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Selection of the 'Proud Alumni Award' Recipients
<(From left) Donggeun Yoo, CAIO of Lunit / Eun-kang Song, CEO of Capstone Partners / Sang Ouk Kim, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST/ Sung-soo Kim, Special Professor at Yonsei University/ Byung Jin Cho, Professor of Electrical Engineering at KAIST/ Joongi Kim, CTO of Lablup>
KAIST announced on January 16th that the Alumni Association has selected the recipients of the 'KAIST Proud Alumni Award.'
Starting this year, the 'KAIST Proud Alumni Award' has been expanded and reorganized into six categories—Innovative Entrepreneurship, Industrial Contribution, Academic Research, Public Innovation, Social Service, and Young Alumni—to broadly highlight the achievements of alumni active in various fields. The award ceremony will be held at the '2026 KAIST New Year's Gala' at 5 p.m. on the 16th at the EL Tower in Seoul.
Donggeun Yoo, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) of Lunit Inc. (B.S. 2011, M.S. 2013, Ph.D. 2019, School of Electrical Engineering), was selected as the recipient of the Innovative Entrepreneurship category. CAIO Yoo co-founded Lunit, a first-generation deep learning AI startup in Korea, in 2013, leading AI technology in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Recently, he contributed to strengthening national competitiveness in the medical AI industry by leading the 'AI-specialized Foundation Model Project.'
In the Industrial Contribution category, Eun-kang Song, CEO of Capstone Partners (M.S. 1988, School of Computing), was named. CEO Song is the person who established the early-stage investment-centered strategy in the domestic venture capital industry. Over the past 28 years, he has led the development of the venture ecosystem by growing companies into unicorns through more than 200 investments.
The recipient of the Academic Research category, Sang Ouk Kim, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST (B.S. 1994, M.S. 1996, Ph.D. 2000, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering), opened a new horizon in new material research by identifying the liquid crystallinity of graphene oxide for the first time in the world. This research is evaluated as a core original technology that enabled the mass production of high-purity graphene, serving as an example of the industrial expansion of basic research.
The Public Innovation category was awarded to Sung-soo Kim, Special Professor at the College of Engineering, Yonsei University (former Chairman of the Science and Technology Professionals Community) (Ph.D. 1988, Dept. of Chemistry). During his tenure as the Vice Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Professor Kim established a pan-governmental technology self-reliance system for materials, parts, and equipment in response to Japanese export restrictions and led the innovation of national R&D governance.
Byung Jin Cho, Professor of the School of Electrical Engineering at KAIST (M.S. 1987, Ph.D. 1991, School of Electrical Engineering), was selected for the Social Service category. Since founding a campus club in 2010, Professor Cho has practiced continuous mentoring and sharing for 15 years, supporting the academic studies and settlement of international students.
Joongi Kim, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and co-founder of Lablup Inc. (B.S. 2010, M.S. 2012, Ph.D. 2016, School of Computing), who received the Young Alumni award given to talents aged 40 or younger, developed an open-source-based AI infrastructure management platform and proved technological competitiveness in the global market by registering core GPU fractional virtualization technology as patents in Korea, the U.S., and Japan.
Kwang Hyung Lee, President of KAIST, said, "This year's awardees are role models for KAISTians who have contributed to the development of society and the nation with outstanding achievements. These challenges and achievements of our seniors will inspire juniors and contribute to spreading the innovative values of KAIST."
Yun-tae Lee, the 27th President of the KAIST Alumni Association, stated, "The six awardees are the protagonists who have practiced the values of KAISTians across academia, industry, public, and society. The Alumni Association will continue to serve as a link for the achievements of alumni to spread into society."
Meanwhile, the newly elected 28th President of the Alumni Association, Hoo-sik Kim, is scheduled to begin his term in February 2026.
2026.01.16 View 183 -
Professor Insik Shin Becomes First Korean to Win the RTSS Most Influential Paper Award
< KAIST Professor Insik Shin >
KAIST announced on December 21st that Professor Insik Shin from the School of Computing has received the Influential Paper Award 2025 at the IEEE Real-Time Systems Symposium (RTSS), the world's most prestigious international conference in the field of real-time systems.
This honor is a "Test of Time Award," presented to papers that have exerted a sustained and significant influence on both academia and industry for more than 10 years after publication. This marks the first time a Korean researcher has received this prestigious award. The ceremony took place at IEEE RTSS 2025 in Boston, USA, on December 4th (local time).
Professor Shin’s award-winning research is the "Periodic Resource Model," co published in 2003 with Professor Insup Lee of the University of Pennsylvania. Rather than trying to verify a complex machine or system all at once, this study developed a method to verify individual components—much like LEGO blocks—to ensure each meets its designated timing requirements. It mathematically guarantees that when these components are assembled, the entire system will operate safely.
Paper Title: Periodic Resource Model for Compositional Real-Time Guarantees
DOI: 10.1109/REAL.2003.1253249
Thanks to this research, it has become possible to design real-time systems that cannot tolerate even a moment of delay—such as autonomous vehicles, aircraft, and industrial robots—with greater precision and safety. This breakthrough overcame the limitations of existing methods that required analyzing an entire system at once, which had become nearly impossible as the complexity of modern real-time systems increased rapidly.
Professor Shin presented a method to divide a system into small modules, verify that each module satisfies its time constraints, and mathematically prove that the safety of the entire system is guaranteed upon integration. This work is credited with establishing the foundation for modern compositional real-time scheduling theory.
At the time of its initial publication in 2003, this paper won the 'Best Paper Award' at RTSS—another first for a Korean researcher. Now, 20 years later, its academic and industrial value has been officially recognized once again. This is because the theory has transcended academic boundaries to become a core analytical tool in various safety-critical industries, including autonomous driving, aerospace control, and industrial automation.
The IEEE Technical Committee stated, "This model has established itself as a core language for modern real-time system design and has guided the direction of research and industry for the past 20 years." The paper is currently featured in textbooks at major universities in the United States and Europe, serving as a standard theory in the field.
"As a scholar, this is the award I have wanted most in my life," said Professor Shin. "I am honored to have it recognized that research from 20 years ago has truly had a major impact on the world. This was made possible by the many researchers and companies who applied this theory to actual systems."
Meanwhile, Professor Shin is expanding his research beyond real-time systems into the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). He founded the faculty-led startup Fluiz and developed FluidGPT, a mobile AI agent technology that allows users to execute smartphone apps via voice commands. This technology recently won the AI Champion Competition hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Experts evaluate Professor Shin as achieving rare success by bridging basic theory and applied technology, effectively linking research to industry.
2025.12.22 View 516 -
KAIST Predicts Human Group Behavior with AI! 1st Place at the World’s Top Conference… Major Success after 23 Years
<(From Left) Ph.D candidate Geon Lee, Ph.D candidate Minyoung Choe, M.S candidate Jaewan Chun, Professor Kijung Shin, M.S candidate Seokbum Yoon>
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 9th of December that Professor Kijung Shin’s research team at the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI has developed a groundbreaking AI technology that predicts complex social group behavior by analyzing how individual attributes such as age and role influence group relationships.
With this technology, the research team achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Best Paper Award at the world-renowned data mining conference “IEEE ICDM,” hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This is the highest honor awarded to only one paper out of 785 submissions worldwide, and marks the first time in 23 years that a Korean university research team has received this award, once again demonstrating KAIST’s technological leadership on the global research stage.
Today, group interactions involving many participants at the same time—such as online communities, research collaborations, and group chats—are rapidly increasing across society. However, there has been a lack of technology that can precisely explain both how such group behavior is structured and how individual characteristics influence it at the same time.
To overcome this limitation, Professor Kijung Shin’s research team developed an AI model called “NoAH (Node Attribute-based Hypergraph Generator),” which realistically reproduces the interplay between individual attributes and group structure.
NoAH is an artificial intelligence that explains and imitates what kinds of group behaviors emerge when people’s characteristics come together. For example, it can analyze and faithfully reproduce how information such as a person’s interests and roles actually combine to form group behavior.
As such, NoAH is an AI that generates “realistic group behavior” by simultaneously reflecting human traits and relationships. It was shown to reproduce various real-world group behaviors—such as product purchase combinations in e-commerce, the spread of online discussions, and co-authorship networks among researchers—far more realistically than existing models.
< The process of generating group interactions using NoAH >
Professor Kijung Shin stated, “This study opens a new AI paradigm that enables a richer understanding of complex interactions by considering not only the structure of groups but also individual attributes together,” and added, “Analyses of online communities, messengers, and social networks will become far more precise.”
This research was conducted by a team consisting of Professor Kijung Shin and KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI students: master’s students Jaewan Chun and Seokbum Yoon, and doctoral students Minyoung Choe and Geon Lee, and was presented at IEEE ICDM on November 18.
※ Paper title: “Attributed Hypergraph Generation with Realistic Interplay Between Structure and Attributes” Original paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.21838
< Photo from the award ceremony held on November 14 at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.>
Meanwhile, including this award-winning paper, Professor Shin’s research team presented a total of four papers at IEEE ICDM this year. In addition, in 2023, the team also received the Best Student Paper Runner-up (4th place) at the same conference.
This work was supported by Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. RS-202400457882, AI Research Hub Project) (RS-2019-II190075, Artificial Intelligence Graduate School Program (KAIST)) (No. RS-2022-II220871, Development of AI Autonomy and Knowledge Enhancement for AI Agent Collaboration).
2025.12.09 View 1430 -
Professor Youngjin Kwon's Team Wins Google Award 'Catches Bugs Without a Real CPU
< Professor Youngjin Kwon >
Modern CPUs have complex structures, and in the process of handling multiple tasks simultaneously, an order-scrambling error known as a 'concurrency bug' can occur. Although this can lead to security issues, these bugs were extremely difficult to detect using conventional methods. Our university's research team has developed a world-first-level technology to automatically detect these bugs by precisely reproducing the internal operation of the CPU in a virtual environment without needing a physical chip. Through this, they successfully found and fixed 11 new bugs in the latest Linux kernel.
Our university announced on the 21st that the research team led by Professor Youngjin Kwon of the School of Computing has won the 'Research Scholar Award' (Systems category) presented by Google.
The Google Research Scholar Award is a global research support program, implemented since 2020, to support Early-Career Professors conducting innovative research in various fields such as AI, Systems, Security, and Data Management.
It is known as a highly competitive program, with the selection process conducted directly by Google Research scientists, and only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of applicants worldwide are chosen. In particular, this award is recognized as one of the most prestigious industry research support programs globally in the field of AI and Computer Systems, and domestic recipients are rare.
■ Technology Developed to Detect Concurrency Bugs in the Latest Apple M3 and ARM Servers
Professor Kwon's team developed a technology that automatically detects concurrency bugs in the latest ARM (a CPU design method that uses less power and is highly efficient) based servers, such as the Apple M3 (Apple's latest-generation computer processor chip).
A concurrency bug is an error that occurs when the order of operations gets mixed up while the CPU handles multiple tasks simultaneously. This is a severe security vulnerability that can cause the computer to suddenly freeze or become a pathway for hackers to attack the system. However, these errors were extremely difficult to find with existing testing methods alone.
■ Automatically Detects Bugs by Reproducing CPU Internal Operations Without a Real CPU
The core achievement of Professor Kwon's team is the 'technology to reproduce the internal operation of the CPU exactly in a virtual environment without a physical chip.' Using this technology, it is possible to precisely analyze the order in which instructions are executed and where problems occur using only software, without having to disassemble the CPU or use the actual chip.
By running the Linux operating system based on this system to automatically detect bugs, the research team discovered 11 new bugs in the latest Linux kernel* and reported them to the developer community, where they were all fixed.
*Linux kernel: The core operating system engine that forms the basis of servers, supercomputers, and smartphones (Android) worldwide. It acts as the 'heart' of the system, managing the CPU, memory, and storage devices.
Google recognized this technology as 'very important for its own infrastructure' and conferred the Award.
< Google Scholar Award Recipient Page >
This technology is evaluated to have general applicability, not only to Linux but also to various operating systems such as Android and Windows. The research team has released the software as open-source (GitHub) so that anyone in academia or industry can utilize it.
