NST
-
Board Chairman Chung Makes First Visit to Building Named After Him
Moon-Soul Chung, chairman of the KAIST board of trustees, visited the building built with his donation on Monday (Oct. 19) for the first time since he made the deed of gift eight years ago, university authorities said on Monday (Oct. 19).
In 2000, Chung, founder and former CEO of Mirae Corp, manufacturer of semiconductor testing equipment, announced retirement and handed over the presidency of his company to one of his managing directors. One year later in 2001, he donated 30 billion won, then equivalent to $30 million, to KAIST. It was by then the largest amount given by a single donor.
The major part of his donation went to constructing a building for the newly-established Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, and it was named after him. However, Chung did not attend the ground-breaking and dedication ceremonies, saying that he would not enter the building until KAIST achieved a breakthrough technology which can inject a hope to Koreans.
On his first visit to the building, he was briefed on the major research outcomes of the department over the past seven years, which were highlighted by the recent invention of an apparatus for measuring perfusion rate of legs. A KAIST team headed by Prof. Chul-Hee Choi invented a light leakage prevention unit including a light emitting device for radiating light having a certain wavelength onto a living body injected with Indocyanine Green (ICG).
According to Prof. Choi, the invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the perfusion rate of legs. The invention also includes a light leakage prevention housing formed to prevent transmission of external light.
Chung expressing satisfaction with the achievements and encouraged professors, researchers and students working at the Moon-Soul Chung Building.
2009.10.20 View 14234 -
KAIST Ranked 21st among World's Engineering Universities
KAIST was placed 21st in the area of engineering and information technology in this year"s world university rankings released on Oct. 8 (Thursday), climbing 13 notches from last year"s 34th. Seoul National University (SNU) ranked 27th, which made KAIST and SNU the only two institutions making it to the top 50 list. POSTECH ascended to 81st from last year"s 143rd.
In the "Times Higher Education--QS World University Rankings," Korean universities showed remarkable advancement this year; all-told five Korean universities made it to the top 200 list, as Yonsei and Korea universities were included in the list for the first time.
In overall rankings, KAIST moved 26 notches upward to grab the 69th position in the list, while SNU was placed 47th (50th last year).
The list, compiled by The Times (of London) newspaper annually, is topped by Harvard University, followed by University of Cambridge and Yale University.
Again this year, the United States had most of the top 100 universities in the world, with 32 included in the list. It was followed by the United Kingdom (18), Australia (8) and Japan (6).
Now in their 6th edition, the Times Higher Education--QS World University Rankings received a record level of responses from both the academic community and employers in 2009. A total of 9,386 academics (or 47 percent over 6,354 in 2008) and 3,281 employers (compared to 2,339 in 2008) responded to the surveys.
Times Higher Education -- QS World University Rankings evaluates institutions worldwide in four main categories: quality of research, globalization, quality of education, and contributions of graduates to society. The evaluation also considers academic peer review, citations per faculty, recruiter review, international faculty, international students and faculty-student ratio.
2009.10.09 View 14356 -
Prof. Cho Elected Editor-in-Chief of Systems Biology
Prof. Kwang-Hyun Cho of Department of Bio and Brain Engineering at KAIST has been recently elected editor-in-chief of the Systems Biology, an international journal published by the London-based Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the university authorities said on Wednesday (Sept. 23)
By the year 2012, Cho will oversee the editorial process of the journal covering intra- and inter-cellular dynamics, using systems- and signal-oriented approaches. IET, one of the world"s leading professional societies for the engineering and technology community, has a worldwide membership of more than 150,000.
Prof. Cho"s research interests cover the areas of systems science with bio-medical applications including systems biology and bio-inspired engineering based on molecular systems biology. He is currently an editorial board member of Systems and Synthetic Biology (Springer, Netherlands, from 2006), BMC Systems Biology (BMC, London, U.K., from 2007), Gene Regulation and Systems Biology (Libertas Academica, New Zealand, from 2007), and Bulletin of Mathematical Biology (Springer, New York, from 2008), and an editorial advisory board member of Molecular BioSystems (The Royal Society of Chemistry, U.K.).
