The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS, President Lee Jeong-hwan), a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, emphasized the need for a purpose-oriented small and medium-sized business strategy on the occasion of its 15th anniversary.

On the 22nd, the Korea Institute of Materials Science held its '15th Anniversary Ceremony' at the auditorium of the main building of the Korea Institute of Materials Science in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, with the attendance of Director Lee Jeong-hwan, executives above the director level, union branch leaders, and award recipients.

The ceremony was live-streamed on YouTube for safety reasons due to COVID-19, and employees who were not present watched the ceremony from their respective seats on the YouTube channel.

At the event, the Korea Institute of Materials Science awarded awards such as the President's Award of the National Research Council for Science and Technology and the President's Award of the Korea Institute of Materials Science to individuals and organizations that demonstrated outstanding research activities and work capabilities.

The President's Award of the National Research Council for Science and Technology was presented to Ha Gook-hyun, a senior researcher at the Powder Materials Research Division, and Shim Cheol-hwan, a senior administrative officer at the Administrative Division. The Excellent Research Award (group) was presented to the Green Hydrogen Materials Research Lab at the Nano Surface Materials Research Division, and the Industrial Property Award (group) and Academic Award (group) were presented to the Magnetic Materials Research Lab and the 3D Printing Materials Research Lab at the Powder Materials Research Division, respectively.

Also, Sangwoo Kim, Senior Researcher at the Materials Digital Platform Research CenterThe Excellence Award in the Industrial Property Rights category was given to Won, the Excellence Award in the Academic Category was given to Park Seong-gyu, a senior researcher at the Nano Surface Materials Research Center, and the Excellence in Department (Group) Award was given to the Materials Process Research Lab of the Materials Digital Platform Research Center and the Technology Commercialization Lab of the Research Planning and Coordination Center.

In addition to this, a total of 5 teams and 26 people were selected as award recipients and enjoyed the joy of receiving awards at the event.

In his commemorative speech, Korea Institute of Materials Science President Lee Jeong-hwan said, “The reason Japan was able to become a materials, parts, and equipment powerhouse early on is because they recognized the keyword of ‘extreme’ that others had not paid attention to, such as the Subaru telescope, the Antarctic expedition, and space development, and spared no effort and support for it.” He added, “Based on the ‘Advanced Materials Demonstration Research Complex’ being created in Jinhae, we will establish a one-stop foundation for everything from material testing and evaluation to quality certification, and support this demonstration research. By doing so, we will strive to ensure that Korea Institute of Materials Science takes the lead in achieving true self-sufficiency in materials technology through a goal-oriented materials, parts, and equipment strategy.”