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Photonic crystals allow the fabrication of miniaturized spectrometers
By Courtesy of Nanowerk
Photonic crystals allow the fabrication of miniaturized spectrometers
(Nanowerk Spotlight) Spectrometers are used in materials analysis by measuring the absorption of light by a surface or chemical substance. These instruments measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. In conventional spectrometers, a diffraction grating splits the light source into several beams with different propagation directions according to the wavelength of the light. Thus, to achieve sufficient spatial separation for intensity measurements at a small slit, a long light path – i.e., a large instrument – is required.
However, for lab-on-a-chip or microTAS (total analysis system) applications, the spectrometer must be integrated into a sub-centimeter scale device to produce a stand-alone platform. To achieve this, researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) propose a new paradigm in which the spectrometer is based on an array of photonic crystals with different bandgaps.
"Because photonic crystals refelct light of different wavelengths selectively depending on their bandgaps, we can generate reflected light spanning the entire wavelength range for analysis at different spatial positions using patterned photonic crystals," Seung-Man Yang, Director of the National Creative Research Initiative Center for Intergrated Optofluidic Systems and Professor of the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST, tells Nanowerk. "Therefore, when the light source impinges on the patterned photonic crytals, we can construct the spectrum using the reflection intensity profile from the constituent photonic crystals."
Photonic crystals – also known as photonic band gap material – are similar to semiconductors, only that the electrons are replaced by photons (i.e. light). By creating periodic structures out of materials with contrast in their dielectric constants, it becomes possible to guide the flow of light through the photonic crystals in a way similar to how electrons are directed through doped regions of semiconductors. The photonic band gap (that forbids propagation of a certain frequency range of light) gives rise to distinct optical phenomena and enables one to control light with amazing facility and produce effects that are impossible with conventional optics.
To demonstrate this new concept based on patterned photonic crystals, Yang and his group used non-close-packed colloidal crystals of silica particles dispersed in photocurable resin. Due to the repulsive interparticle potential, monodisperse silica particles spontaneously crystallize into non-close-packed face-centered cubic (fcc) structures at volume fractions above 0.1. Therefore, the particle volume fraction determines both the lattice constant and the bandgap position.
a) Optical image of an ETPTA film containing porous photonic crystal stripe patterns with 20 different bandgaps. b) Reflectance spectra from the 20 strips. c) Optical microscope image of the middle region with the parallel stripe pattern (denoted as white-dotted box in a). d) Cross-sectional SEM images of first, sixth, eleventh and seventeenth strips. The scale bars in a, c and d are 1 cm, 2mm and 2 µm, respectively. (reprinted with permission from Wiley-VCH Verlag)
Reporting their findings in a recent issue of Advanced Materials ("Integration of Colloidal Photonic Crystals toward Miniaturized Spectrometers"), the KAIST team has demonstrated the integration of colloidal photonic crystals with 20 different bandgaps into freestanding films (prepared by soft lithography), and their application as a spectrometer.
Yang explains that the team was able to precisely control the photonic bandgap by varying the particle size and volume fration.
"The prepared colloidal composite structures showed high physical rigidity and chemical resistivity" he says. "The composite structure is suitable for spectroscopic use due to the small full widths at half maximum (FWHMs) of the reflectance spectra, which mean that there is little overlap of the reflectance spectra of neighboring photonic crystal strips."
"On the other hand" says Yang, "porous photonic crystals showed large FWHMs and high reflectivities, which should prove useful in many practical photonic applications that require high optical performance and physical rigidity as well as simple and inexpensive preparation."
In addition to fabricating miniaturized spectrometers, which can for instance be integrated into small lab-on-a-chip devices, these integrated photonic crystals can be potentially used for tunable band reflection mirrors, optical switches, and tunable lasing cavities. Moreover, patterned photonic crystals with RGB colors are well-suited for use in reflection-mode microdisplay devices.
Yang points out that, although the spectrometric resolution can be reduced by employing the smaller bandgap interval and photonic bandwidth, there is a limitation. "Now, we are studying photonic crystals with continuous modulation of bandgap position. We expect that the photonic crystals can reduce the resolution to 0.01 nm."
By Michael Berger. Copyright 2010 Nanowerk
2010.03.17 View 13062 -
KAIST introduced environmentally friendly public transportation to Seoul Grand Park.
KAIST introduced environmentally friendly public transportation to Seoul Grand Park.
First step toward the commercialization of Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV)
An online electric vehicle (OLEV) developed by KAIST replaced a trackless combustion-engine train running inside Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon City, South Korea. On March 9, 2010, Seoul City and KAIST celebrated the completion of OLEV that picks up electricity from power cables buried underground through a non-contact magnetic charging method, called electromagnetic induction. Electromagnetic induction is the process of inducing electric current in a coil with the help of a magnet.
The pickup unit installed underneath OLEV collects electricity from a roadway and distributes the power either to operate the vehicle or for battery storage. Whether running or stopped, OLEV constantly receives electric power through the underground cables. As a result, OLEV mitigates the burden of equipping electric automobiles with heavy, bulky batteries—OLEV’s battery size is one-fifth that of the batteries installed in electric vehicles currently on the market.
There is no need to establish massive charging stations or to set aside much time for recharging. If the underground power lines installed on road curbs, bus stops, parking lots, and intersections, the power system could support a substantial portion of public transportation: For example, KAIST estimates that by establishing 20% of the road infrastructure for a bus route in Seoul City, the city could offer its citizens the online electric buses.
The non-contact charging of vehicles while running, idling, or parking is an important and practical technology necessary for the development of commercialized electric vehicles. This technology solves many of the issues related to the current batteries of electric vehicles, including size, expense, and repair/maintenance. In addition, non-contact charging is safer because it prevents potential electrical hazards, such as electric shock, that result from direct contact with power sources. Furthermore, it is more convenient to drive vehicles without overhead wires directly connected to power lines, as is necessary for streetcars and trams.
The recharging strips are divided into several meters of segments in length, and vehicles receive the power each time they pass over one. In other words, a sensor is affixed within each segment. When a car with the pickup equipment drives over the segment, the sensor is turned on for the car to receive electricity. This means that when a car without the pickup equipment passes over the segment, it will not collect any electricity.
The power supply via on/off switch (sensors) relieves safety concerns about electromagnetic field (EMF). Pedestrians or cars without the pickup unit will not be exposed to EMF because the sensor embedded in the segments will not work, thus no electricity generated. In addition, even under the circumstance of EMF yield, the test results for OLEV are well below the 1998 the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guideline, 62.5mG at 20khz. OLEV’s EMF test results range from 20mG (inside OLEV while running) to 50mG (around OLEV while parking).
When talking about a wireless energy transfer such as electromagnetic induction, the most critical issue is how to reserve an air gap of 12cm (in accordance with Korean law) between the surface of roads and the bottom of vehicles while having 60% power transmission efficiency or above. There was a similar research done in the US at University of Berkley—their research was considered unsuccessful because they obtained an air gap of 5-7cm with 60% maximum level of efficiency. Besides, their electromagnetic field (EMF) was quite high (2000A), and they were unable to bring down the high cost of installing power supply system. By contrast, for the first time in the world, KAIST has succeeded to obtain 12cm (and up to 17cm) of air gap with more than 70% efficiency level of power transmission. The EMF is also well below the international standard of 62.5mG. In a nutshell, KAIST has achieved a core technology in terms of capacity, efficiency, and EMF to develop electric vehicles for commercial use.
The city government of Seoul and KAIST signed a Memorandum of Understating (MOU) on the development of an online electric vehicle in August 2009. Against the backdrop of the public’s increased awareness of environmental pollution and the depletion of fossil fuels, the two organizations agreed to introduce eco-friendly vehicles to the city’s public transportation, beginning with the introduction of a trial version of OLEV to places like an amusement park, bus terminal, airport, shopping mall, and the like.
KAIST’s OLEV research team is made up of experts from a variety of fields, including electrical and electronics engineering, computer sciences, civil engineering, information technology, and mechanical engineering. OLEV’s success at Seoul Grand Park is a result of KAIST’s innovative initiatives on convergence research, and KAIST has submitted more than 120 applications for patents right in connection with the development of OLEV.
Online Electric Vehicle at Seoul Grand Park
In terms of power transmission efficiency, KAIST’s research team achieved a maximum pick-up capacity of 62kw/h, 74% with an air gap height of 13cm from a road to the bottom of a vehicle. Composed of one engine and three passenger cars, OLEV travels along a total length of 2.2km beltway. There are four sections of power supply infrastructure established on the route (Sections 1, 2, and 3: 122.5 meters long each, and Section 4: 5 meters long). The power supply cables were laid underground for a total of 372.5 meters, 16% of the total distance of the 2,200 meter route.
2010.03.12 View 12522
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KAIST Commencement 2010 was held on February 26, 2010.
A total of 2,205 are the newly conferred degree holders: 479 for Ph.D., 988 for Master’s, and 738 for B.S. degrees. Since its foundation in 1971, KAIST has so far produced 38,882 graduates.
KAIST held the 2010 graduation ceremony on February 26, 2010 at its newly built place, called “Sports Complex Building.” Approximately 2,500 guests including Minister Byung-Man Ahn, Education, Science and Technology Ministry; Chairman Mun-Sul Jeong, KAIST Board of Trustees; representatives from the KAIST alumni; graduating students; and faculty joined the ceremony to celebrate the commencement.
Honorary Doctorates
At the ceremony, KAIST has conferred four honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of recipients’ contribution to the advancement of science and technology and development of science and engineering education in Korea and the world. The recipients were Arden L. Bement Jr., Director of US National Science Foundation; Lars Pallesen, President of Technical University of Denmark; Donald C.W. Kim, Chairman of AMKOR A&E, Inc.; and Beang-Ho Kim, Chairman of Seojeon Farm.
Graduation Honors: President’s List
Dong-Han Kim, majoring in Mathematical Sciences, College of Natural Science, was nominated as President’s List. He received an award for an outstanding academic achievement from the Minister of Education, Science and Technology and gave a gradation speech on behalf of the graduating class.
Birthplace of Promising Young Scientists in Korea
KAIST has earned a reputation for training the next generation of young scientists in Korea, and its 2010 Commencement has confirmed such fame. Among 479 Ph.D. degree holders, 151 (31%) students are in their 20s. The youngest who has received a doctoral degree is Jin-Ah Lee, graduating from College of Life Science and Bioengineering.
Commencing International Students
Among international students graduating this year, two students from India received their doctoral degrees in Biological Sciences: Kataru Raghu Prasad and Chaya Mohan. They are a married couple and now both postdoctoral researchers, working at KAIST labs. Wearing academic regalia and standing together to take a picture, the couple said, “We would definitely recommend KAIST to prospective international students because it offers the best education and research facilities comparable to those of any leading universities in the world. With the knowledge and experience acquired from studying at KAIST, we hope to contribute to the development of our country in the future.”
2010.03.04 View 13652
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[Event Notice] International Workshop on Computer Science Education and Research
2010 Asia-Africa International Workshop on Computer Science Education and Research
The Department of Computer Science at KAIST will host an international workshop on the education and research of computer science in Asia and Africa. The workshop, “2010 Asia-Africa International Workshop on Computer Science Education and Research” will be held on February 17-19, 2010 at a conference room located inside the KAIST Main Building. Deans of computer science departments from 13 different universities in Asia and Africa will attend the workshop.
At the workshop, participants will introduce their own education and research programs and discuss ways to have mutual collaborations. This is the first time for representatives from the computer science and engineering departments of leading universities in the newly developing countries—for instance, Thailand, Vietnam, Nigeria, Egypt, and Indonesia—to attend a meeting organized by institutions based in Korea. These countries have a large amount of natural resources and great potential to grow as a front runner in the information technology (IT) sector.
Professor Key-Sun Choi, Dean of Computer Science Department at KAIST, hopes that the workshop will be a place where participated universities discuss mutual cooperation and collaboration; exchange their ideas and knowledge of course management and education and research experiences; and share their vision of global leadership to advance the development of computer science and engineering.
Dean Choi mentioned that his department has also had consultations with the Korean government regarding a possible exchange program to select 10 or 20 members of faculty and students from universities in the newly developing nations for a doctoral course at KAIST. The exchange program, he said, would attract many of excellent candidates from nations with an emerging market for the IT industry to study at KAIST. The highly trained workforces who finish the KAIST doctoral program will contribute not only to their nations’ IT development but also to Korea’s.
2010.02.18 View 12503
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Indoor Localization System for Mobile Devices Developed by KAIST Research Team
The technology will be available to smart phone users around the world through Goole Apps Store.
The wireless fidelity (WiFi)-based indoor localization can be installed on smart phones for commercialization, a technology developed by a research team at KAIST. The KAIST research team, led by Professor Dong-Soo Han, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, explained that the technology offers smart phone users, e.g., Google’s Android phone and Apple’ iPhone, a unique way to recognize their location through WiFi Open Radio Map. WiFi Open Radio Map is built with WiFi Location Fingerprint that contains wireless local area network (LAN)’s signal strength and wireless access points (AP) number, and with location information.
Through using the Map, WiFi-based indoor localization recognizes the location of smart phones and sends the location information to the phones. Since the technology uses WiFi signal information only to recognize the whereabouts of phones, it can be widely used in the future, without installing extra machines and equipment for detection, for a complicated, large indoor environment, where the Global Positioning System (GPS) is not available.
Currently, Professor Han has established WiFi Open Radio Map inside and outside of a few buildings at KAIST and developed several location based application services to perform a beta testing. He plans to open and distribute the technology to smart phone users through Google and Apple Apps Store in early 2010. Collaborations with major smart phone makers such as SK Telecom, Korea Telecom, and Samsung as well as outdoor/indoor localization manufactures and suppliers will also be sought, according to Professor Han.
Professor Han is invited to an international conference, Eighth Annual IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications, slated for early April 2010, in recognition of his work. At the conference, he will give a presentation on WiFi based indoor localization technology and conduct its demo version.
2010.02.10 View 10957
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KAIST Research Team Identified Promising New Source to Obtain Stem Cells
KAIST Research Team Identified Promising New Source to Obtain Stem Cells
A research team at KAIST led by Professor Gou-Young Koh, M.D. and Ph.D., of the Department of Biological Sciences, has found evidence that fat tissue, known as adipose tissue, may be a promising new source of valuable and easy-to-obtain regenerative cells called hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs).
HSPCs are adult stem cells that have the ability to generate and develop into many different kinds of cells. They are now used to repair damaged tissues and are being studied for their potential to treat a vast array of chronic and degenerative conditions such as leukemia. Mostly found in bone marrow but with a limited quantity, HSPCs are hard to cultivate in vitro, thus becoming an obstacle to use them for research and therapeutic purposes.
Within the adipose tissue is a special cell population known as the stromal vascular fraction (SVF), which share similar properties to those in the bone marrow. Cells in the bone marrow and SVF have the ability to differentiate into several cell types. In addition, both adipose and bone marrow offer similar environments for optimal stem cell growth and reproduction.
Given the fact that adipose and bone marrow tissues share similar properties, Dr. Koh and his team conducted a research, injecting granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), a growth hormone used to encourage the development of stem cells, into an adipose tissue of a mouse whose bone marrow is damaged. As a result, the team has found that the SVF derived from adipose tissue contains functional HSPCs capable of generating hematopoietic (blood-forming) cells to repair the damaged bone morrow.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology nominated the KAIST research as one of its sponsoring 21st Century Frontier R&D Programs. Director Dong-Wook Kim of Stem Cell Research Center (SCRS) that oversees the KAIST team expressed a possibility to use the adipose tissue as an alternative source to obtain stem cells for regeneration medicine.
