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A new facility at KAIST opened on July 6, 2010.
Ryu Geun-Chul Sports Complelx will allow students, faculty and staff to pause a moment and exhale in the hustle and bustle of their daily lives.
An opening ceremony celebrating the completion of a new facility for the KAIST family was held on July 6, 2010 at the campus. Had it not been for contributions of many people and organizations throughout the nation, among others, Dr. Geun-Chul Ryu, POSCO, Woori Bank, members of KAIST community, parents, and other citizens, it would be impossible to build the facility, said the university.
The Complex, a three-story building with a basement, has an indoor court for basketball and volleyball with 3,000 individual seats, 200 meters of running track, indoor golf range, a fitness center, and other convenient facilities.
Any members of KAIST community can visit the building and relax their body and mind stressed with work and study. It also provides a large space for ceremonial and cultural gatherings such as 2010 KAIST commencement ceremony.
The official name of the building is “Ryu Geun-Chul Sports Complelx,” which was created in appreciation of Dr. Geun-Chul Ryu’s generous act who had donated 57.8 billion won worth of real estate to KAIST in August 2008.
2010.07.07 View 11940 -
A senior couple donated their fortune to KAIST, hoping their contribution to be used for the development of science and technology in Korea.
A couple living in Kyunggi Province, Chun-Sik Cho (86) and Chang-Gi Yoon (82), donated to KAIST a 10 billion won worth of real estate. The couple thought about giving away their fortune since retirement and finally made up their mind after becoming to know about their neighbor’s good deeds.
The neighbor, Byung-Ho Kim, gave KAIST a 30 billion won worth of real estate last year. Influenced by Mr. Kim’s donation and their long-cherished wish to help others in need, the couple decided to transfer the ownership of their land to KAIST. They hoped that their contribution to be used for the development of science and technology in Korea.
The couple, who survived through the Korean civil war in the early 1950s, recalled their old days,
“We made through a harsh and difficult life right after the war. Everyone was poor and had nothing to wear or eat. We literally had to eat all sorts of grasses that were green on the ground. All of us had to work really hard to get out of despair resulted from the colonization of our nation by Japan and the subsequent civil war.”
Mr. Cho added, “The development of science and technology in our nation really propelled the overall advancement of our society and helped to make today’s success that is enjoyed by the current generation of our nation. It is our greatest hope that our contribution will add a small help in our nation’s efforts to further advance the development of science and technology. I would like KAIST to do just that with our donation.”
KAIST announced a plan to use their contribution for the establishment of a new graduate school specialized in green transportation and the development of related technology, called Green Transportation Graduate School. The university will name the new graduate school after the couple’s name in recognition of their goodwill.
The Green Transportation Graduate School will host academic programs and conduct researches related to the future transportation that is based on a renewable energy source and provides answers to the current energy problems faced by mankind. Multidisciplinary and convergent studies will be implemented through collaborations between academia, governments, and industries.
In the past four years, KAIST has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number and amount of donations received from all corners of Korean society and from around the world since President Nam Pyo Suh took the university’s top administrative office in 2006—1,004 in 2006; 2,158 in 2007; 3,091 in 2008; and 3,324 in 2009.
Major contributions since 2006
30 billion Won by Moon-Sul Chung in July 2001
10 million USD by Byiung-Joon Park in September 2007
2.5 million USD by Neil Pappalardo in November 2007
57.8 billion Won by Geun-Chul Ryu in August 2008
30 billion Won by Byung-Ho Kim in August 2009
2010.07.07 View 10992 -
The 8th International Conference on Metabolic Engineering was held on June 13-18, 2010 in Jeju Island, South Korea.
From left to right, top row: Distinguished Professor and the conference chair Sang Yup Lee, Sang-Hyup Kim - Secretary to the President of Korea, Dr. Jay Keasling, Dr. Greg Stephanopoulos. Left to right, bottom row: Dr. William Provine, Dr. Terry Papoutsakis, Dr, Jens Nielsen, Dr. Lars Nielsen.
