Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech) announced on Monday that its professors, Kug Jong-seong, received the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE).
 
Kug is the first South Korean to receive the annual award, which this year went under the theme "Disaster Risk Reduction: Understanding the Role of Climate Change and Variability."
 
Kug, an associate professor at Postech’s School of Environmental Science and Engineering, was recognized for his research on predicting and tracking extreme weather patterns, such as El Niño.
 
Since 2011, APEC has been recognizing "young scientists who have demonstrated a commitment to both excellence in scientific research, as evidenced by scholarly publication, and cooperation with scientists from other APEC member economies."