Prof. Poong Hyun Seong who is a professor of our department was appointed as a member of the Atomic Energy Promotion Commission at which he will work for 3 years. As the Atomic Energy Promotion Commission is affiliated to prime minister, the commission reviews and decides important issue concerning utilization of nuclear technologies in Korea[1]. The Atomic Energy Promotion Commission was initially established as the Atomic Energy Commission under the affiliation of Atomic Energy Institute in 1958. In 1967 its affiliation was changed to the Ministry of Science and Technology, and in November 1986, its affiliation was uprated to be under the prime minister. Finally, in November 2011, its name was changed to Atomic Energy Promotion Commission. In the past, Kun Jai Lee (2010-2016) and Nam Zin Cho (2003-2006), our emeritus professors, were appointed as members of the commission.

Poong Hyun Seong got his Bachelor’s degree at Seoul National University, and  master’s (1984) and Ph.D (1987) degree at MIT in the US. After he worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories until 1991, he has been holding office at our department for 25 years. Also, he served as the president of the Korean Nuclear Society from 2015 to 2016, a member of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the president of the department of human factors, instrumentation and controls in the American Nuclear Society and contributed to the nuclear industry and academia. Also, in 2010, he was invited to Khalifa University when Korea exported nuclear power plants to the UAE and contributed to establishing the framework of nuclear engineering education in the UAE. From 2012 to 2013, he actively served as the dean of admission at KAIST, making a significant contribution to the advancement of higher education both at home and abroad.

With the appointment of Prof. Poong Hyun Seong as a member of the Nuclear Energy Promotion Committee, we hope that our department will continue to contribute to the nuclear industry and academia.