The importance of industrial biotechnology that produces chemicals and materials from renewable biomass is increasing due to climate change and the dearth of natural resources. Industrial biotechnology refers to a technology that allows sustainable bio-based production of chemicals and materials that could enrich human"s lives using microorganisms. This is where metabolic engineering comes into play for successful application of microorganisms, in which they are engineered in our intended way for improved production capability.
The 8th International Conference on Metabolic Engineering, the longest running conference of its kind, was held on June 13-18, 2010 at the International Convention Center in Jeju Island, South Korea. Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee of KAIST, Dean of College of Life Science and Bioengineering and Co-Director of Institute for the BioCentury, chaired the conference with the main theme of "metabolic engineering for green growth."
With 300 delegates selected by the committee, papers on production of biofuels, chemicals, biopolymers, and pharmaceutics and the development of fundamental metabolic engineering techniques were presented at the conference along with examples of successful commercialization of products developed by several global companies.
Sang Hyup Kim, Secretary to the President of Korea, gave an opening plenary lecture entitled "Korean green growth initiative," to inform experts from around the globe of the leadership on green growth in Korea. Young Hoon Park, President of Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB, Korea) delivered his congratulatory address.
Sang Hyup Kim said, "Hosting an international conference in Korea on metabolic engineering, which forms a core technology necessary for the development of environmentally friendly processes for producing chemicals and biofuels from renewable biomass, is very meaningful as green growth is a big issue around the globe. This is a great chance to show the excellence of Korea"s green growth associated technology to experts in metabolic engineering and industrial biotechnology."
A total of 47 invited lectures in this conference included recent and important topics, for instance, "Synthetic biology for synthetic fuels" by Dr. Jay Keasling from the Joint BioEnergy Institute (USA), "Microbial oil production from renewable feedstocks" by Dr. Greg Stephanopoulos from MIT (USA), "Yeast as a platform cell factory for production of fuels and chemicals" by Dr. Jens Nielsen from Chalmers University (Sweden), "Mammalian synthetic biology - from tools to therapies" by Dr. Martin Fussengger from ETH (Switzerland), "Building, modeling, and applications of metabolic and transcriptional regulatory networks at a genome-scale" by Dr. Bernhard Palsson from the University of California - San Diego (USA), "Genome analysis and engineering Eschericha coli for sucrose utilization" by Dr. Lars Nielsen from the University of Queensland (Australia), "Artificial microorganisms by synthetic biology" by Dr. Daniel Gibson from JCVI (USA), and "Metabolomics and its applications" by Dr. Masaru Tomita from Keio University (Japan). From Korea, Dr. Jin Hwan Park from the research group of Dr. Sang Yup Lee at KAIST presented "Systems metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for amino acid production," and Dr. Ji Hyun Kim from KRIBB presented "Genome sequencing and omics systems analysis of the protein cell factory of Escherichia coli".
Global companies involved in biorefinery presented their recent research outcomes with emphasis on commercialized technologies. They included "Metabolic and process engineering for commercial outcomes" by Dr. William Provine from DuPont (USA), "Direct production of 1,4-butanediol from renewable feedstocks" by Dr. Mark Burk from Genomatica (USA), "Development of an economically sustainable bioprocess for the production of bio 1,2-propanediol" by Dr. Francis Voelker from Metabolic Explorer (France), "Biotechnology to the bottom-line: low pH lactic acid production at industrial scale" by Dr. Pirkko Suominen from Cargill (USA), "Bioisoprene™: traditional monomer, traditional chemistry, sustainable source" by Dr. Gregg Whited from Danisco (USA) and "Efficient production of pharmaceuticals by engineered fungi" by Dr. Roel Bovenberg from DSM (Netherlands).
This biennial conference also presented the International Metabolic Engineering Award (expanded version of the previous Merck Metabolic Engineering Award) to the best metabolic engineer in the world. The 2010 International Metabolic Engineering Award went to Dr. E. Terry Papoutsakis from the University of Delaware (USA) who has contributed to the production of biobutanol through the metabolic engineering of Clostridia in the last three decades, and he gave an award lecture. Dr. Sang Yup Lee, the current chair of the upcoming conference, was the previous recipient of this award at the last metabolic engineering conference in 2008.
