[Short News] Research Breakthroughs at UNIST Gain Media Attention!UNIST News Center

《Editor’s Note: UNIST has attracted much attention recently, as its name was mentioned on Korean media through the inspiring stories of its students and faculty. Through this, UNIST had an excellent opportunity to showcase some of its recent research project and scholarly work to the public. Here is a brief summary of those inspiring stories.》

■ Professor Jong-Beom Baek Honored with the LG Chemicals Polymer Award!

Jong-Beom Baek, Professor in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST has been listed among the recipients of the 2020 annual spring conference of the Polymer Society of Korea on April 17, 2020. Professor Baek has been given the LG Chemicals Polymer Award, one of the top prizes of the conference in recognition of his exceptional research contribution to the field of polymers.

Professor Baek has been recognized for the achievement of the world’s most efficient catalyst for hydrogen production and technology development for mass production of graphene called “the new material of dreams”. In particular, he has been conducting research in the field of eco-friendly production of graphene at low cost, electrolysis hydrogen generation catalyst, and fuel cell oxygen reduction catalyst. As a result, he was selected as the world’s 1% scientist (HCR) for 2018-2019 consecutively. It also became.

Professor Jong-Beom Baek (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, UNIST) has been honored with the LG Chemicals Polymer Award. l Image Credit: Hong Beom Ahn

Meanwhile, Sang Myeon Lee from Professor Changduk Yang’s laboratory at UNIST has been also honored with the Outstanding Thesis Award at the annual spring conference of the Polymer Society of Korea. This confirms that the School Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST has a nationwide reputation for being excellent in the field of polymers.

■ UNIST’s Hyperloop Research Appears on KBS Documentary Program!

UNIST’s futuristic transportation system, dubbed HyperTube was featured in KBS “Homo Science” documentary series. Scheduled under the theme of [Hyperloop: A Futuristic Train, Faster than Aeroplane], this special edition was televised nationally on April 18, 2020. This 18-minute documentary contains the current status and collaborative research projects for HyperTube, which were carried out in collboration with the Korean Railroad Research Institute (KRRI).

HyperTube appeared in the second half (13:02) of the program, introducing the design of hyperloop station layout by Professor Yunwoo Jeong (Graduate School of Creative Design Engineering, UNIST), as well as the research on communications in a near-vacuum environment by Professor Jaeseon Lee (School of Mechanical Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, UNIST).

The design concept, entitled ‘Hyperloop System Innovation’ has been carried out by Professor Yunwoo Jeong in collaboration with Professor Jaeseon Lee in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering and other researchers at UNIST.

A new prototype of Korean hyperloop transportation system has been displayed at the 7th International Public Transportation Forum on October 26, 2017. Standing in the middle is Professor Jaeseon Lee in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering at UNIST. l Image Credit: Kyoungchae Kim

UNIST has been working on the development of core technologies for HyperTube, since 2016. In 2017, the research team had successfully tested its first prototype version, and thus displayed at the 7th International Public Transportation Forum. We applaud the efforts of the researchers to commercialize this futuristic transportation system and look forward to the day when a trip between Seoul to Busan in less than 30 minutes becomes a reality.