Hoi Ri Moon, Professor of Chemistry at UNIST, has been selected to receive the 2021 Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry (JSCC) International Award for Creative Work.

This award is presented to an early-career researcher who has contributed to the development of coordination chemistry through outstanding and pioneering work. Professor Moon will deliver her award plenary lecture during the 71st Conference of Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry Online Conference on September 16, 2021.

Professor Moon is the first female scientist in the non-Western world to be given the award. Since its establishment in 2015, the JSCC International Award for Creative Work has been given to six male researchers from the U.S. and European institutions. The distinguished names of past winners include Professor Paul J. Chirik (Princeton University, U.S.) and Professor Erwin Reisner (Cambridge University, UK).

This award has been presented to Professor Moon in recognition of her pioneering research, involving metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In particular, the synthetic design of coordination frameworks and their derived materials for energy applications. The award presentation ceremony took place remotely on Tuesday, September 14, 2021.

Meanwhile, established in 1942, the Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry (JSCC) is the largest community in the coordination chemistry field in the world with over 1,000 members from academia, education, industry, and other areas. Coordination chemistry is the study of compounds that have a central metal atom, surrounded by nonmetallic atoms or groups of atoms, known as ligands.