In addition to the invited lectures, a total of 156 carefully selected poster papers were chosen for presentation, and awards were presented to the best posters after rigorous review by the committee members. Such awards included "The 2010 Metabolic Engineering Best Poster Award" and the "2010 Young Metabolic Engineer Award" from the Metabolic Engineering conference, and prestigious international journal awards, including "Wiley Biotechnology Journal Best Poster Award", "Wiley Biotechnology and Bioengineering Best Poster Award" and "Elsevier Metabolic Engineering Best Paper Award." Dr. Catherine Goodman, a senior editor of Nature Chemical Biology, also presented the "Nature Chemical Biology Best Poster Award on Metabolic Engineering."
Regarding this conference, Dr. Sang Yup Lee, the conference chair, said, "This conference is the best international conference in the field of metabolic engineering, which is held every two years, and Korea is the first Asian country to host it. All the experts and students spend time together from early breakfast to late poster sessions, which is a distinct feature of this conference. Although the number of delegates had typically been limited to 200, around 300 delegates were selected this year to accept more attendees from many people who have been interested in metabolic engineering. Also, it is very fitting that "green growth" is the main topic of this conference because Korea is playing a key role in this field. I"m grateful to the Lotte Scholarship Foundation, COFCO, GS Caltex, Bioneer, US DOE, US NSF, Daesang, CJ Cheiljedang, Genomatica and DuPont who provided us with generous financial support that allowed the successful organization of this conference."
The conference was organized by the Systems Biology Research Project Team supported by the Ministry of Eduction, Science and Technology (MEST), Microbial Frontier Research Project Group, World Class University Project Group at KAIST, Institute for the BioCentury at KAIST, Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, and the Engineering Conference International (ECI) of the United States.
Inquiries: Professor Sang Yup Lee (+82-42-350-3930), industrialbio@gmail.com
2010.06.25 View 17827 -
The 2010 International Forum on Electric Vehicle will be held at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea.
Universities, industries, and governments from the world gathered to make an important endeavor for the commercialization of electric vehicles that has emerged as a strong option to replace conventional cars with an internal combustion engine.
With the potential benefit of electric cars, in view of environmental protection and less dependence of oil import, they still have limitations for the daily use in customers’ perspective. Electric cars are still very expensive to own with relatively short distance of driving with one charging and with the expensive and bulky nature of the batteries, in addition to the safety concerns with the Lithium batteries.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will hold an international forum, at which it hopes to address a wide range of issues related to the development and commercialization of electric vehicles. The 2010 International Forum on Electric Vehicle will be held for three days at KAIST’s campus in Daejeon, South Korea, from June 17th to 19th, 2010.
Internationally renowned speakers from Korea and overseas will present their views and conduct a discussion forum on the technology, market, and policy on electric vehicles. The event is open to the public.
Major discussions, however, will take place on the second day, Friday, June 18, 2010, which will proceed with two sessions. In the first session, conference participants will discuss the topic of “policies and markets for electric vehicles,” and at the second session, they will take up the issue of “electric vehicle technologies.”
Dr. Andrew Brown, president of SAE International and the executive director and chief technologist of Delphi, is scheduled to give a key note speech. The SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial vehicle industries.
Topics to be covered by Dr. Brown during his key note speech are, among other things, elements of market forces for hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicles, or battery-powered vehicles; clean technologies necessary for sustainable development; pending issues facing the automotive industry to create a substantial share by electric cars and government aids to increase consumers’ buying power for expensive electric cars; technology innovation required for the improvement of batteries and power electronics; development of smart grids; and other key issues that would mature an ever-growing market for electric vehicles.