2009.09.24 View 16345 -
World Research University Heads Discuss Challenges in Global Financial Turmoil at 2009 International Presidential Forum in Seoul
Leaders of the world"s major research universities discussed the impact of the global economic crisis on institutions of higher learning and their research activities in particular and exchanged opinions and visions on ways to increase cooperation with governments and industry at a symposium organized by KAIST Monday (Sept. 21) at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul.
More than 50 participants of the 2nd International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities represented institutions in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, China and Japan. They were joined by 20 presidents of Korean universities and two dozens of leaders from industry and the government.
Under the main subject of "Challenges to Global Research Universities," the international symposium proceeded in four panel sessions. The subjects of each session and their keynote speakers were:
-- "Institutional Management in Times of Financial Crisis" by Kurt Kutzler, President of Berlin Institute of Technology
-- "Innovations in Education & Research" by Brian Cantor, Vice Chancellor of University of York
-- "Globalization of Institutes of Higher Learning" by Gary Schuster, Provost and Executive Vice President of Georgia Institute of Technology
-- "The Roles of Government, University and Industry in Green Technology Development" by KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh
KAIST President Suh expressed deep gratitude to all participants for their presentations focused on how universities weathered the difficulties from the economic turmoil and how they were continuing efforts for innovation in research and education. He observed that the 2009 International Presidential Forum was again most successful and productive after the first in 2008 and offered a precious opportunity for leaders of research universities to establish effective networking among their institutions.
"The world has witnessed a global financial turmoil of unseen magnitude and many nations are still struggling under the devastating impacts. While universities were no exception in facing economic turmoil, they have realized renewed pressures and expectations from their respective communities to provide answers to the great challenges,” he said in his welcoming remarks.
"The conference I am sure will have a far-reaching influence on the course our research universities will take to shoulder greater responsibilities for building a better future of the mankind."
Some of the participants in the 2009 International Presidential Forum came to KAIST’s Daejeon campus to take part in the EEWS (energy, environment, water and sustainability) workshop which was held on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The Chronicle of Higher Learning, the Washington-based newspaper specializing in university education, reported from Seoul that the Forum revealed that, while American universities struggle amid the harshest economic climate in a generation, institutions in much of the rest of the world are sheltered from the fallout by strong government backing.
“Delegates to a conference of university presidents (in Seoul on Monday, Sept. 22) heard that colleges in Asia and Europe are pushing ahead with expansion plans – even as their U.S. counterparts cut back.
“The 2009 International Presidential Forum… was marked by a sharp divide in the tone set by European, Asian, and U.S. college leaders. The Americans often sounded a deeply gloomy note,” The Chronicle reported. “Never before has the impact been this bad,” the paper quoted Vishwanath Prasad, vice president for research and economic development at the University of North Texas, as saying.
On the other hand, Yves Poilane, vice president of the Paris Institute of Technology, said, according to The Chronicle, “The largely state financing of most European universities has so far acted as a shelter, and higher education remains a priority for both European and French Universities.”
The Korea Herald, published in Seoul, said in its Sept. 23 editorial:
“This week in Seoul, a symposium of leaders from international and Korean research universities heard top scholars and administrators reveal how their schools have suffered through the year under reduced government subsidies and private endowments which forced them to postpone various globalization schemes and cut down on research expenditures. Applications for master"s and Ph.D. programs declined while large percentages of graduates failed to find jobs.
“With their country showing a rapid pace of recovery, universities in Korea are in a better situation than many of their overseas counterparts, especially considering the substantial government outlays for research and development in "low carbon, green growth" projects that are largely dependent on research universities. The more the government seeks their direct contributions, the harder universities should try to increase transparency and accountability in the use of taxpayer money, so as not to betray the nation"s trust in them.