Dr. Koh also said, “It’s been a well known method to extract HSPCs from the bone morrow or blood, but it’s the first time to identify adipose tissue, before considered useless, as a new possible supplier for functional and transplantable HSPCs.”
The study results have received an important recognition from the academia—the American Society of Hematology published the research as a main article in its official journal, Blood, for the February 4th, 2010 issue, which is the most citied peer-reviewed publication in the field.
2010.02.05 View 11639
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Master of Science in Intellectual Property: First Class Starts on Saturday, February 6, 2010
Newly Established, Postgraduate Course for Master of Science in Intellectual Property
First class starts on February 6th, 2010
In conjunction with Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), KAIST has established a new postgraduate course for a master of science in intellectual property (IP). 41 students have enrolled the course, and its first class will begin February 6th, 2010. With a diverse professional background, the first-year students came from private businesses, IP service industry, and public organizations.
Globally well-known companies—Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and the Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO)—and mid-sized companies have offered scholarships to support the new M.S. Program. Business and industry in Korea have recognized the increasingly important role of intellectual property in a modern economy and showed a strong interest in developing workforce specialized in subjects such as, but not limited to, patent law, copyright and designs law, trade mark law, unfair competition, anti-trust law, competition law, and trade secret law.
Prosecutor Chan-Gi Na from Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said, “I’ve applied for the master program at KAIST because I wanted to learn more about intellectual property in greater depth. Through the coursework, I hope to enhance my knowledge on the subjects and use it for the protection of Koreans’ IP related rights and the development of our nation’s IP industry.”
Assistant Manager Jin-Hong Bae from Samsung Securities, Inc. said, “Since the capital market law becomes effective, the need for developing new financial products or services in our finance market has rapidly grown. We no longer can make our financial products by simply copying or ripping off ideas from others. It’s a must practice, not an option, to set up a system under which we are able to protect our IPs.”
“I would like to become an expert in our finance market, who really knows how to commercialize intellectual property assets into benefits, so any know-hows or ideas accumulated from years of working in the field can be registered and protected,” added Mr. Bae.
KAIST’s Mater Program for intellectual property is designed for engineers who wish to acquire the skills required to play a leading role in the field. These engineers, KAIST anticipates, will establish and execute business strategies to protect intellectual property, generate added values for a company, and effectively respond against patent related claims.
The intellectual property will seize up to 90% of business values to be generated in the 21st century. KAIST has long foreseen the need for training top-notch engineers in intellectual property. Combined with multidisciplinary approach to engineering, law, and management, the new M.S. Program will provide students with a variety form of classes to assist them in getting a practical knowledge as needed based on their interests and career aspirations. Examples of the classes are workshops on the change in technology trends—i.e., information technology (IT), environmental technology (ET), and bio technology (BT); standardization of intellectual property and value assessment; and patent law related claims.
“All professors involved in the course are experts who are equipped with hands-on experiences in working on intellectual property for a long time at government agencies, companies, and law firms,” Professor Chul-Ho Kim, responsible for overseeing the entire program, said.
He also expressed his confidence that “We have set up an academic system to induct highly qualified professionals and engineers, capable of handling all aspects of intellectual property related issues, into work places. Our coursework encompasses technology, research and development (R&D), and management, and students who complete the program will be ready to tackle down any intellectual property matters in the 21st century.”
Freshmen convocation for the IP M.S. Program is scheduled on February 20th at KAIST, and President Nam Pyo Suh and Commissioner Jung-Sik Koh of Korean Intellectual Property (KIPO) will attend the event.
2010.02.04 View 12729
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Beginning of First Semester for Academic Year 2010
Welcome Ceremony for Freshmen Held at KAIST on February 1st, 2010
KAIST held a welcome ceremony for freshmen on February 1st, 2010 at an auditorium with an attendance of parents and guests. A total of thousand students enrolled this year to begin their new college career at KAIST.
The ceremony proceeded with recitation of the freshmen pledge by student representatives, Yong-Tak Kim (a graduate from Korea Science Academy) and Hyun-Jin Oh (a graduate from Daejeon Science High School) and a welcome speech by President Nam Pyo Suh. At his speech, President Suh introduced to the freshmen a glimpse of new life at KAIST while stressing student development through involvement and leadership opportunities offered by the university.
After the welcome ceremony, KAIST Chorus, composed of existing students, performed a celebratory event. There was a meeting organized between school staff and parents as well. During the meeting, the faculty members (Kwang-Hyung Lee from Dean of Academic Affairs Office; Do-Kyung Kim, Dean of Admissions Office; and Kyung-Wook Paik, Dean of Academic and Student Affairs Office) and parents exchanged views on various topics such as educational programs and students’ campus life.
KAIST has shortened its winter recess and extended summer vacation to three months instead since 2009. Adopting such an academic calendar, KAIST hopes, will spur students to have diverse opportunities for more experiences beyond the school life.
2010.02.02 View 9836 -
President Nam Pyo Suh of KAIST discussed cooperation with KUSTAR on the training of skilled manpower for research and development (R&D)
Representatives from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR), Emirate Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), and the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) had a meeting on mutual cooperation at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on January 14, 2009.
Participants of the meeting were President Nam Pyo Suh of KAIST, President Arif Sultan Al Hammadi of KUSTAR, President Mohamed Al Hammadi of ENEC, and Director General Abdullatif Mohamed Al Shamsi of IAT.
A press conference on the training of skilled manpower for research and development (R&D) in the UAE followed afterwards.
At the end of December in 2009, a Korean consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) beat bids from its competitors to construct four nuclear power plants in the UAE. Representing the consortium, Minister Kyung Hwan Choi of Knowledge Economy Ministry signed a comprehensive agreement with KUSTAR and the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) for the delivery of nuclear power plants.
On his visit, President Suh discussed with KUSTAR the agreement above in greater detail on subjects, where KAIST renders its cooperation, such as research collaboration, university degree program, and training to produce qualified personnel necessary for the development of UAE’s nuclear energy industry.
On research collaboration, sharing its expertise and knowledge accumulated years from the operation of academic and research programs, KAIST agreed to provide cooperation to KUSTAR in developing the latter as a leading science, technology, and research university in ten years through mutual activities such as research collaborations, recruitment and exchange of outstanding researchers and graduate students, expansion of research facilities, and creation of major research policies. Furthermore, in support of nuclear energy program in the UAE, KAIST agreed to develop a joint research program in nuclear engineering and exchange faculty members and students for research collaboration.
On a university degree program, KAIST agreed for mutual cooperation to launch academic programs at KUSTAR, covering BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees to specialize in areas such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, nuclear engineering, biomedical engineering, nano technology, science, and information technology. To that end, KAIST will dispatch its faculty to KUSTAR; provide assistance in developing curriculum and teaching materials; and exchange students for research collaboration.
President Arif of KUSTAR mentioned that the university will cooperate with the relevant institutions in Korea, i.e., Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), to train skilled workers required for the development of nuclear energy program in the UAE.
He also added, “These cooperative programs will introduce more educational opportunities to our students, and as a result, they can make greater contributions to the development of our nation’s future technologies in various areas. Our students will have a chance to study a broad range of academic subjects through partnership made with the Republic of Korea, and I expect to see improvements in our engineering programs by integrating KAIST’s state-of-the-art academic courses into our system.”
President Arif expressed his hope “to increase cooperation beyond the agreement made between the two countries, like allowing more exchanges and interactions with KAIST for the development of science and technology in Korea and the UAE.”
