On April 2, Professor Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering was selected as the laureate of the 2014 Ho-Am Prize in Engineering. He was selected for his work on developing the world’s first biotechnologies for the production of gasoline from renewable resources using genetically engineered bacteria. On June 3, a lecture to commemorate his award was given at KAIST Institute (KI) Building (E4).

The Ho-Am Prize was established in 1990 by Kun-Hee Lee, the chairman of Samsung, and is named after Byung-chul Lee, founder of Samsung. The award categories include science, engineering, medicine, arts, community service, and special field. Each laureate receives a diploma, a pure gold medal, and a cash prize of 300 million Korean Won.

In his commemorative lecture, Professor Lee mentioned the World Economic Forum to raise the issue on greenhouse gas emission. He said that using renewable resources is one solution to the issue, but he aims to produce genetically engineering bacteria, which convert carbon dioxide - the main source of greenhouse gas - into chemicals, fuels, and materials.

 To achieve that goal, the bacteria were modified using metabolic engineering because bacteria have already undergone thousands of years of evolution, meaning they already have efficient pathways to produce materials that they need. To change the already efficient pathways is hard, and changes do not always turn out as intended. Traditionally, researchers used random mutagenesis, and it had some advantages, but the by-product and low growth rate made it unfavorable. To solve this problem, Professor Lee developed the rational-random approach, which generated improved results than that from random mutagenesis.

With genetically engineered bacteria, Professor Lee and his team were able to synthesize fuel such as butanol and gasoline. They also synthesized polymers such as engineering plastic and bioplastic. Currently, bacteria-produced materials have been implemented by chemical companies such as BASF, and other companies such as DuPont and DAW are also considering their usage.

Professor Lee emphasized that bio-based chemicals are not an option, but essential in combating global warming and climate change. He thanked the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and other various parties for their support. 

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