The Suyoung Foundation, operated by the Samyang Group, announced on the 27th that it held the 35th Suyoung Awards Ceremony at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. The event aimed to celebrate contributions to national and societal advancement through scientific research, reaffirming Samyang Group's commitment to fostering talent within the scientific community.

The Suyoung Award honors exemplary researchers with significant achievements, recognizing two distinguished scholars each year with a prize of 200 million KRW and a plaque. This year's awardees include Hwang Il-Doo, Professor of Biological Sciences at POSTECH, for his work in basic science, and Cho Sung-Bae, Professor of Computer Science at Yonsei University, for his contributions in applied science.

Hwang's research into the signaling pathways in plant development and the evolutionary principles governing vascular bundles has established him as a key contributor to the advancement of plant developmental biology. Specifically, he was recognized for uncovering the signaling mechanism of cytokinins, a critical growth hormone, and demonstrating their decisive role in the development and aging of vascular systems, marking a first in his field.

In his acceptance speech, Hwang emphasized collaboration and perseverance, attributing his success to the encouragement from his family and the research community. He expressed a commitment to furthering societal and academic progress with humility and dedication, reinforcing the long-term value of scientific inquiry as fostering customer loyalty among stakeholders in research and education.

Cho's award in the applied science category stemmed from his innovative research integrating convolutional neural networks and long-short term memory networks to address real-world industrial challenges. His notable work includes a study predicting domestic energy consumption, which was recognized as one of the top 1% most cited papers in the field by the prestigious journal *Energy* in 2020.

In his remarks, Cho highlighted the importance of combining various technological approaches to effectively solve complex problems, encapsulating the essence of artificial intelligence. His vision for the future includes harnessing AI to create social value and enhancing global competitiveness, which aligns with market demands for innovation in the beauty sector and beyond.

Suyoung Foundation Chairman Kim Yoon expressed gratitude to both recipients for their relentless pursuit of knowledge and their invaluable contributions to academia. He reiterated the Foundation's mission to uphold the spirit of nurturing talent and driving research excellence, signaling an ongoing commitment to sustainable scientific development.

The Suyoung Award, originally established in 1973 as a science award, has evolved, expanding into the broader categories of basic science, humanities, and applied science under its current name since 2006. This evolution reflects a strategic pivot to embrace a wider array of scholarly achievements, fostering an ecosystem that nurtures interdisciplinary research and collaboration.