Professor O-Bong Yang (Division of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering) jointly received the highest honor of the conference, the Grand Prize (GPVC Award), at the Global Photovoltaic Conference 2022, held at the Gwangju Kim Dae-jung Convention Center from July 6 to July 8, 2022. Professor Yang shared the award with Professor Masafumi Yamaguchi of Toyoda Institute of Technology in Japan, a world-renowned photovoltaic scientist.

Professor Yang has led research on solar cells and energy and has achieved international academic recognition. He has published 140 papers in scholarly journals, including 115 SCI-indexed international papers, which contributed to his selection for the award.

Professor Yang played a leading role in founding the Korean Photovoltaic Society and, as the society's sixth president in 2019, has guided its development. He was also recognized for his contributions to advancing South Korea's renewable energy industry.

Professor Yang currently serves as director of the 'Energy-AI Convergence Graduate School Project,' supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which trains master's and doctoral-level personnel in the energy field. He also serves as director of the Ministry of Education's 'Energy New Industry Innovation Shared University Project,' a program that develops university-level talent for the energy new-industry sector.

Professor O-Bong Yang said, "I have continued efforts to advance research and industry in renewable energy and am fulfilling my role as an expert working toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. I hope to contribute to South Korea's sustainable development and the preservation of a clean planet."