Recognized as an Exemplary Case of Korea’s Excellence in Materials Research
▲ Prof. Joo Young-Chang of Seoul National University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Professor Joo Young-Chang from Seoul National University’s (SNU) College of Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been elected as the president of the Materials Research Society (MRS), becoming the first Korean to lead this globally influential society. The MRS, founded in 1973, is the largest and most influential organization in the field of materials science. The society discusses scientific technologies addressing global challenges, such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, energy, and sustainability. The MRS boasts over 13,000 researchers from 79 countries, representing a range of disciplines, including physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and life sciences.
Elected through direct voting by the members, Professor Joo will serve as vice president in 2025, followed by his presidency in 2026. His election is considered an extraordinary case, as major scientific societies have traditionally been led by researchers from the U.S. or Europe. This marks the first time a Korean scholar has taken on such a role in an international materials society, and it is only the second time for an Asian, following Japan. His presidency is seen as recognition of Korea’s outstanding research achievements in the materials field.
Professor Joo commented, "I will do my best to raise the global standing of Korean research by solving humanity's challenges through international collaboration in materials research.“
A global expert in semiconductor reliability, Professor Joo graduated from SNU with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in metallurgical engineering before earning his PhD in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1995. He then worked at the Max Planck Research Institute in Germany and semiconductor company AMD in the United States before joining SNU in 1999. He has served as head of SNU's University-Industry Technology Support Center (2017-2019), director of the Institute of Next Generation Convergence Technology (2020-2022), and head of the Office of Science, Technology, and Innovation at the Ministry of Science and ICT (2022-2024). With over 200 SCI papers published and more than 70 patents registered, Professor Joo is currently focused on developing new materials for semiconductor packaging and energy conversion.