KAIST

KAIST Institute (KI)

The KAIST Institute is the hub of open innovation and inter- and multidisciplinary research. KI pursues groundbreaking research projects that will change the world by solving problems through an integrated approach that considers science, engineering, and governance measures. KI aims for innovative and futuristic convergence research among its six research institutes and three centers.

KI is comprised of six research institutes in the fields of BioCentury, IT Convergence, Robotics, NanoCentury, Health Science and Technology and AI. There are also three additional research centers: I-Space, the Saudi Aramco-KAIST CO2 Management Center, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution Intelligence Center (FIRIC)), which performs trends analysis and predictions in relation to major policies, governance, and technology in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Institute for Security Conversence (ISC)

We research and develop source technology for security applications while training security technology professionals for the future. The Institute of Security Convergence (ISC) has been established in response to the complex internal and external security landscape and intensifying threats surrounding our nation, under the goal of applying advanced technology developed at KAIST to the field of security and national defense, to create one of the world’s leading security technology institutions.

The Institute of Security Convergence consists on the SC-Strategy Institute which conducts mid to long-term projects under the eight research groups of cyber security, space systems. defense technology, unmanned systems, energy, materials, sensors and quantum, the SC-Theatre Defense Research Center, Poongsan-KAIST Future Technology Research Center, Hanhwa Systems-KAIST Research Center for the Convergence of National Defense and Artificial Intelligence, LIG Nex1-KAIST Smart National Defense 4.0 Research Center, Security Technology Research Center, and the Next Generation National Defense AI Research Center.

KAIST pairs senior and junior faculty members who will continue the senior scholar’s academic legacy and achievements even after the senior researcher retires. The labs will be funded for five years, and the funding will be extended if necessary. Currently, six labs have been selected for this research drive introduced in 2018 under the Vision 2031 Innovation Initiatives.

• Systems Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Laboratory
• Acousto-Microfluidics Research Center for Next-Generation Healthcare
• Center for Nanomaterials and Chemical Reactions
• Computational Materials Physics Laboratory
• BioDesigneering Laboratories
• Nanophotonics Laboratory
• Thermal Superconductor Lab
• Vision-Centered Artificial General Intelligence Lab
• Aerospace/Extreme Materials and Processes Laboratory
• Frontiers of Synthetic Research for Partial Differential Equations

KAIST takes on singularity research that will open a new horizon for humanity. These global collaborative R&D projects are working to solve the most intriguing global challenges in collaboration with private and public entities around the world. Every year, the two most noteworthy projects will be awarded block funding for up to 10 years.

• M313 Initiative: Materials and Molecular Modeling, Imaging, Informatics and Integration
• RENEW: Rehabilitation Engineering for Neurological disorders Worldwide
• Brain Function Redesign by Molecular Optogenetics

A Singularity Professorship is awarded to unusual faculty members who seek out the most intriguing academic disciplines with exceptional scholarship and unrivaled creativity. Every year, KAIST selects two or three professors for this special track with full-scale research funding for 10 years. Singularity Professors are selected either from existing faculty members or those newly recruited exclusively for this track.

• Details for Appointment of Singularity Professors

KAIST strongly encourages the most challenging and improbable researches, the ones for which prevailing science does not yet have a concept to understand. KAIST selects and supports creative and sometimes preposterous research ideas that need mid- and long-term studies, ones that need to form theories and newly emerging research topics, and ones that will not be published in journals despite their scientific significance.

• KAIST Grand Challenge 30 Project
• Venture Research Program for Graduate Students
• KAIST Advanced Institute for Science-X

State-of-the-art facilities at KARA provide accurate data and experiment analysis for helping research create meaningful results. The center is open to other universities, research institutes, startups, and SMEs.

The LARC is committed to providing quality animal husbandry and veterinary care to support biomedical education and research. The center promotes best and responsible practices for animal experimentation.