communication
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Structure of Neuron-Connecting Synaptic Adhesion Molecules Discovered
A research team has found the three-dimensional structure of synaptic adhesion molecules, which orchestrate synaptogenesis. The research findings also propose the mechanism of synapses in its initial formation. Some brain diseases such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or bipolar disorders arise from a malfunction of synapses. The team expects the findings to be applied in investigating pathogenesis and developing medicines for such diseases.
The research was conducted by a Master’s candidate Kee Hun Kim, Professor Ji Won Um from Yonsei University, and Professor Beom Seok Park from Eulji University under the guidance of Professor Homin Kim from the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, and Professor Jaewon Ko from Yonsei University. Sponsored by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the National Research Foundation of Korea, the research findings were published online in the November 14th issue of Nature Communications.
A protein that exists in the neuronal transmembrane, Slitrk, interacts with the presynaptic leukocyte common antigen-related receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (LAR-RPTPs) and forms a protein complex. It is involved in the development of synapses in the initial stage, and balances excitatory and inhibitory signals of neurons.
It is known that a disorder in those two proteins cause a malfunction of synapses, resulting in neuropsychosis such as autism, epilepsy, OCD, and bipolar disorders. However, because the structure as well as synaptogenic function of these proteins were not understood, the development of cures could not progress.
The research team discovered the three-dimensional structure of two synaptic adhesion molecules like Slitrk and LAR-RPTPs and identified the regions of interaction through protein crystallography and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, they found that the formation of the synapse is induced after the combination of two synaptic adhesion molecules develops a cluster.
Professor Kim said, “The research findings will serve as a basis of understanding the pathogenesis of brain diseases which arises from a malfunction of synaptic adhesion molecules. In particular, this is a good example in which collaboration between structural biology and neurobiology has led to a fruitful result.” Professor Ko commented that “this will give new directions to synaptic formation-related-researches by revealing the molecular mechanism of synaptic adhesion molecules.”
Figure 1: Overview of the PTPd Ig1–3/Slitrk1 LRR1 complex.
Figure 2: Representative negative-stained electron microscopy images of Slitrk1 Full ectodomain (yellow arrows indicate the horseshoe-shaped LRR domains). The typical horseshoe-shaped structures and the randomness of the relative positions of each LRR domain can be observed from the two-dimensional class averages displayed in the orange box.
Figure 3: Model of the two-step presynaptic differentiation process mediated by the biding of Slitrks to LAR-RPTPs and subsequent lateral assembly of trans-synaptic LAR-RPTPs/Slitrik complexes.
2014.11.28 View 10959 -
KAIST Registers an Internationally Recognized Standard Patent
A video compression technology, jointly developed by Professor Mun-Chul Kim of the Department of Electrical Engineering at KAIST, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), and the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), is registered internationally as the standard patent in the next-generation High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC).
HEVC (H.265) is an international technology standard that compresses large image data for Ultra High Definition (UHD) televisions and smartphones. It has the twice the compression efficiency as that of H.264/AVC which is most commonly used for processing full HD sources. This means that it is able to compress a video file to half the size while maintaining the same image quality.
Although the related market is at a nascent stage, HEVC technology has already been applied to the latest version of televisions and smartphones. Experts predict that the market will grow to USD 200 billion by 2016, and KAIST is expected to receive a royalty payment of USD 9.3 million from this patent.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO/IEC) established the HEVC standard in January 2013. Also, an international patent pool licensing corporation, MPEG LA announced the HEVC standard patent pool on September 29, 2014.
Professor Joongmyeon Bae, Dean of the Office of University-Industry Cooperation (OUIC) of KAIST, said, “This is an unprecedented case for Korea whereby a core technology developed by a university became an international standard, which has a vast impact on the market.”
President of KAIST, Steve Kang commented, “With its advanced technology, KAIST joined the HEVC standard patent pool as one of the 23 founding members along with Apple, Siemens, and NEC. This is a remarkable achievement.”
