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The Secret of Our Success Author Joseph Henrich to Deliver Special Lecture at KAIST
KAIST announced on the 19th that its Institute for Mind and Brain Sciences and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Science will be hosting a special lecture by world-renowned cultural evolution scholar, Professor Joseph Henrich of Harvard University. The free lecture will take place on the 22nd at the Conference Room on the 1st floor of the Meta-Convergence Hall at the KAIST main campus, with support from the Gikwan Foundation. The event is open to the public.
Professor Henrich, a professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, is a leading authority on the evolution of culture and cooperation. He was recognized for his work on the origins of human cooperative behavior through a comparative study of 15 small-scale societies, earning the 2024 Panmure House Prize* (Adam Smith 300th Anniversary Prize) and the 2022 Hayek Book Prize.
* Panmure House Prize: An academic award established in honor of Adam Smith's scholarship, named after the building where he lived.
< Poster for Special Lecture by Professor Joseph Henrich of Harvard University >
His representative books, "The WEIRDest People in the World" and "The Secret of Our Success," have created a significant stir in both academia and the general public by offering new interpretations of the formation and development of human society from a cultural evolution perspective.
"The WEIRDest People in the World" emphasizes that human thought and behavior are products of specific cultural environments rather than universal truths. "The Secret of Our Success" presents a new perspective on how humanity, through cultural artifacts like language, tools, and institutions, has achieved unique success compared to other animals.
The lecture will be divided into two sessions: an academic seminar and a public lecture. The academic seminar, held from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, will be conducted in English on the topic of "Cultural Evolutionary Psychology, Kinship, and the Historical Origins of Modern Psychological Differences." It is intended for researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students in related fields.
Following this, a public lecture will be held from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on the topic of "The Collective Brain: Social and Cultural Origins of Creativity." Professor Jeong Jae-seung of KAIST's Department of Brain and Cognitive Science will serve as the moderator, and simultaneous interpretation will be provided.
The lecture will cover how innovation and creativity are products of a collective intelligence formed by diverse people exchanging ideas through networks. It will also discuss how the pace of innovation within a population is determined by key factors such as community size, social connectivity, and cognitive diversity, and how these principles explain innovation in various social contexts, including cultural psychology, immigration, urbanization, and institutions. There will also be a Q&A session with the author of "The Secret of Our Success."
Regarding the lecture, Professor Henrich stated, "In human evolution, culture is not just a backdrop; it's the core driving force that makes us human. Through this lecture, I want to share how we have learned from each other, cooperated, and developed knowledge and institutions. I especially look forward to having a deep conversation with the audience about the evolutionary significance of the passion for education and learning culture in Korean society."
Professor Jeong Jae-seung of KAIST's Department of Brain and Cognitive Science said, "This lecture was organized to explore how the human mind and brain have evolved through interaction with culture. It will be a valuable opportunity to hear the insights of a world-renowned scholar from the interdisciplinary perspective of meditation science and brain and cognitive science."
To register for the event, you can use the link (https://forms.gle/7TW9FAKv1qgA3dBBA) or the QR code on the poster. For inquiries, please contact the KAIST Institute for Mind and Brain Sciences at 042-350-1361.
2025.09.19 View 1373 -
Next-Generation Humanoid Robot Capable of Moonwalk Developed
<From the middle of the back row, clockwise: Professor Hae-Won Park, Dongyun Kang (Ph.D. candidate), Hajun Kim (Ph.D. candidate), JongHun Choe (Ph.D. candidate), Min-su Kim (Research Professor)>
KAIST research team's independently developed humanoid robot boasts world-class driving performance, reaching speeds of 12km/h, along with excellent stability, maintaining balance even with its eyes closed or on rough terrain. Furthermore, it can perform complex human-specific movements such as duck walk and moonwalk, drawing attention as a next-generation robot platform that can be utilized in actual industrial settings. Professor Park Hae-won's research team at the Humanoid Robot Research Center (HuboLab) of KAIST's Department of Mechanical Engineering announced on the 19th that they have independently developed the lower body platform for a next-generation humanoid robot. The developed humanoid is characterized by its design tailored for human-centric environments, targeting a height (165cm) and weight (75kg) similar to that of a human. The significance of the newly developed lower body platform is immense as the research team directly designed and manufactured all core components, including motors, reducers, and motor drivers. By securing key components that determine the performance of humanoid robots with their own technology, they have achieved technological independence in terms of hardware. In addition, the research team trained an AI controller through a self-developed reinforcement learning algorithm in a virtual environment, successfully applied it to real-world environments by overcoming the Sim-to-Real Gap, thereby securing technological independence in terms of algorithms as well.
<Developed 'KAIST Humanoid' Lower Body Platform>
Currently, the developed humanoid can run at a maximum speed of 3.25m/s (approximately 12km/h) on flat ground and has a step-climbing capability of over 30cm (a performance indicator showing how high a curb, stairs, or obstacle can be overcome). The team plans to further enhance its performance, aiming for a driving speed of 4.0m/s (approximately 14km/h), ladder climbing, and over 40cm step-climbing capability.
<‘KAIST Humanoid’ Lower Body Platform running>
Professor Hae-Won Park's team is collaborating with Professor Jae-min Hwangbo's team (arms) from KAIST's Department of Mechanical Engineering, Professor Sangbae Kim's team (hands) from MIT, Professor Hyun Myung's team (localization and navigation) from KAIST's Department of Electrical Engineering, and Professor Jae-hwan Lim's team (vision-based manipulation intelligence) from KAIST's Kim Jaechul AI Graduate School to implement a complete humanoid hardware with an upper body and AI. Through this, they are developing technology to enable the robot to perform complex tasks such as carrying heavy objects, operating valves, cranks, and door handles, and simultaneously walking and manipulating when pushing carts or climbing ladders. The ultimate goal is to secure versatile physical abilities to respond to the complex demands of actual industrial sites.
<An Intermediate Result: A Single-Leg Hopping Robot Has Been Developed>
During this process, the research team also developed a single-leg 'Hopping' robot. This robot demonstrated high-level movements, maintaining balance on one leg and repeatedly hopping, and even exhibited extreme athletic abilities such as a 360-degree somersault. Especially in a situation where imitation learning was impossible due to the absence of a biological reference model, the research team achieved significant results by implementing an AI controller through reinforcement learning that optimizes the center of mass velocity while reducing landing impact. Professor Park Hae-won stated, "This achievement is an important milestone that has achieved independence in both hardware and software aspects of humanoid research by securing core components and AI controllers with our own technology," and added, "We will further develop it into a complete humanoid including an upper body to solve the complex demands of actual industrial sites and furthermore, foster it as a next-generation robot that can work alongside humans."
<Key Components of the Directly Developed Robot: (a) Reducer, (b) Motor Stator, (c) Motor Driver, (d) EtherCAT-CAN convert board>
The results of this research will be presented by JongHun Choe, a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering, as the first author, on hardware development at 'Humanoids 2025', an international humanoid robot specialized conference held on October 1st. Additionally, Ph.D. candidates Dongyun Kang, Gijeong Kim, and JongHun Choe from Mechanical Engineering will present the AI algorithm achievements as co-first authors at 'CoRL 2025', the top conference in robot intelligence, held on September 29th. ※Paper Titles and Papers: Learning Impact-Rich Rotational Maneuvers via Centroidal Velocity Rewards and Sim-to-Real Techniques: A One-Leg Hopper Flip Case Study, Conference on Robot Learning (CoRL), Seoul, Korea 2025, Dongyun Kang, Gijeong Kim, JongHun Choe, Hajun Kim, Hae-Won Park, arxiv version: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.12222 Design of a 3-DOF Hopping Robot with an Optimized Gearbox: An Intermediate Platform Toward Bipedal Robots, IEEE-RAS, International Conference on Humanoid Robots, Seoul, Korea, 2025, JongHun Choe, Gijeong Kim, Hajun Kim, Dongyun Kang, Min-Su Kim, Hae-Won Park, arxiv version: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.12231 This research was supported by research funding from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Planning and Evaluation (KEIT) (RS-2024-00427719). ※ Related Video: https://youtu.be/ytWO7lldN4c
2025.09.19 View 2714 -
A Boom in Robot Startups: Global Ventures from the Legacy of HUBO's Creator
KAIST announced on September 16 that it is gaining attention as a "cradle of Korean robotics" as various robot startups founded on campus have recently succeeded in attracting investment.
Rainbow Robotics, founded by Professor Jun-Ho Oh of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, set a new milestone in the robotics industry by successfully going public with its world-class humanoid technology. Following this, Angel Robotics, a company specializing in rehabilitation and medical robots founded by Professor Kyung-chul Kong of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, also went public, making the achievements of KAIST-born robot startups more visible.
Following in their footsteps, a number of other startups are on a rapid growth trajectory after their founding in various technological fields, including quadrupedal, collaborative, and wearable robots, as well as autonomous walking. These include Pureun Robotics (2021, Hyunchul Ham, MS from Mechanical Engineering), Wero Robotics (2021, Yeonbaek Lee, MS from Mechanical Engineering), Raion Robotics (2023, Professor Jaemin Hwangbo, Mechanical Engineering), Triangle Robotics (2023, Jinhyuk Choi, PhD candidate in Computer Science), URobotics (2024, Byungho Yoo, PhD from Electrical Engineering), and Diden Robotics (2024, Junha Kim, PhD from Mechanical Engineering).
In particular, Raion Robotics, founded by Professor Jaemin Hwangbo of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, recently secured a Series A investment of 23 billion KRW from leading domestic investors, including SBVA, Company K Partners, FuturePlay, KDB Capital, IBK, and IBK Venture Capital.
< (Left) Raibo1, (Right) Raibo2 participating in a marathon >
Raion Robotics' flagship product, the quadrupedal robot 'Raibo,' is equipped with reinforcement learning-based AI, enabling stable walking on uneven terrain. It also boasts a distinctive performance with an 8-hour operating time. Recently, it successfully completed a full marathon (42.195 km) alongside a human, proving its durability in real-world conditions and attracting attention from the global robotics industry.
This trend is also evident in URobotics, a startup from Professor Hyun Myung's lab in the Department of Electrical Engineering. URobotics recently secured a 3.5 billion KRW seed investment and was selected for the 1.5 billion KRW Deep Tech TIPS program, accelerating its growth in the field of autonomous walking robots. The company is preparing to apply its technology to various industrial sites, including defense, construction, logistics, and smart cities, by internalizing its control and autonomous walking technologies and applying them to humanoids. The industry is already taking note of its high growth potential from the early stages.
< (Left) URobotics' general-purpose autonomous walking solution being tested on a quadrupedal robot, (Right) Developing core spatial intelligence technology >
< URobotics' autonomous walking solution >
Diden Robotics, a startup from Professor Haewon Park's lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is leading the industrial application and commercialization of walking mobile robot technology. The company's key competitive advantages lie in its hardware design capabilities through the internalization of core components, advanced Physical AI technology based on reinforcement learning, and a special magnetic foot technology. Robots developed with this technology can move freely on vertical steel walls and ceilings to perform high-difficulty tasks like welding and non-destructive testing. Based on this technology, Diden Robotics attracted a 7 billion KRW investment in a Pre-A round and has signed supply contracts with major shipyards, proving its commercial viability.
< (Left) Diden Robotics' mobile robot DIDEN30 for shipbuilding sites (Right) Various work scenarios inside a ship block >
KAIST recently secured 10.5 billion KRW in government funding by participating as the lead institution in the Deep Tech Scale-up Valley project. With this funding, it plans to create a virtuous cycle among companies, technology, and talent in the robotics industry and emerge as a next-generation robotics hub. URobotics and Angel Robotics are also participating in this project.
Bae Hyun-min, head of the Startup Center, said, "Researchers from KAIST are entering the global stage through challenging startups. The Startup Center will actively support them to help KAIST establish itself as a 'hub for deep tech startups'."
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee emphasized, "KAIST is a cradle of innovation that creates social value through startups, beyond education and research. The achievements of these robot startups show that KAIST is at the center of leading the paradigm of the global robotics industry. This also aligns with KAIST's vision of preparing for the era of 'Physical AI,' which fuses artificial intelligence with the physical world. KAIST will continue to strengthen its global technological leadership through innovation that connects academia and industry.
2025.09.16 View 5164 -
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee Receives France's Highest Honor, the 'Légion d'Honneu
<(From left) French Ambassador Philippe Bertoux, KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee>
KAIST announced on Thursday, September 11 that president Kwang Hyung Lee will be awarded the Officier (Officer) medal of the Légion d'Honneur, France's highest honor, at 3 p.m. at the French Ambassador's residence in Korea.
The Légion d'Honneur is the highest-ranking order of merit bestowed by the French government to individuals who have contributed to the development of France and the international community in various fields such as military, academia, culture, science, and industry. The award recognizes President Lee's academic and scientific achievements as the head of KAIST and his significant contributions to strengthening the close cooperative relationship between Korea and France.
<Légion d’Honneur “Officier” Badge>
As an alumnus of the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), President Kwang Hyung Lee has long led Franco-Korean cooperation in research and innovation. In 2003, he was awarded the Chevalier (Knight) medal of the French Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Order of Academic Palms)
Since taking office as president, he has further focused on global collaboration, expanding joint projects and academic exchanges with French universities and research institutions, including École Polytechnique. He has also encouraged interdisciplinary convergence research and emphasized entrepreneurship to ensure that research outcomes lead to commercialization and industrialization. He has expanded international cooperation, including establishing a partnership with New York University (NYU) and securing a Silicon Valley campus, and has contributed to the development of friendly relations between the two countries as a member of the Korea-France Club.
<President Kwang Hyung Lee Receiving the Medal from the French Ambassador>
In a congratulatory letter, French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Bertoux stated, "This award is a tribute to President Kwang Hyung Lee's exceptional academic and scientific achievements, and we highly appreciate his forward-looking vision demonstrated through the promotion of Franco-Korean cooperation and the strengthening of international partnerships." He added, "We hope this will serve as a catalyst for further strengthening the cooperation between our two countries."
President Lee expressed his feelings by saying, "It is a great honor to receive France's highest-ranking order of merit. Based on the spirit of open science that KAIST pursues, I will further expand global research cooperation to prepare for the future of humanity with France, Korea, and the international community."
The Légion d'Honneur was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 and has since been awarded to prominent figures from around the world. In the field of science, recipients include Marie Curie (a two-time Nobel laureate) and Alexander Fleming (discoverer of penicillin). Political and diplomatic recipients include Nelson Mandela and Queen Elizabeth II. In the cultural and artistic fields, Audrey Hepburn, Steven Spielberg, and Elton John have received the medal.
<Group Photo at French Medal Awarding Ceremony>
With this award, KAIST plans to further strengthen its cooperation with France and, building on this, expand joint research and talent exchanges with the international community to establish itself as a leading model for global scientific and technological cooperation.
2025.09.11 View 1739 -
World's First Quantum Computing for Lego-like Design of Porous Materials
<(From Left to Right)Professor Jihan Kim, Ph.D. candidate Sinyoung Kang, Ph.D. candidate Younghoon Kim from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering>
Multivariate Porous Materials (MTV) are like a 'collection of Lego blocks,' allowing for customized design at a molecular level to freely create desired structures. Using these materials enables a wide range of applications, including energy storage and conversion, which can significantly contribute to solving environmental problems and advancing next-generation energy technologies. Our research team has, for the first time in the world, introduced quantum computing to solve the difficult problem of designing complex MTVs, opening an innovative path for the development of next-generation catalysts, separation membranes, and energy storage materials.
On September 9, Professor Jihan Kim's research team at our university's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering announced the development of a new framework that uses a quantum computer to efficiently explore the design space of millions of multivariate porous materials (hereafter, MTV).
MTV porous materials are structures formed by the combination of two or more organic ligands (linkers) and building block materials like metal clusters. They have great potential for use in the energy and environmental fields. Their diverse compositional combinations llow for the design and synthesis of new structures. Examples include gas adsorption, mixed gas separation, sensors, and catalysts.
However, as the number of components increases, the number of possible combinations grows exponentially. It has been impossible to design and predict the properties of complex MTV structures using the conventional method of checking every single structure with a classical computer.
The research team represented the complex porous structure as a 'network (graph) drawn on a map' and then converted each connection point and block type into qubits that a quantum computer can handle. They then asked the quantum computer to solve the problem: "Which blocks should be arranged at what ratio to create the most stable structure?"
<Figure1. Overall schematics of the quantum computing algorithm to generate feasible MTV porous materials. The algorithm consists of two mapping schemes (qubit mapping and topology mapping) to allocate building blocks in a given connectivity. Different configurations go through a predetermined Hamiltonian, which is comprised of a ratio term, occupancy term, and balance term, to capture the most feasible MTV porous material>
Because quantum computers can calculate multiple possibilities simultaneously, it's like spreading out millions of Lego houses at once and quickly picking out the sturdiest one. This allows them to explore a vast number of possibilities—which a classical computer would have to calculate one by one—with far fewer resources.
The research team also conducted experiments on four different MTV structures that have been previously reported. The results from the simulation and the IBM quantum computer were identical, demonstrating that the method "actually works well."
<Figure2. VQE sampling results for experimental structures and the structures that reproduce them, using IBM Qiskit's classical simulator. The experimental structure is predicted to be the most probable outcome of the VQE algorithm's calculation, meaning it will be generated as the most stable form of the structure.>
In the future, the team plans to combine this method with machine learning to expand it into a platform that considers not only simple structural design but also synthesis feasibility, gas adsorption performance, and electrochemical properties simultaneously.
Professor Jihan Kim said, "This research is the first case to solve the bottleneck of complex multivariate porous material design using quantum computing." He added, "This achievement is expected to be widely applied as a customized material design technology in fields where precise composition is key, such as carbon capture and separation, selective catalytic reactions, and ion-conducting electrolytes, and it can be flexibly expanded to even more complex systems in the future."
Ph.D. candidates Sinyoung Kang and Younghoon Kim of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering participated as co-first authors in this study. The research results were published in the online edition of the international journal ACS Central Science on August 22.
Paper Title: Quantum Computing Based Design of Multivariate Porous Materials
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.5c00918
Meanwhile, this research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT's Mid-Career Researcher Support Program and the Heterogeneous Material Support Program.
2025.09.09 View 2045 -
Startup Nation Korea International Forum to be Held at KAIST
On September 9, KAIST announced that it will be co-hosting the 4th "2025 Startup Nation Korea International Forum" with JoongAng Ilbo and Seoul National University. The two-day event will be held from September 10 to 11 at the KI Building on the main KAIST campus in Daejeon. The forum aims to bring together various members of the startup ecosystem—including government officials, universities, research institutions, investors, entrepreneurs, media, and students—to find practical solutions to the "R&D paradox," where research and development achievements in the Korean science and technology sector don't lead to successful startups. First held at Seoul National University in 2022, this year's forum will take place at KAIST.
<KI Building, where the Startup Nation International Forum will be held>
This year's theme is "The Path to an Innovative Startup Cluster." The goal is to properly foster a startup cluster in Korea through industry-academia-research cooperation, which can serve as a new growth engine, similar to global innovation clusters like Boston in the United States, a hub for the biotech industry, and Zhongguancun, China's top innovation hub.
Day 1: Startup Nation Korea International Forum
On the morning of the first day, a pre-event will feature presentations on the future of innovation clusters centered in Hongneung, Seoul, and Daedeok, Daejeon, by Professor Lee Ji-hoon of Kangwon National University, Director Im Moon-taek, Chairman Park Han-oh of Bioneer, and Director Kim Hyun-woo of the Seoul Bio Hub Project. Separately from the main event, a "Corporate-Early Career Researcher Networking Day," hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is also scheduled.
The opening ceremony on the first day will begin with opening remarks by Hong Seok-hyun, Chairman of JoongAng Holdings, welcome addresses by KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung and Seoul National University President Yoo Hong-lim, a congratulatory speech from President Lee Jae-myung (read on his behalf by Ha Jung-woo, Chief of AI Future Planning), and congratulatory remarks from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Federation of Korean Industries.
Following the opening ceremony, keynote speeches will be delivered by Oh Sang-rok, President of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST); Johannes Fruehauf, President of LabCentral; and Liu De-ying, President of the Peking University Innovation and Entrepreneurship College. A panel discussion on fostering startups with a focus on clusters will also be held. The discussion will be moderated by Hyun-min Bae, Director of the KAIST Center for Entrepreneurship, and will include panelists such as Johannes Fruehauf, Liu De-ying, Moon-taek Im, Director of the Daedeok Innopolis Cluster Headquarters, Jong-tak Han, Director of the Daejeon City Corporate Support Policy Division, and Hyun-woo Kim, Director of the Seoul Bio Hub Project.
Innovation Startup Competition Awards Ceremony
The Innovation Startup Competition awards ceremony will be held on the afternoon of the first day. This year, the number of awards has been significantly expanded to 13 across three categories: the Grand Prize (9 awards), the Innovation Startup Challenge Award (3 awards), and the Innovation Startup Ecosystem Contribution Award (1 award).
Nine startups were selected for the Grand Prize: Rebellion (Minister of Science and ICT Award), Cureverse (Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award), Cryptolab (Minister of SMEs and Startups Award), SEMIFIVE (Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Award), Solivis (Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries Award), Medical IP (KAIST President's Award), Selectstar (Seoul National University President's Award), Bluetile Labs (Chairman of the National Research Council of Science & Technology Award), and Naeil Technology (Chairman of the Innopolis Foundation Award).
Three startups were selected for the newly established Innovation Startup Challenge Award (for startups less than 3 years old): Panacia (Minister of Science and ICT Award), HyperAccel (Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award), and WatertreeNeZ (Minister of SMEs and Startups Award). Additionally, Korea Technology Finance Corporation was chosen for the first-ever Innovation Startup Ecosystem Contribution Award (Chairman of JoongAng Holdings Award).
Kim Kyung-hwan, Dean of the Sungkyunkwan University Graduate School of Global Entrepreneurship and head of the judging committee, said, "This year's competition featured a large number of deep-tech startups at a global level in AI, biotech, and semiconductors. A notable feature was the high number of companies with intellectual property rights, such as patents."