President Nam Pyo Suh of KAIST will also deliver a key note remark on the overall accomplishments of online electric vehicle (OLEV) developed by KAIST. While stressing the OLEV’s technological breakthrough to succeed in the wireless in-motion power transfer through electromagnetic induction, President Suh will review the necessity of developing electric cars as a corresponding measure against climate changes and address the issues of battery weight and lifespan, charging time, and the limited amount of reserved Lithium.
Dr. Steven Shladover from the California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (California PATH), established in 1986 in collaboration with the University of California in Berkeley and the California Transit, will attend the conference. California PATH is a multi-disciplinary program with universities statewide and cooperative projects with private industry, state and local agencies, and non-profit institutions to find solutions to the problems of California’s surface transportation systems through cutting edge research.
California PATH once implemented a bold, innovative research project in the early 1990s in order to overcome the most difficult technical hurdle to reduce the heavy dependence of batteries for electric cars by adopting a non-contact transfer of electric power during vehicles’ movement. Despite the research declared as “unsuccessful” by California PATH, the implications of their innovative approach to solve an important issue inspired many researches subsequently followed—one of them is KAIST’s OLEV project.
In addition, the Infineon Technologies AG, a leading semiconductor and system manufacturer based in Germany, which offers solutions for automotive, industrial and multimarket sectors for applications in communication and memory products, will come to the forum and present a paper on its expertise to develop the necessary components for electric vehicles.
On the last day of the forum, all participants will have a chance to ride the Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) at KAIST’s campus.
For details of the event, please visit the website of “www.olev.co.kr/en/ifev or refer to the invitation attached herewith.
About KAIST’s Online Electric Vehicle:
The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) developed by KAIST is a dynamic plug-in electric car that receives electricity while running or stopping and thus acquired a complete mobility unlike other type of electric cars, whether hybrid or not. The OLEV reduces the size of a battery to one-fifth of the current battery installed in an electric car. Pure electric cars depend on a large bulky battery that has been a major obstacle to make the cars commercially accessible to the mass market. The OLEV gets charged wirelessly, a distinct difference to other dynamic plug-in electric cars including a tram or trolley, which directly picks up electricity from the road.
To explain it further, the OLEV is electrified through power lines buried underground; when flowing low frequency of currents, an electric magnetic field is created around the underground power lines, and the pick-up gadget installed underbody of an electric vehicle converts the field into electricity; and the vehicle then uses electricity either for operation or stores it at a battery to be used for running the road that is not equipped with the power lines. The electric power generated from the underground travels to the surface of the road above 20cm-25cm.
KAIST has succeeded to develop a commercial model of OLEV with a safe Electromagnetic Field (EMF), well below the international safeguard of 65mG. The actual model has been up and running at an amusement park in Seoul for the transportation of passengers. The non-contact charging method applied to the OLEV will accelerate the commercialization of electric cars by making a battery affordable and safer for a consumer.
2010.06.25 View 12943 -
President of Israel visited KAIST on June 9, 2010.
President of Israel, Shimon Peres, visited KAIST today on June 9, 2010 to witness the development of science and technology in Korea and explore ways of establishing collaboration and cooperation with industries and universities between Korea and Israel. President Peres led a delegation consisted of the Israeli Mister of Industry, Trade, and Labor, the Minister of Communication, and 60 business leaders from the top companies in the security, infrastructure, communication, high-tech, and water industries.
Upon their arrival to the campus, the Israeli delegation was greeted by KAIST’s humanoid robot, “HUBO,” and then moved to its branch campus, IT Convergence Campus, for a ride of Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) that has been developed by KAIST. The OLEV receives the necessary power through the cable lines buried underground, so it can be provided with a constant and continuous supply of electricity while running or stopping.
Between roads and OLEVs is nothing but space. There is no electrical wires intricately crossed underbody of the electric car or above the road. The pick-up equipment installed beneath the body of the electric car collects magnetic fields created around the underground cables, which then converts the filed into electricity. The OLEV’s wireless, non-contact charging system made it possible for a battery currently used for hybrid or pure electric cars on the market to be smaller and cheaper.