Picture 1: Improvements in video compression technology
Picture 2: Comparison of different screen resolutions
2014.10.09 View 11451 -
KAIST Co-owns the HEVC Patent Portfolio License
MPEG LA, LLC, a firm based in Denver, Colorado, which licenses patent pools covering essential patents required for the use of video coding technology, such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Visual (Part 2), and HEVC/H.264, announced the availability of the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) Patent Portfolio License on September 29, 2014.
The HEVC standard, also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2, is necessary to improve video coding and transmission efficiency for the Internet, televisions, and mobile gadgets with increased speed and capacity.
Through the portfolio license, users can easily obtain patent rights required for the HEVC standard in a single transaction, instead of negotiating separate licenses from multiple patent holders.
A total of 23 enterprises currently own essential HEVC patents. KAIST is the only Korean university among the joint patent owners. Collaborating with the Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Professor Mun-Chul Kim of the Electrical Engineering Department at KAIST developed one of the core patents.
For a link to a press release distributed by MPEG LA, LLC, please see:
MPEG LA, LLC, September 29, 2014
"MPEG LA, LLC Offers HEVC Patent Portfolio License"
http://www.mpegla.com/main/Pages/Media.aspx
2014.10.02 View 11500 -
Kiseok Song, a Ph.D. candidate in the Electrical Engineering Department, receives the 2014 Marconi Society Young Scholar Award
Established
in 1974 to commemorate the eminent Italian inventor and electrical engineer,
Guglielmo Marconi, the Marconi Society has recognized significant contributions
in science and technology by awarding the Marconi Prize, with an annual USD
100,000 grant, to a living scientist who has made great advancements in
communications technology.
Along
with the Marconi Prize, the Society has been presenting the Young Scholars
Awards over the past six years to reward young and emerging scientists’ brilliant
academic and research achievements as well as their entrepreneurship. For this
year’s seventh Young Scholar Awards, a KAIST doctoral student was selected as
one of the two recipients.
Kiseok
Song, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical Engineering, KAIST, has
been named as a 2014 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar. The Marconi Society said that Song was being recognized for "his
academic achievements and leadership in the field of communications and
information science,” according to a press release distributed by the Society on August 28, 2014.
Studying
under the advice of Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo of the Department of Electrical
Engineering at KAIST, Song has developed bio-medical System on a Chip (SoC)
such as smart wireless bio-medical systems combined with optimized SoCs,
compact bio-medical patch systems connected to smart phones, smart electro-acupuncture
and transdermal drug delivery, and multi-modal non-invasive glucose monitors.
The
press release quoted Professor Yoo’s comment on the meaning of Song’s research:
“All
of these bio-medical systems open a new healthcare paradigm to improve people’s
quality of life in combination with the current mobile smart phones.”
In
addition to Song, Himanshu Asnani, a Stanford Ph.D. candidate and system engineer
at Ericsson Silicon Valley, received the other award. The award
ceremony will be held at the Marconi Society’s annual award gala at the
National Academies of Science Building in Washington D.C., on October 2, 2014.
For
details, please read the following press release:
The
Marconi Society, Press Release, August 28, 2014
“Kiseok
Song Receives the 2014 Marconi Society Young Scholar Award”
http://www.marconisociety.org/press/2014Song.html
2014.09.08 View 7880 -
IAMCOMPANY, an educational technology startup created by a KAIST student
In-Mo Chung, a senior student of the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST, developed a mobile homework book application, IAMSCHOOL, in order to help parents engage, more interactively, in their children’s school activities.
Chung said in an interview with KAIST:
“I came up with creating my company, IAMCOMPANY, when I worked as a volunteer for a student club in 2009 that provides an educational service to high school students living in a less-favored environment. I found out their educational environment very poor, which ultimately led me to build a public interest business model for education.”
