● Provides total 378 million won of financial support for 30 researchers in the field of Science such as Physics and Chemistry
S-OIL Science and Culture Foundation, which was established by S-OIL (CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani) held a ceremony on February 16 to present the ‘10th Dissertation of the Year Awards’ and ‘2nd S-OIL Next-Generation Scientist Awards’ at the Head Office of the refiner. In order to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the Foundation minimized the number of participants while thoroughly complying with the prevention guidelines.
A total of 12 young scientists and their 12 professors in 6 science fields: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Life science, Chemistry/Material engineering and IT were selected as grand/excellence prize winners and total 138 million won was rewarded as research grants.
Also, the foundation presented 40 million won for 6 senior researchers recognized as next-generation scientists in the following six fields: Physics, Chemistry, and Physiological Medicine, Chemical/Material Engineering, Energy and IT.
The following Ph.D. students were awarded grand prizes and received 15 million won each:
▲ Mathematics: Ph. D. Jeong-min Jeon (Seoul National University) who studied Hulbert's response variables
▲Physics: Ph. D. Kang-won Kim (Sogang University) who studied Raman spectroscopy of two-dimensional antiferromagnetic materials
▲Chemistry: Ph. D. Seung-yoon Hong (KAIST) who studied the development of transition metal catalysts
▲Biology: Ph. D. Da-seul Yoo (KAIST) who studied protein functions in cells through the development of antibody optogenetics
▲Chemical/Material Engineering: Ph. D. Sang-seok Lee (KAIST) who studied microfluidic encapsulation and application
▲IT: Ph. D. Seung-hwan Baek (KAIST) who studied computational imaging using light wave characteristics
In addition, excellence prizes went to Ph.D. Jong-ho Park (Mathematics Science, KAIST), Dr. Seong-min Park (Physics, Seoul National University), Ph. D. Sung-hee Bae (Inorganic Chemistry, Ewha Womans University), Ph. D. Yo-han Kim (Clinical Science, Hanyang University), Ph. D. Sang-myeon Lee (Energy Engineering, UNIST), Ph. D. Ki-rim Kwon (Electrical and Electronic Engineering, KAIST) who each received a 15 million won of cash prize.
Also, at the ceremony, the following scientists won Next-Generation Science Awards with total 40 million won of cash prize:
▲Physics: Ph. D. Seong-woong Kim (Sungkyunkwan University), who developed New Magnetic Electride Materials
▲ Chemistry: Ph. D. Mi-hee Lim (KAIST) who found linking elements of multiple risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and successfully suppressed toxicity
▲ Physiology Medicine: Ph. D. Ga-young Jung (Sungkyunkwan University), who published the research on the principle of binding of G protein to GPCR
▲ Chemical/Material Engineering: Ph. D. Jong-min Koo (KIST) who contributed to solving the environmental pollution problems with waste plastic recycling technologies
▲ Energy: Ph. D. Jong-hyuk Park (Yonsei University) who studied the production of next-generation solar hydrogen production
▲IT: Ph. D. Seong-jae Kim (Seoul National University) who developed a small-sized desalination device and applied it to a portable artificial kidney
“The future for science is bright in Korea because of these great professionals who pursued their academic passion and gained global recognition for their research in the field of basic science,” said S-OIL CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani. “The Foundation will continue to make active efforts to expand support for those scientists so that they can dedicate themselves fully to research under financial stability.”
Uncommonly as a private company, the refiner established and has been successfully running S-OIL Science and Culture Foundation, an independent foundation dedicated to provide financial assistance to the field of basic science, since 2011. On top of Dissertation of the Year Awards and S-OIL Next-Generation Scientist Awards, the Foundation also operates various programs, including global science forums, to support research in the field of science and nurture talents.
