Samyang Group Announces Recipients of the 35th Sudang Award

On the 28th, the Sudang Foundation, a scholarship initiative of Samyang Group, announced that Professor Hwang Il-Doo from Pohang University of Science and Technology in the field of basic sciences and Professor Cho Sung-Bae from Yonsei University in the applied sciences have been selected as the recipients of the 35th Sudang Award.

The Sudang Award, established in 1973, honors researchers who have made significant contributions to the advancement of society and academia in alignment with the legacy of Kim Yeon-su, the founder of Samyang. Each year, two outstanding researchers are recognized, receiving a trophy and a cash award of 200 million won each. The ceremony for this year’s Sudang Award will take place on May 27th at Lotte Hotel Seoul.

Professor Hwang Il-Doo was acknowledged for his contributions to climate change adaptation, particularly in the production of plant biomass and the development of eco-friendly crops. His groundbreaking research has elucidated critical signal transduction pathways in plant growth and the evolutionary principles of vascular systems, which are pivotal for the advancement of plant science in South Korea.

Notably, he has uncovered the signaling mechanisms of cytokinins, a key plant growth hormone, demonstrating its decisive role in regulating the development and aging of vascular tissues. This pioneering work establishes a theoretical foundation for the field of plant developmental biology.

Furthermore, Professor Hwang's research revealed that proteins derived from the phloem play a central role in determining leaf morphology, a discovery that has reshaped scientific understanding of the integration of leaf growth and phloem function.

In recognition of his exceptional accomplishments, Professor Hwang has received multiple prestigious awards, including the Macrogen Science Award in 2013 and the Cargill-Hanlim Life Science Award in 2021, among others.

Meanwhile, Professor Cho Sung-Bae has been acknowledged for his innovative work in artificial intelligence, particularly in addressing real-world industrial challenges. His integration of convolutional neural networks with long short-term memory (LSTM) networks has garnered attention for successfully solving practical issues in various sectors.

His research on energy demand forecasting, utilizing complex AI techniques to analyze electrical usage data across varying conditions, has demonstrated significant potential for reducing energy waste and minimizing economic losses. In 2020, his paper was recognized as a top 1% cited work in the renowned journal 'Energy.'

Professor Cho has also contributed to the development of deep learning technologies for human behavior detection from smartphone accelerometer data, mobile landmark detection systems, and hybrid deep learning models for noise classification in automobiles, significantly impacting industrial advancement.

His accolades include the Korean Computer Science Association Academic Award in 2015 and the Government Commendation for Contributions to National Development in 2022, along with his current leadership role on the AI Science and Technology Committee of the National Academy of Sciences of Korea.

Initially launched as the Sudang Science Award by Kyungbang Education Association in 1973, the Sudang Award has evolved to include fields such as natural sciences and humanities since its renaming by Sudang Foundation in 2006. With open submissions across these domains, the award continues to celebrate two distinguished researchers whose outstanding accomplishments have transcended disciplinary boundaries.