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Online Article on President Sung-Mo 'Steve' Kang by California Council on Science and Technology (CCST)
The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), an independent, not-for-profit organization established by the mandate of California Legislature in 1988, is designed to offer expert advice to the California state government and recommend solutions to science and technology-related policy issues.
Over the past three years, President Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang has served as a member of CCST Council, an assembly of corporate CEOs, academicians, scientists, and scholars of the highest distinction.
On February 21, 2013, CCST posted on its website the announcement of Council Member Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang as President of KAIST along with his personal comments on his move to KAIST and its presidency. For the online article, please visit: http://www.ccst.us/news/2013/0221KAIST.php
2013.02.23 View 7566 -
New BioFactory Technique Developed using sRNAs
Professor Sang Yup Lee
- published on the online edition of Nature Biotechnology. “Expected as a new strategy for the bio industry that may replace the chemical industry.”-
KAIST Chemical & Biomolecular engineering department’s Professor Sang Yup Lee and his team has developed a new technology that utilizes the synthetic small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) to implement the BioFactory in a larger scale with more effectiveness.
* BioFactory: Microbial-based production system which creates the desired compound in mass by manipulating the genes of the cell.
In order to solve the problems of modern society, such as environmental pollution caused by the exhaustion of fossil fuels and usage of petrochemical products, an eco-friendly and sustainable bio industry is on the rise. BioFactory development technology has especially attracted the attention world-wide, with its ability to produce bio-energy, pharmaceuticals, eco-friendly materials and more.
For the development of an excellent BioFactory, selection for the gene that produces the desired compounds must be accompanied by finding the microorganism with high production efficiency; however, the previous research method had a complicated and time-consuming problem of having to manipulate the genes of the microorganism one by one.
Professor Sang Yup Lee’s research team, including Dr. Dokyun Na and Dr. Seung Min Yoo, has produced the synthetic sRNAs and utilized it to overcome the technical limitations mentioned above.
In particular, unlike the existing method, this technology using synthetic sRNAs exhibits no strain specificity which can dramatically shorten the experiment that used to take months to just a few days.
The research team applied the synthetic small regulatory RNA technology to the production of the tyrosine*, which is used as the precursor of the medicinal compound, and cadaverine**, widely utilized in a variety of petrochemical products, and has succeeded developing BioFactory with the world’s highest yield rate (21.9g /L, 12.6g / L each).
*tyrosine: amino acid known to control stress and improve concentration
**cadaverine: base material used in many petrochemical products, such as polyurethane
Professor Sang Yup Lee highlighted the significance of this research: “it is expected the synthetic small regulatory RNA technology will stimulate the BioFactory development and also serve as a catalyst which can make the chemical industry, currently represented by its petroleum energy, transform into bio industry.”
The study was carried out with the support of Global Frontier Project (Intelligent Bio-Systems Design and Synthesis Research Unit (Chief Seon Chang Kim)) and the findings have been published on January 20th in the online edition of the worldwide journal Nature Biotechnology.
2013.02.21 View 9910
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KAIST OLEV (On-Line Electric Vehicle) to begin operation!
An On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) that can charge during travel will be put into service for the first time in the world on normal roads.
From July of this year 2 OLEV buses will undergo trial operations in the city of Gumi.
The trial route spans 24km from Gumi station and the region of In-Dong and the establishment of the route is expected to be of a 4.8billion Won scale. The start of the infrastructure construction will start on February and operation will start in July.
KAIST had held sessions in October of last year to local governments and had a follow up OLEV suitability evaluation to those local governments expressing interest.
The city of Gumi was elected due to its good electrical infrastructure and an administrative willingness to match.
The OLEV developed by KAIST is an environmentally friendly vehicle that allows the transfer of electrical power using magnetic fields imbedded in the roads.
Ordinary electric vehicles require frequent visits to replenish their power which gives the OLEV a comparative advantage as it can charge while on the road. The ability to charge whilst on the road means that the OLEV requires a smaller battery than the ordinary electrical vehicle resulting in lower prices and weight.
The OLEV development commenced at KAIST in 2009 and in 2010 most of the core technologies required to realize the OLEV was developed and verified. Finally in 2012 steps were taken that will allow the commercialization of the OLEV.
And in October of last year KAIST OLEV accomplished 75% power transfer efficiency that allowed a system that can be commercialized.
The KAIST OLEV was named top 50 inventions in 2010 by Time Magazine.
2013.01.22 View 10342
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KAIST to be Nominated as the Top 100 Innovators
A total of 7 South Korean universities, research institutes, and corporates, including KAIST, POSTECH, and Korean Research Institute of Chemical Technology, have been selected as the 2012 Top 100 Global Innovative Organizations.
In particular, universities were part of the list for the first time in 2012, with two South Korean universities, KAIST and POSTECH, being the only entities representing their category.
