The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Industrial Technology Promotion Association announced on the 8th that they selected Samsung Electronics Senior Researcher Han Shin-hee and PK Valve & Engineering Senior Researcher Park Yong-dae as the recipients of the 2024 April Korea Engineer Awards.

The Korea Engineering Award is an award given to one engineer from a large company and one engineer from a small or medium-sized company every month to encourage technological innovation in the industrial field and create an atmosphere that favors engineers. The award is presented with the Minister of Science and ICT Award and a cash prize of 5 million won.

Senior Researcher Han Shin-hee, an expert in non-volatile memory processes, was honored with the award for his contributions to technological innovation in the semiconductor industry, including the production of MRAM and eMRAM, which are attracting attention as next-generation memories, and improvements in energy efficiency.

MRAM (Magnetic Random Access Memory) is a nonvolatile solid-state memory made using magnetic resistance and has the characteristic of being as fast as DRAM.
Senior Researcher Han Shin-hee developed the world's smallest 28-nanometer eMRAM bitcell addition process, which increased the number of writes by 108 times and the energy efficiency by 70% during eMRAM write operations. This is considered a significant achievement because the energy consumption of write operations is generally higher among the basic operating principles of memory.

Senior Researcher Han Shin-hee said in his acceptance speech, “We will continue to do our best to lead the domestic semiconductor industry’s technology by providing differentiated value through continuous research and development in magnetoresistive memory technology.”

Park Yong-dae, a senior researcher at PK Valve & Engineering, was recognized for his contribution to the development and localization of ultra-low temperature (-196 degrees Celsius) butterfly valves for high value-added LNG carriers as an expert in the field of comprehensive valve manufacturing.

A butterfly valve is a valve that opens and closes as the disc inside the valve body rotates around the center line of the disc.
Senior Researcher Yongdae Park's ultra-low temperature butterfly valve, the third in the world to be developed, is smaller and lighter than other valves, making it easy to install and handle, and its manufacturing cost is low. Based on this competitiveness, it is estimated that a cumulative import substitution effect of approximately KRW 170 billion will be achieved as of 2023.

Senior Researcher Yongdae Park said in his acceptance speech, “Based on the technological capabilities and experience we have accumulated over a long period of time, we will continue to develop innovative technologies. Through this, we will secure world-class technological competitiveness and spare no effort in the development of the domestic shipbuilding industry.”