Professor Youngjin Kwon stated, "This award validates the international competitiveness of KAIST's systems research," and "We will continue our research to establish a safe and highly reliable computing environment."
※ Google Scholar Award Recipient Page: https://research.google/programs-and-events/research-scholar-program/recipients/ GitHub (Technology Open-Source): https://github.com/casys-kaist/ozz
2025.11.21 View 1060 -
AI Nüshu Wins International Award
< (From left) Dr. Yuqian Sun, Professor Chang-Hee Lee of the Department of Industrial Design, and Ali Asadipour, Director of CSRC at the Royal College of Art >
'Nüshu (女書)' is the world's only women's script, a unique writing system created autonomously by women in Hunan Province, China, starting around the 19th century. These women, excluded from Hanzi education, used it to record their lives and communicate with each other. A research team from KAIST participated in the 'AI Nüshu (女书)' project, which combines the script's significance (creation amidst oppression, female solidarity, linguistic experimentation) with modern technology, winning a prestigious international award often called the 'Academy Award of the media art world.'
KAIST announced on the 10th that the 'AI Nüshu' project, jointly conducted by Professor Chang-Hee Lee's research team from the Department of Industrial Design and Ali Asadipour, Director of the Computer Science Research Center at the Royal College of Art (RCA), was selected for the Honorary Mention in the Digital Humanity category at the 'Prix Ars Electronica 2025,' the world's highest-level media art festival.
< Installation image of 'AI Nüshu' >
The 'Prix Ars Electronica,' known as the 'Academy Award of the media art world,' is the premier international media art competition held annually in Linz, Austria. This competition, which discovers innovative works spanning the boundaries of art and science, saw 3,987 submissions from 98 countries this year, with only two works receiving the honor in the Digital Humanity category.
The award-winning work, 'AI Nüshu (女书),' is based on 'Nüshu,' the world's only women's script created by Chinese women who were excluded from literacy education to record and communicate their lives.
The KAIST research team and collaborators combined this script with Computational Linguistics to create an installation that visitors can directly experience.
The artificial intelligence within the artwork learns the communication methods of pre-modern Chinese women and generates its own new language. This is regarded as a symbol of resistance against the patriarchal order and a feminist endeavor that moves beyond Western-centric views on language.
< Example of the same sentence expressed in English, Chinese, Nüshu, and AI Nüshu >
It also received high praise for artistically presenting the possibility of machines creating new languages, going beyond the preconception that 'only humans create language.'
Dr. Yuqian Sun of the Royal College of Art expressed her feelings, saying, "Although there were many difficulties in my life and research process, I feel great reward and emotion through this award."
Professor Chang-Hee Lee of the KAIST Department of Industrial Design stated, "It is very meaningful that this contemplative art, born from the intersection of history, humanities, art, and technology, has led to such a globally prestigious award."
Detailed information about the project can be found on the official Prix Ars Electronica website (https://ars.electronica.art/prix/en/digitalhumanity/).
2025.10.13 View 1556 -
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 1426 -
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 1842 -
KAIST Takes the Lead in Developing Core Technologies for Generative AI National R&D Project
KAIST announced on the 15th of August that Professor Sanghoo Park of the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering has won two consecutive awards for early-career researchers at two of the world's most prestigious plasma academic conferences.
Professor Park was selected as a recipient of the Early Career Award (ECA) at the Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC), hosted by the American Physical Society, on August 4. He was also honored with the Young Investigator Award, presented by the International Plasma Chemistry Society (IPCS), on June 19.
The American Physical Society's GEC Early Career Award is given to only one person worldwide every two years, based on a comprehensive evaluation of research excellence, academic influence, and contributions to the field of plasma. The award will be presented at GEC 2025, which will be held at COEX in Seoul from October 13 to 17.
Established in 1948, the GEC is a leading academic conference in the plasma field with a 77-year history of showcasing key research achievements in all areas of plasma, including physics, chemistry, diagnostics, and application technologies. Recently, advanced application research such as eco-friendly chemical processes, next-generation semiconductors, and atomic layer and ultra-low-temperature etching technology for HBM processes have been gaining attention.