“In the wake of the global economic crisis, academia, government and industry find themselves in closer ties as they share new concepts of innovation and development in a common quest for growth. The tripartite cooperation has new significance in the recovery process. To achieve any development objectives, the other two partners must prioritize the funding of universities.”
2009.09.24 View 14255 -
World Research University Heads to Discuss Challenges in Global Financial Turmoil
About 70 leaders of the world"s major research universities will discuss how to better contribute to continued development of human society in global financial turmoil at a symposium organized by KAIST Monday (Sept. 21) at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul.
Participants of the 2nd International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities are from 40 universities in 25 countries, including Stanford University and Georgia Institute of Technology of the United States, Berlin Institute of Technology of Germany, Paris Institute of Technology of France, Technical University of Denmark, National University of Singapore and Tokyo Institute of Technology. They include 20 presidents of Korean universities and two dozens of leaders from industry and the government.
Under the main subject of "Challenges to Global Research Universities," the international symposium will proceed in four panel sessions. The subjects of each session and their keynote speakers are:
-- "Institutional Management in Times of Financial Crisis" by Kurt Kutzler, President of Berlin Institute of Technology
-- "Innovations in Education & Research" by Brian Cantor, Vice Chancellor of University of York
-- "Globalization of Institutes of Higher Learning" by Gary Schuster, Provost and Executive Vice President of Georgia Institute of Technology
-- "The Roles of Government, University and Industry in Green Technology Development" by KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh
KAIST President Suh said of the purpose of the conference: "The world has witnessed a global financial turmoil of unseen magnitude and many nations are still struggling under the devastating impacts. While universities were no exception in facing economic turmoil, they have realized renewed pressures and expectations from their respective communities to provide answers to the great challenges."
"The conference will serve as an opportunity for the representatives of research universities to compare their visions of networking among theier institutions and initiate steps for new relationships. The conference I am sure will have a far-reaching influence on the course our research universities will take to shoulder greater responsibilities for building a better future of the mankind."
For more information, visit forum.kaist.ac.kr
2009.09.16 View 16765
-
KAIST's OLEV Best Model of Creative Growth Engine
Various models of electric vehicles designed to replace the internal combustion automobiles face significant problems as they invariably failed to overcome the limitations involving lithium battery in terms of power capacity, weight, raw materal price, recharging time and preparation of charging stations. Worst of all, the limited supply of lithium will eventually raise its price sky high when all cars use lithium batteries, and the economic value of electric cars will be lost.
KAIST"s online electric vehicle project (OLEV) seeks to resolve these fundamental problems involving electric vehicles that have so far been developed. KAIST OLEV, a project to develop a new growth engine for the nation and lead the future of global automotive industry, is an entirely new concept: the electric vehicle picks up power from underground power supplier lines through the non-contact magnetic charging method, while either running or standing. This is the first eco-friendly and economic automotive system that can resolve the problems inherent to previously-developed electric vehicles, according to the KAIST OLEV Project Center.
In February 2009, KAIST researchers first proved that up to 80 percent power conveyance is possible through a gap of 1 centimeter from the power line, and in July they successfully supplied power to a bus -- up to 60 percent across a 12 cm gap from the power line embedded in the ground -- using power supply and pick-up devices they developed. In this process, KAIST has secured the core technologies for maximizing power efficiency and minimizing the cost of installing the non-contact power supply system. KAIST has established the Online Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd., to undertake business activities related to the OLEV project, including the IPR on power supply and pick-up devices, parts and accessories and commercial promotion. A demonstration event is scheduled for Aug. 13, Thursday.
The impact of the development of the OLEV technology on the energy and environment issues and the overall economy will be enormous. In case a half of the total automobiles running in Korea, or 6 million vehicles, are replaced with OLEV, electric power produced by just two of the nation"s atomic power plants will be enough to operate them all, and the nation will be able to reduce crude oil import by 35 million barrels worth U.S.$3 billion a year (supposing $80 per barrel).
