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KAIST researcher Se Jin Park develops 'SpeechSSM,' opening up possibilities for a 24-hour AI voice assistant.
<(From Left)Prof. Yong Man Ro and Ph.D. candidate Sejin Park>
Se Jin Park, a researcher from Professor Yong Man Ro’s team at KAIST, has announced 'SpeechSSM', a spoken language model capable of generating long-duration speech that sounds natural and remains consistent.
An efficient processing technique based on linear sequence modeling overcomes the limitations of existing spoken language models, enabling high-quality speech generation without time constraints.
It is expected to be widely used in podcasts, audiobooks, and voice assistants due to its ability to generate natural, long-duration speech like humans.
Recently, Spoken Language Models (SLMs) have been spotlighted as next-generation technology that surpasses the limitations of text-based language models by learning human speech without text to understand and generate linguistic and non-linguistic information. However, existing models showed significant limitations in generating long-duration content required for podcasts, audiobooks, and voice assistants. Now, KAIST researcher has succeeded in overcoming these limitations by developing 'SpeechSSM,' which enables consistent and natural speech generation without time constraints.
KAIST(President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 3rd of July that Ph.D. candidate Sejin Park from Professor Yong Man Ro's research team in the School of Electrical Engineering has developed 'SpeechSSM,' a spoken. a spoken language model capable of generating long-duration speech.
This research is set to be presented as an oral paper at ICML (International Conference on Machine Learning) 2025, one of the top machine learning conferences, selected among approximately 1% of all submitted papers. This not only proves outstanding research ability but also serves as an opportunity to once again demonstrate KAIST's world-leading AI research capabilities.
A major advantage of Spoken Language Models (SLMs) is their ability to directly process speech without intermediate text conversion, leveraging the unique acoustic characteristics of human speakers, allowing for the rapid generation of high-quality speech even in large-scale models.
However, existing models faced difficulties in maintaining semantic and speaker consistency for long-duration speech due to increased 'speech token resolution' and memory consumption when capturing very detailed information by breaking down speech into fine fragments.
To solve this problem, Se Jin Park developed 'SpeechSSM,' a spoken language model using a Hybrid State-Space Model, designed to efficiently process and generate long speech sequences.
This model employs a 'hybrid structure' that alternately places 'attention layers' focusing on recent information and 'recurrent layers' that remember the overall narrative flow (long-term context). This allows the story to flow smoothly without losing coherence even when generating speech for a long time. Furthermore, memory usage and computational load do not increase sharply with input length, enabling stable and efficient learning and the generation of long-duration speech.
SpeechSSM effectively processes unbounded speech sequences by dividing speech data into short, fixed units (windows), processing each unit independently, and then combining them to create long speech.
Additionally, in the speech generation phase, it uses a 'Non-Autoregressive' audio synthesis model (SoundStorm), which rapidly generates multiple parts at once instead of slowly creating one character or one word at a time, enabling the fast generation of high-quality speech.
While existing models typically evaluated short speech models of about 10 seconds, Se Jin Park created new evaluation tasks for speech generation based on their self-built benchmark dataset, 'LibriSpeech-Long,' capable of generating up to 16 minutes of speech.
Compared to PPL (Perplexity), an existing speech model evaluation metric that only indicates grammatical correctness, she proposed new evaluation metrics such as 'SC-L (semantic coherence over time)' to assess content coherence over time, and 'N-MOS-T (naturalness mean opinion score over time)' to evaluate naturalness over time, enabling more effective and precise evaluation.
Through these new evaluations, it was confirmed that speech generated by the SpeechSSM spoken language model consistently featured specific individuals mentioned in the initial prompt, and new characters and events unfolded naturally and contextually consistently, despite long-duration generation. This contrasts sharply with existing models, which tended to easily lose their topic and exhibit repetition during long-duration generation.
PhD candidate Sejin Park explained, "Existing spoken language models had limitations in long-duration generation, so our goal was to develop a spoken language model capable of generating long-duration speech for actual human use." She added, "This research achievement is expected to greatly contribute to various types of voice content creation and voice AI fields like voice assistants, by maintaining consistent content in long contexts and responding more efficiently and quickly in real time than existing methods."
This research, with Se Jin Park as the first author, was conducted in collaboration with Google DeepMind and is scheduled to be presented as an oral presentation at ICML (International Conference on Machine Learning) 2025 on July 16th.
Paper Title: Long-Form Speech Generation with Spoken Language Models
DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2412.18603
Ph.D. candidate Se Jin Park has demonstrated outstanding research capabilities as a member of Professor Yong Man Ro's MLLM (multimodal large language model) research team, through her work integrating vision, speech, and language. Her achievements include a spotlight paper presentation at 2024 CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition) and an Outstanding Paper Award at 2024 ACL (Association for Computational Linguistics).
For more information, you can refer to the publication and accompanying demo: SpeechSSM Publications.
2025.07.04 View 6 -
King Saud University and KAIST discussed Strategic AI Partnership
<From left> President Abdulla Al-Salman(King Saud University), President Kwang Hyung Lee(KAIST)
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) and King Saud University (President Abdulla Al-Salman) held a meeting on July 3 at the KAIST Campus in Seoul and agreed to pursue strategic cooperation in AI and digital platform development. The global AI landscape is increasingly polarized between closed models developed by the U.S. and China’s nationally focused technology ecosystems. In this context, many neutral countries have consistently called for an alternative third model that promotes both technological diversity and open access. President Lee has previously advocated for a "Tripartite Platform Strategy" (三分之計), proposing an international collaboration framework based on open-source principles to be free from binary digital power structures and foster cooperative coexistence.
This KAIST-KSU collaboration represents a step toward developing a new, inclusive AI model. The collaboration aims to establish an innovative multilateral framework, especially within the MENA, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, by building an open-source-based AI alliance. Both institutions bring complementary strengths to the table. Saudi Arabia possesses large-scale capital and digital infrastructure, while Korea leads in core AI and semiconductor technologies, applied research, and talent cultivation.