To commemorate the award, Professor Park will give an invited lecture at GEC 2025 on the topic of "Deep-Learning-Based Spectroscopic Data Analysis for Advancing Plasma Spectroscopy." In his lecture, he will use case studies to demonstrate a method that allows even non-specialists to easily and quickly perform spectroscopic data analysis—which is essential for spectroscopy, a key analytical method in modern science including plasma diagnostics—by using deep learning technology.
Professor Park also won the Young Investigator Award from the IPCS at the 26th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry (ISPC 26), which was held in Minneapolis, USA, from June 15 to 20.
First held in 1973, the ISPC (International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry) is a representative international conference in the field of plasma chemistry, held biennially. It covers a wide range of topics, from basic plasma chemical reaction principles to applications in semiconductor processes, green energy, environmental science, and biotechnology. Researchers from industry, academia, and research institutions worldwide share their latest findings at each event. The Young Investigator Award is given to a scientist who has obtained their doctorate within the last 10 years and has demonstrated outstanding achievements in the field.
Professor Park was recognized for his leading research achievements in using plasma-liquid interactions and real-time optical diagnostic technology to environmentally fix nitrogen from the air and precisely control the quantity and types of reactive chemical species that are beneficial to the human body and the environment.
Professor Sanghoo Park stated, "It is very meaningful to receive the Young Investigator Award representing Korea at the GEC event, which is being held in Korea for the first time in its history." He added, "I am happy that my consistent interest in and achievements in fundamental plasma science have been recognized, and it is even more significant that the efforts of the KAIST research team have been acknowledged by the world's top conferences."
2025.08.16 View 2812 -
Prof. Seungbum Koo’s Team Receives Clinical Biomechanics Award at the 30th International Society of Biomechanics Conference
<(From Left) Ph.D candidate Jeongseok Oh from KAIST, Dr. Seungwoo Yoon from KAIST, Prof.Joon-Ho Wang from Samsung Medical Center, Prof.Seungbum Koo from KAIST>
Professor Seungbum Koo’s research team received the Clinical Biomechanics Award at the 30th International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) Conference, held in July 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Plenary Lecture was delivered by first author and Ph.D. candidate Jeongseok Oh. This research was conducted in collaboration with Professor Joon-Ho Wang’s team at Samsung Medical Center.
Residual Translational and Rotational Kinematics After Combined ACL and Anterolateral Ligament Reconstruction During Walking
Jeongseok Oh, Seungwoo Yoon, Joon-Ho Wang, Seungbum Koo
The study analyzed gait-related knee joint motion using high-speed biplane X-ray imaging and three-dimensional kinematic reconstruction in 10 healthy individuals and 10 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction with ALL augmentation. The patient group showed excessive anterior translation and internal rotation, suggesting incomplete restoration of normal joint kinematics post-surgery. These findings provide mechanistic insight into the early onset of knee osteoarthritis often reported in this population.'
The ISB conference, held biennially for over 60 years, is the largest international biomechanics meeting. This year, it hosted 1,600 researchers from 46 countries and featured over 1,400 presentations. The Clinical Biomechanics Award is given to one outstanding study selected from five top-rated abstracts invited for full manuscript review. The winning paper is published in Clinical Biomechanics, and the award includes a monetary prize and a Plenary Lecture opportunity.
From 2019 to 2023, Koo and Wang’s teams developed a system with support from the Samsung Future Technology Development Program to track knee motion in real time during treadmill walking, using high-speed biplane X-rays and custom three-dimensional reconstruction software. This system, along with proprietary software that precisely reconstructs the three-dimensional motion of joints, was approved for clinical trials by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and installed at Samsung Medical Center. It is being used to quantitatively analyze abnormal joint motion patterns in patients with knee ligament injuries and those who have undergone knee surgery.
Additionally, Jeongseok Oh was named one of five finalists for the David Winter Young Investigator Award, presenting his work during the award session. This award recognizes promising young researchers in biomechanics worldwide.
2025.08.10 View 2674 -
KAIST’s Wearable Robot Design Wins ‘2025 Red Dot Award Best of the Best’
<Professor Hyunjoon Park, M.S candidate Eun-ju Kang, Prospective M.S candidate Jae-seong Kim, undergraduate student Min-su Kim>
A team led by Professor Hyunjoon Park from the Department of Industrial Design won the ‘Best of the Best’ award at the 2025 Red Dot Design Awards, one of the world's top three design awards, for their 'Angel Robotics WSF1 VISION Concept.'
