Professor Kimoon Kim of the Department of Chemistry became the first Korean to receive the Izatt-christensen award. The 2012 award recognizes Prof. Kim’s significant contribution to a brand-new concept of supermolecular chemistry, especially focusing on cucurbituril.

Cucurbituril is uniquely shaped porous organic material that selectively absorb carbon dioxide over carbon monoxide. Prof. Kim has found that pumpkin-shaped cucurbituril preferentially absorbs CO2 gas over CO with better selectivity than existing porous materials. Because this compound is thermally stable and inexpensive, it is expected to boost energy-efficiency by allowing CO to be recycled.

The Izatt-christensen award is named in honor of Prof. Izatt and the late Prof. Christensen, who conceived the International Symposia concept and organized the first five Symposia starting in 1977. The award is sponsored by an American company IBC Advanced Technology, Inc.

The award will be presented at the 2012 International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry.