for the industrialization and modernization of Korea to repay the
country by making steel, and contributing to national development by getting
the general public to take interest and participate in POSCO's founding principles
of creativity, talent development, sacrifice and volunteer spirit, and it celebrates
its 11th anniversary this year.
In particular, the Technology prize was added this year for the purpose of
publicizing the importance of technology industrialization in Korea and contributing
to the rebirth of the Korean economy that has been dealing with sluggish growth,
and will be given to persons or organizations that contributed to the development
of new global markets and national development.
Chairman of POSCO TJ Park Foundation, Ohjoon Kwon, said at the presentation
ceremony, "Over the past 10 years, the POSCO TJ Park Prize has been awarded
to those who tackle the never-ending challenges faced by humans, and has attained
fame for being a prestigious prize and became a valuable social asset. In the
next 10 years, we must evolve the POSCO TJ Park Prize into becoming an even
more prestigious and honorable prize."
Chang-hee Kang, former Chairman of the National Assembly, delivered a congratulatory
address and said, "I express my deepest gratitude to POSCO for contributing
to not only the development of science and technology, but also for making the
world a more beautiful place by awarding prizes to great scholars and citizens
who brought honor to Korea and Asia."
Prof. Jong-heun Lee of Korea University and winner of the TJ Park Science
prize, pioneered a new research area, i.e. using the oxide nano hierarchical
structure in which nano building blocks are regularly self-assembled, and the
p-type oxide semiconductor with a high level of catalytic activity to detect
gases super-sensitively, super-fast, and super-selectively. His achievements
are expected to be widely utilized in various areas beyond the olfactory sense
of humans, such as safety, environment, medical science, and Internet of Things.
Kyungpook National University's Attached Middle School, winner of the Education
prize, is rated as having presented a model of creative public education. Despite
the standardized environment, the school introduced in 2012 project-based learning,
i.e. students cooperating with each other to solve the problems presented by
teachers, and flipped learning in which the roles of teachers and students are
switched.
Jimmy Pham, winner of the Community Development and Philanthropy prize, established
KOTO (Know One, Teach One), the first social enterprise in Vietnam, and provided
cooking and humanism education for Vietnamese children and youths who are suffering
from drug trafficking, drug abuse and alcoholism, for 17 years to help them
discover a new life and stand on their own feet.
Myung-hwan Kim, head of the Battery Research Institute of LG Chem, received
the first Technology prize, and began to oversee battery R&D in 1996 in
the early days of the secondary battery business, and developed and produced
the first lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles notwithstanding having to
endure trials and errors after 20 years of dedication to this field. He is considered
to have greatly contributed to making Korea a powerhouse in secondary batteries.
Meanwhile, more than 290 people attended the presentation ceremony, including
Ohjoon Kwon, Chairman of POSCO TJ Park Foundation, Chang-hee Kang, former chairman
of the National Assembly, Hong-goo Lee and Deok-soo Han, former prime ministers,
Gong-il Sa, chairman of the Institute for Global Economics, Nak-in Sung, president
of Seoul National University, and former POSCO TJ Park Prize winners.