South Korean Professor and Scientist Wins ASPIRE 2015

by Dana Marie / Aug 24, 2015 04:39 AM EDT

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, which is the venue for APEC summit 2014.

(Photo : By:Pool | Getty Images News) Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, which is the venue for APEC summit 2014.

Dr. Kug Jong-Seong, a professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech), won the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE) 2015 for his research "Climate Change, Seasonal Prediction Systems". The field research focused on predicting and monitoring extreme weather patterns.

The ceremony was held at the Manila Hotel, and Secretary Mario Montejo of Science and Technology Philippines presented the award and prize money worth $25,000 to Dr. Kug.

Secretary Montejo delivered a message, saying that the generation today faces the biggest environmental challenge - climate change. Extreme weather conditions and gradual degradation have greatly affected the environment, which in turn has affected the people. He encouraged the member economies of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to share their insight on weather modeling to prepare for the effects of climate change.

"We really want to collaborate with our grand winner, especially on El Niño. It is affecting the Philippines this coming October, November and even early part of next year".

He added, "It will cause significant change or reduction in our rainfall. The government is now being proactive and is now preparing for El Niño and it affects starting in October and November. We need more science-based information".

Montejo also talked about how ASPIRE could help.

"ASPIRE is a good platform. It encourages innovation and I hope next year's theme would be disaster preparedness and coping with climate change".

The forum, sponsored by Elsevier and Wiley - both providers of scientific solutions - this year, offers recognition to young scientists who show excellent research and cooperation with APEC scientists.

It was launched in 2011 and hosted by the United States, and has since awarded exceptional young scientists. The themes for the past years were Green Growth in 2011, Health Innovation in 2012, Sustainable Ocean Development in 2013 and Intelligent Transportation in 2014. This year, the theme was "Disaster Risk Reduction: Understanding the Role of Climate Change and Variability". It highlighted innovative solutions and technologies that could assist the member economies in protecting the ecosystem, developing a sustainable society and adapting to a continually changing climate.