“Establishing mutual cooperation between KAIST and KUSTAR is a historic event not only for our two universities but also for our two countries. The two universities will make a great contribution to the improvement of the future of humanity by working together to solve the most important, difficult issues faced in the 21st century,” said President Suh.
He also said that “all members of KAIST community will make our utmost efforts to advance the quality of education in two schools and to implement innovative researches through mutual cooperation.”
KUSTAR, a national university in the UAE, was founded on February 13, 2007 by a mandate of the current President Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to create a higher education institute.
KUSTAR has been building its permanent campus in Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE since establishment and merged with the campus in Sharjah (formerly known as Etisalat University College with 18 years of history) in 2008. The University offers education and research programs in five disciplines of engineering, logistics and management, health science, homeland security, and applied science.
There are more or less 30 foreign accredited universities set up in the UAE from countries like the US, UK, Australia, France, Ireland, and Canada. Examples of such, among other things, are New York University Abu Dhabi campus and Middlesex University Dubai campus.
Many of the foreign universities in the UAE, however, have colleges of pharmacy, computer science, aviation, management information, fashion design, business management, and medical science including Harvard Medical School Dubai Center, but not many in science and research. Therefore, KAIST’s assistance in KUSTAR’s endeavor to become a leading science and research university in the UAE is timely. The current government of UAE anticipates, with a great interest, to see a leading science and research intuition built in their nation.
Attachment: Current Status of Universities in the UAE as of 2009
Background Information
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah) situated on the Arabian Peninsula, which borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The UAE has the world"s sixth largest oil reserves. As of 2008, its gross domestic product is $2,621,000.5 million and its nominal per capita gross domestic product is $5 5,028, becoming one of the most developed economies in the Middle East. The UAE’s total population as of the said year is 4,760.4 thousand, and its purchasing power per capita is 40th largest in the world. The UAE’s Human Development Index for Asian continent is relatively high, ranking 31st globally.
In 1985, the UAE launched its own airline, Emirates Airline, which has become one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. The Emirates Airline is a sponsor for Arsenal soccer club.
The Republic of Korea established full diplomatic relations with the UAE in June of 1980. On December 27, 2009, a Korean consortium led by Korea Electrical Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed a contract with the UAE to build nuclear power plants.
2010.01.15 View 15108 -
2010 New Year Message
The State of KAIST in 2009 & 2010:
Assessing the Past Year’s Accomplishments and
Next Year’s Challenges and Opportunities
Nam Pyo Suh
President, KAIST
January 4, 2010
Summary
2009 was a great year for KAIST, with every member of the KAIST family working to cement KAIST’s position among the world’s leading universities. Faculty, staff and students alike have made unique and important contributions to toward this goal through major advances in research, education, and service. Our work in science, technology, and education will profoundly impact industry and society, in Korea and throughout the world. In addition to achieving major scientific discoveries and developing technologies and processes, our faculty has greatly improved KAIST’s curriculum and pedagogical practices. Many professors have been recognized by many organizations in and outside of Korea in 2009. Our students have contributed to KAIST through their involvement in research and a wide array of extracurricular activities. Our staff has accomplished a seamless merger of ICU and KAIST, in addition to managing a variety of other demanding projects. As a result of all of these contributions, KAIST is a stronger, more dynamic institution today than it was a year ago.
In the coming year, KAIST must continue its efforts to become one of the best universities in the world. While building on our previous accomplishments, we will face new challenges. We will have to identify and commence challenging research projects, while continuing to evolve our educational programs. We have several construction projects to complete. And we must continue to expand KAIST’s sphere of influence, collaborating with colleagues around the world. With our dedication to excellence, 2010 will be a productive and intellectually rewarding year.
Our past efforts have attracted attention both internationally and domestically. Our progress in education and research has been recognized by international ranking agencies (QS/The London Times) and domestic newspapers. For example, international ranking agency QS listed KAIST 21st in engineering and IT, 39th in sciences, and 69th overall -- from 243th in 2005 and 198th in 2006 – making KAIST the fastest rising university. And domestic newspapers, JoongAng Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo, rated KAIST the top university in Korea.
I am personally most grateful to thousands of financial contributors to KAIST, who have enabled us to undertake critical projects, both physical and academic. Thanks to their contributions, KAIST will continue to renovate and innovate in the years to come. Chairman Byung-Ho Kim made the largest gift in 2009, following the important tradition established by Chairman Moon-Sool Chung, Chairman Chong-Moon Lee, Dr. Byiung-Joon Park, Chairman Neil Pappalardo, Professor Geun-Chul Lyu, Chairman Donald C. W. Kim, Dr. Hyung-Kyu Lim, and many others. Their contributions will be remembered for establishing the tradition of philanthropic giving in Korea.
KAIST has also been fortunate to receive tremendous support from the Korean government. The government and the National Assembly have enabled KAIST to undertake two ambitious and bold projects: the On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) project and the Mobile Harbor (MH) project. By demonstrating these projects’ success, we hope the government will continue to provide strong support in 2010, as we believe they will yield rich educational, scientific, technological, and economic returns to taxpayers.
CY 2009 – A Retrospective Assessment
CY 2009 has been a remarkable year for KAIST. We have made great strides in making KAIST into one of the best universities in the world, with a strategy that addresses the most important challenges of the 21st century – in the spheres of energy, environment, water and sustainability (EEWS) – through multi-disciplinary education, research, and technological innovation.
The following are the major highlights of the past year (listed in no particular order):
Education in 2009
1. Three years ago, KAIST developed educational and research strategies that have continued to evolve and improve. In education, our goals have been to admit the most capable students, to teach synthesis as well as analysis, and to produce graduates who can compete both globally and locally. To achieve the first goal, we have adopted new admissions policies, which have proved effective at bringing some of the best and the brightest minds to KAIST (see 6). Regarding the 2nd goal, freshman students are now required to take the freshman design subject to make them “bi-functional” in both synthesis and analysis. As for the 3rd goal, The Mileage Program continues to broaden the outlook of our undergraduate students. To make our students competitive globally, we have actively recruited international students and faculty and adopted English as the official language of instruction.
2. KAIST has tried to instill a sense of responsibility in our students. To this end, we have asked them to complete their prescribed degree programs within the allotted time. While we emphasize academic achievements, we also believe that health and physical exercise are also important. Therefore, we are constructing a new athletics facility to strengthen our students’ mental fortitude by augmenting it with active participation in sports and through physical exercise.
3. To re-focus our educational and research programs, we have re-organized KAIST into six Colleges and created three new academic departments. The six colleges are: College of Natural Science, College of Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, College of Life Science and Bioengineering, College of Business, and College of Cultural Science. Four new academic units created in 2009 are the Department of Knowledge and Service Engineering in the College of Information Science and Technology, the Department of Ocean Systems and Graduate School of EEWS in the College of Engineering, and the Graduate School of Nano-Science and Technology in the College of Natural Science.
4. KAIST has also initiated new graduate-level educational programs in a number of fields -- ocean systems, nano-science and technology, EEWS, knowledge and service engineering, intellectual property, science and technology journalism, and Ph.D. education for medical doctors (MDs). We also have received strong support for the WCU programs in a number of fields from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST).
5. In addition, we have strengthened our programs in systems and design in order to change the nature of engineering education and the intellectual perspective of the freshman at KAIST. Colleagues who have taught the freshman design course attest that it has achieved its educational goal -- Professors Kate Thompson and Taesik Lee have done a great job making it successful. We have also launched many new programs, including the Renaissance Ph.D. Program under the direction of Professor Dong-Yul Yang. Also, KAIST has two new masters of science (MS) programs – MS in Intellectual Property and MS in Science Journalism – under the leadership of Dean Kwang Hyung Lee. Professor Chul-Ho Kim will direct the MS in IP Program and Dean Kwang Hyung Lee will direct the MS in Science Journalism.