Together, the two nations aim to establish a sustainable collaboration model that creates a virtuous cycle of investment, technology, and talent. This initiative is expected to contribute to the development of an open AI platform and promote diversity in the global AI ecosystem.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed key areas of future cooperation, including:
· Joint development of open-source AI technologies and digital platforms
· Launch of a KAIST-KSU dual graduate degree program
· Expansion of exchange programs for students, faculty, and researchers
· Collaborative research in basic science and STEM disciplines
In particular, the two institutions discussed to establish a joint AI research center to co-develop open AI models and explore practical industrial applications. The goal is to broaden access to AI technology and create an inclusive innovation environment for more countries and institutions.
President Abdulla Al-Salman stated, "Under Saudi Vision 2030, we are driving innovation in science and technology through new leadership, openness, and strategic investment. This partnership with KAIST will serve as a critical foundation for building a competitive AI ecosystem in the Middle East."
President Kwang Hyung Lee emphasized, "By combining Saudi Arabia's leadership, market, and investment capacity with KAIST's technological innovation and the rich talent pools from both countries, we will significantly contribute to diversifying the global AI ecosystem."
Both leaders further noted, "Through joint research leading to an independent AI model, our two institutions could establish a new axis beyond the existing US-China digital order—realizing a 'Tripartite AI Strategy' that will propel us into global markets extending far beyond the MENA and ASEAN regions."
KAIST and KSU plan to formalize this agreement by signing an MOU in the near future, followed by concrete actions such as launching the joint research institute and global talent development programs. This collaboration was initiated under the Korea Foundation’s Distinguished Guests Invitation Program, overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is expected to grow into a long-term strategic partnership with continued support from KF.
About King Saud University (KSU)
Founded in 1957, KSU is Saudi Arabia’s first and leading national university. As a top research-oriented institution in the Middle East, it has achieved international recognition in fields such as AI, energy, and biotechnology. It plays a central role in nurturing talent and driving innovation aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and is expanding global partnerships to further strengthen its research capabilities.
About the Korea Foundation (KF)
Established in 1991 under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korea Foundation is a public diplomacy institution dedicated to strengthening international understanding and friendship with Korea. KF plays a key role in expanding Korea’s soft power through academic and cultural exchange, people-to-people networks, and global Korean studies programs. Its Distinguished Guests Invitation Program fosters strategic partnerships with global leaders in government, academia, and industry.
2025.07.04 View 12 -
KAIST Uses AI to Discover Optimal New Material for Removing Radioactive Iodine Contamination
<(From the Right) Professor Ho Jin Ryu, Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Dr. Sujeong Lee, a graduate of the KAIST Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Dr. Juhwan Noh of KRICT’s Digital Chemistry Research Center>
Managing radioactive waste is one of the core challenges in the use of nuclear energy. In particular, radioactive iodine poses serious environmental and health risks due to its long half-life (15.7 million years in the case of I-129), high mobility, and toxicity to living organisms. A Korean research team has successfully used artificial intelligence to discover a new material that can remove iodine for nuclear environmental remediation. The team plans to push forward with commercialization through various industry-academia collaborations, from iodine-adsorbing powders to contaminated water treatment filters.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 2of July that Professor Ho Jin Ryu's research team from the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Juhwan Noh of the Digital Chemistry Research Center at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT, President Young Kook Lee), which operates under the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST, Chairman Youngsik Kim), developed a technique using AI to discover new materials that effectively remove radioactive iodine contaminants.
Recent studies show that radioactive iodine primarily exists in aqueous environments in the form of iodate (IO₃⁻). However, existing silver-based adsorbents have weak chemical adsorption strength for iodate, making them inefficient. Therefore, it is imperative to develop new adsorbent materials that can effectively remove iodate.
Professor Ho Jin Ryu’s team used a machine learning-based experimental strategy to identify optimal iodate adsorbents among compounds called Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs), which contain various metal elements.
The multi-metal LDH developed in this study – Cu₃(CrFeAl), based on copper, chromium, iron, and aluminum—showed exceptional adsorption performance, removing over 90% of iodate. This achievement was made possible by efficiently exploring a vast compositional space using AI-driven active learning, which would be difficult to search through conventional trial-and-error experiments.
<Picture2. Concept of Developed AI-Based Technology for Exploring New Materials for Radioactive Contamination Removal>
The research team focused on the fact that LDHs, like high-entropy materials, can incorporate a wide range of metal compositions and possess structures favorable for anion adsorption. However, due to the overwhelming number of possible metal combinations in multi-metal LDHs, identifying the optimal composition through traditional experimental methods has been nearly impossible.
To overcome this, the team employed AI (machine learning). Starting with experimental data from 24 binary and 96 ternary LDH compositions, they expanded their search to include quaternary and quinary candidates. As a result, they were able to discover the optimal material for iodate removal by testing only 16% of the total candidate materials.
Professor Ho Jin Ryu stated, “This study shows the potential of using artificial intelligence to efficiently identify radioactive decontamination materials from a vast pool of new material candidates, which is expected to accelerate research for developing new materials for nuclear environmental cleanup.”
The research team has filed a domestic patent application for the developed powder technology and is currently proceeding with an international patent application. They plan to enhance the material’s performance under various conditions and pursue commercialization through industry-academia cooperation in the development of filters for treating contaminated water.
Dr. Sujeong Lee, a graduate of the KAIST Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Dr. Juhwan Noh of KRICT’s Digital Chemistry Research Center, participated as the co-first authors of the study. The results were published online on May 26 in the internationally renowned environmental publication Journal of Hazardous Materials.
※ Paper title: Discovery of multi-metal-layered double hydroxides for decontamination of iodate by machine learning-assisted experiments ※ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138735
This research was supported by the Nuclear Energy Research Infrastructure Program and the Nano-Materials Technology Development Program funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2025.07.03 View 110 -
KAIST Enhances Immunotherapy for Difficult-to-Treat Brain Tumors with Gut Microbiota
< Photo 1.(From left) Prof. Heung Kyu Lee, Department of Biological Sciences,
and Dr. Hyeon Cheol Kim>
Advanced treatments, known as immunotherapies that activate T cells—our body's immune cells—to eliminate cancer cells, have shown limited efficacy as standalone therapies for glioblastoma, the most lethal form of brain tumor. This is due to their minimal response to glioblastoma and high resistance to treatment.