<Startup Nation Korea International Forum Poster>
Day 2: Startup Nation Korea International Forum
On the second day (September 11), Part 1 will feature IR pitching from eight startups recommended by KAIST, Seoul National University, and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation. A subsequent discussion on revitalizing the innovation startup ecosystem will be moderated by Professor Ahn Tae-wook of the KAIST Center for Entrepreneurship. The discussion will include experts from industry, academia, research, and investment, such as Park Dae-hee, Chairman of the Creative Economy Innovation Center Council; Cho Young-soo, Director of Planning and Coordination at the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development; startup CEOs Kyu-nam Kim, Ji-min Park, and Kyung-jin Jung; and Ji-young Jang, CEO of Rising S Ventures. They will engage in an in-depth discussion on the current status and future direction of the startup ecosystem.
In the afternoon, a special session will be dedicated to showcasing cases of student startups from KAIST. CLASSUM, Smoore Talk, Innersia, and OINS will present their entrepreneurial journeys and achievements. These presentations are expected to highlight the competitiveness of university-based startup ecosystems.
Additionally, the "PEN Global Investment Forum (Investor's Reverse Pitch)" will be held with the participation of global investors. Venture capital experts from the United States, China, Hong Kong, and other regions will take the stage to share their investment strategies and outlook on the global market.
Following this, at the Innopolis Campus Lab Startup Seminar hosted by the KAIST Center for Entrepreneurship, Myung-soo Song, CEO of PEN Ventures, will give a presentation on overseas expansion for deep-tech companies through collaboration with global Corporate Venture Capital (CVCs), providing practical insights for startups looking to expand internationally. A networking session will also be held for participants to discover new collaboration opportunities. On the same morning, the Innopolis Foundation will hold a concurrent seminar to celebrate its 20th anniversary, focusing on "The Dissemination of AI and Deep-Tech Achievements."
Seok-hyun Hong, Chairman of JoongAng Holdings, said, "For Korea to leap forward as a startup nation, universities, research institutions, and industry must join forces. I hope this forum will serve as a starting point for presenting a vision for the Korean startup ecosystem and creating a startup cluster model that can compete on the world stage."
Hong-lim Yoo, President of Seoul National University, stated, "Seoul National University has been striving to connect research achievements to social value. I hope that through this forum with KAIST, we can create a cooperative model necessary for Korea to move toward becoming a global innovation startup nation."
Kwang-hyung Lee, President of KAIST, said, "KAIST is taking the lead in creating a Korean-style innovation model by connecting research and development achievements to actual startups and industries. I hope this international forum will be an opportunity to establish a Korean-style startup cluster model and strengthen our global competitiveness."
Innovation Startup Exhibition
An exhibition of innovative startups will also be held on the first floor of the KAIST building where the international forum is taking place. In addition to booths for the 13 startups selected in the Innovation Startup Competition, visitors can also meet 23 other innovative startups chosen by participating institutions like Seoul National University and KAIST.
The forum is sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, the National Research Council of Science & Technology, the Innopolis Foundation, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Chungcheongbuk-do Provincial Government, PEN Ventures, Korea Technology Finance Corporation, and DaedeokNet. The forum will be live-streamed on YouTube and the official websites (www.snkforum.co.kr, www.joongang.co.kr), where anyone can watch.
2025.09.09 View 5332 -
Professor Jae-woong Jeong Wins September's Scientist and Engineer of the Month Award
<Professor Jae-Woong Jeong from Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering>
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea have announced that Professor Jae-Woong Jeong from KAIST Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has been selected as the September recipient of the "Scientist of the Month" award.
The "Scientist of the Month" award recognizes researchers who have made a significant contribution to the development of science and technology by creating unique R&D achievements over the past three years. The award is given to one person each month and includes a commendation from the Minister of Science and ICT and a 10 million KRW prize, funded by the Science and Technology Promotion Fund/Lottery Fund of the Ministry of Science and ICT. In the lead-up to "World Patient Safety Day (September 17)," the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation selected Professor Jeong Jae-Woong as the award recipient for his contribution to healthcare innovation through convergence research on wearable and implantable electronic devices and medical instruments, including the development of an intravenous (IV) needle that softens in response to body temperature to enhance patient safety.
Intravenous injection is a treatment method that involves directly injecting medication into a blood vessel. It is widely used in the medical field due to its ability to provide rapid and continuous drug effects. However, conventional IV needles, made of rigid metal or plastic, can damage blood vessel walls or cause complications like phlebitis. Furthermore, there is a risk of needle-stick injuries and subsequent disease transmission for medical professionals during the disposal process.
Professor Jae-Woong Jeong developed a variable-stiffness* needle that is rigid at room temperature but softens like biological tissue when inserted into the body. This innovation utilizes the unique property of the liquid metal gallium, which changes from a solid to a liquid phase in response to body temperature. * Variable-stiffness: The characteristic of being able to adjust the level of rigidity (stiffness) according to a situation or condition.
The variable-stiffness needle not only ensures a patient's free movement but also maintains a soft state at room temperature after use, preventing needle-stick accidents for medical professionals and fundamentally eliminating the issue of unethical needle reuse.
< An intravenous needle that softens with body temperature. Intravenous injection is a treatment method that involves directly injecting medication into a blood vessel, which allows for a rapid and continuous supply of drugs, making it a globally accepted form of patient care. This research utilized the property of liquid metal gallium, which changes from a solid to a liquid state in response to body temperature, to develop a variable-stiffness intravenous needle that is rigid but softens like tissue upon insertion into the body. This needle allows for stable drug delivery without damaging blood vessels, even when the patient moves. Furthermore, the irreversible softening due to the supercooling phenomenon of gallium can fundamentally prevent post-use needle-stick injuries or unethical reuse, contributing to the safety of both patients and medical staff. This variable-stiffness technology is expected to be widely utilized in the implementation of various wearable and implantable devices that can change their properties according to different situations and purposes. >
Furthermore, Professor Jae-woong Jung focused on the phenomenon in which the temperature of surrounding tissue decreases when a drug leaks during intravenous (IV) injection. He developed a function that enables real-time monitoring of local body temperature by integrating a nanofilm temperature sensor into an IV needle, thereby allowing real-time detection of IV drug leakage.
This research achievement, which presents a new vision for promoting patient health and ensuring medical staff safety as required by the World Health Organization (WHO), was published as the cover article of the international journal Nature Biomedical Engineering in August 2024.
Professor Jae-Woong Jeong stated, “This research is highly significant as it proposes a way to overcome the problems caused by conventional rigid medical needles and solves the infection risks from needle-stick injuries or reuse.” He added, “I will continue to dedicate my efforts to R&D so that variable-stiffness needle technology can evolve into a core technology in the medical field, enhancing the safety of both patients and medical professionals.
To provide more robust support to researchers who lead such outstanding achievements, the Ministry of Science and ICT has prepared a record-high R&D budget of 11.8 trillion KRW (government proposal), including the Life Sciences (Bio) Medical Technology Development Project (361.1 billion KRW in '25 → 434.3 billion KRW in '26, proposed). The Ministry plans to strengthen investment in future industries, such as advanced life sciences, and will further reinforce rewards and recognition for researchers who produce excellent results to foster a researcher-centric R&D ecosystem.
2025.09.05 View 2208 -
Batteries Make 12Minute Charge for 800km Drive a Reality
<Photo 1. (From left in the front row) Dr. Hyeokjin Kwon from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor Hee Tak Kim, and Professor Seong Su Kim from Mechanical Engineering>
Korean researchers have ushered in a new era for electric vehicle (EV) battery technology by solving the long-standing dendrite problem in lithium-metal batteries. While conventional lithium-ion batteries are limited to a maximum range of 600 km, the new battery can achieve a range of 800 km on a single charge, a lifespan of over 300,000 km, and a super-fast charging time of just 12 minutes.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 4th of September that a research team from the Frontier Research Laboratory (FRL), a joint project between Professor Hee Tak Kim from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and LG Energy Solution, has developed a "cohesion-inhibiting new liquid electrolyte" original technology that can dramatically increase the performance of lithium-metal batteries.
Lithium-metal batteries replace the graphite anode, a key component of lithium-ion batteries, with lithium metal. However, lithium metal has a technical challenge known as dendrite, which makes it difficult to secure the battery's lifespan and stability. Dendrites are tree-like lithium crystals that form on the anode surface during battery charging, negatively affecting battery performance and stability.
This dendrite phenomenon becomes more severe during rapid charging and can cause an internal short-circuit, making it very difficult to implement a lithium-metal battery that can be recharged under fast-charging conditions.
The FRL joint research team has identified that the fundamental cause of dendrite formation during rapid charging of lithium metal is due to non-uniform interfacial cohesion on the surface of the lithium metal. To solve this problem, they developed a "cohesion-inhibiting new liquid electrolyte."
The new liquid electrolyte utilizes an anion structure with a weak binding affinity to lithium ions (Li⁺), minimizing the non-uniformity of the lithium interface. This effectively suppresses dendrite growth even during rapid charging.
This technology overcomes the slow charging speed, which was a major limitation of existing lithium-metal batteries, while maintaining high energy density. It enables a long driving range and stable operation even with fast charging.
Je-Young Kim, CTO of LG Energy Solution, said, "The four years of collaboration between LG Energy Solution and KAIST through FRL are producing meaningful results. We will continue to strengthen our industry-academia collaboration to solve technical challenges and create the best results in the field of next-generation batteries."
<Figure 1. Infographic on the KAIST-LGES FRL Lithium-Metal Battery Technology>
Hee Tak Kim, Professor from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST, commented, "This research has become a key foundation for overcoming the technical challenges of lithium-metal batteries by understanding the interfacial structure. It has overcome the biggest barrier to the introduction of lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles."
The study, with Dr. Hyeokjin Kwon from the KAIST Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as the first author, was published in the prestigious journal Nature Energy on September 3.
Nature Energy: According to the Journal Impact Factor announced by Clarivate Analytics in 2024, it ranks first among 182 energy journals and 23rd among more than 21,000 journals overall.
Article Title: Covariance of interphasic properties and fast chargeability of energy-dense lithium metal batteries
DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01838-1
The research was conducted through the Frontier Research Laboratory (FRL, Director Professor Hee Tak Kim), which was established in 2021 by KAIST and LG Energy Solution to develop next-generation lithium-metal battery technology.
2025.09.04 View 7202 -
KAIST to Foster a 'Robot Valley' in Daejeon with $10 Million Initiative
<Group Photo of Kick-off Meeting>
On September 3, KAIST announced the official launch of the "2025 Deep Tech Scale-up Valley Nurturing Project" with a kick-off meeting at the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering.
KAIST was selected for this project by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Research and Development Special District Foundation. With this selection, the university plans to create a "Robot Valley".
Over the next three and a half years, KAIST will receive a total of 13.65 billion won (approximately $10 million) in funding. The university's goal is to intensively nurture globally competitive, innovative robotics companies based on foundational technologies and to develop Daejeon into a global hub for the robotics industry.
The initiative will leverage Daejeon's exceptional research talent and its startup and investment ecosystem to create a model for regional revitalization and to cultivate the robotics industry as a next-generation strategic sector.
KAIST's vision for this project is to develop "Human-Friendly Robots (HFR)" that are more than just automated machines; they are collaborative partners that share space, roles, and emotions with people.
The project will implement a multi-stage strategy that includes promoting the commercialization of robotics technology, supporting the startup ecosystem, securing global technological competitiveness, and developing robot commercialization platforms. This will establish a virtuous cycle of technology development, startup and investment growth, and reinvestment.
