Distinguished Prof. Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST was announced as the winner of the Eni Advanced Environmental Solutions Prize, which is known as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in the fields of environment and energy. The awards ceremony was held on October 22, 2018 at the Quirinale Palace in Italy with the participation of Sergio Matarela, who is the Italian President.

Eni is a multinational global energy company in Italy that produces crude oil, natural gas and electricity. Since 2008, Eni has awarded scientists with innovative research and development in the field of energy and environment. The Advanced Environmental Solutions Prize is one of the three categories of the Eni Award along with Energy Transition and Energy Frontiers. The award for the Advanced Environmental Solutions recognizes a researcher or a group of scientists that has achieved internationally significant R&D results in the field of environmental protection and recovery. The award committee stated that Prof. Lee's innovative research has opened up a new chapter in sustainable energy development and was subsequently chosen as a winner due to its technical completeness and economic value.

Prof. Lee is also a pioneer and world-renowned researcher in metabolic engineering for the production of environmentally friendly chemicals, fuels and non-edible biomass. He is developing innovative microbial processes that produce a variety of chemicals, fuels and materials from renewable resources through microbial metabolism, and offer innovative solutions to solve the environmental problems facing mankind.

As a result of numerous patents and technology transfer, Prof. Lee's research has achieved remarkable results in industrial applications as well as in basic research. He is the founder of 'System Metabolic Engineering' which efficiently produces compounds that are difficult to make into microorganisms. He has produced microorganisms based on various chemicals such as various organic acids, polymer monomers, industrial solvents, fuels and natural products. He has also developed many strains and processes that produce natural and non-natural polymers directly through fermentation.

Prof. Lee who has already won two other distinguished prizes such as the George Washington Carver Award and the PV Danckwerts Memorial Lecture Award at 2018 said, "I am so glad that the international academic community as well as global industry leaders came to recognize our work that our students and research team has made for decades. We will contribute to the environmental and next-generation energy fields through the development of bio-based environmentally friendly materials."