BISTEP Holds Awards Ceremony for Outstanding R&D Achievements in Busan

Eight Cases in Materials, Nano, Mechanical, Digital, and Medical Fields

Evaluation Focused on Regional Impact and Quality Excellence

The city of Busan and the Busan Institute of Science and Technology Promotion (BISTEP, President Seo Yongcheol) held an awards ceremony on the 26th for the "2024 Busan City Outstanding R&D Achievements."

The "Busan City Outstanding R&D Achievements" program was established to promote the culture of science and technology in Busan and to publicize excellent research results. Out of 25 submissions, a final eight achievements were selected. The judging focused on creativity, excellence, and effectiveness in both scientific and social fields.

The eight selected outstanding achievements were awarded in two categories: the Busan Mayor's Award and the BISTEP President's Award, with four achievements recognized in each category. The Busan Mayor's Award was given to regular researchers and university professors from local research institutions (companies, funded and affiliated organizations, government-funded research institutes, etc.), while the BISTEP President's Award was given to emerging researchers such as graduate students, non-regular researchers, and postdoctoral researchers within the region.

The Busan Mayor's Award was presented to: ▲ Industry-academic cooperation between local universities and companies based on optical mechatronics technology (Professor Kim Changseok, Pusan National University) ▲ Securing production technology and discovery of new materials through research on high-quality material manufacturing methods (Assistant Professor Ok Jongmok, Pusan National University) ▲ Reactivation of composite oxide oxygen electrodes through electrochemical deposition of PrOx nanocatalysts (Assistant Professor Park Beomgyeong, Pusan National University) ▲ Revitalizing the local economy through fostering digital innovation talent in the southeastern region (Professor Jeong Seokchan, Dong-Eui University).

The BISTEP President's Award was presented to: ▲ Development of an all-in-one printing process combining 3D printing and electrospinning technology (Jinyoung Song, integrated master's and doctoral program, Pusan National University) ▲ Improvement of cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease animal models through mitophagy-inducing compounds (Choi Saemyung, integrated master's and doctoral program, Dong-A University) ▲ Development of host-derived psychrophilic probiotics (Lee Sujeong, doctoral program, Dong-Eui University) ▲ Development of a non-invasive aquatic animal disease diagnosis system using environmental DNA (Kim Minjae, doctoral program, Pukyong National University).

This awards ceremony was held in conjunction with the opening ceremony of the "10th Busan R&D Week." Posters of the eight outstanding achievements are currently on display in the Busan City Hall Station subway passageway. The exhibition will continue until October 2.

BISTEP President Seo Yongcheol stated, "I sincerely congratulate the researchers selected for the Busan City Outstanding R&D Achievements," and added, "We will actively support Busan's researchers so they can achieve even greater results."

Busan Mayor Park Hyungjun said, "We will actively support the research activities of local researchers so that Busan's R&D capabilities can continue to be strengthened."