Prof. Yong Kyun Kim of the Department of Nuclear Engineering received the 2026 Academic Award of the Korean Nuclear Society (KNS). The award was presented on October 29, 2026, during the KNS 2026 Fall Conference and 59th General Assembly (October 28–30) at the Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center (HICO).

According to the Society, his key achievement is the world's first development of a technique for fabricating plastic scintillators, a core material of radiation detectors, by 3D printing. He also developed his own materials for this technique, greatly improving detection performance. Because the scintillators can reproduce the exact shape of human tissue or a patient's tumor, the work has opened new possibilities in dosimetry and the verification of cancer treatment.

Prof. Kim has published 278 SCI(E) papers, cited more than 4,500 times, and has contributed to the academic community as Vice President and Editorial Director of the KNS.

Prof. Kim leads the Radiation Instrument Sensor Engineering Laboratory in the department.