Now, a KAIST research team has now demonstrated a new therapeutic strategy that can enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy for brain tumors by utilizing gut microbes and their metabolites. This also opens up possibilities for developing microbiome-based immunotherapy supplements in the future.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on July 1 that a research team led by Professor Heung Kyu Lee of the Department of Biological Sciences discovered and demonstrated a method to significantly improve the efficiency of glioblastoma immunotherapy by focusing on changes in the gut microbial ecosystem.
The research team noted that as glioblastoma progresses, the concentration of ‘tryptophan’, an important amino acid in the gut, sharply decreases, leading to changes in the gut microbial ecosystem. They discovered that by supplementing tryptophan to restore microbial diversity, specific beneficial strains activate CD8 T cells (a type of immune cell) and induce their infiltration into tumor tissues. Through a mouse model of glioblastoma, the research team confirmed that tryptophan supplementation enhanced the response of cancer-attacking T cells (especially CD8 T cells), leading to their increased migration to tumor sites such as lymph nodes and the brain.
In this process, they also revealed that ‘Duncaniella dubosii’, a beneficial commensal bacterium present in the gut, plays a crucial role. This bacterium helped T cells effectively redistribute within the body, and survival rates significantly improved when used in combination with immunotherapy (anti-PD-1).
Furthermore, it was demonstrated that even when this commensal bacterium was administered alone to germ-free mice (mice without any commensal microbes), the survival rate for glioblastoma increased. This is because the bacterium utilizes tryptophan to regulate the gut environment, and the metabolites produced in this process strengthen the ability of CD8 T cells to attack cancer cells.
Professor Heung Kyu Lee explained, "This research is a meaningful achievement, showing that even in intractable brain tumors where immune checkpoint inhibitors had no effect, a combined strategy utilizing gut microbes can significantly enhance treatment response."
Dr. Hyeon Cheol Kim of KAIST (currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Biological Sciences) participated as the first author. The research findings were published online in Cell Reports, an international journal in the life sciences, on June 26.
This research was conducted as part of the Basic Research Program and Bio & Medical Technology Development Program supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
※Paper Title: Gut microbiota dysbiosis induced by brain tumor modulates the efficacy of immunotherapy
※DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115825
2025.07.02 View 98 -
2025 KAIST Global Entrepreneurship Summer School Concludes Successfully in Silicon Valley
< A group photo taken at the 2025 GESS Special Lecture.Vice President So Young Kim from the International Office, VC Jay Eum from GFT Ventures, Professor Byungchae Jin from the Impact MBA Program at the Business School, and Research Assistant Professor Sooa Lee from the Office of Global Initiative>
The “2025 KAIST Global Entrepreneurship Summer School (2025 KAIST GESS),” organized by the Office of Global Initiative of the KAIST International Office (Vice President So Young Kim), successfully concluded. Now in its fourth year, the program was designed to provide KAIST students with firsthand experience of the world’s leading startup ecosystem in Silicon Valley, USA, and to strengthen their practical capabilities to take on challenges on the global stage.
This year’s 2025 KAIST GESS welcomed approximately 40 participants, including 24 undergraduate and graduate students selected through document screening, interviews, team presentations, mentoring, and peer evaluations, as well as 16 Impact MBA students from the College of Business. The selected undergraduate and graduate participants underwent two months of pre-program training and received mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs to refine their business models and elevate their project ideas. Meanwhile, Impact MBA students joined the Silicon Valley program onsite, attending key lectures and networking sessions to broaden their understanding of the global startup ecosystem.
From June 22nd, participants spent seven days in Silicon Valley completing the global entrepreneurship curriculum. The program was operated in cooperation with major organizations including the KOTRA Silicon Valley IT Center, Korea-US AI Semiconductor Innovation Center (K-ASIC), and Plug and Play Tech Center. Local experts delivered lectures on topics such as “Startup Culture,” “Learning from Failures” and “Networks and Capital.”
Participants also had the opportunity to visit startups led by KAIST alumni and local entrepreneurs, gaining valuable insights from firsthand stories about global entrepreneurship. Companies visited included Medic Life Sciences (CEO Kyuho Han) and ImpriMed (CEO Sungwon Lim). Through these visits, participants received practical advice on market entry strategies and overcoming challenges in the global arena.
As part of their first onsite schedule, KAIST students attended an interactive fireside chat titled “Global Entrepreneurship and AI,” where they engaged in in-depth discussions on the future of AI-driven global startups. The session featured three distinguished speakers: Jay Kim, Head of US Business Development at Hyper Accel; Chandra Shekhar Dhir, AI/ML Director at JPMorgan Chase’s Machine Learning Center of Excellence; and Taesu Kim, co-founder of AI voice synthesis startup Neosapience and KAIST alumnus. Taesu Kim shared, “Facing serious health issues made me reflect on my life, and after recovering, I wanted to pursue something that could create a real impact on society, which led me to start my own company.” He also advised students to “take time at important turning points in life to deeply think about what you truly want to do and how you can contribute to society.
In line with the core value of ‘paying it forward’—a fundamental principle of global entrepreneurship learned in Silicon Valley—GESS participants engaged in a community service project titled “Let’s Play with AI+Tech,” organized in collaboration with the Sunnyvale community and Foothill College. Leveraging their strong foundation in AI, KAIST students designed and led a hands-on ‘Doodle AI’ educational program to make foundational AI concepts accessible and engaging for underrepresented local elementary school children and their parents, fostering meaningful community interaction.