Chung created a few mobile applications including IAMSCHOOL and IAMCLASS. The application, IAMSCHOOL, receives school’s notices, homework assignments, or any information related to classes and sends them directly and immediately to parents, allowing real-time communications between parents and teachers. In Korea, parents usually check as many as 50 school notices per month.
Once registered, private educational institutes and public organizations can also receive school information through this application.
In July 2011, the Department of Science Management at KAIST hosted a student competition for startup ideas, and Chung’s idea to build an educational application won the best award. In 2012, he received the grand prize at the KAIST E-5 Startup Competition.
An undergraduate student who is the chief executive officer of a tech startup
Chung established IAMCOMPANY with the seed fund of 13 million Korean won that he had received from the city government of Daejeon. His business idea was selected as one of the 300 College Student Startup Projects, a startup support program operated by Daejeon City to encourage entrepreneurship among college and university students.
Chung talked about the background of his business:
“I think that my idea to offer a “free educational application” helped me win the first prize at the student startup competition. At that time, I was still young, so I considered the winning of the competition as an “exercise” to build my own business in the future. But when I actually started my company, I found out that KAIST’s startup programs helped me a lot throughout the entire process and realized that these programs are good enough for young entrepreneurs to build up their company from a single idea.”
KAIST professors and staff support student startups.
Chung took in-depth mentoring from KAIST professors. Professor Min-Hwa Lee of the Department of Management Science and Professor Lak-Kyoung Song of the Department of Technology Management, who is also the president of the Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, have supported Chung’s endeavors. President Taek-Su Kang of the KAIST Innovation Center gave Chung a lot of advice as he was developing IAMCOMPANY’s initial business model. Chung said that even now, they look for solutions together when his business ran into a brick wall.
Professor Lee said, “IAMCOMPANY does not aim for profit. Instead, by supplying free applications, they improve the environment of education and eventually create public interest. Also, they find out consumers’ hidden demands and satisfied it creatively.”
With 8,000 schools registered to IAMSCHOOL, 750,000 parents are using the application in just two years of its release. Parents and teachers responded enthusiastically.
The application “IAMSCHOOL” provides services for 8,000 schools in Korea. Currently, 750,000 parents are using this application.
The company offers the nation’s largest online education service. The reason behind their rapid growth is that their service solves communications problems between schools and parents in a simple and efficient manner.
Jung-Mi Hwang, a teacher at Galma Elementary School in Dajeon, said:
“After using this application, there are fewer occasions of students forgetting their school materials. We think this is because the parents can check the school notices and newsletters at any time through the application.”
She added, “I hope more and more schools will use this application because it is convenient and also available for free.”
Another teacher from Daedeok Elementary School in Daejeon, Dong-Min Nam, said that “many parents like this application since they are immediately notified with school events.”
KAIST’s Technology Business Incubation Center
“After moving around many places due to expensive rent,” Chung said that “we finally moved into the Technology Business Incubation Center (TBIC) at KAIST. The center helped us not only providing the space, but also mentoring and connecting us with venture investment companies. This was a great help in attracting initial investments.”
Chung added:
“At first, a staff member from TBIC was concerned about the viability of my company. I was then an undergraduate student with zero business experience, and from his standpoint, I was taking a huge risk.”
But in several months after its establishment, IAMCOMPANY has grown to have 16 employees.
An investment of 1.5 billion Korean won from a venture capital company led to a sustainable growth.
In early stage, IAMCOMPANY received 300 million Korean won from a venture capital company, and it recently attracted additional 1.2 billion won from a leading venture capital. With these investments, the company grew further. Moreover, investments from large educational corporations have proved the value and competitiveness of the company in the education market.
Chung plans to expand his service globally, particularly in China and Singapore.
He said that he would not forget how he had started his business, and with such a focused mind, he would strive to provide students and parents with quality educational services while proactively incorporating the advanced information technology (IT) into his products.
A bold movement to Pangyo Techno Valley, a Korean version of Silicon Valley
Although the company started with only two members, as of August 2014, it boasts of having twenty employees, a remarkable leap of growth within just two years.
