POSTECH Prof. Receives FACS Distinguished Young Chemist Award

Professor Chang Yun Son from the Department of Chemistry at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) was presented the FACS Distinguished Young Chemist Award at the Asian Chemistry Congress held in Istanbul, Turkey, from July 9 to 14, 2023.

Professor Son received this distinguished honor in recognition of his research on interface charge transfer using molecule simulation, which has significantly contributed to the advancement of materials for nano, energy, and bio applications.

The FACS Distinguished Young Chemist Award is a biennial award given to outstanding researchers under the age of 40. Professor Son became the first Korean recipient of this award in 18 years since 2005.

Professor Son obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Seoul National University and went onto complete his Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After working at California Institute of Technology, he joined the faculty of POSTECH as a professor of chemistry.

Recently, Professor Son achieved a feat as the world’s first researcher to unveil the principles behind the creation of metastable palladium hydride, a component in supplying hydrogen to metal palladium for hydrogen fuel cell catalysis. These findings were published in Nature. Additionally, his noteworthy research on bio and secondary cell materials was featured in Nature Communications and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).

FACS, a federation representing chemical societies from Asia, serves as a platform for collaboration and communication to foster the development of research and education.