Seoghyeon Ryu, the Dean of the office of relations at the University of Science and Technology(UST), was sworn in on December 8, 2023 as the 19th president of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials(KIMM), a leading government-funded research institution in Korea. KIMM was established in 1976 to contribute to the development of Korea through the invention of source technology and technology transfer in mechanical engineering.  

President Ryu graduated from Pusan National University, obtaining the degree of Bachelor of Science in materials science and engineering. He later studied at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology(KAIST) and received master's and doctoral degree in materials science and engineering.

President Ryu worked at Doosan Heavy Industires & Construction(currently renamed as Doosan Enerbility) for 37 years, from 1989. Since then he took many important posts at Doosan, including vice president, CTO, and the president of corporate's R&D institute.

After working at Doosan, President Ryu joined Changwon National University as a professor, focusing on the industry-university cooperation.

Among the awards President Ryu received was the EPRI Technology Transfer Award in 2010 presented by the Electric Power Research Institute, the Hyunsong Engineerirng Award in 2016 by the Korea Institute of Metals and Materials, and the Order of Science and Technology Merit in 2018 by the Republic of Korea. He was also elected as the chair of the planning committee at the National Academy of Engineering of Korea.

President Ryu will serve KIMM for three years until December 7, 2026.