"Student Success as Achievement" KAIST Vice President Listed in Royal Society of UK

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Jong-min] Lee Sang-yeop, Vice President of Research at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) (photo), inscribed his name on the charter at the Royal Society membership ceremony held in London, UK, on the 24th (local time). It has been just over a year since the Royal Society selected Vice President Lee and Kim Bit-naeri, a professor at Seoul National University, as the first Korean members last year.

Founded in 1660, the Royal Society of the UK is the oldest scientific society in the world. The charter of this organization is layered with the signatures of members who have passed through its 360-year history. These include Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking. Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, are also members.

Vice President Lee has already engraved his name in the global scientific community by receiving awards ranging from the early KAIST Academic Award and Young Scientist Award to the Eny Award, known as the Nobel Prize in the energy and environment fields.

As the founder of systems metabolic engineering, Vice President Lee has previously been inducted into the three major global academies, including the US National Academy of Engineering and the US National Academy of Sciences. It is known to be a rare achievement for someone of non-US or UK nationality.

In an interview with Yonhap News, Vice President Lee explained, "Metabolic engineering is manipulating microorganisms without ethical issues to produce substances needed by humans such as medicine, fuel, plastics, chemicals, and functional foods. I developed and consolidated platform technology that enables this to be done quickly and efficiently, which I founded as systems metabolic engineering." He added, "I was recognized for developing technology used by various companies worldwide and for training experts."

He also expressed his ambition to continue research while contributing to the development of the nation and the university, and to cultivate leadership within the global research community.

He said, "The success of my students is my achievement. I have trained more than 30 professors so far, and now I encourage them not only to enter academia but also to start their own businesses."