Ryoo Ryong

Ryoo Ryong

Ryong Ryoo (born 1957) is a professor of chemistry at KAIST in Daejeon, South Korea. He is the head of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials. Ryoo has won a variety of awards, including the Top Scientist Award given by the South Korean government in 2005. He obtained the KOSEF Science and Technology Award in 2001 for his work on the synthesis and crystal structure of mesoporous silica.

Ryoo obtained his bachelor's degree from Seoul National University in 1977, his master's from KAIST in 1979, and his doctorate from Stanford University in 1985. After completing his master's degree, he worked for three years at the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute. After returning to Korea in 1986, he took a position with KAIST and has remained there since.

In 2006, Ryoo and his research team announced the discovery of a form of zeolite that can catalyze petrochemical reactions much more effectively than previous zeolites. Because of the potential of this to streamline the gasoline refining process, it was greeted as a "magical substance" by the South Korean press.