Steve+Kang
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President Sung-Mo Kang Receives the Jang Young-sil Award
On April 22, 2016, President Sung-Mo Kang of KAIST became the 18th recipient of the Jang Young-sil Award. The Jang Young-sil Memorial Association of Korea awarded the prize to him at the Korea Press Center in Seoul.
The award, created in 1999 by the Jang Young-sil Memorial Association of Korea to recognize those scientists who have made significant contributions to the development of Korean science and technology, is bestowed annually.
Jang Young-sil was a highly regarded Korean scientist and astronomer during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), whose major inventions were a sundial, a water clock, and a rain gauge.
In the award ceremony, the association said that President Kang had devoted much of his life to the advancement of science education and research, globally and nationally, as an educator, scholar, administrator, and researcher and that his accomplishments have served as an example of leadership for young scientists.
In his acceptance speech, President Kang expressed his gratitude for the award and said,
“I am honored to receive an award in the name of our great ancestor scientist Jang Young-sil who, despite his low birth as a peasant, rose to become an excellent scientist and built a remarkable legacy of science for Korea. While cherishing his spirit, creativity and grit, I will continue to working hard to foster outstanding scientists and engineers who are needed not only by Korea but also by the global community.”
In the photo, Dr. Gun-Mo Chung (pictured on the right), the former Minister of Science and Technology of Korea presents the Jang Young-sil Award to President Sung-Mo Kang (left).
2016.04.22 View 5148 -
KAIST's Freshmen End the 2015 Fall Semester by Donating to Their School
Each of KAIST's 271 freshmen donated USD 8.50 to the school, totaling USD 2,300, as part of a campaign to support their alma mater. The donation was presented to President Steve Kang on December 10, 2015.
The students made the donation to express their thanks for what they have received from the school during their first year in KAIST.
Hae-In Suh, a freshman who participated in the donation campaign, said, “I’ve enjoyed many programs and events offered by the university in my first year, in which I learned a great deal about the university life and found many friends. I’m really happy to finish my first year with this meaningful contribution, albeit a small amount, to the school.”
In the picture, KAIST freshmen hold their Certificate of Donation.
2015.12.16 View 4208 -
Public Forum on the Development of High-Performance Supercomputing System
KAIST hosted a public forum on the development of high-performance supercomputing systems at the K Hotel in Seoul on December 17, 2015.
About 100 participants attended the forum, including Steve Kang, the President of KAIST; Jae-Moon Park, the Director General of Science, ICT and Future Planning of the Republic of Korea; Sun-Hwa Hahn, the President of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information; Sang-Gyu Park, the Director of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute; Soon-Chill Lee, the Dean of KAIST’s Natural Sciences College; Jangwoo Kim, the Professor of Computer Science and Engineering of Pohang University of Science and Technology; and Kyung-Hak Suh, the Director of Convergence Technology Division at the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Also attending the forum were representatives from the private sector, including Sung-Soon Park, the President of Gluesys; Myung-Chul Lee, the Director of IMB Korea; Jin-Hyun Choi, the President of Cray Korea; and Chung-Gun Yoo, the Director of HP Korea.
KAIST created the High-performance Computing Development Forum in July this year. Since then, the forum has held four conferences and workshops to discuss issues related to the growth of supercomputing power in Korea.
This public forum consisted of a keynote speech on the “Policy Proposal for the Development of Supercomputers” by Professor Hyuk-Jae Lee of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Seoul National University and panel discussions presided over by President Kang on the topic of “Development and Implementation Strategies to Build Korean Supercomputers.”
President Kang said, “I hope this public forum can serve as a place for designing the future of Korean supercomputers, and what we have discussed at the forum will be duly delivered to the government to help them develop policies necessary to build the computers.”
2015.12.16 View 6449 -
KAIST and Charles University Agree to Cooperate
KAIST and Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic, agreed to cooperate in research and education.
