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Bicycle Sharing System "Ta-Shu" Arrives at KAIST.
KAIST has begun providing a bike rental service, called “Ta-Shu,” to its students. This bicycle sharing system, implemented in tandem with the local city government, has been in service since the 7th of September and will allow KAIST students to rent bicycles for travel within campus and even to other parts of the city, Daejeon.
The ‘University Pubic-Bicycle Rental System’ is a program in which numbers of bicycles are made available for shared use by students. Initiated by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the university expects that more students will use bicycles as part of their daily mobility means through this system.
2011.09.22 View 8562 -
Cancer detection from an implantable, flexible LED
Professor Keon Jae Lee
A KAIST research team has developed a new type of biocompatible and bendable GaN LED biosensor.
Daejeon, the Republic of Korea, August 8, 2011—Can a flexible LED conformably placed on the human heart, situated on the corrugated surface of the human brain, or rolled upon the blood vessels, diagnose or even treat various diseases? These things might be a reality in the near future.
The team of Professor Keon Jae Lee (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST) has developed a new concept: a biocompatible, flexible Gallium Nitride (GaN) LED that can detect prostate cancer.
GaN LED, a highly efficient light emitting device, has been commercialized in LED TVs and in the lighting industry. Until now, it has been difficult to use this semiconductor material to fabricate flexible electronic systems due to its brittleness. The research team, however, has succeeded in developing a highly efficient, flexible GaN LED and in detecting cancer using a flexible LED biosensor.
Prof. Lee was involved in the first co-invention of "High Performance Flexible Single Crystal GaN" during his PhD course at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This flexible GaN LED biosensor utilized a similar protocol to transfer thin GaN LED films onto flexible substrates, followed by a biocompatible packaging process; the system’s overall potential for use in implantable biomedical applications was demonstrated.
Professor John Roger (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, UIUC) said,
“Bio-integrated LEDs represent an exciting, new technology with strong potential to address important challenges in human health. This present work represents a very nice contribution to this emerging field.”
This paper was published in the online issue of Nano Energy Elsevier Journal (Editor, Prof. Zhong Lin Wang) dated September 16, 2011.
Flexible GaN LED produces blue light.
2011.09.20 View 11979 -
Mrs. Kim Sam Yeol donates to KAIST 5 billion Korean Won in real estate following her husband Chairman Kim Byoung Ho's act of generosity.
“Everything is hard the first time around, but it becomes easier from the second time around. The same goes for donation. I wish my small donation can go a long way in the development of KAIST.”
Chairman Kim Byoung Ho donated to KAIST 30 billion Korean Won in real estate in 2009 and on the 19th of September of 2011, his wife Mrs. Kim Sam Yeol visited President Seo Nam Pyo at KAIST Seoul campus to donate 5 billion Korean Won in real estate.
It is the first time in KAIST history that the donator of a substantial donation or his/her family member donates once more, an equally substantial donation. Mrs. Kim relayed that, “Seeing the Kim Byoung Ho & Kim Same Yeol IT Fusion Center start construction in May of this year as a result of my husband’s donation made me think how great a contribution we have made in the development of this country” and that “It has been some time since I decided to make additional donation upon the completion of the IT Fusion Center in December.”
She explained that the earlier than planned donation reflects her wish that KAIST begin using and investing her donation as quickly as possible.
Mrs. Kim stated that, “We planned to build a mansion to live in in commemoration of our 30th wedding anniversary on the real estate property we donated, but it seemed much better and meaningful to take part in the joy of giving and donate to KAIST with the belief that the property will be used in a more meaningful way.”
She went on to say that, “It was harder to make the decision to donate the second time around. We felt sorry for our son and his spouse, but our decision was made final when we thought of the professors, students, staff, including President Seo Nam Pyo who spend day and night working to develop science and technology in Korea.”
Her husband Chairman Kim Byoung Ho agreed to donate the real estate property to KAIST.