On the final day of the 2025 KAIST GESS, a pitch competition was held with participation from Silicon Valley venture capitalists and accelerators. Participants presented their business models, developed over the two-month program, to a panel of judges. The winning team was eaureco, and Si Li Sara Aow (Civil and Environmental Engineering) shared, “GESS was a valuable opportunity to test and hone practical entrepreneurship skills beyond mere networking.” She added, “At first, I lacked confidence, but challenging myself to pitch in the final presentation gave me the courage to take one step closer to global entrepreneurship. Pitching in Silicon Valley, the heart of global startups, was an invaluable experience that will shape my path as a global entrepreneur.”
The program concluded with a special lecture by Jay Eum, a seasoned Silicon Valley venture capitalist and a judging panel member for GESS over the past three years. He shared key insights on startup success from an investor’s perspective, advising, “The journey of entrepreneurship is never easy, but the sooner you start, the better.” He further encouraged participants to “focus on solving problems in local markets, but do not fear challenging global markets,” inspiring them with courage and actionable advice.
So Young Kim, Director of the KAIST Office of Global Initiative, said, “We hope the 2025 KAIST GESS serves as a stepping stone for KAIST students to grow into influential entrepreneurs on the global stage,” adding, “This program is also expected to further enhance KAIST’s international reputation.”
Byungchae Jin, Faculty Chair of the KAIST Impact MBA, College of Business, highlighted the program's educational benefits, stating, “Engaging directly with local entrepreneurs and gaining practical experience in Silicon Valley's startup environment provide students with hands-on learning and significant inspiration.”
The 2025 KAIST GESS was jointly hosted by the KAIST Office of Global Initiative, Impact MBA, and Startup KAIST. Moving forward, KAIST plans to continue expanding its field-based global entrepreneurship education by linking with key global hubs like Silicon Valley, fostering next-generation global leaders who will lead innovation and challenge the status quo.
2025.07.01 View 177 -
KAIST Develops AI to Easily Find Promising Materials That Capture Only CO₂
< Photo 1. (From left) Professor Jihan Kim, Ph.D. candidate Yunsung Lim and Dr. Hyunsoo Park of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering >
In order to help prevent the climate crisis, actively reducing already-emitted CO₂ is essential. Accordingly, direct air capture (DAC) — a technology that directly extracts only CO₂ from the air — is gaining attention. However, effectively capturing pure CO₂ is not easy due to water vapor (H₂O) present in the air. KAIST researchers have successfully used AI-driven machine learning techniques to identify the most promising CO₂-capturing materials among metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a key class of materials studied for this technology.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 29th of June that a research team led by Professor Jihan Kim from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, in collaboration with a team at Imperial College London, has developed a machine-learning-based simulation method that can quickly and accurately screen MOFs best suited for atmospheric CO₂ capture.
< Figure 1. Concept diagram of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology and carbon capture using Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are promising porous materials capable of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, drawing attention as a core material for DAC technology. >
To overcome the difficulty of discovering high-performance materials due to the complexity of structures and the limitations of predicting intermolecular interactions, the research team developed a machine learning force field (MLFF) capable of precisely predicting the interactions between CO₂, water (H₂O), and MOFs. This new method enables calculations of MOF adsorption properties with quantum-mechanics-level accuracy at vastly faster speeds than before.
Using this system, the team screened over 8,000 experimentally synthesized MOF structures, identifying more than 100 promising candidates for CO₂ capture. Notably, this included new candidates that had not been uncovered by traditional force-field-based simulations. The team also analyzed the relationships between MOF chemical structure and adsorption performance, proposing seven key chemical features that will help in designing new materials for DAC.
< Figure 2. Concept diagram of adsorption simulation using Machine Learning Force Field (MLFF). The developed MLFF is applicable to various MOF structures and allows for precise calculation of adsorption properties by predicting interaction energies during repetitive Widom insertion simulations. It is characterized by simultaneously achieving high accuracy and low computational cost compared to conventional classical force fields. >
This research is recognized as a significant advance in the DAC field, greatly enhancing materials design and simulation by precisely predicting MOF-CO₂ and MOF-H₂O interactions.
The results of this research, with Ph.D. candidate Yunsung Lim and Dr. Hyunsoo Park of KAIST as co-first authors, were published in the international academic journal Matter on June 12.
※Paper Title: Accelerating CO₂ direct air capture screening for metal–organic frameworks with a transferable machine learning force field
※DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2025.102203
This research was supported by the Saudi Aramco-KAIST CO₂ Management Center and the Ministry of Science and ICT's Global C.L.E.A.N. Project.
2025.06.29 View 322 -
KAIST Invites World-Renowned Scholars, Elevating Global Competitiveness
< Photo 1. (From left) Professor John Rogers, Professor Gregg Rothermel, Dr. Sang H. Choi >
KAIST announced on June 27th that it has appointed three world-renowned scholars, including Professor John A. Rogers of Northwestern University, USA, as Invited Distinguished Professors in key departments such as Materials Science and Engineering.
Professor John A. Rogers (Northwestern University, USA) will be working with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering from July 2025 to June 2028 with Professor Gregg Rothermel (North Carolina State University, USA) working with the School of Computing from August 2025 to July 2026, and Dr. Sang H. Choi (NASA Langley Research Center, USA) with the Department of Aerospace Engineering from May 2025 to April 2028.
Professor John A. Rogers, a person of global authority in the field of bio-integrated electronics, has been leading advanced convergence technologies such as flexible electronics, smart skin, and implantable sensors. His significant impact on academia and industry is evident through over 900 papers published in top-tier academic journals like Science, Nature, and Cell, and he comes in an H-index of 240*. His research group, the Rogers Research Group at Northwestern University, focuses on "Science that brings Solutions to Society," encompassing areas such as bio-integrated microsystems and unconventional nanofabrication techniques. He is the founding Director of the Querrey-Simpson Institute of Bioelectronics at Northwestern University.
* H-index 240: An H-index is a measurement used to assess the research productivity and impact of an individual authors. H-index 240 means that 240 or more papers have been cited at least 240 times each, indicating a significant impact and the presumable status as a world-class scholar.