President Peres expressed a great interest in the technology applied to the OLVE, quoting, “the OLEV system is indeed very impressive.” He talked about efforts being made in Israel with respect to the development of electric cars. The country plans to replace the conventional transportation system with electric cars by constructing a network of battery exchange stations and roadside charge points which allow the cars to be charged whenever they are parked.
“Despite the different approach taken by the two nations for the development of electric cars, I believe that transforming the automobile industry from combustion engine to electric system is the right direction we should all follow. Without addressing the current transportation system that heavily dependent on natural resources, we will not be able to promote “green growth on a global scale,” added President Peres.
In addition to electric cars, President Peres took up a considerable portion of his time to exchange ideas on how to expand cooperative relations between universities in Korea and Israel, specifically in the area of space, biotechnology, nanotechnology, high-tech, renewable and alternative energy, and the EEWS initiatives that have been implemented by KAIST to find answers to global issues such as climate change and depletion of natural resources. The EEWS stands for energy, environment, water, and sustainability.
In response, the president of KAIST pledged to set up a stronger and greater tie with research universities in Israel, particularly called for more collaboration between KAIST and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
Also, the Israeli delegation had a tour for several Korean research and development centers in Daedeok Innopolis, located in the City of Daejeon, which is the 2nd largest science and research complex in Korea.
Shimon Peres, the 9th president of Israel, held many of important government positions in Israel, among other things, Prime Minster and Minister of Defense. He won Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for the conclusion of a peace agreement, Oslo Accords, between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization.
2010.06.09 View 15080 -
KAIST held an opening ceremony for the completion of KAIST Institute Building.
A Korean American businessman and his wife, Byiung Jun Park and Chunghi Hong, donated 10 million USD for the construction of the building.
KAIST hosted an opening ceremony on May 11, 2010 for the new addition to its campus, called the Chunghi & Byiung Jun (BJ) Park KAIST Institute Building. The KI Building will serve as a hub for creative multidisciplinary researches.
A Korean American businessman and his wife made a considerable contribution for the construction of the building, worth 10 million USD. KAIST called the building Byiung Jun (BJ) Park and Chunghi Hong in recognition of their contribution. Chairman Park was the founder of the Merchandise Testing Laboratory, a leading textile quality control multinational.
It took 19 months to finish the construction of the KI Building with a total cost of 36 billion Korean won. The building consists of one basement and five ground floors. At the basement, there are clean room and equipment storage room; on the 2nd and 3rd floors, conference and exhibition halls; and on the rest of the floors, research labs and administration offices are to be located.
KAIST’s eight integral research institutes will be placed inside the building: the BioCentury; Information Technology Convergence; Design of Complex Systems; Entertainment Engineering; the NanoCentury; Eco-Energy; Urban Space and Systems; and Optical Science and Technology. Approximately 230 professors from 25 departments of various academic fields will make the KI Building home for study and research. The KI Building will play a great role in producing world-class convergence research works by KAIST researchers and professors, thereby making a contribution to the improvement of national competitiveness.
Vice President of KI Building, Sang-Soo Kim, said, “There has been no such place for us to concentrate research manpower and equipment scattered around the campus. By having all the necessary resources at one place will allow us to conduct convergence researches more efficiently and effectively. I’d like to express my appreciation for the Ministry of Education and Science and Technology as well as Chairman Byiung Jun (BJ) Park, who gave us tremendous supports in the process of constructing the KI Building.”
“The building’s inside has a unique office structure, getting rid of walls or partitions between institutes or departments, to stimulate an environment conducive to convergence researches. We hope to present a new model for creative multidisciplinary researches through a selective and focused approach to be facilitated by institutes at the KI Building,” added by the vice president.