President Seo commented, “Mrs. Kim Sam Yeol’s donation will contribute greatly to the spread of the ‘donation virus’ and will be marked as the start of a new chapter. In order to commemorate her goodwill for KAIST, it will be seen to it that the donation will be used in manner that is meaningful and beneficial to the development of KAIST.”
The couple, Kim Byoung Ho and Kim Sam Yeol, has donated a sum of 20 million Korean Won since their 2009 donation for the development of KAIST.
2011.09.20 View 8871 -
Professor Lee Sang Yeop Nominated the Chairman of Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum
Professor Lee Sang Yeop, Dean of College Life Science & Bioengineering, was appointed as the chairman of the Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum.
He will be in office till the 31st of August 2012, exactly 1 year from the date of his appointment.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a ‘think tank’ consisting of world leaders in various fields like economics, politics, and policies and has created the ‘Global Agenda Council’ to solve the problems mankind faces in achieving environmentally sustainable growth and suggest a collective vision and strategy.
The committee to be chaired by Professor Lee (Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council) will discuss the direction in which the fields of biological engineering, nanotechnology, and IT (information technology) should develop and discuss the possible impact these fields will have on the society.
Professor Lee commented that, “I am extremely happy to be appointed as the chair of the Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council at the World Economic Forum which is a gathering of world class leaders” and that “it is a great opportunity to spread Korea’s success and lessons in the advancement of science and technology.”
Professor Lee is the creator of the field of system metabolism engineering and is making great strides in manipulating the microorganism’s metabolic pathways on a systems scale to make changing chemicals derived from oil into eco-friendly and bio-based products.
2011.09.20 View 9849 -
KAIST Began to Operate 20 Specialized Patent Offices
KAIST’s Industry-University Collaboration Team started the operation of 20 specialized patent offices in order to improve the efficiency and specialty of patenting and commercialization of research results of KAIST. With the start of the operation of the patent offices, KAIST now has laid the groundwork for creating patent rights and improved patent use through improving services for technology developers and inventors.
The patent offices will offer various types of support related to patent rights and technology transfer by providing services such as interviews with inventors, preliminary reviews of technologies, and evaluations to find the invented technology patents worthwhile.
KAIST overwhelmingly outpaced other universities in the nation and ranked the “number one research university” in patent ownerships. According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office that investigated the number of patents domestic universities had acquired over the period of 5 years from 2006 to 2010, KAIST had 4,403 patents and was named the first in the fields of information and communication, electric materials and semiconductors, electronic circuit, automobile, and inorganic chemistry.
2011.09.20 View 7287 -
Review of organophosphonate nerve agent remediation and sensing chemistry
Professor David Churchill, Dept. of Chemistry, KAIST
Scientists in Daejeon, South Korea and Lexington, Kentucky (USA) have recently published a review on the subject of nerve agent remediation and probing chemistry (Chemical Reviews, DOI:10.1021/cr100193y). This article endeavored to pursue organophosphonate nerve agent chemistry deeply and comprehensively and to reflect that decontamination / sensing and nerve agents / pesticides are quite inextricable: when one tries to degrade nerve agents one also needs to detect what components are still present “downstream,” etc. Nerve agents and many pesticides also share a common generalized organophosphate / -phosphonate structure.
Also, the use of simulant molecules (mimics) and a consideration of the closely related organophosphonate pesticides were also treated comprehensively in the Review. The authors reached back into the literature when developing some sections to make important connections to the contemporary topics of interest. The review also includes industrial insights.
Kibong Kim, Olga G. Tsay and David G. Churchill of the Department of Chemistry at KAIST and David A. Atwood of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Kentucky endeavored to "make a variety of connections in research strategies and (sub-) fields to present what is still possible, fruitful, practical, and necessary and to facilitate a current comprehensive molecular level understanding of organophosphonate degradation and sensing," Churchill says.
The authors feel that for the time being, researchers in varying research areas “can use this manuscript effectively when considering future research directions.”