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering plans to further enhance its research capabilities in next-generation bio-implantable materials and wearable devices and boost its global competitiveness through the invitation of Professor Rogers. In particular, it aims to create strong research synergies by linking with the development of bio-convergence interface materials, a core task of the Leading Research Center (ERC, total research budget of 13.5 billion KRW over 7 years) led by Professor Kun-Jae Lee.
Professor Gregg Rothermel, a world-renowned scholar in software engineering, was ranked second among the top 50 global researchers by Communications of the ACM. For over 30 years, he has conducted practical research to improve software reliability and quality. He has achieved influential research outcomes through collaborations with global companies such as Boeing, Microsoft, and Lockheed Martin. Dr. Rothermel's research at North Carolina State University focuses on software engineering and program analysis, with significant contributions through initiatives like the ESQuaReD Laboratory and the Software-Artifact Infrastructure Repository (SIR).
The School of Computing plans to strengthen its research capabilities in software engineering and conduct collaborative research on software design and testing to enhance the reliability and safety of AI-based software systems through the invitation of Professor Gregg Rothermel. In particular, he is expected to participate in the Big Data Edge-Cloud Service Research Center (ITRC, total research budget of 6.7 billion KRW over 8 years) led by Professor In-Young Ko of the School of Computing, and the Research on Improving Complex Mobility Safety (SafetyOps, Digital Columbus Project, total research budget of 3.5 billion KRW over 8 years), contributing to resolving uncertainties in machine learning-based AI software and advancing technology.
Dr. Sang H. Choi, a global expert in space exploration and energy harvesting, has worked at NASA Langley Research Center for over 40 years, authoring over 200 papers and reports, holding 45 patents, and receiving 71 awards from NASA. In 2022, he was inducted into the 'Inventors Hall of Fame' as part of NASA's Technology Transfer Program. This is a rare honor, recognizing researchers who have contributed to the private sector dissemination of space exploration technology, with only 35 individuals worldwide selected to date. Dr. Choi's extensive work at NASA includes research on advanced electronic and energetic materials, satellite sensors, and various nano-technologies.
Dr. Choi plans to collaborate with Associate Professor Hyun-Jung Kim (former NASA Research Scientist, 2009-2024), who joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering in September of 2024, to lead the development of core technologies for lunar exploration (energy sources, sensing, in-situ resource utilization ISRU).
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee stated, "It is very meaningful to be able to invite these world-class scholars. Through these appointments, KAIST will further strengthen its global competitiveness in research in the fields of advanced convergence technology such as bio-convergence electronics, AI software engineering, and space exploration, securing our position as the leader of global innovations."
2025.06.27 View 526 -
New and Highly Efficient Recycling Technology to Turn Used Tires into Raw Materials for Rubber and Nylon
< (From left) Kyungmin Choi (MS-Ph.D. integrated course, Department of Chemistry), Dr. Beomsoon Park, Professor Soon Hyeok Hong, Dr. Kyoungil Cho >
Approximately 1.5 billions of tires are discarded globally every year, and this is identified as one of the major causes of serious environmental pollution. The research team at the Department of Chemistry at KAIST has achieved a breakthrough by selectively converting waste tires into high-purity cyclic alkenes, valuable chemical building blocks used in the production of rubber and nylon fibers. This advance marks a new milestone in chemical recycling technology for waste tires.
The team, led by Professor Soon Hyeok Hong, has developed a dual-catalyst-based reaction system that overcomes the long-standing challenges associated with recycling vulcanized rubber materials.
Tires are composed of complex blends of synthetic and natural rubber, and their physical strength and durability are reinforced with additives such as silica, carbon black, and antioxidants. In particular, cross-linking between rubber chains is formed through the vulcanization process, giving them a structure resistant to heat and pressure, which is one of the main reasons why chemical recycling of waste tires is difficult.
Until now, waste tire recycling has mainly relied on pyrolysis or mechanical recycling methods. The pyrolysis method is a technology that decomposes polymer chains at high temperatures of 350-800°C to convert them into fuel oil, but it clearly has limitations such as high energy consumption, low selectivity, and the production of low-quality hydrocarbon mixtures.
To solve these problems, the research team developed a method to convert waste rubber into useful chemicals using dual catalysis. The first catalyst helps to break down rubber molecules by changing their bonding structure, and the second catalyst creates cyclic compounds through a ring-closing reaction.
This process shows high selectivity of up to 92% and a yield of 82%. The produced cyclopentene can be recycled into rubber, and cyclohexene can be used as a raw material for nylon fibers, making them industrially very valuable.
The research team successfully applied the developed system to discarded waste tires, achieving selective conversion into high-purity cyclic alkenes. Unlike the existing pyrolysis method, this is evaluated as a new turning point in the field of waste tire recycling as it can produce high-value chemicals through low-temperature precision catalytic reactions.
In addition, this catalytic platform is compatible with a wide range of synthetic and waste rubbers, positioning it as a promising foundation for scalable, circular solutions in the polymer and materials industries.
< Figure 1. Development of a Catalytic Method for Chemical Recycling of Waste Rubber >
Professor Hong stated, "This research offers an innovative solution for the chemical recycling of waste tires. We aim to develop next-generation high-efficiency catalysts and lay the groundwork for commercialization to enhance economic feasibility. Ultimately, our goal is to contribute to solving the broader waste plastic problem through fundamental chemistry."
This research, in which Beomsoon Park, Kyoungil Cho, and Kyungmin Choi participated, was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea and was published online in the internationally renowned academic journal ‘Chem’ on June 18th.
※Paper Title: Catalytic and Selective Chemical Recycling of Post-Consumer Rubbers into Cycloalkenes
※DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102625
2025.06.26 View 771 -
Military Combatants Usher in an Era of Personalized Training with New Materials
< Photo 1. (From left) Professor Steve Park of Materials Science and Engineering, Kyusoon Pak, Ph.D. Candidate (Army Major) >
Traditional military training often relies on standardized methods, which has limited the provision of optimized training tailored to individual combatants' characteristics or specific combat situations. To address this, our research team developed an e-textile platform, securing core technology that can reflect the unique traits of individual combatants and various combat scenarios. This technology has proven robust enough for battlefield use and is economical enough for widespread distribution to a large number of troops.
