James M. Lee Young Investigator Award

Professor James M. Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1946 and sadly passed away in April of 2010 from lung cancer (http://www.chebe.wsu.edu/news/news_2010-05_james_lee.html). Professor Lee was a Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at the Washington State University. He also served as a program manager and as a program expert for the Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering Program at the National Science Foundation. Professor Lee conducted research in using tobacco leaves to produce proteins used in cancer treatment, producing tobacco cell cultures that contained mammalian proteins. He has also authored Biochemical Engineering (Prentice Hall), a well-used text book on biochemical reaction engineering.

Professor Lee was the founding president of the KIChE US Chapter from 2002 to 2004. Prior to the foundation of this chapter, no such organization existed for Chemical Engineering researchers of Korean heritage that would allow them to network and collaborate.

Since then, the KIChE – US Chapter has been the main resource for numerous researchers to share innovative ideas and mentor younger generations. Professor Lee continued his support by serving as a member of the advisory board since 2005. He is remembered as a genuine scholar with kindness and generosity respected by his young Korean-American colleagues.

To express our gratitude to Professor Lee, the KIChE – US Chapter created a special annual award, the James Lee Young Investigator Award, in honor of his contributions. The goal of this special award is to acknowledge the excellence of young faculty members of chemical engineering in U.S. academic institutions and to encourage them to further excel in both research and teaching.

Award Recipients

  • 2011: Inchan Kwon (Univ of Virginia)
  • 2010: Seung Soon Jang (Georgia Tech), Ah-Hyung Alissa Park (Columbia)
  • 2009: Hae-Kwon Jeong (Texas A & M), Jin Ryoun Kim (Polytechnic Institute of New York)
  • 2008: Sobin Kim (Rutgers)
  • 2007: You-Yeon Won (Purdue)
  • 2006: Ilsoon Lee (Michigan State), Sang Bok Lee (Maryland)
  • 2005: Yong Lak Joo (Cornell)
  • 2004: Seong Han Kim (Penn State), Chan Beum Park (Arizona State)



KIChE President Young Investigator Award

This award was established by the President of the Korean Institute for Chemical Engineers (KIChE) in 2011 to recognize young investigators who have demonstrated significant potential to make substantial contributions to the field of Chemical Engineering.

Award Recipients

  • 2020: Bomyi Lim (University of Pennsylvania), Seok Hoon Hong (Illinois Institute of Technology)
  • 2019: Joseph Kwon (Texas A&M)
  • 2017: Younjin Min (University of Akron)
  • 2015: Yoonjee Park (University of Cincinnati)
  • 2013: Hyunmin Yi (Tufts University)
  • 2012: Daeyeon Lee (University of Pennsylvania)
  • 2011: Hyun Joon Kong (University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign)



    • Doh Wonsuk Award for Outstanding Graduate Students

    This award was established in 2003 in memory of WonSuk Doh who passed away during his graduate study at the University of Texas, Austin. This award is presented to graduate students with outstanding achievements in their research.

    Award recipients:

    • 2017: Do Soon Kim (Northwestern University), Chanhee Boo (Yale University)
    • 2013: Jay H. Park (Cornell University), Dong-Woong Lee (University of California - Santa Barbara)
    • 2012: Jung Min Kim (University of Delaware), Hee Jeung Oh (University of Texas - Austin)
    • 2011: So Youn Kim (U. Ill, Urbana-Champaign), Byung-Wook Park (University of Toledo)
    • 2010: Su-Mi Hur (University of California - Santa Barbara), Ho Sup Eom (University of Iowa)
    • 2009: Tae Hyun Bae (Georgia Institute of Technology), Jae Young Lee (Texas, Austin)
    • 2008: Bong Sup Shim (Michigan)
    • 2007: Sangheon Lee (Texas, Austin), Han Seung Lee (Minnesota)
    • 2006: Jae Hyun Park (Purdue), Inchan Kwon (Caltech)
    • 2005: Yoo Cheon Kim (Georgia Tech), Myung Man Kim (Penn State)
    • 2004: Tae Sang Kim (Texas, Austin)


    Eligibility requirements
    *Enrolled in a PhD program in the US.
    *A member of the KIChE-US Chapter ((to become a member, please contact Dr. Jaehun Chun ([email protected]) or Dr. Seung Soon Jang ([email protected])).