Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) (President Kim Dong‑won), which is fostering 'star professors' by supporting outstanding researchers across the full research lifecycle to advance as a research-oriented university, selected outstanding researchers again this year following last year and held an awards and appointment ceremony on February 22, 2022.

Since last year, JBNU has designated programs to establish a support system for researchers across the full research lifecycle. These include 'JBNU Young Fellow' for early-career researchers within five years of appointment; 'JBNU Fellow' for associate professors and professors within five years of promotion; 'JBNU Star Fellow' for professors from five years after promotion up to age 60; and 'JBNU Distinguished Research Professor' for those aged 61 and above and post-retirement. The university provides support through these programs to foster outstanding research.

For the 'JBNU Young Fellow', which provides research equipment grants of up to KRW 30 million, the selected professors were Professor 노주희 (Department of Nursing), Professor 임선아 (Department of Education), Professor 박성준 (Department of Polymer -Nano Science &Technology), Professor 송수연 (Department of Animal Science), Professor 트란듀이탄 (Department of Nano Convergence Engineering), Professor 강현구 (Department of Medicine), and Professor 허 근 (Department of Semiconductor Science and Technology).

In addition, the 'JBNU Fellow' honors went to Professor 조영철 (Division of International Humanities and Social Sciences), Professor 성지영 (Department of Business Administration), Professor 김인수 (Faculty of Economics), Professor 이동원 (Department of Polymer -Nano Science &Technology), Professor 한지훈 (Department of Chemical Engineering), Professor 김남훈 (Department of Nano Convergence Engineering), Professor 김범석 (Department of Veterinary Medicine), Professor 곽효성 (Department of Medicine), and Professor 김정곤 (Department of Chemistry).

The 'JBNU Star Fellow' selections included Professor 임은미 (Department of Education), Professor 윤명숙 (Department of Social Welfare), Professor 백기태 (Department of Environmental Engineering), Professor 이승희 (Department of Nano Convergence Engineering), and Professor 박병현 (Department of Medicine).

Additionally, Professor 이중희 (Department of Nano Convergence Engineering) was appointed as a 'JBNU Distinguished Research Professor' to ensure research activities continue uninterrupted throughout the post-retirement period.

Notably this year, JBNU also selected professors who have produced outstanding industry–university achievements such as excellent technology startups and technology transfers. The recipients in this category were Professor 김재수 (Department of Agricultural Biology), a 'JBNU Fellow', and Professor 이동환 (Division of Mechanical Design Engineering), a 'JBNU Star Fellow'.

Accordingly, JBNU held an awards and appointment ceremony for the selected professors at 5:00 PM on February 22, 2022, and presented prize money, a nameplate and plaque symbolizing their status as leading scholars in their field, business cards, and a 'JBNU Fellow Box' containing these items.

At the awards and appointment ceremony, President Kim Dong‑won said, "Through support for researchers across the full lifecycle, we intend to strengthen challenging research and develop future new technologies, thereby consolidating our status as a research-oriented university." He added, "We will support the selected professors so they can focus on research in their respective fields and make every effort to ensure the university takes a significant step forward as a research-oriented institution."