6. KAIST is committed to seeking and admitting talented students. In 2009, we initiated a new process for selecting and admitting the most qualified undergraduate students from normal high schools, in addition to continuing the interview-based admissions process introduced two years ago. Under the new process, the principal of each normal high school (there are roughly 1,300 in Korea) was asked to recommend one student for KAIST. After a preliminary screening by the Admissions Office, followed by an interview at the KAIST campus, 150 students were admitted from this group.
(These newly admitted students have been given the opportunity to make up for any deficiencies in mathematics, physics and chemistry by taking on-line KAIST courses. Dean Kwang Hyung Lee created the experimental Bridge Program this year, with over 130 high school students subscribing to complete the final semester of high school education. Mid-term examination results indicated that these students are thriving at KAIST.)
This new admissions process supplements the process successfully introduced two years ago, in which students are admitted based on interviews and high school grades only – a change that has proved of great interest to other universities in Korea. Using this process, KAIST will admit an additional 850 students from the Science High Schools, the Korea Science Academy, and normal high schools. The composition of the incoming 1,000-student freshman class is consistent with the goals established in the Five Year Plan.
7. KAIST has signed several agreements with universities and research institutes abroad for student exchanges, dual degree programs, and post-doctoral studies. In 2009, international students from 72 countries studied at KAIST. KAIST has also sponsored two recent Ph.D.s as post-doctoral fellows at the NASA Ames Research Center, California, United States.
8. In December 2009, as a part of the UAE-Korea agreement, KAIST agreed to collaborate with the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR), the leading scientific and technological university in Abu Dhabi. Under this program, KAIST will aid KUSTAR with its educational and research programs in a number of fields. There will be an exchange of personnel and research collaboration, in addition to curricula development, establishment of laboratories, and infrastructure strengthening. This program is expected to last about ten years with a major review in five years.
Research in 2009
1. KAIST has developed a research strategy that will help it become a leader in the fields of science and technology. This strategy consists of a two-pronged approach: (a) encourage and support Faculty-Initiated Individual Research (FIIR) and (b) undertake concentrated, multidisciplinary, system-scale projects in a few select areas. The most important means of supporting FIIR has been KAIST’s Fellowship, HRHR , and EEWS Programs. To balance FIIR projects, KAIST has supported multi-disciplinary group research through the KAIST Institutes (KI) and also the EEWS Program.
2. KAIST has also provided start-up funds to new faculty members for equipment and other scholarly activities (rather than using the funds to support graduate students, since many of our incoming students are provided with fellowships).
3. In basic research, our professors and students have made important advances in sciences (e.g., mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics). In technological innovation, KAIST has developed many new processes and technologies (e.g., applied biochemistry, biochemical processing, robotics, On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV), Mobile Harbor (MH), semiconductor processing, IC design, electronic packaging, fuel cells, optics, propulsion, complex systems, ship insulation, nanotechnology, and many others). These research contributions will gain international recognition as their results become better known and widely used.
4. To promote research collaboration between KAIST and leading European universities, the Office of External Affairs organized a trip to Europe. Five professors, Dean Yong-Taek Im, two students, and I visited four leading European universities – Technical University of Denmark, Delft University of Science and Technology, RWTH Aachen University, and Ecole Polytechnic/
ParisTech. On this trip, Professors Jie-Oh Lee and Yong-Mahn Han presented their work in biological chemistry and stem-cell research, respectively, and Professors Joong-Myeon Bae, Kyung-Cheol Choi, and Otfried Cheong presented their work on fuel cells, displays, and combinatorial geometry, respectively. These visits clearly indicated that KAIST is at the forefront of science and technology.
5. The OLEV and MH Projects are large, multi-disciplinary R&D projects specially funded through the 2009 Supplementary Budget. The goal of the OLEV Project, headed by Professor Dong-Ho Cho, is to eliminate internal combustion engines in order to lower CO2 levels in the earth’s atmosphere and to also help Korea reduce its imports of fossil fuels. Many professors and research staff members (Professors Chun-Taek Rim, Joung-Ho Kim, In-Soo Suh, Yong-Hoon Jeong, Hang-Ki Lee, and others) have worked on this project. A company named OLEV&E Company was established by the KAIST Development Foundation to attract industry involvement and accelerate the commercialization process as stipulated by the government as part of the 2009 Supplementary Budget. CEO Chung-Goo Lee, the former CEO of Hyundai Motors, is heading this commercialization effort. KAIST has developed OLEV buses and cars that draw electric power and recharge a small battery system from underground cables without any mechanical contact to power electric motors. The efficiency of power transmission is over 72% and the electromagnetic force (EMF) is well below specifications. This system is being installed in Seoul Grand Park. We have filed for many patents.
6. The goal of the Mobile Harbor project is to create “moving harbors” that can load and unload containers to and from large container ships and deliver them to small as well as large harbors -- the central goal being to eliminate the need for large, deep-water harbors by making “mobile harbors” that can go out to ships moored in deep waters. The team headed by Professor Byung-Man Kwak has demonstrated the viability of the original technology. Many professors – Professors Yun-Sik Park, Jun-Ho Oh, Gyung-Jin Park, Taesik Lee, Soon-Heung Han, Soo-Hyun Kim, and others -- have contributed to this project. The CEO of the Mobile Harbor Corporation, Daniel C. S. Ahn, and his team directed the design of two large mobile harbors, which will be submitted for certification for commercial use. We have many patents filed.
(It should be noted that initially, the OLEV and MH projects were supported by the EEWS project, the HRHR Initiatives, and KI.)
7. The EEWS has funded 24 projects related to 10 critical topics in EEWS: Solar Energy, Photosynthesis and Carbon Capture & Storage, Fuel Cell, Bio Fuel, Battery and Green Car, Safe Nuclear Energy, Enhancing Energy Efficiency, Environment Monitoring and Recovery, Sustainable Manufacturing and Building, and EEWS Strategies.
8. A number of the KAIST Institutes (KI) have been gaining momentum. The KI for IT Convergence, which has a great number of faculty members from many disciplines, is conducting joint research projects. The KI for Design of Complex Systems has developed complex insulations systems for special-purpose large vessels. There are many other achievements that will be noted in a more expanded report.
Merger
We have successfully merged ICU and KAIST to forge stronger programs in IT. This strengthened group at KAIST has initiated new research and education in IT. We also accepted the operational responsibility for the Korea Science Academy to foster creative and intelligent high school graduates, especially those interested in science and engineering.
Construction of New Buildings and Facilities
We are constructing several new buildings: the Chunghi and BJ Park KI Building for multidisciplinary research; the Pappalardo Medical Center; the Sports Complex; the International Center; an apartment complex for international faculty; and dormitories for students. We have also renovated many buildings (e.g., the student dining facilities). In addition to the seven new buildings under construction now, we will be building several new buildings: the Kim Byung-Ho IT building, the Second Chung Moon-Soul Building for Brain science and Engineering, and an Animal Facility. Construction will begin soon.
Faculty
1. As of December 2009, KAIST has 548 tenure-track professors and 322 non-tenure track professors. Of these, 39 are international faculty (including 20 Korean-Americans) and 34 are female. Our goal is to increase our international and female faculty to 20% each.
2. KAIST has appointed 56 outstanding new faculty members, including 15 international and 8 female members. The quality of these faculty members is exceptionally high. The search committees and department heads should be commended for an excellent recruiting job.
3. We have a truly outstanding faculty. Many members are known nationally and internationally for their contributions, and continue to receive awards for their work. Many of the young professors who recently joined KAIST are among the most outstanding scholars in their respective fields, showing much promise for KAIST’s future.
Students
1. In 2009, KAIST had 3,766 undergraduate students and 5,029 graduate students (2,456 MS candidates and 2,573 Ph.D. candidates). We have 289 more undergraduate students than we should have had, as these students have not completed all the requirements for their undergraduate degrees within the standard time frame. It is important that our students learn to complete their studies within the time allocated for their degrees, and for that matter, for any task. In order to encourage our graduate students to complete their formal academic training as soon as possible and assume long-term career paths, we have imposed a time limit for their tenure as graduate students.