2010.05.20 View 11769 -
A donation to KAIST by a gambler
The Korea Herald ran an editorial on the news that a man who won the biggest-ever jackpot in Korean casino history on Saturday, May 15, 2010, decided to donate the entire prize money to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Below is the full text of the editorial published on May 18, 2010.
http://www.koreaherald.com/opinion/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100518000648
The Korea Herald: [Editorial] Gambler’s donation
2010-05-18 18:09
KAIST, Korea’s leading research university, often makes news with donations from a variety of benefactors who wish to help develop science and technology in Korea with money they earned through their careers. The list of donors, which includes farmers, securities dealers, medical doctors, foreign businesspeople and popular entertainers, now has one unusual entry, a gambler.
Ahn Seung-pil, 60, may not be exactly a “gambler” – at least not a professional one. He has visited Kangwon Land, a casino located in the mountain region of Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, only a few times since it opened in 2000 as the only place Korean nationals could gamble. Ahn, who runs a small textile business in Seoul, hit the jackpot of 766 million won (about $665,000), the largest amount ever at Kangwon Land or from any slot machine at a Korean casino.
He said he was motivated to donate the money to KAIST in Daejeon City when he watched a television program after returning home, in which a professor emphasized the importance of advancing science and technology in the country. He had incurred heavy debts during the 1997 economic crisis and has yet to clear them all, but he thought of using the prize money for a good cause. The TV program guided him to KAIST, said Ahn, who has “not had a high level of education.”
Korea is known worldwide for its people’s strong zeal for university education. Parents do whatever they can to send their children to good universities but are so exhausted before the entrance that they barely pay the tuition once they get there. Universities have to rely mainly on tuition and meager subsidies from foundations or the state treasury. Private donations are rare, compared to European or American universities.
Major universities complain that members of the alumni societies are rather indifferent to calls for donation. The majority of donors who give significant amounts are people who weren’t lucky enough to go to university, such as Ahn Seung-pil.
2010.05.19 View 11258
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Professor Eun-Seong Kim and his research staff observed the phenomena of hysteresis and relaxation dynamics from supersolid Helium
Professor Eun-Seong Kim and his research staff observed the phenomena of hysteresis and relaxation dynamics from supersolid Helium.
Their research paper was published in Nature Physics for the issue of April 2010.
If we take Helium 4 and cool it down at temperatures below 2.176 Kelivin, liquid helium 4 undergoes a phase transition and becomes superfluid with a zero viscosity. The superfluidity was observed in solid helium through an experiment performed by researchers of Pennsylvania State University in 2004. One of the researchers then was Professor Eun-Seong Kim in the Department of Physics, KAIST.
Professor Kim and his research staff, Hyung-Soon Choi, Ph.D., recently published their research results in Nature Physics (April 2010), a highly esteemed journal in the field, on the phenomena of hysteresis and relaxation dynamics observed in supersolid Helium.
For the paper, please download the attached .pdf file.
Nature Physics link: http://www.nature.com
2010.04.13 View 11967 -
News Article: Naro space rocket getting ready for second launch, April 12, 2010
News Article on KIAST published on April 12, 2010
The Korea Herald, 2010-04-12 17:07
Naro space rocket getting ready for second launch
By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldm.com)
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is checking on the second launch of Naro, Korea’s first space rocket, as all the necessary parts were transferred to the launch center last week.
The Science Technology Satellite No. 2 was transferred last Thursday from the KAIST Satellite Technology Research Center in Daejeon to the Naro Space Center in South Jeolla Province, said ministry officials.
The solid-fuel second-stage rocket reached the center last Monday and the liquid-fuel first-stage rocket did so on March 23. The latter was manufactured in Russia’s Khrunichev State Space Science and Production Center.
The satellite, a small one weighing 100 kilograms, was co-developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, KAIST SaTReC and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.
It is to revolve around the Earth for two years collecting data on climate change by gauging the hydrogen content in the atmosphere, said officials.
“With all the crucial parts ready here in the center, we have officially kicked off our final investigation before setting the details of the second Naro launch,” said a ministry official.
Second Vice Minister Kim Joong-hyun last week visited the Naro center to attend the overall inspection on all facilities related to the rocket launch.
The date has not yet been set for the second launch but will be fixed within this month, said officials.
