Kyungbae Chung (A&S ’86G)
Social welfare innovator At Pitt: He earned a PhD in economics from the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.
In South Korea: Chung revolutionized the social welfare network by developing a national pension plan using long-term projection modeling learned at Pitt; introduced productive welfare, an innovation that included housing, education, and self-help programs for the poor; and instituted health insurance and a national pension to cover all citizens.
“Pitt’s intellectual community supported my imagination, my theories, my new ideas.” Ohjoon Kwon (ENGR ’85G) Global steel industry giant At Pitt: He studied the thermo-mechanical processing of steel and earned a PhD in materials science and engineering at the Swanson School of Engineering. In South Korea: Kwon is CEO of POSCO, the world’s fifth-largest steel-making company. He steadily rose through the ranks of research, technology, and executive governance, guiding POSCO into a role as a major contributor to South Korea’s automotive, shipbuilding, and construction sectors; led the company’s research and development center and its European Union office in Germany; and, in 2016, was named one of the nation’s top scientists by the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies.
“At Pitt, I began to imbue myself with pride as a research and development expert and formed my philosophy about steel through diverse experiences.” W I N T E R
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