Marking its 15th founding anniversary, the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, emphasized the need for a purpose-driven strategy for materials, parts, and equipment (MPE).

In attendance with Jung-hwan Lee, the President of KIMS, executives, the labor union president, and award winners, the 15th founding anniversary ceremony was held on Friday, April 22 in the auditorium of the main building of KIMS located in the city of Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do. Due to COVID-19, the ceremony was live-streamed on YouTube so that employees who did not attend the ceremony can watch it online.

At the ceremony, the commendations of the President of the National Research Council of Science & Technology and the President of KIMS were awarded to individuals and groups who demonstrated excellent academic and administrative work.

The commendations of the President of the National Research Council of Science & Technology were awarded to principal researcher Ha Gook-hyun in the Powder Materials Division and Shim Chul-hwan in the Administration Division. The Outstanding Research Award (group) was awarded to the Department of Hydrogen Energy Material in the Surface & Nano Materials Division and the Industrial Property Award (group) and Academic Award (group) were awarded to the Department of Magnetic Materials and the Department of 3D Printing Materials in the Powder Materials Division respectively. In addition, Kim Sang-woo, principal researcher at the Department of Materials Processing in the Materials Digital Platform Division, was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award for the Industrial Property, and Park Sung-gyu, a principal researcher at the Surface & Nano Material Division, was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award for Academic Outcomes. The Outstanding Department Award (group) was awarded to the Department of Materials Processing in the Materials Digital Platform Division and the Department of Technology Commercialization in the Research Planning Coordination Division. A total of 5 groups and 26 employees were selected as award winners at the ceremony.

In a commemorative speech, Lee Jung-hwan, the President of KIMS, said, “The reason that Japan was able to become a powerhouse of MPE in the early days was by recognizing the keyword of“extreme”which others did not pay attention to, such as the Subaru telescope, Antarctic expedition team, and space development and sparing no efforts and support for it. With the Advanced Materials Demonstration Research Complex, which is under construction in Jinhae, we will establish a one-stop service system from material testing and evaluation to quality certification, and support for the empirical research. Thereby, we will try our best to be in the forefront of true independence of material technology with a purpose-driven strategy for MPE.”