Merck Korea (CEO Dr. Woo-Kyu Kim), the Korean subsidiary of leading science and technology company Merck, honored those who have contributed to the development of domestic displays at the 2023 International Information Display Conference and shared the latest information on AR and VR, the hottest topics in the display industry.

Merck Korea participated in the 'International Meeting of Information Display 2023 (IMID 2023)' held at BEXCO in Busan from August 22nd to 25th under the theme of 'We Play in Display'.

During IMID 2023, Merck also hosted a lecture titled 'Merck Science Connect', where experts from the display industry were invited to share insights and examine trends, in addition to announcing and awarding the winners of the Merck Award.

Dr. Kim Woo-gyu said, “The display industry of the future will become even more deeply ingrained in our daily lives than it is now, evolving into a user-tailored solution optimized for space and objects. In particular, the creation of new display markets through convergence with other industries will also accelerate,” he said. “As the company that first discovered liquid crystals, Merck continuously conducts research and development based on curiosity. At Merck Science Connect, we will share insights into display collaborations with VR and AR, two hot topics in the industry.”

The Merck Award, now in its 20th year, is a technical paper award established in 2004 at IMID, hosted by the Korean Information Display Society (KIDS), to honor outstanding achievements in display technology, marking the 100th anniversary of Merck's liquid crystal research. This year's award is particularly significant, as it marks both the 355th anniversary of Merck's founding and the 135th anniversary of the discovery of liquid crystals.

This year's Merck Award winner is Professor Jae-Kyung Jeong of Hanyang University, a pioneer in oxide semiconductor research. In 2008, Professor Jeong developed the world's first 12.1-inch WXGA AMOLED laptop equipped with oxide semiconductors. Professor Jeong is recognized for his academic contributions to the mass production of AMOLED products by identifying the cause of electrical reliability degradation, which was the most critical issue in the mass production of oxide TFT technology. To date, he has published 194 related research papers and applied for and registered over 200 international patents. His academic influence is also significant, with 24,000 citations and an h-index of 60 based on a Scala Google search.

In his acceptance speech, Professor Jeong said, "It is an honor to receive the Merck Award, the most prestigious award in the display field. We will continue to research future display technologies to ensure the domestic display industry maintains a significant lead."

The recipient of the Merck Young Scientist Award is Professor Kwak Jeong-hoon of Seoul National University. Professor Kwak is an expert in optoelectronic display devices using quantum dots and organic semiconductors. He developed the structure and revealed the luminescence mechanism for high-performance QLEDs, and in 2012, he developed the inverted QLED structure for the first time, contributing to significantly improving the efficiency and lifespan of QLEDs. The number of citations for related papers alone is over 900. He is currently focusing on research on optoelectronic devices using quantum dots and organic semiconductors and research on improving the lifespan of QLEDs for the commercialization of QLED self-luminous display technology. Based on this research, Professor Kwak has published over 100 international academic papers, including those in top academic journals such as Advanced Materials and Nano Letters, and his influence is high with over 5,000 citations.

Professor Kwak said, "I am delighted to receive the Merck Young Scientist Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the display field. I will dedicate myself to developing technologies that will make quantum dot technology, once thought of as a distant future, a reality and advance display technology in Korea."

The 5th annual 'Merck Science Connect' will be held on August 24th from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM at BEXCO 316-317 (Room H) in Busan.

The theme is 'Go beyond limits in AR/VR', and it looks at the direction of technological development and usability in various industries with AR and VR as the subject.

Speakers include Professor Jae-Kyung Jeong of Hanyang University, Professor Jae-Hyung Park of Inha University, Jerry Kang, Research Manager at Omdia, and Dr. Dong-Mi Song, Engineering Ph.D., at Merck Korea.

Even if you are unable to attend the event on-site, you can view 'Merck Science Connect' online for a certain period of time after the International Information Display Conference ends on the 25th.