Korea"s export of OLEV units will in the future surpass the present level of overseas sale of conventional cars. When nations use online electric vehicles in large numbers, their demand for CO2-free power plants will grow. Korea has cutting-edge technology in the construction of atomic power plants. As a world leader in the area of nuclear power plant, Korea will enjoy new opportunities to contribute to the global advancement of atomic power generation as well as transportation industries.
Korea still shares a small portion of the world"s automobile market estimated to worth some 2,000 trillion Korean won. But commercialization of the OLEV technology worldwide will greatly enhance Korea"s global automotive market share. Successful development of the online electric vehicle requires preemptive investment and positive support by the government for the ultimate purpose of resolving energy and environment problems.
If and when domestic enterprises secure technological supremacy in the next generation automobile market with their online electric vehicles which will replace the 100-year-old combustion engine, it will be the most desirable shortcut to raising Korea"s international competitiveness. OLEV promises to be the model of creative growth engine in the 21st century.
2009.07.30 View 17178
-
KAIST Ranked Seventh in Chosun-QS 2009 Asian University Rankings
- Major Criteria in Research, Education, Globalization
KAIST ranked top in Korea and seventh in Asia in a ranking compiled jointly by the Chosun Ilbo, a major Korean daily, and global university evaluation institute QS of Britain.
In the rankings released on Tuesday (May 12), KAIST scored 94.9 based on the full 100 of the top-ranking university, the University of Hong Kong. KAIST was closely followed by Seoul National University (SNU), which ranked 8th in the Asian ranking. KAIST outpaced SNU in terms of globalization, but lagged behind in terms of peer review and recruiters review.
The Chosun Ilbo said that KAIST achieved the distinction by encouraging competition among research professors, introducing competitive educational systems such as conducting all classes in English, and speeding up globalization drive based on a strong leadership of President Nam-Pyo Suh.
In an interview with the daily published on the same day, President Nam-Pyo Suh expressed enthusiasm for stepping up his university"s drive to make it one of the world"s leading research universities, without resting on its present reputation. "The goal of KAIST is to stand at the forefront in addressing critical problems facing the humanity in the 21st century. The problems include alternative energies and transportation and logistics. If we resolve these problems, KAIST will join the ranks of the world"s best universities," Suh said.
The evaluation, the only such survey in Asia, was conducted with 463 universities in 11 countries, including 106 in Korea. The universities were ranked for competitiveness in four categories -- research quality (60 percent), teaching quality (20 percent), graduate employability (10 percent) and international outlook (10 percent).
The top-ranked University of Hong Kong was followed by Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tokyo University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Osaka University.
The top 100 Asian universities include 17 Korean universities, 33 Japanese, 11 Chinese, seven Indian, six in Hong Kong and two in Singapore.
Universities were ranked through a quantitative analysis based on data submitted by the universities in March and a qualitative analysis based on the competitiveness of professors and graduates evaluated by about 3,100 academics and businesspeople around the world.
Meanwhile, KAIST was ranked 95th among top 200 universities of the world in the Times Higher Education-QS World University rankings in 2008. It ranked 34th in the area of engineering and information technology, and 46th in natural science.
2009.05.13 View 12327
-
KAIST Dedicates Geocentrifuge Experiment Center
KAIST dedicated the KOCED Geo-Centrifuge Experiment Center for researches in monitoring natural disasters such as earthquake and embankment collapse through miniature simulation tests on Wednesday (April 9) after a two-year construction work.
The experiment center is part of the Korea Construction Engineering Development Collaboratory Program (KOCED) which has been sponsored by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs to build an infrastructure for construction engineering researches at a national level. The ministry plans to build a total of 5 similar centers nationwide by the end of the year.