2. To encourage students to finish their undergraduate studies in four years, we have instituted a tuition system that requires all students, regardless of GPA, to pay full tuition if they do not finish their undergraduate degrees within that time frame. MS students and Ph.D. students who do not finish their degree in two and five years, respectively, are also required to pay partial or full tuition.
The Pappalardo Medical Center
With the financial support of Chairman and Mrs. Neil Pappalardo, we are constructing the Pappalardo Medical Center. The purpose of the Pappalardo Medical Center is to provide primary care to KAIST family members -- students, staff, professors and their families. The Pappalardo Medical Center will be increasingly important as we have more members of the KAIST family who do not speak Korean. Thanks to the efforts of Professor Ook-Joon Yoo, Dean for the Graduate School for MD/PhD Program and the Director of the Center for Bio-Medical Research, the Pappalardo Medical Center will be dedicated in May 2010. Professor Yoo will soon be hiring medical and support staff for the medical center.
Meetings, Conferences, and Workshops
KAIST hosted many conferences and workshops in 2009, including the Second International Presidents Forum (IPF) and the International Workshop on EEWS. Hosting such events has served many important functions – increasing global visibility, teaching best practices, creating inter-personal connections, fostering financial support, and building good will throughout the world.
In Recognition of the Special Support of Government
Most of the new programs in education, research, and infrastructure construction described above have received strong budgetary support from the government. The top leaders of the Korean government have given us opportunities to explore bold new concepts in science and technology through the General Appropriation of the Budget and the special Supplementary Funding of 2009. We are grateful for their support. I am personally grateful to President M.B. Lee for his support of the OLEV and the Mobile Harbor Projects.
Awards and Achievements of the Faculty
Our colleagues have received many awards as follows:
- Professor Jung Woong RA is the recipient of the Korean Engineer Award.
- Professor Seong Hwan CHO won the Best Thesis Award from IEEE Transaction on Circuits & Systems.
- Professor Chang Hee LEE was elected as IEEE Fellow.
- Professor Seung Hyup YOO was awarded an Outstanding Poster Award at the 9th International Meeting on Information Display.
- Professor Kyung Cheol CHOI received Outstanding Poster Award at the 9th International Meeting on Information Display
- Professor Joung Ho KIM received Best Student Paper Award at the 18th Electrical Performance of Electronic Packaging and Systems.
- Professor Gun Woo MOON was awarded the Best Paper Prize at 2nd International Telecommunication Energy Conference.
- Professor Kwang Jo KIM received an Award from the President of Korea for his service in Information Security.
- Professor Kyu Young WHANG was elected as ACM Fellow.
- Professor Dong Man LEE received the Distinguished Service Award from Korea Internet & Security Agency.
- Professor Dong Jun KIM is the recipient of Microsoft Young Professorship Award.
- Professor Sung Eui YOON received the Distinguished Paper Award from Pacific Graphics Society.
- Professor Jae Hyuk HUH received the Distinguished Paper Award from Pacific Graphics Society.
- Professor Sue Bok MOON won the Female Scientist Award from Amore Pacific.
- Professor Byoung Kyu CHOI was awarded the Order of Merit for Science Technology (Ungbi Medal) as well as the Korean Engineer Award.
- Professor Ha Yong SHIN received Gahun Academic Award from Gahun Foundation for Science and Technology.
- Professor Hark HWANG is the recipient of Young Scientist Prize of the International Conference on IML 2009 and Symposium on GT/CM 2009.
- Professor Myung Suk KIM won the Korea Robot Award from the Minister of Knowledge Economy.
- Professor Sang Min BAE received Good Design Award.
- Professor Youn Kyung LIM is the recipient of Microsoft Young Professorship Award.
- Professor Hyeon Jeong SUK was awarded the Best Thesis Award of International Journal of Sensibility Engineering.
- Professor Sung-Chul SHIN was awarded the National Academy Sciences Award of 2009 by the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea.
- Professor Wonho CHOE was awarded KSTAR Merit Award of 2009 by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
- Professor Kee Joo CHANG was named as the Fellow of 2009 by the American Physics Society.
- Professor Sangil OUM was awarded TJ Park Bessemer Science Scholarship.
- Professor Suh-Hyun CHOI was awarded Amore-Pacific Frontier Award.
- Professor Jinhyun PARK was awarded Sangsan Young Mathematician Award.
- Professor Hyotcherl IHEE was awarded Distinguished Lectureship Award by the Chemical Society of Japan.
- Professor Juhyoun KWAK was awarded Q.Won Choi Academic Award by the Korean Chemical Society.
- Professor Ryong RYOO was awarded Creative Knowledge Awards by KISTI.
- Professor Changyoung IM was awarded the Order of Service Merit, Red Stripes, from the government.
- Professor Tae Gwan PARK was awarded the Clemson Award from the Society for Biomaterials, USA, the highest honor in biomaterials research field in the world.
- Professor Tae Gwan PARK was also awarded the first Creative Knowledge Award from the KISTI, selected as one of most highly cited six Korean scientists for the past 10 years.
- Prof. Chulhee CHOI was awarded the Minister Prize for Excellence in University-Industry Cooperation from MEST, Korea (2009. 11. 5); Selected as one of the 60 best researchers in 2009 by the National Research Foundation, Korea.
- Prof. Jung Kyoon CHOI was awarded the TJ Park Bessemer Science Fellowship (Junior Faculty).
- Prof. Jong Chul YE was awarded the Best paper award, Korea Society of Human brain mapping conference (2009); A Winner of Recon Challenge, Data Sampling and Image Reconstruction, ISMRM Workshop Series (2009. 1); Invited Guest Editor for Special Issue of “Compressed Sensing Signal Processing,” Journal of Korea Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (KIEE).
- Prof. Young-Ho CHO was awarded the Grand Prize for Pre-CEO (DAEDEOK INNOPOLIS).
- Prof. Jaeseung JEONG was awarded the "2009 Young Global Leaders" selected by World Economic Forum (a.k.a. Davos Forum).
- Prof. Dongsup KIM was awarded the best performance in the SH3 section of the DREAM4 Peptide Recognition Prediction challenge.
- Prof. Hee-Seok LEE, Ji-Young YOON and Se-Hee HAN received Best Paper Award, the Knowledge Management Society of Korea.
- Prof. Tong-Suk KIM and Byoung-Kyu MIN (student) received the 3rd Financial News & KAFA Doctoral Student Dissertation Award.
- Professor Kwang-Woo PARK received Best Bank Management/ Investment Bank Award, Shinhan Bank & KAFA (Korean American Finance Association).
- Prof. Byung-Tae LEE and Chang-Woo SUH (student) received Excellence Paper Award, The Korea Society of Management Information Systems 2009.
- Prof. Su-Jin LEE received Best paper award (CM Division Best Empirical/Theoretical Paper Award), the Academy of Management Conference 2009.
- Prof. Steven JORDAN was awarded 1st place prize for the best paper award at the 2009 FMA Asian Conference, the CFA institute.
- Prof. Seung-Kyu RHEE received Excellence paper award, The Korea Production and Operation Management Society.
- Prof. Young-Gul KIM (7th), In-Goo HAN (12th) and Jae-Kyu LEE (19th) were ranked as High Impact IS Papers and Researchers in the Pacific Asia Region, AIS(Association for Information Systems).
- Prof. Jae-Min JUNG named as Best translator, The Korea Association for Broadcasting & Telecommunication Studies (KABS).
