KAIST said on the 20th that Lee Sang-yeop, a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, was named a fellow of the European Academy of Microbiology (EAM).
The European Academy of Microbiology is the top scholarly body of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) and selects world-class researchers with outstanding research achievements and academic leadership as fellows. Launched in 2009, FEMS is a large scholarly network of about 30,000 microbiologists across 38 countries.
Currently, researchers from more than 30 countries are participating in EAM as fellows, and 95 people were newly elected this year. While most of the new fellows are from Europe, 16 from the United States and three from Australia were selected among foreign nationals. In Asia, Professor Lee Sang-yeop was the only one chosen.
EAM leads academic advancement in microbiology while also providing policy advice, expanding international cooperation, and fostering the next generation of researchers. In particular, fellows play a central role in scholarly exchange, policy discussions, and building global cooperation frameworks, and they also contribute to expanding the social impact of microbiology research.
Lee is regarded as a researcher who has led the fields of systems metabolic engineering and Synthetic Biology. Lee has steadily worked on developing technologies that use microorganisms to produce chemicals and materials, and based on this, has driven innovation in industrial biotechnology.
Lee Sang-yeop said, "I will advance microorganism-based sustainable bio-manufacturing technologies to help solve the environmental and energy challenges facing humanity," adding, "I will also actively pursue international joint research and academic exchange."
Meanwhile, Lee is a full member of The Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) and The National Academy of Engineering of Korea. Lee is also a fellow of several international scholarly organizations, and according to KAIST, is the world's only scholar to be simultaneously named an international or foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.