Jinwoo Cheon, Horace G. Underwood Professor of Chemistry at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and the Director of National Center for Evolutionary Nanoparticles (CEN), is the recipient of the 6th POSCO TJ Park Prize (2012), one of South Korea’s most prestigious prizes for achievement in science. The POSCO TJ Prize honors the memory of T.J. Park, the founder of POSCO which is one the largest steel companies in the world. The Foundation annually awards individuals who have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to the advancements in science, public service, and education. The prize consists of a plaque and monetary award of 200 million Korean won ($180,000). Jinwoo Cheon was awarded the Prize at the ceremony held on March 28th, 2012 at the POSCO center in Seoul, Korea.
He has been merited with numerous awards including Inchon Prize (2010), Knowledge Creation Award (2010), Korean Top 10 Next Leaders in Science (Sisa Press, 2008), Song-gok Science Award (2007), Yonsei Research Achievement Award (2006), the Korean Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry (2004), the National Science Prize for Junior Faculty (2002: presented by the President of Korea), and the Wiley Young Chemist Award (2001).
Jinwoo Cheon is a senior editor of Accounts of Chemical Research (American Chemical Society), and an editorial board member of Nano Letters (American Chemical Society). He is a fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry and a member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology.
Jinwoo Cheon graduated from Yonsei University with B.S. and earned his Ph.D. from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1993. After post-doctoral training studying inorganic materials chemistry at U.C. Berkeley and UCLA, he joined the faculty of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). In 2002, he moved to Yonsei University.