October 07, 2026
Joon Byung Bai graduated from Mizzou prepared to engineer a better world. He has lived a life defined by perseverance, entrepreneurship and philanthropy.
Joon Byung Bai, BSME ’66, was inducted in the Mizzou Hall of Fame during Homecoming celebrations Oct. 3, joining the ranks of high-achieving alumni who have exhibited excellence in their chosen field.
“Joon Byung Bai has lived a life defined by perseverance, entrepreneurship and philanthropy,” Mizzou Engineering Dean Marisa Chrysochoou said. “We are proud to celebrate his determination, ingenuity and generosity and the high bar he sets for our students.”
Born in 1937 in Hoeryŏng, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, near the Chinese border, Bai fled with his family on foot to Seoul during the Korean War. He later came to the United States as an exchange student on a Fulbright Scholarship, utilizing his Mizzou education to launch a career in the plastics industry.
In 1983, he founded Trans Western Polymers, a manufacturer of private-label trash bags sold nationwide. By 2012, the company employed more than 400 people and generated estimated annual sales exceeding $200 million.
Bai has supported humanitarian efforts benefiting orphans in North Korea, including food shipments during the famine of the late 1990s and ongoing initiatives that train local farmers to increase crop production. In 2025, he furthered his legacy of philanthropy by establishing the Lee Kyuhee Scholarship at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, in honor of his late wife, and the Joon Byung Bai Scholarship at Mizzou Engineering.