Professor Jun Heo (Department of Electrical Engineering) has won the Ministry of Science and ICT Quantum Technology Promotion Achievement Award, which was given to a total of seven researchers and two organizations this year. The award is given to those that promote the growth of quantum technology and establish the foundation for future industries in quantum science in South Korea.

Professor Heo has dedicated his research into wireless telecommunications, especially on the quantum level. His research focuses on the theory for quantum computers and polar coding for wireless communications. These two technologies are complex areas that help engineers develop smaller equipment and semiconductors for the development of future computers.

As the head of the Smart Quantum Telecommunication Research Center partially funded by the government, Professor Heo has cultivated several pupils in both master and doctorate degree programs. Moreover, he has sought to expand link quantum information with the fields of electrical engineering and physics. These two reasons convinced the Ministry of Science to honor him with this award, as well as select him as one of the top 100 national research and development (R&D) scientists back in 2019.