In April this year, Chung relocated his office from TBIC to Pangyo Techno Valley, the Silicon Valley of Korea, in order to provide a better work environment to his staff.
It was not an easy decision for him to leave the comfortable, well-known place, the KAIST campus, and the colleagues, including TBIC staff and KAIST professors, who had helped his startup efforts in early days. However, in order to recruit better employees and to access additional IT resources and education-related companies, Chung decided to make a bold movement, relocating his business to Pangyo Techno Valley in Seoul.
A reputable American venture capital investor, Timothy C. Draper, invested in IAMCOMPANY
Chung was able to secure solid support from an eminent global investor, Timothy C. Draper, the founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a venture capital based in Menlo Park in California.
Recently, Draper, a legendary investor of the Silicon Valley, invested USD 20,000 in IAMCOMPANY. Draper discovered worldwide venture companies such as Hotmail, Skype, and Baidu. IAMCOMPANY received high marks from him as a company with a competitive edge in the global education market.
Chung met Draper in April 2014 when he participated in a television network’s (Korean Broadcasting System) audition program for startups. Draper was one of the judges for the program, and he was impressed by the robust growth of IAMCOMPANY. He eventually made a decision to chip in USD 20,000 in Chung’s company.
Chung said that he was glad to meet the tycoon of Silicon Valley who recognized the potential of his company.
In last October, IAMSCHOOL was selected for the K-APP Global Hub Program—a global market pioneering program to support the development of mobile applications—which was sponsored by the Small and Medium Business Administration in Korea.
IAMCOMPANY will bring ‘the Korean Wave’ in the area of educational applications.
Chung said, “We plan to sustainably manage the applications and add more functions, so that more educational institutions can adopt our application.”
The company aims to provide its service to over 11,000 schools and 100,000 academies nationally so that more parents are able to receive educational news and information easily.
Chung concluded his interview in an upbeat tone as he predicted the future of his company:
“I am proud that IAMSCHOOL is being recognized by the world’s best investor, and I have gained confidence to advance to the global market. Through global service, I want to make "the Korean Wave" in the field of educational applications and to receive appreciation from students, teachers, and parents worldwide.”
2014.09.04 View 9158 -
"KAIST Day" at the Korean Baseball League: Hanwha Eagles Home Game
KAIST is out to promote school spirit and to strengthen the communication with Daejeon citizens.
KAIST’s Graduate Student Union held “KAIST Day” by supporting a baseball game between the Lotte Giants and Hanwha Eagles, a home team of Daejeon City, on June 26, 2014 at Daejeon Baseball Stadium.
Marking the third KAIST Day this year, the event has been organized to provide graduate students with opportunities to leave their labs and enjoy a moment of relaxation, such as watching baseball games.
The event began with an opening ceremony, followed by the main baseball game. The KAIST cheering squad, ELKA, held a pregame performance to root for a home-team victory. KAIST President Steve Kang and Sin-Yeong Kim, a master’s student at KAIST, threw the first pitch to celebrate KAIST Day.
Picture below:
President Steve Kang, Mia Kang, and graduate students cheering at the Hanwha Eagles' home team baseball game on June 26, 2014 at Daejeon Baseball Stadium
2014.07.02 View 7008 -
Binding Regulatory Mechanism of Protein Biomolecules Revealed
Professor Hak-Sung Kim
A research team led by Professor Hak-Sung Kim of Biological Sciences, KAIST, and Dr. Mun-Hyeong Seo, KAIST, has revealed a regulatory mechanism that controls the binding affinity of protein’s biomolecules, which is crucial for the protein to recognize molecules and carry out functions within the body.
The research results were published in the April 24th online edition of Nature Communications.
The protein, represented by enzyme, antibody, or hormones, specifically recognizes a variety of biomolecules in all organisms and implements signaling or immune response to precisely adjust and maintain important biological processes. The protein binding affinity of biomolecules plays a crucial role in determining the duration of the bond between two molecules, and hence to determine and control the in-vivo function of proteins.
