From left in the photo: Professor Ahn Gyo-hoon of KASI School, Professor Park Jung-hoon of KAERI School, Professor Choi Da-hye of ETRI School, Professor Han Sung-su of KIGAM School.
The University of Science and Technology (UST, President Kang Dae-im) has appointed 73 top-level researchers from affiliated research institutes as new faculty members for the second semester of the 2025 academic year to nurture the next generation of science and technology talent.
These newly appointed faculty members are researchers from a total of 19 national research institutes in various scientific and technological fields, including the Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST) School, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) School, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM) School, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) School, and Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) School.
The new faculty members have been recognized for their outstanding achievements and unique contributions in their fields, such as being selected among the top 100 national R&D achievements, publishing in top-tier JCR journals, and conducting special research. Additionally, approximately 36.6% of the appointed faculty are emerging researchers under the age of 40, expected to take on roles in challenging research and student engagement.
Meanwhile, three of the new faculty members are alumni who obtained their doctorates from UST, showcasing a virtuous cycle of UST education and research where talent nurtured at the national research institute university becomes researchers and eventually faculty members guiding students as experts.
Professor Ahn Gyo-hoon of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) School, who majored in astronomical and space sciences, earned his doctorate from UST in 2020. He is a young researcher who has achieved remarkable research outcomes in developing next-generation Adaptive Optics (AO) systems and direct imaging of exoplanets using the world’s largest (8.2m) Subaru Telescope.
Professor Ahn stated, “I applied to be a faculty member to provide broader opportunities to my juniors based on what I learned at UST” and expressed his ambition to “become a mentor who helps students grow beyond merely delivering knowledge” with his new appointment.
Professor Park Jung-hoon of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) School, specializing in radiation science, succeeded in the localization of medical radioisotopes that previously depended on imports, establishing a stable domestic supply chain through links with the medical industry. Based on this achievement, he was selected for the top 100 national R&D achievements in 2018 and received the Prime Minister’s Commendation in 2019.
Professor Park expressed, “The cyclotron-based proton beam generation system for diagnosing and treating cancer via radioisotope production is proprietary technology owned by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute,” and stated his wish to “pass on this proprietary technology to the younger generation to cultivate excellent research talent in the field of radiation.”
Additional appointments include Professor Choi Da-hye of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) School, who has dedicated over 15 years to the study of terahertz waves, a next-generation electromagnetic wave, and was appointed as the project leader in the 2024 ETRI ‘Next Generation Key Player Young Researcher Project.’ Professor Han Sung-su of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) School, an emerging researcher developing efficient extraction processes for critical metals from natural minerals and urban mines, and Professor Hong Sung-guk of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) School specializing in cutting-edge thermal energy storage technology, producing top-tier journal publications such as Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews (I.F. 16.3, top 5% in energy field) have also been appointed as new faculty members.
President Kang Dae-im stated, “To nurture globally valuable talent at UST, we will continue to expand the appointment of new faculty by considering the characteristics of each school to secure a pool of world-class faculty.”