With the general inspection completed on the facilities, the first-stage rocket and the satellite will be assembled and the combination will be joined by the second-stage rocket in May.
The first launching attempt ended in failure in August due to faulty electrical wiring or a mechanical problem in the fairing separation mechanism, according to panels.
The two fairings -- used to cover and protect the satellite placed on top of the Naro -- failed to separate timely and thus stopped the satellite from gaining sufficient velocity to reach its planned orbit.
Korea has so far spent 502.4 billion won ($428.1 million) on the Naro project since it began in August 2002.
2010.04.13 View 12711
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"The 2010 Artificial Intelligence Robot War Competition" begins to receive applications
[Event Notice]
“The 2010 Artificial Intelligence Robot War Competition” begins to receive applications
A good opportunity to gauge the intelligence of your robots
“The 2010 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Robot War Competition” will be held in October 2010, and the Competition has been receiving applications from contestants since April 1st. The deadline for the application will be May 31st, 2010.
Qualified contestants must be a minimum of two, but less than six, team members, and they will compete in one of the two fields: System on Chip (SoC) Taekwon Robot and Humanoid Robot (HURO). Winners will be decided based on the intelligence capabilities presented by a robot’s platform that mimics key functions of the human brain.
SoC Taekwon Robot will compete against one another by using a camera installed on its head to recognize visual images, locations, distances, and gestures of the other competing robot.
HURO competition is a new entry begun this year, and winners will be determined in accordance with the robot’s ability to perform given missions and fights. Missions are to go through a track installed with obstacles, recognize colors and shapes of barriers, and knock down barriers to earn scores. Fighting will be performed in the form of a Korean martial art, Tae-kwon-do.
The Korean government has nominated Robotics as one of the key growth engines to develop IT industry and Korean economy. Robotics converge many of different engineering fields, such as machinery, materials, components, and embedded software. In particular, the SoC is an essential technology for Korea to continuously take lead in the semi-conductor industry in the world, which is an important element for robotics.
SoC stands for System on Chip, an integrated chip that assembles various chips and components to be fabricated together on a single chip, instead of building them on a circuit board. The SoC technology has advantages of higher performance, smaller space requirements, lower memory requirements, higher system reliability, and lower consumer costs.
An artificial intelligence SoC robot is autonomous because it can adapt itself to changes in various environments and reach a given goal without constantly receiving external orders.
For details of the event, please refer to the website of www.socrobotwar.org.
2010.04.06 View 11979
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New drug targeting method for microbial pathogens developed using in silico cell
A ripple effect is expected on the new antibacterial discovery using “in silico” cells
Featured as a journal cover paper of Molecular BioSystems
A research team of Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee at KAIST recently constructed an in silico cell of a microbial pathogen that is resistant to antibiotics and developed a new drug targeting method that could effectively disrupt the pathogen"s growth using the in silico cell.
Hyun Uk Kim, a graduate research assistant at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, conducted this study as a part of his thesis research, and the study was featured as a journal cover paper in the February issue of Molecular BioSystems this year, published by The Royal Society of Chemistry based in Europe.
It was relatively easy to treat infectious microbes using antibiotics in the past. However, the overdose of antibiotics has caused pathogens to increase their resistance to various antibiotics, and it has become more difficult to cure infectious diseases these days.
A representative microbial pathogen is Acinetobacter baumannaii. Originally isolated from soils and water, this microorganism did not have resistance to antibiotics, and hence it was easy to eradicate them if infected. However, within a decade, this miroorganism has transformed into a dreadful super-bacterium resistant to antibiotics and caused many casualties among the U.S. and French soldiers who were injured from the recent Iraqi war and infected with Acinetobacter baumannaii.
Professor Lee’s group constructed an in silico cell of this A. baumannii by computationally collecting, integrating, and analyzing the biological information of the bacterium, scattered over various databases and literatures, in order to study this organism"s genomic features and system-wide metabolic characteristics. Furthermore, they employed this in silico cell for integrative approaches, including several network analysis and analysis of essential reactions and metabolites, to predict drug targets that effectively disrupt the pathogen"s growth. Final drug targets are the ones that selectively kill pathogens without harming human body.