On June 25th, Professor Steve Park's research team at KAIST's Department of Materials Science and Engineering announced the development of a flexible, wearable electronic textile (E-textile) platform using an innovative technology that 'draws' electronic circuits directly onto fabric.
The wearable e-textile platform developed by the research team combines 3D printing technology with new materials engineering design to directly print flexible and highly durable sensors and electrodes onto textile substrates. This enables the collection of precise movement and human body data from individual combatants, which can then be used to propose customized training models.
Existing e-textile fabrication methods were often complex or limited in their ability to provide personalized customization. To overcome these challenges, the research team adopted an additive manufacturing technology called 'Direct Ink Writing (DIW)' 3D printing.
< Figure 1. Schematic diagram of e-textile manufactured with Direct Ink Writing (DIW) printing technology on various textiles, including combat uniforms >
This technology involves directly dispensing and printing special ink, which functions as sensors and electrodes, onto textile substrates in desired patterns. This allows for flexible implementation of various designs without the complex process of mask fabrication. This is expected to be an effective technology that can be easily supplied to hundreds of thousands of military personnel.
The core of this technology lies in the development of high-performance functional inks based on advanced materials engineering design. The research team combined styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) polymer, which provides flexibility, with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) for electrical conductivity. They developed a tensile/bending sensor ink that can stretch up to 102% and maintain stable performance even after 10,000 repetitive tests. This means that accurate data can be consistently obtained even during the strenuous movements of combatants.
< Figure 2. Measurement of human movement and breathing patterns using e-textile >
Furthermore, new material technology was applied to implement 'interconnect electrodes' that electrically connect the upper and lower layers of the fabric. The team developed an electrode ink combining silver (Ag) flakes with rigid polystyrene (PS) polymer, precisely controlling the impregnation level (how much the ink penetrates the fabric) to effectively connect both sides or multiple layers of the fabric. This secures the technology for producing multi-layered wearable electronic systems integrating sensors and electrodes.
< Figure 3. Experimental results of recognizing unknown objects after machine learning six objects using a smart glove >
The research team proved the platform's performance through actual human movement monitoring experiments. They printed the developed e-textile on major joint areas of clothing (shoulders, elbows, knees) and measured movements and posture changes during various exercises such as running, jumping jacks, and push-ups in real-time.
Additionally, they demonstrated the potential for applications such as monitoring breathing patterns using a smart mask and recognizing objects through machine learning and perceiving complex tactile information by printing multiple sensors and electrodes on gloves. These results show that the developed e-textile platform is effective in precisely understanding the movement dynamics of combatants.
This research is an important example demonstrating how cutting-edge new material technology can contribute to the advancement of the defense sector. Major Kyusoon Pak of the Army, who participated in this research, considered required objectives such as military applicability and economic feasibility for practical distribution from the research design stage.
< Figure 4. Experimental results showing that a multi-layered e-textile glove connected with interconnect electrodes can measure tensile/bending signals and pressure signals at a single point >
Major Pak stated, "Our military is currently facing both a crisis and an opportunity due to the decrease in military personnel resources caused by the demographic cliff and the advancement of science and technology. Also, respect for life in the battlefield is emerging as a significant issue. This research aims to secure original technology that can provide customized training according to military branch/duty and type of combat, thereby enhancing the combat power and ensuring the survivability of our soldiers."
He added, "I hope this research will be evaluated as a case that achieved both scientific contribution and military applicability."
This research, where Kyusoon Pak, Ph.D. Candidate (Army Major) from KAIST's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, participated as the first author and Professor Steve Park supervised, was published on May 27, 2025, in `npj Flexible Electronics (top 1.8% in JCR field)', an international academic journal in the electrical, electronic, and materials engineering fields.
* Paper Title: Fabrication of Multifunctional Wearable Interconnect E-textile Platform Using Direct Ink Writing (DIW) 3D Printing
* DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00414-7
This research was supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2025.06.25 View 363 -
KAIST's Li-Fi - Achieves 100 Times Faster Speed and Enhanced Security of Wi-Fi
- KAIST-KRISS Develop 'On-Device Encryption Optical Transmitter' Based on Eco-Friendly Quantum Dots
- New Li-Fi Platform Technology Achieves High Performance with 17.4% Device Efficiency and 29,000 nit Brightness, Simultaneously Improving Transmission Speed and Security
- Presents New Methodology for High-Speed and Encrypted Communication Through Single-Device-Based Dual-Channel Optical Modulation
< Photo 1. (Front row from left) Seungmin Shin, First Author; Professor Himchan Cho; (Back row from left) Hyungdoh Lee, Seungwoo Lee, Wonbeom Lee; (Top left) Dr. Kyung-geun Lim >
Li-Fi (Light Fidelity) is a wireless communication technology that utilizes the visible light spectrum (400-800 THz), similar to LED light, offering speeds up to 100 times faster than existing Wi-Fi (up to 224 Gbps). While it has fewer limitations in available frequency allocation and less radio interference, it is relatively vulnerable to security breaches as anyone can access it. Korean researchers have now proposed a new Li-Fi platform that overcomes the limitations of conventional optical communication devices and can simultaneously enhance both transmission speed and security.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 24th that Professor Himchan Cho's research team from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Kyung-geun Lim of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS, President Ho-Seong Lee) under the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST, Chairman Young-Sik Kim), has developed 'on-device encryption optical communication device' technology for the utilization of 'Li-Fi,' which is attracting attention as a next-generation ultra-high-speed data communication.
Professor Cho's team created high-efficiency light-emitting triode devices using eco-friendly quantum dots (low-toxicity and sustainable materials). The device developed by the research team is a mechanism that generates light using an electric field. Specifically, the electric field is concentrated in 'tiny holes (pinholes) in the permeable electrode' and transmitted beyond the electrode. This device utilizes this principle to simultaneously process two input data streams.
Using this principle, the research team developed a technology called 'on-device encryption optical transmitter.' The core of this technology is that the device itself converts information into light and simultaneously encrypts it. This means that enhanced security data transmission is possible without the need for complex, separate equipment.
