KAIST

KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on January 2nd that it would hold an opening ceremony for the expanded KAIST Center for Contemplative Research  (Director Wan Doo Kim) at the Creativity Learning Building on its Daejeon campus on January 3 (Friday).

Established in 2018 with the mission of "integrating meditation and science for the happiness and prosperity of humanity," the KAIST Center for Contemplative Research has been expanding its scope of research into the neuroscience of meditation and training empathetic educators who will lead the field of meditation science in collaboration with the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, which was established in 2022.

Supported by the Plato Academy Foundation and with funding from SK Discovery for the facility’s expansion, the center now occupies an extended space on the 5th floor of the Creativity Learning Center. The new facilities include: ▲ Advanced Research Equipment ▲ Meditation Science Laboratories ▲ VR/XR-Based Meditation Experience Rooms ▲ A Large Digital Art Meditation Hall ▲ Personal Meditation Halls. 

Particularly, the center plans to conduct next-generation meditation research using cutting-edge technologies such as: ▲ Brain-Computer Interface Technology ▲ Meditation Wearable Devices ▲ Metaverse-Based Meditation Environments.

The opening ceremony, scheduled for the morning of January 3 (Friday), was attended by key figures, including Plato Academy Foundation Chairman Chang-Won Choi, MindLab CEO Professor Seong-Taek Cho, Bosung Group Vice President Byung-Chul Lee, and KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee.

The event began with a national moment of silence to honor the victims of the recent Jeju Air passenger accident. It included a progress report by the center director, a lecture by Professor Jaeseung Jeong, panel discussions, and more.

Following a tour of the expanded facilities, the center hosted a 20-minute hands-on meditation science session using *Looxid Labs EEG devices for the first 50 participants.

*Looxid Labs EEG Device: A real-time brainwave measurement device developed by KAIST startup Looxid Labs that enables users to experience efficient and AI-powered data-driven meditation science practice (Looxid Labs website: https://looxidlabs.com/).

During the ceremony, Director of the Center for Contemplative Research Wan Doo Kim presented on "The Mission, Vision, and Future of the KAIST Center for Contemplative Research." Yujin Lee, a combined master’s and doctoral researcher from the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, shared insights on "The Latest Trends in Meditation Science Research."

A panel discussion and Q&A session on "The Convergence of Meditation and Brain and Cognitive Sciences" followed featuring Professors Jaeseung Jeong, HyungDong Park (Brain and Cognitive Sciences), and Jiyoung Park (Digital Humanities and Social Sciences).

Director Wan Doo Kim commented, “With this expanded opening, we aim to offer advanced meditation programs integrating brain and cognitive sciences and cutting-edge technology not only to KAIST members but also to the general public interested in meditation. We will continue to dedicate ourselves to interdisciplinary research between meditation and science.”