[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Team Leader Kwon Oh-sung of Lotte Chemical Co., Ltd. and Senior Researcher Na Chang-sik of POSCOM Co., Ltd. were awarded the 'Engineer of the Month in Korea' this month.
This award is given by the Ministry of Science and ICT to encourage technological innovation in the industrial field and to foster a culture that values engineers. Each month, one engineer from a large company and one from a small or medium-sized enterprise are selected to receive the Minister's Award and a prize of 5 million KRW.
Team Leader Kwon was recognized for his contribution to the independent development of catalysts for all unit processes in polycarbonate manufacturing. The polycarbonate manufacturing process has low energy efficiency, so discovering highly active catalysts was necessary to secure competitiveness. Team Leader Kwon achieved the development and mass production of all catalysts for the three-step unit processes from raw materials to the final product using in-house technology.
The Ministry of Science and ICT evaluated that "this secured independence from core technologies previously dependent on Japan, enabling innovative energy savings and productivity improvements, thereby contributing to strengthening the competitiveness of the domestic materials industry."
Senior Researcher Na was recognized for his contribution to the world's first development of an ultra-light portable X-ray device operated by a single battery cell. Existing X-ray devices use commercial power sources, making them heavy and inconvenient due to the need to connect power cables. By applying a single-cell battery, the X-ray device was made ultra-lightweight and achieved compatibility with smartphones, greatly enhancing user convenience. Compared to overseas products, it offers higher portability and is the world's only device applying smartphone infrastructure, enabling the use of auxiliary batteries, wireless charging, and Bluetooth, making it highly valuable for use in medical and firefighting fields.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
