Nurturing the Nobel Dreams of Korean Scientists 
 

Consulting with Leading international foundations and prominent scientists

The POSCO TJ Park Foundation (Chairman: Tae-Joon Park), a POSCO-established organization that puts the company's social contributions into effective practice, will launch the TJ Park Science Scholarship project from 2009 in order to extend its sponsorship to talented young scientists studying in Korea.

The POSCO TJ Park Foundation (Chairman: Tae-Joon Park), a POSCO-established organization that puts the company's social contributions into effective practice, will launch the TJ Park Science Scholarship project from 2009 in order to extend its sponsorship to talented young scientists studying in Korea.

 

The TJ Park Science Scholarship is geared for young scientists who dedicate their lives to scientific study in Korean universities and institutions, and aids their proud development as internationally respected scientists in their fields.

 

Tae-loon Park, the honorary chairman of POSCO, established POSCO in 1968 and led the company's growth as a world-renowned steelmaker. Since the founding of the POSCO Educational Foundation in 1976, Chairman Park directed the company to provide quality education to residents in POSCO's operational locations through 12 schools. In 1986, the Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea's first science and technology research-oriented university was established to foster talent and to function as a state-of-the-art foundation for scientific research. The POSCO TJ Park Foundation seeks to continue its efforts to reinforce Korea's position as a country of advanced scientific capabilities with the provision of practical aid to scientific researchers through the TJ Park Science Scholarship.

While formulating this scholarship, the Foundation consulted with the recipients of the POSCO TJ Park Science Prize, the president and professors of POSTECH, recipients of the POSCO Scholarship Foundation (former POSCO TJ Park Foundation) who became professors, as well as marry prominent scholars in Korea. Both government-sponsored foundations such as the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation and private organizations were benchmarked, and various scientific human resource development programs in leading international universities and institutions such as the Alfred P Sloan Foundation and Harvard University in the US were modeled.

Focusing on the development of outstanding Korean scientists

Ku-Tack Lee, Standing Advisor and former CEO of POSCO, said “I spoke with some POSTECH professors and it appears that universities also need 'superstar professors' to contribute to their development. I heard there are many professors who have the potential to be superstars, but they suffer from a lack of funding." He continued by saying, "The TJ Park Science Scholarship is well designed to fulfill such a need."

 

Prof. Un-Chan Chunk a former President of Seoul National University, said "Other foundations in Korea primarily support students studying abroad, but they must get sponsorship from the school in which they study by being recognized as superior students by their professors, and this, will benefit their future careers. The money they receive from foundations irk Korea is used only to facilitate their life abroad, but nothing more than that The TJ Park Science Scholarship is significant in that it supports students studying science within Korea.“

Securing innovative technologies by enhancing studies in basic science

In order to establish Korea as a country strong in science, we must secure competitiveness in basic scientific fields. As science serves to create new culture and societies, stagnation in basic science will doom us in this era of endless competition. Since the industrial sector currently assigns the highest priority to science, the development level in basic scientific fields is commonly regarded as a measure of a country's competitiveness. Strong scientific capabilities will result in innovative technologies and serve as a foundation for the development of applied science.

The value generated by innovative technologies directly contributes to the competitiveness of a country, so it follows that basic science will decide the future of a country.

Advanced countries such as the US, Germany, and Japan are pouring considerable levels of funding into research and development with basic scientific studies serving as the central axis of national policies. Japan has so far produced a total of 13 Nobel Prize recipients in scientific fields including 3 in physics and I in chemistry.

  

The 711 Park Science Scholarship also ensures Korea's future competitiveness in basic science. It places the highest priority on those scientists who pursue studies in basic scientific fields such as physics, chemistry, bioengineering, and mathematics.

 

The eligible applicants are graduate students in doctoral programs in Korean schools, postdoctoral researchers who have proven their research capabilities in Korean graduate schools or research institutes, and young assistant professors who have demonstrated excellent research performance. 10 recipients per category will be selected every year.

 

Overall, the scholarship will support 70 recipients with total annual funding of KRW 2.2 billion once fully implemented from 2011 Graduate students in doctoral programs will receive KRW 25 million annually during a three-year period (KRW 75 million in total) postdoctoral researchers will receive KRW 35 million annually during a two-year period (KRW 70 million in total); and young assistant professors will receive KRW 35 million annually during a two-year period (KRW 70 million in total).

Science-focused scholarship program to foster creative talent

As this far-sighted project seeks to cultivate talented scientists who will contribute to the future of Korea and secure the honor of the Nobel Prize for the nation through their motivation and creativity, the Foundation will apply extremely demanding criteria in order to identify the most qualified applicants while considering the characteristics of each category.

 

Before the end of June, the Foundation will release an announcement for the selection of recipients through molar newspapers and its website. In-depth interviews and evaluations for final selections will take place in August. and support will be provided from the second half of 2009.

 

This project is unique in that it supports creative young scientists who conduct their studies and prove their research abilities in Korea.

 

The Foundation plans to strengthen the basis of science in Korea and make the scholarship one of the most sought after by the nation's foremost scientists.

 

In addition, it seeks to create a social atmosphere that recognizes the importance of basic science and respects scientists while advancing scientific study in Korea to a level at which Korea can produce world-renowned scientism capable of securing international accolades such as the Nobel Prize. < POSCO Newspaper, February 26, 2009>