Donghyeon Kim, an integrated MS/PhD student in POSTECH’s Department of Electrical Engineering (advisor: Professor Rock-Hyun Baek), was named an Outstanding Student Researcher at the 9th K-CHIPS (Korea Collaborative & High-tech Initiative for Prospective Semiconductor Research) Awards, receiving KRW 2 million and support for attending an overseas conference.

He carried out the project “Development of New High-Mobility Channel/Dielectric Materials and an AI-Based Large-Scale Analysis Platform for Ultrahigh-Layer 3D NAND Memory” under the Public–Private Joint Investment Program for Training Advanced Semiconductor Professionals (2023–2032), administered by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT), and the Consortium of Semiconductor Advanced Research (COSAR).

The awards aim to strengthen the capabilities and motivation of student researchers participating in the program. Recipients are selected based on their research achievements and contributions to the program.

Among 99 participating research institutions, Professor Baek’s team was one of six institutions recognized for outstanding results and was additionally selected as one of three institutions with the best presentations. Following its awards at the 3rd through 8th K-CHIPS Awards, the team has now won for seven consecutive years.

November 2025