External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) is an indicator of how efficiently electricity is converted into light, with a general commercialization standard of about 20%. The newly developed device recorded an EQE of 17.4%, and its luminance was 29,000 nit, significantly exceeding the maximum brightness of a smartphone OLED screen, which is 2,000 nit, demonstrating a brightness more than 10 times higher.
< Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the device structure developed by the research team and encrypted communication >
Furthermore, to more accurately understand how this device converts information into light, the research team used a method called 'transient electroluminescence analysis.' They analyzed the light-emitting characteristics generated by the device when voltage was instantaneously applied for very short durations (hundreds of nanoseconds = billionths of a second). Through this analysis, they investigated the movement of charges within the device at hundreds of nanoseconds, elucidating the operating mechanism of dual-channel optical modulation implemented within a single device.
Professor Himchan Cho of KAIST stated, "This research overcomes the limitations of existing optical communication devices and proposes a new communication platform that can both increase transmission speed and enhance security."
< Photo 2. Professor Himchan Cho, Department of Materials Science and Engineering >
He added, "This technology, which strengthens security without additional equipment and simultaneously enables encryption and transmission, can be widely applied in various fields where security is crucial in the future."
This research, with Seungmin Shin, a Ph.D. candidate at KAIST's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, participating as the first author, and Professor Himchan Cho and Dr. Kyung-geun Lim of KRISS as co-corresponding authors, was published in the international journal 'Advanced Materials' on May 30th and was selected as an inside front cover paper.※ Paper Title: High-Efficiency Quantum Dot Permeable electrode Light-Emitting Triodes for Visible-Light Communications and On-Device Data Encryption※ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202503189
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST), and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.
2025.06.24 View 893 -
KAIST to Lead the Way in Nurturing Talent and Driving S&T Innovation for a G3 AI Powerhouse
* Focusing on nurturing talent and dedicating to R&D to become a G3 AI powerhouse (Top 3 AI Nations).
* Leading the realization of an "AI-driven Basic Society for All" and developing technologies that leverage AI to overcome the crisis in Korea's manufacturing sector.
* 50 years ago, South Korea emerged as a scientific and technological powerhouse from the ashes, with KAIST at its core, contributing to the development of scientific and technological talent, innovative technology, national industrial growth, and the creation of a startup innovation ecosystem.
As public interest in AI and science and technology has significantly grown with the inauguration of the new government, KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced its plan, on June 24th, to transform into an "AI-centric, Value-Creating Science and Technology University" that leads national innovation based on science and technology and spearheads solutions to global challenges.
At a time when South Korea is undergoing a major transition to a technology-driven society, KAIST, drawing on its half-century of experience as a "Starter Kit" for national development, is preparing to leap beyond being a mere educational and research institution to become a global innovation hub that creates new social value.
In particular, KAIST has presented a vision for realizing an "AI-driven Basic Society" where all citizens can utilize AI without alienation, enabling South Korea to ascend to the top three AI nations (G3). To achieve this, through the "National AI Research Hub" project (headed by Kee Eung Kim), led by KAIST representing South Korea, the institution is dedicated to enhancing industrial competitiveness and effectively solving social problems based on AI technology.
< KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee >
KAIST's research achievements in the AI field are garnering international attention. In the top three machine learning conferences (ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR), KAIST ranked 5th globally and 1st in Asia over the past five years (2020-2024). During the same period, based on the number of papers published in top conferences in machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision (ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV), KAIST ranked 5th globally and 4th in Asia. Furthermore, KAIST has consistently demonstrated unparalleled research capabilities, ranking 1st globally in the average number of papers accepted at ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference), the world's most prestigious academic conference on semiconductor integrated circuits, for 19 years (2006-2024).
KAIST is continuously expanding its research into core AI technologies, including hyper-scale AI models (Korean LLM), neuromorphic semiconductors, and low-power AI processors, as well as various application areas such as autonomous driving, urban air mobility (UAM), precision medicine, and explainable AI (XAI).
In the manufacturing sector, KAIST's AI technologies are also driving on-site innovation. Professor Young Jae Jang's team has enhanced productivity in advanced manufacturing fields like semiconductors and displays through digital twins utilizing manufacturing site data and AI-based prediction technology. Professor Song Min Kim's team developed ultra-low power wireless tag technology capable of tracking locations with sub-centimeter precision, accelerating the implementation of smart factories. Technologies such as industrial process optimization and equipment failure prediction developed by INEEJI Co., Ltd., founded by Professor Jaesik Choi, are being rapidly applied in real industrial settings, yielding results. INEEJI was designated as a national strategic technology in the 'Explainable AI (XAI)' field by the government in March.
< Researchers performing data analysis for AI research >
Practical applications are also emerging in the robotics sector, which is closely linked to AI. Professor Jemin Hwangbo's team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering garnered attention by newly developing RAIBO 2, a quadrupedal robot usable in high-risk environments such as disaster relief and rough terrain exploration. Professor Kyoung Chul Kong's team and Angel Robotics Co., Ltd. developed the WalkOn Suit exoskeleton robot, significantly improving the quality of life for individuals with complete lower body paralysis or walking disabilities.
Additionally, remarkable research is ongoing in future core technology areas such as AI semiconductors, quantum cryptography communication, ultra-small satellites, hydrogen fuel cells, next-generation batteries, and biomimetic sensors. Notably, space exploration technology based on small satellites, asteroid exploration projects, energy harvesting, and high-speed charging technologies are gaining attention.
Particularly in advanced bio and life sciences, KAIST is collaborating with Germany's Merck company on various research initiatives, including synthetic biology and mRNA. KAIST is also contributing to the construction of a 430 billion won Merck Bio-Center in Daejeon, thereby stimulating the local economy and creating jobs.