The researchers have noted that, during the process of proteins’ recognizing biomolecules, the protein binding affinity of biomolecules is closely linked not only to the size of non-covalent interaction between two molecules, but also to the unique kinetic properties of proteins.
To identify the basic mechanism that determines the protein binding affinity of biomolecules, Professor Kim and his research team have made mutation in the allosteric site of protein to create a variety of mutant proteins with the same chemical binding surface, but with the binding affinity vastly differing from 10 to 100 times. The allosteric site of the protein refers to a region which does not directly bind with biomolecules, but crucially influences the biomolecule recognition site.
Using real-time analysis at the single-molecule level of unique kinetic properties of the produced mutant proteins, the researchers were able to identify that the protein binding affinity of biomolecules is directly associated with the protein’s specific kinetic characteristics, its structure opening rate.
Also, by proving that unique characteristics of the protein can be changed at the allosteric site, instead of protein’s direct binding site with biomolecules, the researchers have demonstrated a new methodology of regulating the in-vivo function of proteins.
The researchers expect that these results will contribute greatly to a deeper understanding of protein’s nature that governs various life phenomena and help evaluate the proof of interpreting protein binding affinity of biomolecules from the perspective of protein kinetics.
Professor Kim said, “Until now, the protein binding affinity of biomolecules was determined by a direct interaction between two molecules. Our research has identified an important fact that the structure opening rate of proteins also plays a crucial role in determining their binding affinity.”
[Picture]
A correlation graph of opening rate (kopening) and binding affinity (kd) between protein’s stable, open state and its unstable, partially closed state.
2014.05.02 View 9342 -
Spillover Phenomenon Identified Using Model Catalyst System
Researchers at KAIST have identified spillover phenomenon, which has remained controversial since its discovery in the early 1960s.
KAIST Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering’s Professor Min-Gi Choi and his team has explained the "spillover phenomenon," using their own model catalyst system where platinum is selectively located within the amorphous aluminosilicate.
The research results were published on the 25th February online edition of Nature Communications.
Spillover refers to a phenomenon that occurs when hydrogen atoms that have been activated on the surface of metals, such as platinum, move to the surface of the catalyst. It was predicted that this phenomenon can be used to design a catalyst with high activity and stability, and thus has been actively studied over the last 50 years.
However, many cases of the known catalysts involved competing reactions on the exposed metal surface, which made it impossible to directly identify the presence and formation mechanism of spillover.
The catalysts developed by the researchers at KAIST used platinum nanoparticles covered with aluminosilicate. This only allowed the hydrogen molecules to pass through and has effectively blocked the competing reactions, enabling the research team to study the spillover phenomenon.
Through various catalyst structure and reactivity analysis, as well as computer modeling, the team has discovered that Brönsted acid sites present on the aluminosilicate plays a crucial role in spillover phenomenon.
In addition, the spillover-based hydrogenation catalyst proposed by the research team showed very high hydrogenation and dehydrogenation activity. The ability of the catalyst to significantly inhibit unwanted hydrogenolysis reaction during the petrochemical processes also suggested a large industrial potential.
Professor Min-Gi Choi said, “This particular catalyst, which can trigger the reaction only by spillover phenomenon, can be properly designed to exceed the capacity of the conventional metal catalysts. The future goal is to make a catalyst with much higher activity and selectivity.”
The research was conducted through funds subsidized by SK Innovation and Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
The senior research fellow of SK Innovation Seung-Hun Oh said, “SK Innovation will continue to develop a new commercial catalyst based on the technology from this research.”
Juh-Wan Lim and Hye-Yeong Shin led the research as joint first authors under supervision of Professor Min-Gi Choi and computer modeling works were conducted by KAIST EEWS (environment, energy, water, and sustainability) graduate school’s Professor Hyeong-Jun Kim.
