POSTECH News

Professor YoungJu Choie Receives the Hyeoksin Medal of the Order of Science and Technology Merit

2022-04-27 349

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Professor YoungJu Choie (Department of Mathematics) has recently won the Hyeoksin Medal of the Order of Science and Technology Merit at the 2022 Science and ICT Day Ceremony.

After graduating from Ewha Womans University, Professor YoungJu Choie received her Ph.D. from Temple University in the U.S. and was appointed to POSTECH in 1990. Since then, she has been making significant contributions to the advancement of mathematics in Korea by serving as president of the Korean Women in Mathematical Sciences (KWMS) and as a deliberative member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology, and to the development of POSTECH’s Department of Mathematics.

Recognized for her academic achievements in mathematics and extensive involvement in the international community, Professor Choie was selected as an inaugural fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2013 and as a fellow member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology in 2018. She was also the winner of last year’s Kyung-Ahm Prize.

Among her accomplishments, one that particularly stands out is leading the academic development on the theory of automorphic forms. She was awarded the Hyeoksin Medal for her contribution in elevating the prestige of Korean mathematics through her vast international activity and for fostering talent and raising the public understanding of science.

Through her research on the periods of automorphic forms, Professor Choie achieved a substantial breakthrough in understanding the special values of L-functions, regarded as one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century in number theory. Furthermore, by applying it to theoretical physics and ICT and to the mutual convergence theory along with number theory and IT, Professor Choie has demonstrated their potential for development.

At this year’s ceremony, which celebrated the 55th Science Day (April 21) and the 67th ICT day (April 22), a total of 162 awardees were presented with government prizes for their dedication to science, technology and ICT promotion, and to the national research and development of Korea.