Science, technology and innovation officials from APEC
member economies have named young, cutting-edge climate change
researcher Dr Jong-Seong Kug of Korea the winner of the 2015 APEC
Science Prize for Innovation, Research, and Education.
The award, known as the ASPIRE Prize, was presented to Dr Kug in Manila
for his development of modeling that can more accurately predict extreme
weather patterns and improve the capacity of governments, businesses and
the public to mitigate disaster risk—produced in collaboration with
researchers in other APEC economies.
“The Pacific Rim is the epicenter of the increasingly lethal and
destabilizing effects of climate change,” explained Secretary Mario
Montejo of the Philippine Department of Science and Technology, champion
of this year’s ASPIRE Prize theme, Disaster Risk Reduction:
Understanding the Role of Climate Change and Variability.
“The severity of the typhoon season thus far and the El Niño that is
bringing historic drought to some parts of the region and flooding to
others underscore the extent of the threat we face,” he noted.
“Innovation, cultivated through cross-border research, can boost
preparedness needed to protect lives and livelihoods amid the surge in
turbulent weather. Dr Kug’s work is indicative of the progress being
made on this front among APEC economies and that we must see more of.”
Dr Kug is an Associate Professor at Pohang University of Science and
Technology’s School of Environmental Science and Engineering in Korea.
His El Niño prediction model has helped the Korea Meteorological
Administration better understand tropical climate dynamics, and forecast
and track extreme weather. His research has also lifted the
effectiveness of the APEC Climate Center, an inter-governmental seasonal
prediction system operated by member economies which are hit by over 70
per cent of the world’s natural disasters.
“Understanding the rules of our earth is the only way to fight against
the effects of climate change,” said Dr Kug. “We are making important
strides in our efforts to apply new climate change models in the
Asia-Pacific. The key is for the scientific community to continue to
work together to take this undertaking forward to more fully capture the
benefits.”
“Collaboration between next generation researchers in the Asia-Pacific
is revolutionizing how we look at climate variations and delivering a
wealth of information critical to building more resilient societies,”
added Chen Linhao, Chair of the APEC
Policy Partnership for Science, Technology, and Innovation, which
administers the annual ASPIRE Prize recognizing outstanding cross-border
research led by scientists under 40 years of age.
“It is imperative that APEC members actively work to reduce barriers to
deeper scientific cooperation within the region on which the
sustainable, secure growth of our societies and economies depend,”
exhorted Chen, who is also Deputy Director-General of International
Cooperation at China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
Dr Kug was awarded the ASPIRE Prize in conjunction with a week of
meetings here between officials and private sector representatives to
promote innovation-friendly policies. He also received USD 25,000 in
prize money sponsored by Wiley and Elsevier, publishers of scholarly
scientific knowledge.
“Scientific collaboration across the Asia-Pacific is driving the
advancement of research and innovation worldwide,” said Mark Allin,
President and CEO of Wiley. “The work of young researchers like Dr Kug
is enhancing our understanding of the changing climate and bringing
forward innovative solutions to help us weather climate-related
disasters.”
“Dr Kug’s research has the potential to save lives and reduce the
economic consequences that are today all too frequently associated with
extreme weather,” concluded Young Suk “Y.S.” Chi, Chairman of Elsevier.
“We are inspired by the contribution of this year’s ASPIRE winner and
his fellow nominees in the creation of knowledge that brings new hope.”
For more:
Additional information about the ASPIRE Prize can be found at http://www.apec.org/aspire.
Meet all of this year’s ASPIRE Prize finalists at this link.
More on APEC meetings, events, projects and publications can be found on www.apec.org.
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For further details, or to arrange possible media interviews:
APEC
David Hendrickson, +65 9137 3886
drh@apec.org
or
Michael Chapnick, +65 9647 4847
mc@apec.org