Being in a global leadership position is not new to CEO Kwon. He served as the chairman of worldsteel’s Technical Subcommittee since 2012, when he was president of POSCO, and since 2014, he served as a member of the executive committee, the highest decision-making body of the organization, when he was inaugurated as the CEO of POSCO.

The new leadership will be looked upon to invigorate technical exchanges among steelmakers around the world, and boost the advancement of technology in the steel industry. In particular, while countries around the world are strengthening protectionism due to global oversupply, worldsteel’s leadership will be counted on to coordinate and arbitrate the interests of steelmakers through effective communication and networking.

The news of CEO Kwon’s new leadership role comes a day after POSCO received worldsteel’s Steelie Award for “Innovation of the Year.” The Innovation of the Year award is given to one member of worldsteel who made the most innovative accomplishments in technology or sustainability. POSCO was recognized for its use of artificial intelligence (AI) in coating weight control, the cold rolling process, automated operation and the furnace heat control process to improve quality and reduce costs at the same time.

This year’s award marks the last of 4 awards POSCO has received from worldsteel including the award for sustainability in 2010, and the awards for Innovation in 2012 and 2015.

Cover photo courtesy of World Steel Association.

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More than 290 people attended the presentation ceremony, including Ohjoon Kwon, chairman of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation; Chang-hee Kang, former chairman of the National Assembly; Hong-goo Lee and Deok-soo Han, former prime ministers of Korea; Gong-il Sa, chairman of the Institute for Global Economics; Nak-in Sung, president of Seoul National University; and prize winners from previous years.

Ohjoon Kwon, POSCO CEO and chairman of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation, said, “For the past 10 years, the POSCO TJ Park Prize has been a way to recognize those who tackle the never-ending challenges of today’s world. In the next 10 years, we aim to make the POSCO TJ Park Prize an even more noteworthy honor.”

This year, the POSCO TJ Park Prize was awarded to the following honorees:

• Excellence in Science: Prof. Jong-heun Lee, Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Korea University
• Excellence in Education: Attached Middle School at Kyungpook National University
• Excellence in Community Development & Philanthropy: Jimmy Pham of Vietnam, CEO of KOTO
• Excellence in Technology: Myeong-hwan Kim, head of the Battery Research Institute at LG Chem.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon (far right) stands with recipients of the POSCO TJ Park Prize. The award recognized their noteworthy achievements in science, education, community development, and technology.

The Excellence in Technology award was added this year to highlight how technology has contributed to the renewal of the Korean economy. Eligible candidates for this category include persons or organizations that contributed to national and global market development.

Prof. Jong-heun Lee of Korea University, winner of the TJ Park Science prize, was honored for his work on the oxide nano hierarchical structure in which nano building blocks are regularly self-assembled, and the p-type oxide semiconductor, which has a high level of catalytic activity that allows for gases to be detected quickly and selectively. His achievements are expected to be widely utilized in various areas such as safety, environment, medical science, and IoT.

Kyungpook National University Attached Middle School, winner of the Excellence in Education prize, was awarded for its model of creative public education. Unlike a typical learning environment, the middle school introduced project-based learning in 2012, which allowed students to switch roles with teachers and also collaborate with one another on a deeper level.

Jimmy Pham, winner of the Excellence in Community Development and Philanthropy prize, established KOTO (Know One, Teach One), the first social enterprise in Vietnam. For 17 years, the organization has been giving at-risk youth a chance to stand on their own by teaching various life-skill classes.

Myung-hwan Kim, head of the Battery Research Institute at LG Chem, received the foundation’s very first Excellence in Technology prize. Kim began to oversee battery R&D in 1996 when the secondary battery business was first starting to become active. Through much trial and error and over 20 years of experience in the field, Kim successfully developed the first lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles. He is considered to have greatly contributed to making Korea a leader in the secondary battery industry.

Chang-hee Kang, former chairman of the National Assembly, delivered a congratulatory address, saying, “I would like to thank POSCO for contributing not only to the development of science and technology, but also for actively recognizing scholars and citizens who made a great impact in their respective fields.”

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Of the musical instruments most likely to be seen, wood and brass might be the most known materials, but if we look closely we can find creative uses of other metals, including gold, silver, platinum – and even steel.