Gifts and Donations from Generous KAIST Supporters
KAIST has been extremely fortunate to receive generous financial support from many leaders, alumni, friends, and supporters. In just a few years, the number of donors has increased from a few hundred to over 3,000. In 2009, KAIST received major gifts from supporters: Chairman and Mrs. Byung-Ho Kim donated 30 billion won, Chairman and Mrs. Donald C.W. Kim of Hawaii donated US$1 million, Chairman Hui-Yul Bae of Japan provided a 1 billion won gift, alumnus Dr. Hyung-Kyu Im, President of Samsung, gave a second gift of 200 million won, and the family of Seung-Yul Chung donated 100 million won. There have also been many generous donors too numerous to list.
As we look ahead at fundraising goals, KAIST is still in need of 20 billion won to support its Sports Complex, after a generous donation of 5.6 billion won from Woori Bank and POSCO.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors (BoD) is the governing body of KAIST. It sets the policies, approves appointments and the budget, and selects and appoints the President of KAIST. The support of the Board is essential in planning and executing KAIST programs.
The new chairman of the BoD is Dr. Moon-Soul Chung, the Board’s longest serving member. In 2009, joining the esteemed group, many outstanding leaders joined as new board members. New members include Mr. Donald C.W. Kim, the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Hawaii and CEO of AMKOR A&E; Dr. Chong-Moon Lee, the Chairman of Ambex; Dr Byiung-Jun Park, the Founder and former CEO of MTL, Inc.; Dr. Geun-Chul Lyu, Professor Emeritus at Moscow Technological University; Attorney Joo-Myung Whang, the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of ICU.
New Appointments in the Administration
Professor Minho Kang, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, has been appointed as the Vice President in charge of the newly established IT Convergence Campus.
We have two new academic deans. Professor Dong Won Kim has been appointed Dean of the College of Cultural Science. Dean Kim, who received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, is a specialist in the history of science. He succeeded Dean Young-Hae Noh, who did an outstanding job leading the College for three years. Professor Ravi Kumar is the new Dean for the College of Business, succeeding Professor Byung-Hoon Ahn, who was the original founder of the College of Business in Seoul campus. Dean Kumar has a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and was formerly an Associate Dean at the University of Southern California.
Professor Do Kyung Kim, a professor of materials science, is now the Dean of Admissions, a newly created position.
Professor Dong-Ho Cho is the Director of the OLEV project. He is also the Director of KI for IT Convergence and the KT Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering.
Dr. Chung-Goo Lee has assumed the position of the CEO of the OLEV&E Company, which has the task of commercializing On-Line Electric Vehicles. He also has an appointment as a KAIST Distinguished Professor of Practice.
Professor Byung Man Kwak of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is the Director of the Mobile Harbor project.
Dr. Daniel Choong-Seung Ahn was appointed to be the CEO of the Mobile Harbor Company, a unit set-up for the commercialization of Mobile Harbors. He also has an appointment as a KAIST Distinguished Professor of Practice.
A number of our colleagues assumed new functions for KAIST as well. They are as follows:
Professor Han, In-Goo – Senior Associate Dean, College of Business
Professor Kim, Bo-Won – Dean, KAIST Graduate School of Management
Professor Kim, Young-Gul – Associate Dean, College of Business
Professor Yang, Tae-Yong – Dean, Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management
Professor Park, Chul-Soon – Head, Department of Information Communication Engineering
Professor Yoon, Wan-Chul – Head, Department of Knowledge Service Engineering,
Professor Lee, Duk-Joo – Head, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Professor Kang Jeung-Koo – Head, Graduate School of EEWS
Professor Shin, Joong-Hoon – Head, Graduate School of NanoScience and Technology
Professor Joong-Myeon Bae – Director, KAIST Institute for Eco∙Energy
Professor Kim, Chul-Ho – Head, Intellectual Property Program
CY 2010 – Challenges and Opportunities
In 2010, we must continue to pursue the ultimate goal of making KAIST one of the best S&T universities in the world. This goal can be achieved through effective education and research. KAIST must offer educational programs that produce future leaders. The basic research done at KAIST should shape the future development of human knowledge and society, and the technologies developed at KAIST should be innovative enough to solve important problems in the 21st century. The plans of our colleges, departments, and KIs are attached in the Appendix. We should refine and modify them in 2010 with the ultimate goals of KAIST in mind.
Education in 2010 and beyond
In 2010, we should continue to improve our educational programs. We should further strengthen the Renaissance Ph.D. Program to be sure that KAIST produces engineers and scholars with advanced degrees, who can deal with both the design and analysis of complex systems. At the same time, we should strengthen undergraduate subjects that deal with design, following the successful development of the freshman design subject.
We should review our curricula to be sure that it is more codified, streamlined and simplified to make learning more effective and productive. It might benefit some students if we can teach them the essences of their chosen fields while providing enough flexibility for broad educational experiences and independent learning. Developing new subjects (or courses) is intellectually and physically demanding. Yet it is a necessary function of leading universities. We should recognize our major innovative contributions to education just as we do our innovative research.
Our students should finish their degrees within a reasonable period of time. Staying in school longer than necessary is a waste of both human talent and financial resources. Our students will find their true innate capabilities when they leave KAIST and pursue their careers. No one benefits by unnecessarily prolonging formal education. Certainly, the taxpayers should not be asked to bear the financial burden when a student is lax in fulfilling his or her share in the educational process.
KAIST should develop new educational materials, methods, aids and tools. The distance learning/teaching program – the Bridge Program initiated by Dean Kwang Hyung Lee to teach the high school students admitted to KAIST before they actually enroll at KAIST – is a good example of how modern IT can be used to increase the effectiveness and productivity of education.
Research – Basic Research
Basic research in science and engineering is the intellectual sustenance of research universities. Most basic research is often initiated and executed by individual professors, researchers, and students. They come up with ideas and seek answers to the problems posed. In addition to pursuing independent individual research, we must foster multi-disciplinary research at the interface between disciplines where rich intellectual issues and questions lie. KAIST as a leading research university must support the multi-disciplinary research conducted by a group of researchers from many disciplines. To achieve this goal, the KAIST Institutes (KIs) are providing both intellectual leadership and major new facilities. At this time, there are eight (8) KIs. They are concerned with energy, IT, nano-science, bio-science, environment, water, materials, and design. A new building is being constructed to better accommodate these activities.
We must constantly seek new ideas and problems that can yield rich intellectual dividends. Among the new multi-disciplinary subjects are brain research and high resolution MRIs.
Research -- Technology Innovation
At the opposite end of the research spectrum from basic research is technology innovation. A couple of major examples of technology innovation we have undertaken recently are the “on-line electric vehicle” and the “mobile harbor” projects. Another example is the new process of converting natural bio-products into polymers, which was the invention of Dean Sang-Yup Lee. We need to constantly probe new areas and problems that are ready for major technological innovations.
We have been asking how we can reduce the CO2 generation by jet engines and save 20% of the fuel consumed by current commercial airliners. While we have come up with a couple of ideas, nothing concrete had been developed. (Recently, other research has disclosed that a way of improving fuel efficiency of jet engines is to uncouple the speed of the fan from the compressor in turbojets. This shows that we have been probing the right questions.)
There are many other topics we could consider. We need major innovations in generating, handling, and using hydrogen. We also need new innovations in energy storage such as more efficient, lightweight batteries that can store and discharge electric energy at a much faster rate. We also need to develop medical diagnostic tools and systems for various heath related problems.
To encourage creative thinking and technology innovation, KAIST has been supporting HRHR (High Risk/ High Return) projects. We also have the EEWS funding to come up with major solutions for problems related to EEWS. KAIST faculty, staff and students should be encouraged to identify major problems that require technological innovations.
New KIs
In 2010, KAIST Institutes will consolidate, improve, and expand many of the programs we have initiated in 2009. We also hope to launch new multi-disciplinary units – the KAIST Institute for Theoretical Studies and the KAIST Institute for Brain Research. We should also consider closing down some of the existing KIs if they are no longer needed.