2014.03.03 View 9354 -
Mechanism in regulation of cancer-related key enzyme, ATM, for DNA damage and repair revealed
Professor Kwang-Wook Choi
A research team led by Professor Kwang-Wook Choi and Dr. Seong-Tae Hong from the Department of Biological Sciences at KAIST has successfully investigated the operational mechanism of the protein Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM), an essential protein to the function of a crucial key enzyme that repairs the damaged DNA which stores biometric information. The results were published on December 19th Nature Communications online edition.
All organisms, including humans, constantly strive to protect the information within their DNA from damages posed by a number of factors, such as carbonized materials in our daily food intake, radioactive materials such as radon emitting from the cement of buildings or ultraviolet of the sunlight, which could be a trigger for cancer.
In order to keep the DNA information safe, the organisms are always carrying out complex and sophisticated DNA repair work, which involves the crucial DNA damage repair protein ATM. Consequently, a faulty ATM leads to higher risks of cancer.
Until now, academia predicted that the Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein (TCTP) will play an important role in regulating the function of ATM. However, since most of main research regarding TCTP has only been conducted in cultured cells, it was unable to identify exactly what mechanisms TCTP employs to control ATM.
The KAIST research team identified that TCTP can combine with ATM or increase the enzymatic activity of ATM. In addition, Drosophilia, one of the most widely used model organisms for molecular genetics, has been used to identify that TCTP and ATM play a very important role in repairing the DNA damaged by radiation. This information has allowed the researchers to establish TCTP’s essential function in maintaining the DNA information in cell cultures and even in higher organisms, and to provide specific and important clues to the regulation of ATM by TCTP.
Professor Kwang-Wook Choi said, “Our research is a good example that basic research using Drosophilia can make important contributions to understanding the process of diseases, such as cancer, and to developing adequate treatment.”
The research has been funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Republic of Korea, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Figure 1. When the amount of TCTP protein is reduced, cells of the Drosophila's eye are abnormally deformed by radiation. Scale bars = 200mm
Figure 2. When the amount of TCTP protein is reduced, the chromosomes of Drosophilia are easily broken by radiation. Scale bars = 10 mm.
Figure 3. When gene expressions of TCTP and ATM are reduced, large defects occur in the normal development of the eye. (Left: normal Drosophilia's eye, right: development-deficient eye)
Figure 4. ATM marks the position of the broken DNA, with TCTP helping to facilitate this reaction. DNA (blue line) within the cell nucleus is coiled around the histone protein (green cylinder). When DNA is broken, ATM protein attaches a phosphate group (P). Multiple DNA repair protein recognizes the phosphate as a signal that requires repair and gathers at the site.
2014.01.07 View 11843 -
Wearable computer follows suit of smart phones
KAIST hosts “Wearable Computer Competition” in KI Building, Daejeon Campus, on the 7th-8th of November
“Computer that controls smart phones with the movement of facial muscles” and 12 other wearable computers to be presented
As technology transitions to “Wearable Computers,” KAIST is hosting its 9th “Wearable Computer Competition.” The competition will take place over two days, 7th-8th of November, in KI building, on the main Daejeon Campus.
The “wearable computer” is designed to enable users to use the computer whilst moving by limiting its weight and size so that it can be worn as a part of the body and clothing. Wearable computers have been considered the future of information technology (IT) ever since smart phones and other miniaturized IT devices made an appearance.
The “Wearable Computer Competition” has been held since 2005 under the leadership of Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo from the KAIST Department of Electrical Engineering. It is the only competition in the nation where undergraduate students use their unique ideas and newest technology to produce computers that seem to be existed only in sci-fi movies and comic books.
A total of 15 teams out of 70 made the competition and went through a rigorous selection process based on written applications and interviews to enter the final. The teams at the final received USD 1,400 and IT devices including smart phones to produce a wearable computer.
KAIST increased the number of finalists from the last year"s 10 to 15 this year as the wearable computer industry is extending, and there is growing interest in the computer around the world after the launch of Google Glass and Samsung Galaxy Gear.
