Novozymes honors world leader in developing environmentally friendly microbial bioprocesses

The 2023 recipient of Novozymes Award on Excellence in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering is professor Sang Yup Lee from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), a thought leader in the engineering of bacteria for production of sustainable chemicals.
 

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – May 8, 2023. In collaboration with The Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Novozymes is awarding the annual Novozymes Award on Excellence in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering to professor Sang Yup Lee at a ceremony at DTU on June 2, 2023. In addition to the honors, the award comes with 100,000 DKK from Novozymes.


The achievements and impact of Prof. Sang Yup Lee within biochemical engineering places him among the absolute global elite. Prof. Sang Yup Lee has been a vocal proponent of the integrated optimization of upstream to downstream and coined the term “systems metabolic engineering” which integrates the fields of synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, bioprocess development, and systems biology, and has pioneered and popularized the area. Using this integrative approach, Prof. Sang Yup Lee has demonstrated the capabilities of microbial production for many different chemicals as an alternative to petrochemical production, including plastic monomers, gasoline and diesel substitutes, spider silk, organic acids, alcohols, and biopolymers. He has worked closely with industry through consulting, joint projects, and licensing of technologies, and is the inventor of more than 800 patents. 
 

“Professor Sang Yup Lee is a light house in the field of metabolic engineering of bacteria. His work has consistently been focused on driving innovation and delivering both proofs of concept and high-yielding bioprocesses for industrial biotechnology,” explains Jens Nielsen, CEO of the BioInnovation Institute and Chairman of the Prize Committee. 

“Novozymes is happy to support and honor the contributions of leaders in the field through the award on ‘Excellence in Biochemical and Chemical Engineering’. We are proud of being able to honor the contributions of Prof. Sang Yup Lee, who has delivered substantial achievements in support of a transition to a global greener economy,” says Claus Crone Fuglsang, Chief Science Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development at Novozymes.

The award ceremony will take place at DTU on June 2, 2023. Sign up to onsite or online participation in the award ceremony here: Innovation for Biomanufacturing - New processing technologies towards sustainable and automated industry. The symposium and award ceremony will be live streamed.

 

“It is an outstanding opportunity to meet and host Prof. Sang Yup Lee. His work has been an inspiration to many in the field, and we look forward to having him share his inspiring insights at our symposium on Fermentation-based manufacturing,“ says Bjarke Bak Christensen, Head of DTU Bioengineering, member of the Prize Committee, and host of the award ceremony.