President Steve Kang of KAIST (pictured on the left) and Rector Tomáš Zima of Charles University signed the agreement on December 2, 2015, at the Hilton Hotel in Prague.
Minster Yang-Hee Choi of Science, ICT and Future Planning of the Republic of Korea and Minister Kateřina Valachová of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic also joined the signing ceremony.
Under the agreement, the two institutions will exchange students and researchers, as well as implement joint research programs.
President Kang said, “We are pleased to work with one of the most prestigious universities in the Czech Republic and hope to build a good partnership in the years ahead.”
Founded in 1348, Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. The university received two Nobel prizes in physiology or medicine and in chemistry in 1947 and 1959, respectively.
2015.12.03 View 6771 -
KAIST Participates in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2015 in China
KAIST’s president and its professors actively engage in discussions of major issues on higher education, technology innovation, and industry-university collaboration with global leaders from across all sectors.
President Steve Kang of KAIST participated in the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2015 (a.k.a., Summer Davos Forum) hosted by the World Economic Forum (WEF). With the theme of “Charting a New Course for Growth,” the Summer Davos Forum took place on September 9-11, 2015 in, Dalian, China.
Currently, KAIST is a member of the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) of WEF, a gathering of the presidents of the top 25 universities in the world, including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Tokyo, University of Oxford, Peking University, and National University of Singapore. GULF allows university leaders an opportunity to have high-level dialogues on higher education and research and explore prospects for cooperative ventures.
President Kang led the discussion of the GULF session at the Summer Davos Forum, which was held on September 10, 2015, with 25 university leaders as well as two business leaders from Chinese companies: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., and Sanofi China. The participants shared candid perspectives on industry-university collaboration, particularly the need for such partnerships in Asia.
In addition, KAIST hosted the fourth IdeasLab session, entitled “Bio versus Nano Materials, on September 9, 2015. At the session, four KAIST professors held an in-depth debate and discussion with the audience on whether the next industrial revolution would be driven by advances in biomaterials or nanomaterials.
The topics under discussion were:
- New materials that mimic biology by Professor Hea Shin Lee
- Bio-based materials that replace petroleum-based materials by Professor Sang Yup Lee
- New materials designed at sub-nano scale by Professor Hee Tae Jung
- A hydrogen economy with nanomaterials by Professor Eun Ae Cho
Since its establishment in 2007, the Summer Davos Forum has become the biggest business and political gathering in Asia, held annually either in Dalian or Tianjin, China. The Forum has attracted more than 1,500 participants primarily from emerging nations such as China, India, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil, and has offered an open platform to address issues important to the region and the global community.
2015.09.14 View 7463 -
President Steve Kang Receives the John Choma Education Award from the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) 2015 took place at the Cultural Centre of Belem in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 24-27, 2015.
President Steve Kang attended the conference and presented a paper entitled “Memrister-based Synapses and Neurons for Neuromorphic Computing” on May 26, 2015. On the same day, he received the John Choma Education Award.
The award was established to commemorate the lifetime achievement of the late Professor John Choma of the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Southern California. Dr. Choma was an eminent scientist, scholar, and educator, who earned global recognition in the field of integrated circuits and very-large-scale-integration (VLSI).
The IEEE ISCAS selects, among its members, the recipient of the John Choma Education Award, who has made significant contributions to the education of circuits and systems.
President Kang advised 60 doctorates while teaching at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of California at Santa Cruz and published 450 research papers in the past 40 years. He also received Meritorious Service Award, Charles Desoer Technical Achievement Award, and Mac Van Valkenburg Society Award, all from the IEEE ISCAS.
2015.06.03 View 6388 -
KAIST's Alumni Announces Its Vision to Raise Development Funds
The 40th anniversary of the Graduation and Homecoming Day took place at Seoul campus on April 18, 2015.
KAIST’s alumni announced its long-term vision called “Honor KAIST” to raise the development fund of USD 1 billion by 2100 at the 40th anniversary of “The First Master’s Graduation and Homecoming Day.” The anniversary ceremony took place at the Seoul campus on April 18, 2015. President Steve Kang, Man-Ki Paik, President of KAIST Alumni Association, and the first graduates of KAIST master’s program attended the event.