This year’s entries included a product for quadriplegic patients to control smart phones with the movement of facial muscles, which attracted public interest. The product in the form of a headband can be worn by quadriplegic patients or someone with limited hand movement. The user can activate the product by clenching their molars and move the mouse on the smart phones with the movement of muscles in their face.
Furthermore, a wearable band shaped device that can control smart phones with simple hand movements is also attracting interest. Broad hand movements of the user allows him/her to receive calls and take photos, and handshakes between users control sharing of files. Body communication can be used to protect private information without a password or locking the device.
In addition, gloves and shoes that can sense the user’s movement to play an instrument without the instrument being present; a cane for the blind that converts visual information to tactile; a belt that protects children from sexual crimes; and a game where the user can be Super Mario to play and other practical products are presented.
The chairman of the competition, Professor Yoo said, “As you can see from the launch of Samsung Galaxy Gear, wearable computers will follow smart phones as the leader of IT devices in the next generation.” He continued, “This competition and workshop is an opportunity to increase public interest in wearable computers and serves as a communication platform for experts to view the present and the future of wearable computers.”
The “Wearable Computer Workshop” will be held this year as well. The workshop under the theme of “the present and the future of wearable computers” invited Professor Kyu-Ho Park, Vice President of KAIST, as a keynote speaker to talk on “ubiquitous, fashionable computers.” Moreover, Samsung’s Dong-Jun Geum and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute’s Hyeon-Tae Jeong will lecture on the “trend and direction of progress of wearable devices” and the “technological trend and prospect of industry of wearable computers,” respectively.
To participate in the competition or the workshop, please visit the website (http://www.ufcom.org)
for further information.
2013.11.28 View 9369 -
Green Technology for Data Centers: Ultra-low Power 100 Gbps Ethernet Integrated Circuit Developed
A new integrated circuit (IC), consuming only 0.75W of electricity, will reduce the power usage of data chips installed at data centers by one-third.
Each day, billions of people surf the Internet for information, entertainment, and educational content. The Internet contains an immeasurable amount of information and knowledge generated every minute all around the world that is readily available to everyone with a click of a computer mouse. The real magic of the Internet, however, lies in data centers, where hundreds of billions of data are stored and distributed to designated users around the clock.
Today, almost every business or organization either has its own data centers or outsources data center services to a third party. These centers house highly specialized equipment responsible for the support of computers, networks, data storage, and business security. Accordingly, the operational cost of data centers is tremendous because they consume a large amount of electricity.
Data centers can consume up to 100 times more energy than a standard office building. Data center energy consumption doubled from 2000 to 2006, reaching more than 60 billion kilowatt hours per year. If the current usage and technology trends continue, the energy consumption of data centers in the US will reach 8% of the country’s total electric power consumption by 2020.
A research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Terasquare, Inc. (
http://www.terasquare.co.kr
), a spin-off company of the university,
developed an extremely low-powered integrated circuit for Ethernet that consumes less than 0.75W of electricity but is able to send and receive data at the high speed of 100 gigabits per second (Gbps). The research team, headed by Hyeon-Min Bae, assistant professor of electrical engineering at KAIST, claims that the new microchip uses only one-third of the electricity consumed by the currently installed chips at data centers, thereby helping the centers to save energy.
Integrated circuits are embedded on communication modules that are inserted into a line card. Data centers have numerous line cards to build a network including routers and switches. Currently, 8W ICs are the most common in the market, and they consume a lot of energy and require the largest modules (112 cm
2
of CFP), decreasing the port density of line cards and, thus, limiting the amount of data transmission.
The ultra-low-power-circuit, 100-gigabit, full-transceiver CDR, is the world’s first solution that can be loaded to the smallest communication modules (20 cm
2
of CFP4 or 16 cm
2
of
QSFP28), the next-generation chips for data centers. Compared with other chip producers, the 100 Gbps CDR is a greener version of the technology that improves the energy efficiency of data centers while maintaining the high speed of data transmission.