The design for the next-generation wearable robot for people with paraplegia successfully implements functionality, aesthetics, and social inclusion. This latest achievement follows the team's iF Design Award win for the WalkON Suit F1 prototype, which also won a gold medal at the Cybathlon last year. This marks consecutive wins at top-tier international design awards.
KAIST (President Kwang-hyung Lee) announced on the 8th of August that Move Lab, a research team led by Professor Hyunjoon Park from the Department of Industrial Design, won the 'Best of the Best' award in the Design Concept-Professional category at the prestigious '2025 Red Dot Design Awards' for their next-generation wearable robot design, the ‘Angel Robotics WSF1 VISION Concept.’
The German 'Red Dot Design Awards' is one of the world's most well-known design competitions. It is considered one of the world's top three design awards along with Germany’s iF Design Awards and America’s IDEA. The ‘Best of the Best’ award is given to the best design in a category and is awarded only to a very select few of the top designs (within the top 1%) among all Red Dot Award winners.
Professor Hyunjoon Park’s team was honored with the ‘Best of the Best’ award for a user-friendly follow-up development of the ‘WalkON Suit F1 prototype,’ which won a gold medal at the 2024 Cybathlon and an iF Design Award in 2025.
<Figure 1. WSF1 Vision Concept Main Image>
This award-winning design is the result of industry-academic cooperation with Angel Robotics Inc., founded by Professor Kyoungchul Kong from the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering. It is a concept design that proposes a next-generation wearable robot (an ultra-personal mobility device) that can be used by people with paraplegia in their daily lives.
The research team focused on transforming Angel Robotics Inc.'s advanced engineering platform into an intuitive and emotional, user-centric experience, implementing a design solution that simultaneously possesses functionality, aesthetics, and social inclusion.
<Figure 2. WSF1 Vision Concept Full Exterior (Front View)>
The WSF1 VISION Concept includes innovative features implemented in Professor Kyoungchul Kong’s Exo Lab, such as:
An autonomous access function where the robot finds the user on its own.
A front-loading mechanism designed for the user to put it on alone while seated.
Multi-directional walking functionality realized through 12 powerful torque actuators and the latest control algorithms.
AI vision technology, along with a multi-visual display system that provides navigation and omnidirectional vision.
This provides users with a safer and more convenient mobility experience.
The strong yet elegant silhouette was achieved through a design process that pursued perfection in proportion, surfaces, and details not seen in existing wearable robots. In particular, the fabric cover that wraps around the entire thigh from the robot's hip joint is a stylish element that respects the wearer's self-esteem and individuality, like fashionable athletic wear. It also acts as a device for the wearer to psychologically feel safe in interacting with the robot and blending in with the general public. This presents a new aesthetic for wearable robots where function and form are harmonized.
<Figure 3. WSF1 Vision Concept's Operating Principle. It walks autonomously and is worn from the front while the user is seated.>
KAIST Professor Hyunjoon Park said of the award, "We are focusing on using technology, aesthetics, and human-centered innovation to present advanced technical solutions as easy, enjoyable, and cool experiences for users. Based on Angel Robotics Inc.'s vision of 'recreating human ability with technology,' the WSF1 VISION Concept aimed to break away from the traditional framework of wearable robots and deliver a design experience that adds dignity, independence, and new style to the user's life."
<Figure 4. WSF1 Vision Concept Detail Image>
A physical model of the WSF1 VISION Concept is scheduled to be unveiled in the Future Hall of the 2025 Gwangju Design Biennale from August 30 to November 2. The theme is 'Po-yong-ji-deok' (the virtue of inclusion), and it will showcase the role of design language in creating an inclusive future society.
<Figure 5. WSF1 Vision Concept: Image of a Person Wearing and Walking>
2025.08.09 View 4006 -
KAIST's Lim Mi-hee wins Korea's L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Award
Lim Mi-hee, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Department of Chemistry, received the Academic Promotion Award at the 24th Korean L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Awards ceremony.