Because steel is heavier than other metals it is typically not found in many musical instruments. However, today we will explore how steel and metal have helped to revolutionize sound and music.

Wintergatan’s 2,000 steel ball bearings

Swedish band Wintergatan debuted their self-titled album in the Spring of 2013. After 18 months of touring, founding member Martin Molin decided that he wanted to go in a different direction with a visionary project to build a musical marble machine. His contraption feeds 2,000 steel marbles through multiple tubes at varying heights to create a variety of rich, layered sounds.

Martin Molin plays Wintergatan’s Marble Machine. (Photo by Samuel Westergren)

Wintergatan’s programmable marble machine powers a kick drum, snare drum, hi-hat, sizzle cymbal, electric bass, and a vibraphone. The marble machine consists of around 3,000 parts, 3,000 screws, 500 LEGO Bricks, and 2,000 steel marbles. Originally scheduled to be built in two months, it took Molin more than 14; however, success came as their first YouTube video garnered more than 10 million views after just three days (it now has over 1 billion).

A close-up view of a few of the 2,000 steel marbles used to create the sounds in the Marble Machine. (Photo by Samuel Westergren)

Steel marbles are fed through these funnels to create its unique sound. (Photo by Samuel Westergren)

Molin built the marble machine in the style of older music that used loops. Telling WIRED, “…everyone makes music on a grid nowadays, on computers. Even before digital they made fantastic, programmable music instruments. In bell towers and church towers that play a melody they always have a programming wheel exactly like the one that is on the marble machine.”

Wintergatan’s Marble Machine must be seen (and heard) to be believed. The complexity of the simultaneously moving parts is mind-boggling to watch. Even more surprising – that such sound could come from steel marbles moving rolling through funnels.

To learn about Wintergatan and their other interesting projects, visit them on their social network channels (YouTube, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

The Theremin Revolutionizes Electronic Sound

If we rewind almost 100 years, we can find the introduction of one of the first electronic instruments. The theremin is an electronic music device that was patented in 1928 by Russian inventor, Léon Theremin (1896-1993). It is unique among instruments because it is played without any contact by the musician. Instead, the thereminist must move their hands in proximity to the two metal antennas that control the pitch and volume of sound. When building his first instruments,  Léon Theremin used a steel chassis to hold his new instrument.

The distinctive sound that comes from the theremin is due to the movements of the player’s hands. These movements give the sound a vibrating depth similar to vocal chords and violins. The theremin was particularly popular in America following WWII, but as more and more electronic instruments came onto the market, it fell out of favor among serious musicians.

Over time, many musicians became taken to the theremin – including Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones – however, probably none were more popular than the 1966 Beach Boys hit, Good Vibrations that used a theremin-like instrument on the opening chords of its smash song.

Barbara Buchholz playing the model TVox by George Pavlov. Photo by Gregor Hohenberg (Courtesy of Barbara Buchholz).

Before the theremin got in the hands of the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones, the most popular player was Léon Theremin’s protégé, Clara Rockmore (1911-1998). Watch her video below to see the exquisite expertise and talent required to play one of the first electronic instruments.

The music industry is always working to reinvent itself and find new and creative sounds. In the early 20th century, the theremin arrived to give audiences something breathtakingly new. Fast forward to the 21st century and we find steel helping artists create monumentally complex machines to create new music.

* Cover photo of Wintergatan’s Marble Machine, courtesy of Samuel Westergren & Wintergatan.

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The event was sponsored by the CSR Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Science – China’s most authoritative CSR evaluation agency. They evaluate corporate social responsibility and social contribution activities, releasing a corporate public interest development index and a CSR development index each year.

In addition, on January 6, POSCO China picked up the Educational Public Service Medal from the Chinese Enterprise Development Institute, the largest public interest group in China. A total of 31 domestic and international companies were selected as winners including Panasonic, Intel, and LG. POSCO was given the award in recognition for its affiliates’ scholarship programs and contribution to the preservation of traditional cultures in China.

With news of these awards, POSCO remains more committed than ever to working with the communities near its plants and offices in China. POSCO China plans to be even more active with CSR activities in 2017.

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