Professor Hyeon-Min Bae said, “When we demonstrate our chip in September of this year at one of the leading companies that manufacture optical communication components and systems, they said that our product is two years ahead of those of our competitors. We plan to produce the chip from 2014 and expect that it will lead the 100 Gbps Ethernet IC market, which is expected to grow to USD 1 billion by 2017.”
The commercial model of the IC was first introduced at the 39
th
European Conference and Exhibition on Optical Communication (ECOC), the largest optical communication forum for new results and developments in Europe, held from September 22-26 at ExCeL London, an international exhibition and convention center.
Professor Bae added, “We received positive responses to our ultra-low-power 100-Gbps Ethernet IC at the ECOC. The chip will be used not only for a particular industry but also for many of next-generation, super-high-speed information communications technologies, such as high-speed USB, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), and TV interface.”
Before joining KAIST, Hyeon-Min Bae worked for many years at Finisar as a researcher who designed and developed the world’s first super-high-speed circuit, the 100 Gbps Ethernet IC.
2013.11.25 View 8523 -
Ultra-High Strength Metamaterial Developed Using Graphene
New metamaterial has been developed, exhibiting hundreds of times greater strength than pure metals.
Professor Seung Min, Han and Yoo Sung, Jeong (Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS)) and Professor Seok Woo, Jeon (Department of Material Science and Engineering) have developed a composite nanomaterial. The nanomaterial consists of graphene inserted in copper and nickel and exhibits strengths 500 times and 180 times, respectively, greater than that of pure metals. The result of the research was published on the July 2nd online edition in Nature Communications journal.
Graphene displays strengths 200 times greater than that of steel, is stretchable, and is flexible. The U.S. Army Armaments Research, Development and Engineering Center developed a graphene-metal nanomaterial but failed to drastically improve the strength of the material.
To maximize the strength increased by the addition of graphene, the KAIST research team created a layered structure of metal and graphene. Using CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), the team grew a single layer of graphene on a metal deposited substrate and then deposited another metal layer. They repeated this process to produce a metal-graphene multilayer composite material, utilizing a single layer of graphene. Micro-compression tests within Transmission Electronic Microscope and Molecular Dynamics simulations effectively showed the strength enhancing effect and the dislocation movement in grain boundaries of graphene on an atomic level.
The mechanical characteristics of the graphene layer within the metal-graphene composite material successfully blocked the dislocations and cracks from external damage from traveling inwards. Therefore the composite material displayed strength beyond conventional metal-metal multilayer materials. The copper-graphene multilayer material with an interplanar distance of 70nm exhibited 500 times greater (1.5GPa) strength than pure copper. Nickel-graphene multilayer material with an interplanar distance of 100nm showed 180 times greater (4.0GPa) strength than pure nickel.
It was found that there is a clear relationship between the interplanar distance and the strength of the multilayer material. A smaller interplanar distance made the dislocation movement more difficult and therefore increased the strength of the material. Professor Han, who led the research, commented, “the result is astounding as 0.00004% in weight of graphene increased the strength of the materials by hundreds of times” and “improvements based on this success, especially mass production with roll-to-roll process or metal sintering process in the production of ultra-high strength, lightweight parts for automobile and spacecraft, may become possible.” In addition, Professor Han mentioned that “the new material can be applied to coating materials for nuclear reactor construction or other structural materials requiring high reliability.”
The research project received support from National Research Foundation, Global Frontier Program, KAIST EEWS-KINC Program and KISTI Supercomputer and was a collaborative effort with KISTI (Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information), KBSI (Korea Basic Science Institute), Stanford University, and Columbia University.
A schematic diagram shows the structure of metal-graphene multi-layers. The metal-graphene multi-layered composite materials, containing a single-layered graphene, block the dislocation movement of graphene layers, resulting in a greater strength in the materials.
2013.08.23 View 14268