□ The Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST; President Kunwoo Lee) announced that Professor Cheil Moon from the Department of Brain Sciences has received the Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning Award for his contributions to elevating Korea’s standing in science and technology. This recognition comes from his role as a Korean member of the Council of Scientists of an international organization, his international collaborative research, and his efforts in promoting human resources exchanges between countries. The award was also given to Professor Ildoo Hwang from the Department of Life Sciences at POSTECH and Professor Daehee Hwang from the Department of Life Sciences at Seoul National University.
□ Professor Moon serves as a Korean member of the Council of Scientists for the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) and has contributed significantly to discovering outstanding researchers in Korea and expanding international collaboration. Specifically, he has actively identified and recommended Korean candidates for the internationally recognized Nakasone Award, helping raise Korea’s profile in science and technology worldwide.
□ HFSP is an international organization founded in 1989 to support innovative, multidisciplinary, and multi-continental collaborative research in the life sciences. Korea joined in 2004, and HFSP now has 17 members, including the Group of Seven (G7) countries (United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and United Kingdom), the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Israel, Norway, and South Africa. HFSP has supported nearly 8,000 researchers, 31 of whom have won Nobel Prizes, earning the organization the nickname “Nobel Prize Fund.”
□ Professor Moon has led efforts to promote the HFSP program in Korea and helped Korean researchers expand globally. By inviting HFSP officers to seminars, promoting the program at university research institutes in Korea, and operating a booth at the Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences, he has been committed to raising international awareness of Korea’s science and technology.
□ In addition, Professor Moon has played a crucial role in human resources exchange programs between countries. He contributed to inviting President Erwin Neher of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science in Germany, a Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine (1991), as a visiting professor at DGIST. He also successfully conducted international collaborative research with Université Côte d'Azur in France, boosting academic exchanges between Korea and France. In particular, his interdisciplinary research in neurobiology and artificial intelligence using AlphaFold-based in silico technology has contributed to advances in science and technology and strengthened Korea’s profile in brain sciences worldwide.
□ DGIST President Kunwoo Lee said, “Professor Moon’s award is an important testament to DGIST’s significant research competences and achievements in international collaboration. We will remain fully committed to advancing global science and technology and strengthening Korea’s standing worldwide.”
□ Meanwhile, DGIST contributes to the country and society by educating and training international researchers and conducting advanced, creative, and interdisciplinary research. It plans to strengthen its position as a global research institution through international collaboration and innovative research.