L'Oréal Korea, the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, and the Women’s Bioscience Forum held the 24th Korean L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Awards ceremony on the 16th and noted that Lim Mi-hee was selected for this year’s Academic Promotion Award.
Professor Lim was recognized for her research on the causes of Alzheimer's disease at the molecular level and her efforts in the discovery of intracellular proteins that promote the toxicity of Alzheimer’s-inducing factors. Professor Lim is a full member of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) and has received several awards including the Hanseong Science Award, this year's Women in Science and Technology Award, and the RIGAKU-ACCC Award (Asia's top woman scientist).
The fellowship section, awarded to four emerging women scientists, includes Kang Mi-kyung, an assistant professor at Korea University’s Department of Health and Environmental Sciences; Jeon Ji-hye, an assistant professor at Gyeongsang National University’s Department of Life Sciences; Jo Yu-na, a research professor at Pusan National University’s College of Medicine; and Lee Jeong-hyun, an assistant professor at Kongju National University’s Department of Environmental Education.
The recipients of the Academic Promotion Award and fellowships will receive a certificate and a trophy, along with research funding of 30 million won and 7 million won, respectively.
Samuel du Retail, the representative of L'Oréal Korea, said, “The L'Oréal Group continues to support the empowerment of women scientists and the improvement of research environments worldwide under the philosophy that 'the world needs science, and science needs women.' We will actively support more female talents to shine at the center of scientific and technological advancement in the future.”
2025.07.18 View 1310 -
Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee Wins 2025 Global Metabolic Engineering Award
< Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee (Senior Vice President for Research) from the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering >
KAIST announced on the 20th that Professor Sang Yup Lee, who serves as the Vice President for Research and a Distinguished Professor at our university, has been awarded the '2025 Gregory N. Stephanopoulos Award for Metabolic Engineering' by the International Metabolic Engineering Society (IMES). Professor Lee delivered his award lecture at the 16th Metabolic Engineering Conference (ME16), held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from June 15th to 19th.
This award was established through contributions from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Foundation, as well as fellow colleagues and acquaintances, to honor the achievements of Dr. Gregory Stephanopoulos, widely recognized as one of the pioneers of metabolic engineering. Presented biennially, the award recognizes scientists who have successfully commercialized fundamental research in metabolic engineering or have made outstanding contributions to the quantitative analysis, design, and modeling of metabolic pathways.
Professor Sang Yup Lee boasts an impressive record of over 770 journal papers and more than 860 patents. His groundbreaking research in metabolic engineering and biochemical engineering is highly acclaimed globally.
Throughout his 31 years as a professor at KAIST, Professor Lee has developed various metabolic engineering-based technologies and strategies. These advancements have been transferred to industries, facilitating the production of bulk chemicals, polymers, natural products, pharmaceuticals, and health functional foods. He has also founded companies and actively engages in advisory roles with various enterprises.
The International Metabolic Engineering Society (IMES) defines metabolic engineering as the manipulation of metabolic pathways in microorganisms or cells to produce useful substances (such as pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and chemical products). It utilizes tools like systems biology, synthetic biology, and computational modeling with the aim of enhancing the economic viability and sustainability of bio-based processes.
Furthermore, Professor Lee previously received the Merck Metabolic Engineering Award, a prominent international award in the field, in 2008. In 2018, he was honored with the Eni Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize in energy, presented by the President of Italy.
Professor Sang Yup Lee remarked, "Metabolic engineering is a discipline that leads the current and future of biotechnology. It is a tremendous honor to receive this meaningful award at a time when the transition to a bio-based economy is accelerating. Together with my students and fellow researchers, we have generated numerous patents and transferred technologies to industry, and also established startups in the fields of biofuels, wound healing, and cosmetics. I will continue to pursue research that encompasses both fundamental research and technological commercialization."
The 'International Metabolic Engineering Society (IMES)' is a specialized society under the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Its mission is to enable the production of various bio-based products, including pharmaceuticals, food additives, chemicals, and fuels, through metabolic engineering. The society hosts the Metabolic Engineering Conference biennially, offering researchers opportunities for knowledge exchange and collaboration.
2025.06.20 View 5432