2011.09.19 View 9273 -
New Technology Developed for Analysis of New Drugs by Using Smart Nano-Sensors
Doctor Sang-Kyu Lee
Doctor Sang-Kyu Lee of the Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, has developed the technology that allows biological nano particles to be implanted into human cells for monitoring the effect of new drugs in real time from within the cell. It is expected that this technology will boost the ability to weigh the effects and properties of a new drug more quickly and accurately.
Conventionally, the candidate drug was injected into the human body, and then its cells are extracted to analyze the effects of the drugs. The problem with this method was that the cells were analyzed at a ‘dead’ state which made it incredibly difficult to find candidate substances due to uncontrollable side effects. This made the development of new drugs very difficult despite the large costs and efforts invested into its development.
The research team latched onto the idea that nanoparticles can connect to form a large complex. The complex acts as a nanosensor which allows for real time observation of drug target and the drug itself binding.
The team named the nanosensor technology ‘InCell SMART-i’ and was named ‘Hot Paper’ of the September edition of ‘Angewandte Chemie International Edition’ magazine, a world famous Chemistry Magazine.When a new drug injected into the human body, the drug and drug targets are gradually combined, and the smart nanosensor detects in real time the effect of the new drug as shown in the pictures above (shaded spot).
2011.09.19 View 9751 -
KOLON-KAIST Lifestyle Innovation Center Opening Ceremony
KAIST and KOLON opened the “Lifestyle Innovation Center” on the 6th of September this year. The ceremony was held at KAIST where the MOU for developing new industries was also signed.
The opening ceremony was attended by Chairman of KOLON Lee Eung Yeul and CEO’s of other various affiliate companies like Kim Nam Soo, Bae Young Ho, Park Dong Moon, and etc. and also President of KAIST Seo Nam Pyo along with professors who will participate like Professor Lee Young Hoon, Professor Joo Dae Joon, Professor Bae Kyung Wook, and Vice President of KAIST Jo Dong Ho.
The KOLON-KAIST Lifestyle Innovation Center (referred to as KOLON LSI Center) was developed under instructions from Chairman of KOLON Lee Eung Yeul wishing for the active cooperation and transfers of technologies with KAIST and, as a result, creating a domestic technology transfer network. The two institutes will be working together in finding highly promising fields of industry (with high risk but also high return) through research and development, technological advices, competitive exhibitions, and workshops.
Chairman of KOLON Lee Eung Yeul stated that “it is imperative to increase the success rate of new business and shorten the time frame of starting a new business by encouraging the business community to launch startups more and for the executive community including policy makers to support such endeavors” and that “the KOLON LSI Center will create a positive synergy to that end.”
President Seo Nam Pyo commented that, “KOLON-KAIST LSI Center is different even at the conceptual level” and that “I am confident that it will be a great success as it is the first of specialized joint labs in Korea that encourages professors and researchers of companies to conduct joint research programs.”
LSI Center was founded and will be administered by the Collective Contribution from KOLON, KOLON Industry, and KOLON GloTech, investing 7.5billion Korean Won over the course of 5 years.
2011.09.19 View 10874 -
KAIST Online Electirc Vehicle Introduced by CNN
CNN aired KAIST’s Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) on August 29, 2011 in its program called “Eco Solutions” that reports on meeting people with innovative solutions to preserve the planet. The reporter went to Seoul Grand Park, an amusement park and introduced an online electric tram developed by KAIST and operated on a daily basis for park visitors since July 29, 2011. KAIST has designed different types of OLEVs including bus, SUV, and tram. The reporter said that “the online electric tram” at the park provides visitors with a “cleaner, greener, and convenience since it charges as you go.” Currently, three OLEVs are running inside the park, and KAIST plans to replace the rest of existing diesel trams with OLEVs in the near future.