Based on these cutting-edge research capabilities, KAIST continues to expand its influence not only within the industry but also on the global stage. It has established strategic partnerships with leading universities worldwide, including MIT, Stanford University, and New York University (NYU). Notably, KAIST and NYU have established a joint campus in New York to strengthen human exchange and collaborative research. Active industry-academia collaborations with global companies such as Google, Intel, and TSMC are also ongoing, playing a pivotal role in future technology development and the creation of an innovation ecosystem.
These activities also lead to a strong startup ecosystem that drives South Korean industries. The flow of startups, which began with companies like Qnix Computer, Nexon, and Naver, has expanded to a total of 1,914 companies to date. Their cumulative assets amount to 94 trillion won, with sales reaching 36 trillion won and employing approximately 60,000 people. Over 90% of these are technology-based startups originating from faculty and student labs, demonstrating a model that makes a tangible economic contribution based on science and technology.
< Students at work >
Having consistently generated diverse achievements, KAIST has already produced approximately 80,000 "KAISTians" who have created innovation through challenge and failure, and is currently recruiting new talent to continue driving innovation that transforms South Korea and the world.
President Kwang Hyung Lee emphasized, "KAIST will establish itself as a global leader in science and technology, designing the future of South Korea and humanity and creating tangible value." He added, "We will focus on talent nurturing and research and development to realize the new government's national agenda of becoming a G3 AI powerhouse."
He further stated, "KAIST's vision for the AI field, in which it places particular emphasis, is to strive for a society where everyone can freely utilize AI. We will contribute to significantly boosting productivity by recovering manufacturing competitiveness through AI and actively disseminating physical AI, AI robots, and AI mobility technologies to industrial sites."
2025.06.24 View 706 -
KAIST Develops Customized Tactile Sensor That Can Detect Light Breath, Pressure and Sound
< Photo 1. (From left) Professor Inkyu Park of KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME), Dr. Jungrak Choi of ETRI, Ph.D. Candidate Donho Lee and M.S. Graduate Chankyu Han of KAIST ME >
When a robot grabs an object or a medical device detects a pulse, the tactile sensor is the technology that senses pressure like a fingertip. Existing sensors had disadvantages, such as slow responses or declining accuracy after repeated use, but Korean researchers have succeeded in developing a sensor that can quickly and accurately detect even light breath, pressure, and sound. This sensor can be used across a broad range — from everyday movements to medical diagnostics.
KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 23rd of June that Professor Inkyu Park’s team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, through a collaborative research project with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI, President Seung Chan Bang ) under the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST, Chairman Young Sik Kim), has developed an innovative technology that overcomes the structural limitations of existing tactile sensors.
The core of this joint research is the implementation of a customized tactile sensor that simultaneously achieves flexibility, precision, and repeatable durability by applying Thermoformed 3D Electronics (T3DE).
< Figure 1. Comparative evaluation of soft elastomer–based 3D structure versus thermoforming-based 3D structure in terms of mechanical properties. >
In particular, soft elastomer-based sensors (rubber, silicone, etc. — materials that stretch and return to their original shape) have structural problems such as slow response times, high hysteresis*, and creep**, but this new platform operates precisely in diverse environments and overcomes these limitations.
*Hysteresis: A phenomenon where the previously applied force or change is retained like a “memory,” so that the same stimulus does not always produce the same result.
**Creep: The phenomenon where a material slowly deforms when a force is continuously applied.
T3DE sensors are manufactured by precisely forming electrodes on a 2D film, then thermoforming them into a 3D structure under heat and pressure. Specifically, the top electrodes and supporting pillar structures of the sensor are designed to allow the fine-tuning of the mechanical properties for different purposes. By adjusting microstructural parameters — such as the thickness, length, and number of support pillars — the sensor’s Young’s modulus* can be tuned across a broad range of 10 Pa to 1 MPa. This matches the stiffness of biological tissues like skin, muscle, and tendons, making them highly suitable as bio-interface sensors.
*Young’s modulus: An index representing a material's stiffness; this research can control this index to match various biological tissues.
The newly developed T3DE sensor uses air as a dielectric material to reduce power consumption and demonstrates outstanding performance in sensitivity, response time, thermal stability, and repeatable accuracy.
Experimental results showed that the sensor achieved △sensitivity of 5,884 kPa⁻¹, △response time of 0.1 ms (less than one-thousandth of a second), △hysteresis of less than 0.5%, and maintained a repeatable precision of 99.9% or higher even after 5,000 repeated measurements.
< Figure 2. Graphic Overview of thermoformed 3D electronics (T3DE) >
The research team also constructed a high-resolution 40×70 array, comprising a total of 2,800 densely packed sensors, to visualize the pressure distribution on the sole of the foot in real time during exercise and confirmed the possibility of using the sensor for wrist pulse measurement to assess vascular health. Furthermore, successful results were also achieved in sound-detection experiments at a level comparable to commercial acoustic sensors. In short, the sensor can precisely and quickly measure foot pressure, pulse, and sound, allowing it to be applied in areas such as sports, health, and sound sensing.
The T3DE technology was also applied to an augmented-reality(AR)-based surgical training system. By adjusting the stiffness of each sensor element to match that of biological tissues, the system provided real-time visual and tactile feedback according to the pressure applied during surgical incisions. It also offered real-time warnings if an incision was too deep or approached a risky area, making it a promising technology for enhancing immersion and accuracy in medical training.
KAIST Professor Inkyu Park stated, “Because this sensor can be precisely tuned from the design stage and operates reliably across diverse environments, it can be used not only in everyday life, but also in a variety of fields such as healthcare, rehabilitation, and virtual reality.”
The research was co-led as first authors by Dr. Jungrak Choi of ETRI, KAIST master’s student Chankyu Han, and Ph.D. candidate Donho Lee, under the overall guidance of Professor Inkyu Park. The research results were published in the May 2025 issue of ‘Science Advances’ and introduced to the global research community through the journal’s official SNS channels (Facebook, Twitter).
※ Thesis Title: Thermoforming 2D films into 3D electronics for high-performance, customizable tactile sensing
※ DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adv0057
< Figure 3. The introduction of the study on the official SNS posting by Science Advances >
This research was supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.
2025.06.23 View 568