Merck Honors Korean Professors for AI-Driven Display Breakthroughs

Two Korean professors have received top honors from Merck for their breakthroughs in display technology. Kim Hak-rin of Kyungpook National University was awarded the 2026 Merck Award for his work on display optics based on liquid-crystal materials.

Kim's research focuses on technologies for next-generation glasses and holographic displays, including active polarization-switching optics, geometric-phase optical devices, and holographic imaging. He plans to use this award to help maintain Korea's global competitiveness in immersive and spatial display technologies.

Lee Soo-yeon of Seoul National University received the 2026 Merck Young Scientist Award for her research on oxide thin-film transistor devices and circuits used in next-generation displays and semiconductor technologies. Her work extends from display technologies to applications related to artificial intelligence, including oxide TFT reliability, display-driving circuits, device-aging compensation, and low-power neuromorphic systems.

The awards were announced at the International Meeting on Information Display 2026, organized by the Korean Information Display Society, in Busan. Merck established the Merck Award in 2004 and added the Merck Young Scientist Award in 2006. The company expanded the awards this year to include optoelectronics technology.

The International Meeting on Information Display 2026 will run through Friday at BEXCO in Busan, with a session titled 'The Evolution of Displays: Integrating Multifunctionality for a Future AI Era.' Merck Korea Managing Director Kim Woo-kyu said displays remain a cornerstone of the company's electronics business as it expands into semiconductor metrology and inspection and other optoelectronics technologies.