Dr. Soyeon Yi is South Korea’s first and only astronaut. She was selected as an astronaut in December 2006 from a pool of 36,000 contestants. On April 8, 2008, she launched into space on board Soyuz TMA-12.

Dr. Yi received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and Ph.D. in Bio and Brain Engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Her Ph.D. thesis is “DNA Separation Chips Using Temporal Asymmetric Ratchet Effect in NonUniform E-Fields”. In May 2014, Dr. Yi received her MBA with an emphasis on Technology and Global Leadership at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

Currently, Dr. Yi is working with Biotechnology startup, Noul Co., Ltd. as the Managing Director of Business Development and Partnership.