On hand at the dedication ceremony were Jae-Choon Lee, President of the Korea Institute of Construction & Transportation Technology Evaluation and Planning, KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh, and scores of experts and administration officials.
The construction of the five-story building on an area of about 3,328 square meters cost 8.4 billion won (US$6.3 million).
The center is expected to serve as a major laboratory in the field of geotechnical engineering. It is equipped with such state-of-the-art facilities as geocentrifuge, a useful tool for studying flow in unsaturated soil under well-controlled, repeatable conditions, a bidirectional shaking-table that can reproduce earthquake-like wave; and robots that can reproduce construction procedures by remote control.
Geocentrifuge experiment allows detecting ground and structure motions easily and rapidly by simulation tests. Thus, it is widely used for various geotechnical engineering researches such as evaluation of seismic safety, soft ground movement, slope stability analysis, etc. The causes of the embankment collapse in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were also revealed by the geocentrifuge experiment.
The geocentrifuge research facility is available for use by outside researchers, so scientists from other universities, research institutes and corporations can perform research and test their scientific and engineering hypotheses.
The center is divided into two sections, experiment building and research building. The experiment building is composed of a geocentrifuge laboratory, model-making rooms, workshops, a geotechnical engineering laboratory and specimen storehouse, while the research building has a control room, a video conference room, an electronic library and research rooms.
2009.04.09 View 13205 -
Workshop on Biomedical IC to Be Held on March 26
KAIST will hold a workshop on "biomedical IC for future healthcare system" on March 26 at a lecture room of the School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. The workshop is organized by SEECS and the Korean Institute of Next Generation Computing.
At the workshop, a variety of new technologies expected to expedite the development of biomedical systems will be presented. KAIST Prof. Hoi-Jun Yoo will speak on the "body channel communication" using the human body as the signal transmission medium and Dr. Seung-Hwan Kim of Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) on a wearable vital sign monitoring system.
Other subjects are CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) fully electronic biosensor for biomolecular detection to be presented by KAIST Prof. Gyu-Hyeong Cho; nerve interface and IC (integrated circuit) system design by KAIST Prof. Yoon-gi Nam; design of neural recording and stimulation IC using time-varying magnetic field by KAIST Prof. Seong-Hwan Cho; low power multi-core digital signal processor for hearing aid by Dong-Wook Kim, senior researcher at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology; and a non-contact cardiac sensor by KAIST Prof. Seung-Chul Hong.
With the advent of the ageing society, medical expenses of the elderly people are rapidly increasing. As a way to address the issue, interests are growing in "ubiquitous healthcare," a technology that uses a large number of environmental and patient sensors and actuators to monitor and improve patients’ physical and mental condition.
The upcoming workshop is the first academic event on biomedical integrated chips to be held in Korea. The workshop will provide a valuable opportunity for experts in biomedical area to get together and examine the present status of Korean biomedical area and discuss about its future, KAIST officials said.
2009.03.20 View 18487
-
Six Organizations Join Forces to Induce Projected National Brain Institute to Daejeon
Six major organizations including KAIST have joined forces to help Daejeon City to win the government approval to build the envisioned Korean Brain Institute in Daedeok Research Complex.
The six organizations signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperating in establishing the government-funded institute built within the Daedeok Research Complex in the city of Daejeon, at KAIST on Jan. 14. The six organizations are KAIST, the Daejeon City Government, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Korea Research Institute of Standard and Science, Asan Medical Center, and SK Corp., a pioneer in effective therapeutic invention for serious brain disorders.
The partnership of the six organizations is expected to bring a broad-based cooperation opportunities and create a massive synergy effect in the brain science researches and the development of new therapeutic treatment for brain disorders by combining their resources and infrastructures.