The first 106 master’s graduates of KAIST, the Class of 1975, received their degrees from eight departments. About 18 professors, including Dr. KunMo Chung, who taught the Class of 1975, and 52 graduates such as Suk-Joong Kang, Sik-Chol Kwon, Youngkyu Do, Sung Joo Park, Joon-Taik Park, Hyung-Kang Shin, Dong-Yol Yang, Seong Ihl Woo, Jae Kyu Lee, In-Won Lee, Byoung-Kyu Choi, and Kyu-Young Hwang participated in the homecoming event that proceeded with the tour of Seoul campus and the ceremony to deliver the first donation by the graduates.
The graduates involved in the vision campaign declared: “KAIST graduates have great pride in having taken part in advancing science and technology in Korea and are grateful for the education given by the nation. There is still a long way ahead for KAIST and Korea. The alumni should work together to help shaping the future of KAIST with great interest and affection for the institution.” They also urged KAIST graduates to donate more for their alma mater: “Let us try to participate in donating USD 100,000 in our lifetime!” The graduates added, “Having donations up to USD 1 billion helped MIT become a great university. We should take the lead in aiming to collect such amount by 2100 for KAIST.”
President Kang addressed the ceremony and said in his speech, “The Honor KAIST Development Funds will serve as the foundation for the university’s continuous, strong growth. Every member of KAIST will work in harmony to transfer KAIST into one of the top ten research universities in the world.” He continued, “The funds will be used to further future strategies of KAIST such as high impact Nobel-prize level research and innovative education.”
Contributors will receive benefits including an honorary lifetime email account entitled “Honor.KAIST” and will have their names listed on “The Honor KAIST” website and “The Honor KAIST” commemorative wall.
Picture 1: The First Master’s Graduation and Homecoming Day 2015
Picture 2: President Steve Kang (right) and President Man-Ki Paik of the KAIST Alumni Association
2015.04.22 View 7686 -
KAIST Establishes a Center for Human Rights and Ethics
KAIST hosted an opening ceremony on November 27, 2014 for its Center for Human Rights and Ethics (CHRE) located in the Education Support Building on campus.
President Steve Kang and other senior administrators participated in the ceremony, pledging to eliminate violence, corruption, and prejudice on the campus.
The CHRE was created to provide members of the KAIST community with one-stop service to report and process human rights violation cases and issues related to corruption and illegalities such as verbal abuse, physical assault, sexual harassment, and bribes. The center will also launch campaigns to promote and strengthen awareness of human rights and ethics within the university.
The Director of CHRE, Professor Young-hee Kim of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at KAIST said, “The center will serve an important role in the improvement of human rights and in the reestablishment of moral standards in KAIST. I hope KAIST members make the most of the center wherever they face injustice and unequal treatment during their study and work at the campus.”
2014.12.08 View 6628 -
Kimchi Making by Students and KAIPlus Members
Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish of fermented vegetables, with the most common ingredients of Napa cabbages and daikon radishes. Every winter, Koreans make bountiful amounts of kimchi for consumption in the winter months.
President Steve Kang and about 50 KAIST students and members of KAIPlus, a volunteer group consisted of spouses of KAIST Faculty, made kimchi on November 28, 2014 at the Sports Complex on campus. They prepared 500 Napa cabbages for kimchi which were donated to local people in need.
2014.12.08 View 5466 -
President Steve Kang will serve as the Chairman of Global Agenda Council on the Future of Electronics of the World Economic Forum
President Steve Kang of KAIST has been appointed to the Chairman of the Global Agenda Council (GAC) on the Future of Electronics of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He will serve the position for two years until September 2016.
President Kang and WEF council members co-hosted, with the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Future Circles Initiative, a future-focused, innovative brainstorming conference to help find strategies and ideas for the development of UAE. The conference took place on November 11-12, 2014 at the Mina Al Salam Hotel in Dubai.
