“When I was injured, I didn’t go through denial, depression. I just thought, ‘I must go back to work.’”

Sang-Mook Lee is a was born on Oct. 18, 1962 in Seoul, South Korea and is a marine geophysics professor at Seoul National University. Lee obtained his B.S. in Oceanography at Seoul National University and his Ph.D. in Oceanography at MIT. He worked as a post-doc at the University of Durham before eventually becoming a professor in 2003. His research focused on understanding underwater tectonic plates, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. In 2006, Lee suffered an accident which paralyzed his body. Since then, Lee has continued to teach and research with a new focus on advocating for disability awareness. He has created a non-profit ROPOS Project focused on teaching disabled people how they can use computers and pursue a career in STEM. For his work, Lee has received the 2009 Medal of Merit from Korea among other awards.