The six organizations have also built an international research network with such globally-renowned brain research institutions as RIKEN, a large natural sciences research institute in Japan, Max Plank Institute in Germany, Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, in Switzerland and Brain Research Institute of University of Queensland in Australia. The research network is under the support and guidance of Dennis Choi, a prominent neuroscientist who once served as the President of the Society for Neuroscience and is currently a professor in the Departments of Neurology and biology at Emory University.
The tentatively titled Korea Brain Institute is envisioned to help fight brain disorders and create Korea"s new growth engine, as well as lengthening life span, by conducting convergence researches in nero science, brain science and pharmacology. If the consortium of the six organizations wins the government approval to build the proposed institute within the Daedeok complex, the central government and the Daejeon city government are expected to pour a total of 329.7 billion won into the project by 2020.
2009.01.14 View 17759 -
2008 IEEE International Conference on Humanoid Robots Opens
The 2008 IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, an international gathering to identify new research trends and technology in humanoid robotics, will open a three-day session on Monday (Dec. 1) at the Hotel Rivera and KAIST in Daejeon.
The annual conference is organized by KAIST and the Robotics and Automation Society of the Institute for Electric and Electronic Engineers, a U.S.-based international non-profit, professional organization for the advancement of technology related to electricity.
The conference is expected to draw a total of 200 robotics researchers from 19 different countries. Prof. Jun-Ho Oh, at the Department of Mechanical Engineering who led the creation of Korea"s first humanoid robot Hubo, is serving as general chair of the conference. Prof. Oh was named the host of the 2008 conference at the 2007 conference held at the Carnegie Melon University of the United States. The eight-year old conference was inaugurated in Boston in 2000.
On the opening day of Dec. 1, seven lectures will be given on diverse areas of robotics including cognitive humanoid vision, and robot vision sensor and sensing. On the subsequent two days, a total of 110 papers will be presented.
During the conference period, a variety of robots produced by six local and foreign robot makers will be on demonstration, providing opportunities for researchers and industrial robot makers to share technological ideas.
Highlights of the conference will be special lectures by world-renowned robot researchers Prof. Yoshiyuki Sankai of University of Tsukuba, who has created an exoskeletal "robot suit," and Prof. Art Kuo of Univerity of Michigan who is regarded as a leading authority in dynamic walking.
Following the conference, all participants are scheduled to tour Prof. Oh"s Hubo Lab and the Human-Robot Interaction Research Center, both located at KAIST.
2008.12.01 View 14645
-
KAIST, KRIBB Agree to Cooperate in Research of Convergence Technologies
Oct. 15, 2008 -- KAIST and Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) have agreed to cooperate in the research of convergence fields of biotechnology, information technology and nanotechnology.
To this end, the two institutions concluded a memorandum of understanding to create a new academia-institute cooperative model in the convergence fields on Oct. 15 in Seoul, with KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh, KRIBB Director Young-Hoon Park and Vice Minister of Education, Science and Technology Jong-Koo Park in attendance.
Under the agreement, the two institutions will set up the tentatively-named KAIST-KRIBB BINT Convergence Institute for the development of technologies and nurturing skilled manpower in the convergence fields.
The partnership of the two institutions is expected to bring broad-based cooperation opportunities and create a massive synergy effect by combining their resources and infrastructure for the development of convergence technologies, KAIST officials said..
The proposed institute is also designed to build a world-class research hub in systems biotechnology by combining strengths of the two institutions with initiatives to achieve the Korean government"s new vision for "low carbon, green growth."
The institute will also serve as a base for domestic brain convergence by concentrating the nation"s research capacities in genetics and brain technology.
KAIST also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in researches in Oriental medicine with three institutions, KRIBB, Daegu Hanny University and Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine.
The agreement calls for the four institutions to conduct joint researches in traditional sciences and Oriental medicine based on systems biology, develop manpower in related fields and share academic and research information.
The agreement is expected to provide impetus to reinforcing competitiveness in compound and convergence technologies and discover new properties in Oriental medicine, according to KAIST authorities.
2008.10.16 View 16470