[226 Ph.D. & 224 master’s & 317 nachelor’s degrees awarded]

POSTECH’s commencement ceremony for the 2021 academic year was held on May 13, 2022 at the POSTECH Gymnasium. Originally scheduled for February this year, the ceremony was highly meaningful because it was the first in-person graduation ceremony to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

At the ceremony, a total of 767 students, including 226 Ph.D., 224 master’s, and 317 bachelor’s degrees were awarded. Vice Chairman Duk-Lak Lee, National Assembly delegate Byongwook Kim, Acting Mayor of Pohang Jang-sik Lee, President Soo-Hee Nam of the Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST), President Junku Yuh of the Korea Institute of Robotics & Technology Convergences (KIRO), Chairman Dae-Gong Lee of the Aerin Foundation, and others attended the ceremony to congratulate the graduates.

The Founding Chairman’s Award was presented to Mr. Yonghun Jin (academic advisor: Seung Hwan Cho) of the Department of Chemistry, who is the valedictorian of the graduating class. Because this award was awarded to a graduate in the science track, Mr. Hyeonghoon Lee (academic advisor: Dongsik Kim), of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the top engineering student in the graduating class, received the Chairman’s Award.

An award honoring the vision of POSTECH’s first president Mueunjae Hogil Kim, the Hogil Kim Award is given to the graduate who works toward the advancement or honor of the university. This was awarded to Mr. Jongho Park of the Department of Mathematics (academic advisor: Sungmun Cho) who has been actively engaged in scholarly activities, such as conducting various statistical analyses on the flocking behavior phenomenon seen in the virtual currency market as an undergraduate student. The award was given to also recognize his performance in raising the prestige of the university by winning scholarships and awards beyond the campus.

The POSTECH Alumni Association Chairman Award, given to students who have demonstrated growth and advancement represented in the POSTECH’s founding tenet (a globally outstanding talent with knowledge and intellect), was awarded to Ms. Eunji Kim (academic advisor: Kunyoo Shin) of the Department of Life Sciences.

The Sung Kee Chung Thesis Award (science) and the Kun Soo Chang Thesis Award (engineering), given to the best Ph.D. dissertation, were presented respectively to Mr. Junho Seo (academic advisor: Jun Sung Kim) of the Department of Physics, who wrote his dissertation on the theme of the anomalous hall effect induced by the topological nodal line in ferromagnetic van der Waals metalloids, and Mr. Young jJun Park (academic advisor: Jang-Sik Lee) of the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, who presented a dissertation related to the development of a memory device enabling high-speed movement using a halide-based perovskite material. These awards are supported by the funds from the former president Sung Kee Chung and Professor Emeritus Kun Soo Chang.

The School of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Convergence Award, which has been newly established this year, was presented to Mr. Junho Park (academic advisor: Wonbin Hong) of the Department of Electrical Engineering. This award is granted to the student earning a Ph.D. degree in the IT field including the Department of Electrical Engineering, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the Department of Convergence IT Engineering, and the Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence who publishes outstanding papers and shows potential to achieve excellent research results in the future.

In his commencement address, President Moo Hwan Kim remarked, “If we compare life to a book, all of you standing here have just finished one chapter” and added, “Do not cease to grow as of May 2022 but continue to grow in other directions.” He emphasized, “Only when wisdom is added to superior knowledge and individual competency can our society, nation, and the world we are living in achieve progress.”