Unlike traditional startup support and scale-up programs, this project aims for the simultaneous growth of the entire robotics industry, not just individual companies. A key element is an open innovation model where leading robotics firms like Angel Robotics Inc. and EuRoBotics Inc. (led by Professor Byung-ho Yu and Professor Hyun Myung) will share common core technologies related to actuators, circuits, AI, and standardized data. This will allow startups to focus on developing robot products that directly meet customer needs.
The project team includes key KAIST robotics researchers. The project leader is Professor Jung Kim (President of the Korea Robotics Society) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Other participating professors include Geon-Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (human augmentation sensors), Hyun Myung from the School of Electrical Engineering (winner of the QRC 2023 quadruped robot autonomous walking competition at IEEE ICRA), Kyung-Chul Kong from the Department of Mechanical Engineering (two-time champion of the Cybathlon International Competition and founder of Angel Robotics), and Suk-Hyung Bae from the Department of Industrial Design (winner of the ACM SIGGRAPH robot sketching competition).
In addition, the KAIST Technology Commercialization Office, KAIST Holdings, Global Techno Valley Lab (GTLAB), and the Daejeon Center for Creative Economy and Innovation will manage technology commercialization and valley construction. The Daejeon Technopark will also participate to provide comprehensive commercialization support.
"The strategic cooperation between Daejeon City's robotics industry nurturing plan and KAIST was the driving force behind the selection for this project," said Geon-Jae Lee, Director of the KAIST Technology Commercialization Office. "We will create a robotics innovation ecosystem based in Daejeon and systematically foster global companies to rival the likes of ABB in Switzerland and KUKA in Germany, which are considered among the top three robotics companies in the world."
< Kick-off Meeting Scene>
Project leader Jung Kim stated, "We will spearhead efforts to discover and nurture over 15 future unicorn companies by promoting the commercialization of deep-tech robotics developed at KAIST. The entire KAIST robotics research team will dedicate its full efforts to ensure that our research and development achievements lead to real-world industries and startups."
KAIST President Kwang-Hyung Lee emphasized, "As Korea's leading research-oriented university, KAIST will actively support Daejeon's growth into a global robotics hub. This project is more than just research and development; it will be a turning point for KAIST to stand at the center of the global robotics ecosystem and create a new growth engine for the region and the nation."
In collaboration with Daejeon City, KAIST plans to form an "HFR Valley Innovation Council" to share and review project outcomes, ultimately building a self-sustaining ecosystem. This initiative aims to establish Daejeon as a world-class robotics industry hub.
2025.09.03 View 3688 -
KAIST Establishes 2 Billion KRW Scholarship Fund for the School of Computing through Matching Donation by Alumnus Byung-Gyu Chang
<(From Left) President Kwang Hyung Lee, Chairman Byung-Gyu Chang Professor Sukyoung Ryu from head of the School of Computing>
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 1st of September that the School of Computing has established a “School of Computing Scholarship Fund” (worth 2 billion KRW) to provide consistent support for students in urgent need of financial assistance.
Professor Sukyoung Ryu, head of the School of Computing, who led the fundraising initiative, said, “Serving as a member of the KAIST Scholarship Committee since 2021, where the ‘Inseojeonggong Scholarship,’ also known as the ‘Emergency Relief Scholarship,’ greatly helped financially struggling students, I found it regrettable that once the principal was depleted, we were unable to continue providing support. With the establishment of this new School of Computing scholarship, we plan to begin providing aid from the Fall 2025 semester and hope that this initiative will expand to the entire KAIST community.”
Starting fundraising in May 2023, the School of Computing raised 1 billion KRW from a total of 63 donors. Alumnus Byung-Gyu Chang, Chairman of Krafton, supported the purpose of the scholarship and expanded the fund to 2 billion KRW by donating an equivalent amount through a 1:1 matching grant system.
The fundraising campaign saw participation from current students, alumni, faculty, and both current and former professors. Among them, alumni couple Jungtaek Kim (entered KAIST in ’92) and So-Yeon Ahn donated 200 million KRW to help students facing financial difficulties in their studies or job preparation. Alumni couple Ha-Yeon Seo (entered KAIST in ’95) and Dong-Hun Hahn (entered KAIST in ’96), following their earlier donation for the expansion of the School of Computing building, contributed an additional 40 million KRW to the scholarship fund.
Professor Emeritus Kyu-Young Whang and Professor Kyunghyun Cho of NYU, who had previously donated to the Kyu-Young Whang Scholarship Fund (formerly the Odysseus Scholarship Fund) and the Lim Mi-Sook Scholarship Fund respectively, also joined this initiative. Alumnus Seung Hyun Lee donated the entire $220,000 reward he received for reporting a critical security vulnerability in the Chrome browser.
Alumnus Bum-Gyu Lee, who co-runs the non-degree program “SW Academy Jungle” with the School of Computing, expressed gratitude for the role the school played in the growth of both himself and his company. Inquiring whether it “would be okay if [he] covered the remaining amount out of the 1 billion KRW target,” he became the final donor.
Professor Ryu emphasized, “Through this scholarship, I hope students who previously had to choose undesired paths due to financial reasons—despite wanting to pursue entrepreneurship or graduate studies—will have the chance to fully dedicate at least a semester or a year to the challenges they truly wish to take on.”
Chairman Byung-Gyu Chang stated, “I deeply resonate with the scholarship’s purpose of prioritizing support for students making career choices under financial strain. To accelerate its realization, I decided to make a matching donation equal to the fundraising amount. I hope this will serve as an opportunity to restructure the university-wide scholarship system.”
President Kwang Hyung Lee remarked that “KAIST’s greatest asset is its talented students who will lead the future, and no student should ever give up on studies, entrepreneurship, or dreams for financial reasons.” He added, “I hope this School of Computing scholarship will serve as a solid foundation for students to design and pursue their future challenges. I would like to thank all donors for their support and will actively review Chairman Chang’s proposal to ensure its realization.”