Thomson Reuters, the world"s leading media and financial-data firm, has announced a report entitled "2012 Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovative Organizations", which includes KAIST and 6 other South Korean institutes, corporates, and universities.
Thomson Reuters has been publishing an annual report since last year that selects the Top 100 Global Innovative Organizations by analyzing quantitative and qualitative data through original methods and criteria such as ▲the ratio of published patent applications to granted patents, ▲the number of innovative patents that have quadrilateral patents in their patent families, ▲the number of citations to each organizations" patents, excluding self-citations, and ▲the generation of a sizable amount of innovation.
According to the most recent report, 47 American corporates and 21 European corporates have been selected as the Top 100 Global Innovative Organizations. Japan was the leading nation in the continent of Asia with 25 listed corporates, while 7 corporates, research institutes, and universities, including KAIST, have been selected from South Korea.
Besides, POSTECH, Korea Research Institute of Science and Technology, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, LSIS, LG Electronics, and Samsung Electronics were the 6 other South Korean organizations that are included in the list.
Doo Won-soo, chief of Public Relations Department of KAIST, said "Thomson Reuter"s selection of innovative organizations demonstrates that KAIST is an organization that puts great efforts for the development of advanced technologies and innovative research," also reminding that KAIST earned the 5th position by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency of the United Nations, among universities worldwide with applications for international patents.
Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters is the world"s leading media and financial-data firm that offers valuable intelligent information to CEO"s and experts in the vast fields of finance, banking, legislation, taxation, accounting, intellectual properties, science, and media.
Reports from Thomson Reuters are also accounted in the assessment of Times Higher Educations (THE), the British organization for world university rankings. The head office of Thomson Reuters is currently in New York, USA, with a total of 60,000 employees working overseas.
2012.12.21 View 8400
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Education 3.0: a change from teaching to learning
On October 16th, educationalists and Presidents from research-oriented universities around the world gathered in Seoul to attend the 2012 International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities, where KAIST introduced its new smart learning model ‘Education 3.0’.
Smart learning ‘Education 3.0’ allows students to learn from lectures given by renowned scholars through the internet and encouraged student to professor discussion. This technology was created to deal with the ever-changing classroom dynamics due to the advancement of IT technology.‘Education 3.0’ differs from the traditional teaching-based lectures in that it offers a platform for self-directed learning. KAIST is working to spread ‘Education 3.0’ by providing specialized classrooms and running an online learning platform that complements it.
This spring, KAIST adopted ‘Education 3.0’ in 3 courses and received high praise from students (a rating of 4.4 out of 5.0). Hence, the number of courses was extended to 10 this fall.
Through this gathering, KAIST hopes to develop cooperative connections between foreign universities to share learning platforms and contents. On October 16th, KAIST signed a MOU with Denmark’s Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU) to provide a cyber-dual degree program using ‘Education 3.0’. Hence, students studying Web science and Digital Media in either KAIST or DTU can receive degrees from both schools without physically visiting them.
President Suh said that “‘Education 3.0’ provides a new paradigm of learning which moves from the tradition cramming method of teaching to self-directed learning” and that this model will help the globalization of KAIST by initiating global cooperation with foreign universities.
Over 60 Universities from 27 different countries attended the forum, including ULCA and Caltech from the United States, DTU from Denmark, University of Southampton and University of York from England, University of Queensland from Australia, Nanyang Technological University from Singapore and Tokyo Institute of Technology from Japan. Members from Korean Universities such as Hanyang University, Handong Global University, Sogang University and Sookmyung Women"s University also attended.
2012.10.25 View 9568 -
2012 Times Higher Education Ranks KAIST a Record High of 68th
KAIST was evaluated as the 68th best university by the Times Higher Education, a English University Evaluation Body.
The 2012 evaluation is 29 places higher than the 2011 evaluation.
As a side note, KAIST was ranked a record high of 63rd in the world by Quacquarelli Symonds’ 2012 QS World University Evaluation.
2012.10.16 View 6821
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KAIST Evaluated 1st in Joong Ang Newspaper University Evaluation for 5 Consecutive Years
KAIST was evaluated 1st in the Joong Ang Newspaper University Evaluation scoring 241 points out of a total of 300 points. This is KAIST’s 5th consecutive year being ranked 1st by Joong Ang Newspaper’s University Evaluation.
POSTECH, Yonsei University, Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Korea University followed behind.
The Joong Ang Newspaper University Evaluation started in 1994 and KAIST is the first university to be evaluated 1st for 5 consecutive years.
KAIST scored high in education environment, finance, and professor research criteria.
Joong Ang Newspaper evaluated 102 universities and based the evaluation on: education environment (90 points), globalization (50 points), professor research (100 points), and reputation (60 points).
