KAIST Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering announced on November 12 that Professor Sang Yup Lee had been appointed as honorary professor of the Beijing University of Chemical Technology. The university had invited Professor Lee for his numerous achievements in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, hoping he could provide environmentally friendly chemical industry practices through his expertise.
The Beijing University of Chemical Technology is a leading Chinese chemical engineering educational and research institute, founded in 1958. As one of China's key educational institutions, especially in the field of chemistry studies, the university has developed from an highly specialized institution of science to a comprehensive university with a core curriculum involving science, economic management, languages and other liberal arts. The educational institute is affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Professor Lee has developed a number of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology technologies, by developing and engineering strains of microbes through synthetic sRNA. His fields of research include genomics, bioinformatics, the production of primary and secondary metabolites, and the production of proteins and other biopolymers. His research achievements include the world's most efficient production techniques of plastic raw materials and the world’s only lactic acid-containing polymers, and gasoline production through metabolic engineering.
Professor Lee holds five honorary professorship titles in China alone. In 2012, he was appointed as Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; in 2013, he was appointed as consulting professor for Jiao Tong University in Shanghai. This year he was also appointed as Honorary Professor of Hebei University of Technology and Wuhan University. He also holds a honorary professor title at the University of Queensland, Australia. In September, Professor Lee was elected as a member of the World Economic Forum, serving as Chairman of Global Agenda Council on Future of Chemicals and Biotechnology and Global Agenda Meta-Council on Emerging Technologies. It is expected that he will provide insights on strategies for resolving environmental issues.