HYEON Taeghwan, Director of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Center for Nanoparticle Research and Distinguished Professor at Seoul National University, has been selected as the recipient of the Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The announcement was made on April 2 (local time)

The International Alumni Award is given to a distinguished alumnus of UIUC who has made significant contributions to the advancement of humanity in fields such as science, government, or the arts. Established through a donation by Dr. Jagdish N. SHETH, the official name of the award is the Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement.

Director Hyeon earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from UIUC in 1996 and has since become a world-renowned researcher in nanoscience, particularly in the synthesis, assembly, and biomedical applications of uniform nanoparticles. His doctoral advisor, Professor Kenneth S. SUSLICK of the UIUC Department of Chemistry, praised his achievements, stating, "The heat-up method for nanoparticle synthesis, developed by Hyeon in 2001, provides a simple yet highly versatile approach for precisely controlling nanoparticle size." He further recognized Hyeon as one of the pioneers in the field of inorganic nanomaterials research.

Currently, Hyeon serves as the Director of the IBS Center for Nanoparticle Research and a Distinguished Professor at Seoul National University. He is also a full member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and the Swedish Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences. From 2010 to 2020, he served as an Associate Editor of Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), one of the most prestigious chemistry journals. In 2025, he will assume the role of Associate Editor for ACS Nano, a leading journal in nanoscience.

Additionally, in 2011, Hyeon was recognized as one of the "Top 100 Chemists" by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and UNESCO. Since 2014, he has been named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate every year. Notably, in 2020, he was listed as a Highly Cited Researcher in Chemistry, a distinction shared with Moungi G. Bawendi (MIT), who later received the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Hyeon expressed his gratitude, stating, "I am deeply honored to receive such a prestigious award from my alma mater, which has played a crucial role in shaping my career."

The award ceremony and commemorative lecture are scheduled to take place on April 24 at 1:00 PM at the UIUC Student Union and 7:00 PM at the UIUC Alumni Center, respectively.

IBS Public Relations Team
William I. Suh