2012.10.16 View 6955
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KAIST 63rd in 2012 QS World University Ranking
KAIST was ranked 63rd in the 2012 World University Ranking conducted by British University Ranking Institution Quacquarelli Symonds.
The result is an all-time high for KAIST and a quantum leap of 135 places from 198th in 2006.
The criteria are: Student Evaluation (40%), Industry Evaluation (10%), Dissertation Citation per Professor (20%), Professor to Student Ratio (20%), Ratio of Foreign Students (5%), and Professor Ratio (5%).
The most notable improvement was in the ‘Academic Reputation’ criteria where KAIST scored 85.1 points and recorded 68th in the world, an improvement of 17 places from last year.
The Engineering College was ranked 24th, Natural Science College was ranked 48th, Biological Science College was ranked 110th, demonstrating that KAIST has now been established as a world class research oriented university.
The 2012 QS World University Ranking ranked MIT as the best university in the world followed by Cambridge, Harvard, ULC, and Oxford.
Domestically Seoul National University was ranked highest at 37th followed by KAIST (63rd), POSTECH (97th), Yonsei University (112th), Korea University (137th), and Sungkyunkwan University (179th) in the top 200 places.
2012.09.22 View 9064
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Professor Song Joon Hwa develops new Location Tracking Application
Professor Song Joon Hwa developed a location tracking application that alerts the teacher when students on field trips stray too far from the group via a smartphone and a headset.
Conventional Location Tracking Applications utilize GPS systems and as a consequence does not function indoors where the satellite signal is nonexistent. However Professor Song’s method is unique in the fact that it utilizes radio waves which allows signal transfer both indoors and outdoors.
In addition different alerts are given off in difference locations and therefore the technology can be applied in finding the effectiveness of the field trip and the social behaviors of students.
2012.09.11 View 7569
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KAIST College of Business ranks no.1 in Asia for executive education
KAIST College of Business ranked 28th in the world and 1st in Asia in the UK Financial Times (FT) 2012 Executive Education open ranking, making it the only school in Korea to be included.
The FT ranking selects the world’s top 65 business graduate schools based on executive education course design, teaching methods & materials, faculty, new skills & learning, quality of participants, and several other criteria. Last year, the KAIST executive education program ranked 29th in the world and 2nd in Asia. This year, it surpassed China’s CEIBS to rank 1st in Asia and has now been included in the ranking for three consecutive years.
Looking at the individual criteria, KAIST ranked highly in course preparation (11th), international location (11th), facilities (12th), and follow-up (5th) and saw increases in aims achieved (31st) and course design (29th).
KAIST attributed its success to the differentiation and specialization of education courses based on position, industry, and enterprise. KAIST College of Business operates an integrative course that fuses business management with science & technology, information media, medicine and innovation. The school runs both a chief and junior executive program to cater to different positional needs and provides specialized lectures that consider a company’s industry and size.
The ‘international location’ criteria saw a huge leap from 23rd to 11th due to the use of both long term and short term overseas exchange programs. The ‘Global Leader’ course created in 2011 is taught only in English and allows students to study abroad in a partner school in the second semester. The college’s knowhow in the MBA program also achieved recognition with high rankings in new skills & learning (18th) as well as in teaching methods & materials (24th).
College of Business President Lee Byung Tae said that the school’s success was achieved through a specialized curriculum that considers the market and explained that the ranking reflects the school’s competitiveness. He also said that KAIST will continue to provide the best educational services appropriate for KAIST’s outstanding reputation.
In the overall ranking, Swiss IMD was ranked number 1, followed by the Harvard Business School. In Asia, China’s CEIBS (29th), Singapore’s Aalto University (42nd), and the National University of Singapore Business School (64th) followed suit.
2012.05.17 View 9120
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Attosecond pulses measure ultrafast photoionization processes by Laser Focus World, April 12, 2012
Laser Focus World, a monthly magazine published since 1965 that covers news and business developments on laser, photonics, and optoelectronics technologies, applications, and markets, released a news article on the recent research result by Professor Chang-Hee Nam from the Department of Physics. For the article, please follow the link below:
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2012/04/kaist-attosecond
2012.04.13 View 7512
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The Australian: Asia more than competition, March 30, 2012
The Australian, the largest-selling newspaper in Australia, carried an article titled, “Asia more than competition,” an interview with Dr. Simon Marginson who is Professor of Higher Education in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne. Professor Marginson talks about the recent rise of universities in Asia, predicting that the Asian universities will eventually take up as much an equal share of importance as universities in Northwestern Europe in leading the world’s higher education within the next five to ten years. For the article, please follow the link below:
The Australian
Asia more than competition: Simon Marginson
by: John Ross
March 30, 2012 12:00AM
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/asia-more-than-competition-marginson/story-e6frgcjx-1226309922402
2012.03.30 View 7087