Meanwhile, the KAIST Development Foundation is actively promoting the “TeamKAIST” campaign for the general public and alumni to bring together more “KAIST benefactors.”
※ Related Website: https://giving.kaist.ac.kr/ko/sub01/sub0103_1.php
2025.09.01 View 1730 -
KAIST Wins Bid for ‘Physical AI Core Technology Demonstration’ Pilot Project
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 28th of August that, together with Jeonbuk State, Jeonbuk National University, and Sungkyunkwan University, it has jointly won the Ministry of Science and ICT’s pilot project for the “Physical AI Core Technology Proof of Concept (PoC)”, with KAIST serving as the overall research lead. The consortium also plans to participate in a full-scale demonstration project that is expected to reach a total scale of 1 trillion KRW in the future.
In this project, KAIST led the research planning under the theme of “Collaborative Intelligence Physical AI.” Based on this, Jeonbuk National University and Jeonbuk State will carry out joint research and establish a collaborative intelligence physical AI industrial ecosystem within the province. The pilot project will begin on September 1 this year and will run until the end of the year over the next five years. Through this effort, Jeonbuk State aims to be built into a global hub for physical AI.
KAIST will take charge of developing original research technologies, creating a research environment through the establishment of a testbed, and promoting industrial diffusion. Professor Young Jae Jang of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at KAIST, who is the overall project director, has been leading research on collaborative intelligence physical AI since 2016. His “Collaborative Intelligence-Based Smart Manufacturing Innovation Technology” was selected as one of KAIST’s “Top 10 Research Achievements” in 2019.
“Physical AI” refers to cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology that enables physical devices such as robots, autonomous vehicles, and factory automation equipment to perform tasks without human instruction by understanding spatiotemporal concepts.
In particular, collaborative intelligence physical AI is a technology in which numerous robots and automated devices in a factory environment work together to achieve goals. It is attracting attention as a key foundation for realizing “dark factories” in industries such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and automobile manufacturing.
Unlike existing manufacturing AI, this technology does not necessarily require massive amounts of historical data. Through real-time, simulation-based learning, it can quickly adapt even to manufacturing environments with frequent changes and has been deemed a next-generation technology that overcomes the limitations of data dependency.
Currently, the global AI industry is led by LLMs that simulate linguistic intelligence. However, physical AI must go beyond linguistic intelligence to include spatial intelligence and virtual environment learning, requiring the organic integration of hardware such as robots, sensors, and motors with software. As a manufacturing powerhouse, Korea is well-positioned to build such an ecosystem and seize the opportunity to lead global competition.
In fact, in April 2025, KAIST won first place at INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences), the world’s largest industrial engineering society, with its case study on collaborative intelligence physical AI, beating MIT and Amazon. This achievement is recognized as proof of Korea’s global competitiveness in the physical AI technology realm.
Professor Young Jae Jang, KAIST’s overall project director, said, “Winning this large-scale national project is the result of KAIST’s collaborative intelligence physical AI research capabilities accumulated over the past decade being recognized both domestically and internationally. This will be a turning point for establishing Korea’s manufacturing industry as a global leading ‘Physical AI Manufacturing Innovation Model.’”
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee emphasized that “KAIST is taking on the role of leading not only academic research but also the practical industrialization of national strategic technologies. Building on this achievement, we will collaborate with Jeonbuk National University and Jeonbuk State to develop Korea into a world-class hub for physical AI innovation.”
Through this project, KAIST, Jeonbuk National University, and Jeonbuk State plan to develop Korea into a global industrial hub for physical AI.
2025.08.29 View 3520 -
KAIST launches "Junior KAIST" for future scientists who will change the world
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 27th of August that it is relaunching its online gifted education program, KAIST Cyber Gifted Education, from the KAIST Center for Gifted Education, into "Junior KAIST," an open science and engineering exploration platform in which any elementary, middle, or high school student can participate.
This reorganization was carried out to respond to the declining school-age population, the tendency to avoid science and engineering fields, and the acceleration of digital transformation, with the aim of establishing a national talent development model that supports the early discovery and systematic growth of future science and technology talent. Through this, KAIST plans to expand the base of science and technology talent, reduce regional and social educational gaps, and realize inclusive science and technology education.
"Junior KAIST" is a step-by-step inquiry-based online curriculum designed to help students develop interest in science and technology fields and deepen their exploration of areas of interest. In the long term, it aims to discover outstanding science and engineering talent and strengthen connections to higher education and career pathways.
In particular, for students from the 4th grade of elementary school to the 2nd year of high school, it operates a grade-specific customized learning curriculum—Enjoy, Dive, Challenge, Boost, and ACE (Achieve Complete Exploration)—to support learning suited to individual levels and interests, while intensively strengthening core STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) competencies such as mathematics, science, future technology, AI, and data-based problem solving.
In addition, the program will expand its Question-Based Learning (QBL) model, where students create and investigate their own questions. Outstanding students will also be given opportunities for real career experience, including mentoring with KAIST professors and university (graduate) students, participation in laboratory-based projects, and the presentation of research outcomes. KAIST plans to establish a virtuous cycle talent development system that will, in the long term, connect to admission into science high schools, gifted high schools, and KAIST itself.
In the second semester of the 2025 academic year, various courses such as "Enjoy Mathematics," "Enjoy Robots," and "Enjoy AI" will be offered, and registration is available until August 31 through the official website (junior.kaist.ac.kr).
Sijong Kwak, Director of the KAIST Center for Gifted Education Research, said, “Junior KAIST is not just gifted education, but a platform for fostering future science and technology talent that grows through curiosity, inquiry, and creativity. We will do our utmost to ensure that KAIST establishes itself as a representative model for national science and technology talent development.”
2025.08.28 View 3809