Here, essential reactions refer to enzymatic reactions required for normal metabolic functioning in organisms, while essential metabolites indicate chemical compounds required in the metabolism for proper functioning, and their removal brings about the effect of simultaneously disrupting their associated enzymes that interact with them.
This study attempted to predict highly reliable drug targets by systematically scanning biological components, including metabolic genes, enzymatic reactions, that constitute an in silico cell in a short period of time.
This research achievement is highly regarded as it, for the first time, systematically scanned essential metabolites for the effective drug targets using the concept of systems biology, and paved the way for a new antibacterial discovery. This study is also expected to contribute to elucidating the infectious mechanism caused by pathogens.
"Although tons of genomic information is poured in at this moment, application research that efficiently converts this preliminary information into actually useful information is still lagged behind. In this regard, this study is meaningful in that medically useful information is generated from the genomic information of Acinetobacter baumannii," says Professor Lee. "In particular, development of this organism"s in silico cell allows generation of new knowledge regarding essential genes and enzymatic reactions under specific conditions," he added.
This study was supported by the Korean Systems Biology Project of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the patent for the development of in silico cells of microbial pathogens and drug targeting methods has been filed.
[Picture 1 Cells in silico]
[Picture 2 A process of generating drug targets without harming human body while effectively disrupting the growth of a pathogen, after predicting metabolites from in silico cells]
2010.04.05 View 14635
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New Text Book on Chemistry Published by KAIST Professor and Student
A chemistry textbook written in English and Korean will aid Korean students to learn General Chemistry in a global academic setting.
Korean students majoring in chemistry and looking for an opportunity to study abroad will have a new, handy textbook that presents them with a practical introduction to an English speaking lecture on general chemistry.
Aiming for advanced Korean high school and college/university students, the inter-language textbook is written by two incumbent professors teaching chemistry at a university in Korea and the US. The book will help Korean students prepare for a classroom where various topics of general chemistry are presented and discussed in English. Clear, collated sections of English and Korean text provide the student with sufficient explanation of the rudimentary topics and concepts.
Composed of 15 chapters on the core subjects of General Chemistry, i.e., Stoichiometry and Chemical Reactions, Thermochemistry, Atomic Structure, and Bonding, the textbook includes essential English vocabulary and usage sections for each chapter; it also contains a pre-reading study guide on the subject that prepares the student for listening to a lecture. This section includes view-graph type slides, audio files, and follow-up questions the student can use to prepare for an English-speaking course. The various accompanying audio files are prepared to expose the student to English scientific dialogue and serve as examples for instruction at Korean secondary and tertiary schools.
The book was coauthored by Korean and American scientists: A father and son, who have taught chemistry at an American and Korean university, wrote the book. Professor Melvyn R. Churchill at the State University of New York at Buffalo and Professor David G. Churchill at KAIST prepared all of the technical English text which was adapted from General Chemistry course lecture notes; the text was further shaped by original perspectives arising from many student interactions and questions.
This English text was translated into Korean by Professor Kwanhee Lee from the Department of Life and Food Science at Handong Global University, who coauthored a previous preparatory book for Korean students in a different subject. He also supplied an important introductory section which serves as a general guide to the classroom student. Kibong Kim, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry at KAIST, helped in preparing the book as well.
“This has been definitely a collaborative undertaking with an international academic crew and it underscores that the Korean internationalization in science is mainstream. Professors and a Korean student created a new book for Korean consumption and benefit,” Professor David G. Churchill says.
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Bibliography: “How to Prepare for General Chemistry Taught in English” by David George Churchill, Melvyn Rowen Churchill, Kwanhee Lee & Kibong Kim, Darakwon Publishing, Paju, Republic of Korea, 2010, 400 pp, ISBN 978-89-5995-730-9 (1 Audio CD included)
2010.04.02 View 13495