Globalization of KAIST Education
Other countries have approached us about transplanting our educational programs to their countries. This is in recognition of the fact that Korea’s rapid growth during the past three decades is in large part due to Korea’s high educational standards and strong universities.
Our new initiative with KUSTAR of Abu Dhabi should set an important milestone in expanding the global activities of KAIST and encouraging its growth.
Graduation Exercise
In February 2010, we are looking forward to holding graduation exercises in the new Sports Complex. This project was partially funded by Woori Bank and POSCO. This will surely reduce the anxiety level of Dean Kyung-Wook Paik, who is in charge of the graduation exercise, as in the past the Committee for Graduation Ceremony had to monitor the weather, as the ceremonies were held in KAIST’s outdoor amphitheater. We were fortunate that the weather cooperated the last few years, and we were pleased that President M.B. Lee delivered a memorable graduation address that was warmly received by our graduates and guests.
Construction
In May 2010, we will dedicate four new buildings, in addition to the Sports Complex: the Chunghi and BJ Park KI Building, the Pappalardo Medical Center, and the International Center. We are hoping that we will soon have a major donor for the Sports Complex as well.
We will also complete the new apartment complex for international faculty and two dormitories for students in 2010. These buildings will help in reduce the pressure for accommodation for faculty and students.
In 2010, KAIST will build several new buildings to accommodate new research and educational programs. We will build the Chung Moon-Soul Building II for Brain research and education, the Kim Byung-Ho IT Building, Animal Facility, and a new Natural Science Building. These buildings should be ready for occupancy in 2011. The new Kim Byung-Ho IT Convergence Center should incorporate futuristic IT technologies.
Several of our old buildings were built more than 20 years ago. They are in urgent need of complete remodeling and renovation. We are hoping to convince the government that these buildings should be completely renovated to reduce the endless repair costs that are currently being incurred to maintain the minimal functions of the buildings. The cost of the renovation is estimated to be 80 billion won.
Academic Programs by Colleges and Departments
Departments, colleges and programs have developed their own plans for 2010, which are attached to this report. These plans will be refined in 2010 once we have a firm budget from the government.
Finance and Budget
In the past, without a full-time CFO, KAIST’s sizable finances were challenging to administer. On January 1, 2010, Mr. Cho, Koog-Jun, with his deep experience in finance and banking, will become the first CFO of KAIST. He will oversee all aspects of finance, including the budget, outsourcing, and expenses associated with major projects.
A major concern for KAIST is the future of its government support. KAIST’s budget increased during the past three years because of the special funding of special projects such as the Globalization Project, the EEWS program, the WCU program, the OLEV Project, and the MH Project. However, KAIST’s base budget has not increased at a rate commensurate with its successful educational and research programs. In order to achieve its goals, KAIST must receive substantial increases in its base budget in the future.
Issues Related to Faculty
Our Five-Year Plan was based on the idea that the number of KAIST’s tenure-track faculty would grow to about 700, so that KAIST can be competitive with the best universities in the world. In the past three years, 150 new professors joined our faculty. Even with the merger of ICU and KAIST, we now have only about 550 tenure-track faculty members, far short of where we should be. During the next 10 years, about 34% of the faculty will retire, and in 15 years, about 54% of the faculty will retire. This high retirement number is a result of the faculty’s skewed age distribution, caused by the merger of relatively new institutions, i.e., KAIS, KIT, and ICU.
To overcome the problems associated with this loss of faculty, we must do the following two things: (a) extend the retirement age of some key faculty members and (b) add many more young professors and eminent scholars to the ranks of our faculty. Our current thinking is that we should extend the retirement age of about 15% of our faculty members to age 70, but careful planning is necessary to implement such a policy.
Sejong City
In January 2009 (well before the current controversy surrounding the relocation of the government), KAIST and the government signed an MOU, which stipulates that KAIST will purchase 490 thousand Pyung of land in Sejong City. Our plan is to establish a Research Hospital, the College of Life Science and Bioengineering, the Graduate School of Public Policy for Science and Technology, Research Centers for Green Technologies (OLEV, MH, and EEWS), an Apartment Complex for Faculty and Staff (for purchase), and a Convention Center for International Conferences. The government agency in charge of developing the city will be installing OLEV bus lines in the city.
The land we have agreed to purchase is adjacent to the widest section of Guem Gang River. It is a prime piece of real estate. KAIST will be able to establish a beautiful campus there, where our students and faculty can enjoy nature while pursuing scholarly and educational activities.
K-12 Education
As we recruit more faculty and staff from abroad, secondary education for their children will become an issue that must be addressed. Because an acceptable agreement with a local international school could not be arranged, we have decided to establish a K-12 school on the ICC campus. We hope to incorporate the school in 2010 and to begin to teach in 2011. Our K-12 school will be similar to the one started by Handong University.
We wish everyone a Happy New Year!
2010.01.07 View 21083
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Prof. Lee"s Team Succeeds in Producing Plastics Without Use of Fossil Fuels
A team of scientists led by Prof. Sang-Yup Lee of the Department of Biological Sciences at KAIST have succeeded in producing the polymers used for everyday plastics through bioengineering, rather than through the use of fossil fuel based chemicals, the university authorities said on Tuesday (Nov. 24).
This groundbreaking research, which may now allow for the production of environmentally conscious plastics, has been published in two papers in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering.
Polymers are molecules found in everyday life in the form of plastics and rubbers. The team consisted of scientists from KAIST and Korean chemical company LG Chem focused their research on polylactic acid (PLA), a bio-based polymer which holds the key to producing plastics through natural and renewable resources.
"The polyesters and other polymers we use everyday are mostly derived from fossil oils made through the refinery or chemical process," said Lee. "The idea of producing polymers from renewable biomass has attracted much attention due to the increasing concerns of environmental problems and the limited nature of fossil resources. PLA is considered a good alternative to petroleum based plastics as it is both biodegradable and has a low toxicity to humans."
Until now PLA has been produced in a two-step fermentation and chemical process of polymerization, which is both complex and expensive. Now, through the use of a metabolically engineered strain of E.coli, the team has developed a one-stage process which produces polylactic acid and its copolymers through direct fermentation. This makes the renewable production of PLA and lactate-containing copolymers cheaper and more commercially viable.
"By developing a strategy which combines metabolic engineering and enzyme engineering, we"ve developed an efficient bio-based one-step production process for PLA and its copolymers," said Lee. "This means that a developed E. coli strain is now capable of efficiently producing unnatural polymers, through a one-step fermentation process,"
This combined approach of systems-level metabolic engineering and enzyme engineering now allows for the production of polymer and polyester based products through direct microbial fermentation of renewable resources.
"Global warming and other environmental problems are urging us to develop sustainable processes based on renewable resources," concluded Lee. "This new strategy should be generally useful for developing other engineered organisms capable of producing various unnatural polymers by direct fermentation from renewable resources".
2009.11.30 View 13899 -
Prof. Yu Wins Sidney Stein International Award
Prof. Jin Yu of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering won the Sidney J. Stein International Award at the plenary session of the International Microelectronics and Packaging Society (IMAPS) held in San Jose, the United States, on Nov. 3.
The Sidney Stein International Award recognizes an individual who is regarded as providing significant international technical and/or leadership contributions to the microelectronics packaging industry, while participating and demonstrating support of IMAPS international activities to enhance the electronics packaging profession.
The International Microelectronics And Packaging Society is the largest society dedicated to the advancement and growth of microelectronics and electronics packaging. It offers chapters around the globe, creating global networks of more than 4,000 members in the United States and an additional 4,000 members throughout Europe and Asia. Prof. Yu currently serves as the chairman of its Asia League Chapter and the Korean Microelectronics and Packaging Society.
2009.11.20 View 11461