CNN Link: http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/eco.solutions/index.html
Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLzmFFqPJfo
2011.09.09 View 10989 -
Op-Ed by MIT President, Manufacturing a Recovery, New York Times, August 29, 2011
New York Times carried an opinion piece of MIT President, Susan Hockfield. Dr. Hockfield put emphasis on the importance of recovering manufacturing to revive the US economy and suggested investments in the development of high technology and “tight integration of design production” through “networks of innovation, lab research to new production processes, and business models.” For the op-ed piece, please go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/manufacturing-a-recovery.html?_r=2.
2011.08.31 View 10577 -
Future of Petrochemical Industry: The Age of Bio-Refineries
The concept of bio-refinery is based on using biomass from seaweeds and non-edible plant sources to produce various materials.
Bio-refineries has been looked into with increasing interest in modern times due to the advent of global warming (and the subsequent changes in the atmosphere) and the exhaustion of natural resources.
However past 20 years of research in metabolic engineering had a crucial limitation; the need to improve the efficiency of the microorganisms that actually go about converting biomass into biochemical materials.
In order to compensate for the inefficiency, Professor Lee Sang Yeop combined systems biology, composite biology, evolutionary engineering to form ‘systems metabolic engineering’.
This allows combining various data to explain the organism’s state in a multi-dimensional scope and respond accordingly by controlling the metabolism.
The result of the experiment is set as the cover dissertation of ‘Trends in Biotechnology’ magazine’s August edition.
2011.07.28 View 11966
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Spintronics: A high wire act by Nanowerk News
An article by Nanowerk News on the integration of ferromagnetic nanowire arrays on grapheme substrates was published. Professor Bong-Soo Kim from the Department of Chemistry, KAIST, led the research in conjunction with Hanyang University and Samsung in Korea.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=22204.php
Posted: Jul 25th, 2011
Spintronics: A high wire act
(Nanowerk News) Graphene is a promising material for a wide range of applications due to its remarkable mechanical and electronic properties. An application of particular interest is spin-based electronics, or spintronics, in which the spin orientation of an electron is used to perform circuit functions in addition to its charge. Bongsoo Kim and colleagues from KAIST, Hanyang University and Samsung in Korea now report the integration of ferromagnetic nanowire arrays on graphene substrates, opening up a route for the construction of graphene-based spintronic devices using nanowires as spin-injecting contacts ("Epitaxially Integrating Ferromagnetic Fe1.3Ge Nanowire Arrays on Few-Layer Graphene").
The spin of an electron is a property that, like charge, can be used to encode, process and transport information. However, spin information is easily lost in most media, which has made spintronics difficult to realize in practice. In graphene, on the other hand, spin can be preserved for longer due to its peculiar electron transport properties. "Low intrinsic spin–orbit coupling, long spin diffusion lengths and vanishing hyperfine interaction are features of graphene that make it a promising medium for spin transport," explains Kim.
Scanning electron microscopy image of vertical iron germanide nanowires grown on graphene. (© ACS 2011)
A prerequisite for the realization of spintronic devices based on graphene is its integration with ferromagnetic contacts to allow spin injection. Kim and his co-workers found that nanowires of iron germanide (Fe1.3Ge) serve as efficient contacts for this purpose. "Iron germanide nanowires show low resistivity and room-temperature ferromagnetism, and they are compatible with existing complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor technologies," says Kim.
To produce the atomically well-defined interfacial contact between the nanowires and the graphene surface needed for optimum device performance, the researchers deposited the contacts by an epitaxial method based on chemical vapor transport. Through careful adjustment of deposition parameters such as carrier gas flow rate and reaction temperature, the researchers produced vertically aligned nanowires that are closely lattice-matched to the graphene sheets (see image).
Initially preparing the graphene sheets on a substrate of silicon oxide allowed the researchers to isolate the final nanowire–graphene structure by etching and then transfer it to another substrate, greatly expanding the versatility of the approach. It is a delicate process, however. "It is necessary to transfer the graphene films onto the substrate very carefully in order to avoid folding and wrinkling of the graphene," says Kim.
Source: Tokyo Institute of Technology
2011.07.26 View 11091