WEF has about 80 GACs. Each council consists of 15 experts and thought leaders from the academia, industry, government, business, and non-profit sector and deals with specific issues that are important and relevant to the global community such as ageing, artificial intelligence and robotics, brain research, food and nutrition security, education, social media, and future of chemicals, advanced materials and biotechnology.
President Kang was recognized for his contribution to the advancement of science and higher education as an engineer, scholar, and professor. He led the development of the world’s premier CMOS 32-bit microprocessors while working at the AT&T Bell Laboratories. He also taught and conducted research at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. President Kang served as the chancellor of the University of California at Merced from March 2007 to June 2011.
2014.11.11 View 8236 -
KAIST Opens a New Residence Hall for Students
KAIST has made a great addition to improve life for students on campus.
The faculty and students celebrated the completion of a new dormitory for students on October 15, 2014. About 50 people including President Steve Kang of KAIST, the Dean of the Office of Student Affairs and Policy, and the Dean of the Office of Student Life, attended the ceremony.
The building can accommodate up to 600 students at a time, housing such facilities as 2-or 4-person rooms, meeting rooms, gyms, and laundry rooms. The dormitory is environmentally friendly, with 60% of its heat and cooling system supported by geothermal energy.
Its construction took 18 months, from January 2013 to August 2014, at a cost of 175 million US dollars.
2014.10.15 View 5980 -
President Steve Kang of KAIST Attends the 2014 Summer Davos Forum in Tianjin, China
President Steve Kang of KAIST will attend the 2014 Annual Meeting of the New Champions, the World Economic Forum (WEF), to be held on September 10-12, 2014 in Tianjin, China.
KAIST holds its own IdeasLab session on nanotechnology on September 12, 2014.
On September 10, 2014, President Steve Kang will participate in a private session hosted by the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) community at WEF as a panelist.
In addition to President Kang, eight presidents from top global universities such as the National University of Singapore, Peking University, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), University of Tokyo, and Carnegie Mellon University will join the panel discussion under the topic, “Increasing the Translational Impact of University Research.” Specifically, the presidents will address issues related to the importance of university-led technology transfer in Asia, key strategies and goals for technology transfer, and implementation approaches taken by each university to promote technology transfer from university to industry.
President Kang was invited to this GULF session, the only attendant from Korean universities, in recognition of his long time experience and expertise in education and research.
In 2006, WEF created the GULF, a small community of the presidents of top universities in the world, aiming to offer an open platform for high-level dialogues on issues of higher education and research with other sectors, as well as to foster collaboration between universities in areas of significance for global policy.
As of 2014, a total of 25 globally leading universities, including Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are GULF members. KAIST, which joined the club this year, is the only Korean university.
The 2014 Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, hosts numerous sessions under the theme of “Creating Value through Innovation.” At the Forum, a total of ten IdeasLab sessions will be hosted. KAIST was invited to run its own IdeasLab on nanotechnology on September 12, 2014.
Together with President Kang, Professors Sang Ouk Kim and Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science Engineering, KAIST, and Professors Sang Yup Lee and Hyunjoo Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, will present their own speeches on the topic entitled “From diagnostics to materials, how is nanotechnology changing lives?”
President Kang will give the opening speech at the KAIST IdeasLab.
He said that an invitation from WEF to join the IdeasLab spoke well for KAIST:
“KAIST is the first and the only Korean university ever invited to run its own IdeasLab at the World Economic Forum. The IdeasLab is an expert group meeting, conducted only by the world’s most prestigious universities and research institutes. At the IdeasLab sessions, global leaders from different sectors identify major issues facing higher education and humanity and explore solutions through science and technology innovation. Holding our own IdeasLab on one of our strongest fields, nanotechnology, is indeed an excellent opportunity for KAIST to show its strength in academic and research excellence on the global stage.”
2014.09.08 View 12613