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Class of 2011 Undergraduate Freshmen Matriculation Ceremony Held
The 2011 Undergraduate Freshmen Matriculation Ceremony took place on the 10th of February with 950 freshmen and 1000 parents.
Freshmen representative Park Min Jae (19 years old, Korea Science High School for the Gifted), and Jeong Hyun Lee (18 years old, Gyoung Gi Science High School) gave the Freshmen oath followed by President Suh Nam Pyo’s address.
After the ceremony that KAIST choir club ‘CHORUS’ gave a welcoming performance and the Q and A session with the parents of the students involved Lee Kyu Min dean of school affairs, Yoo Hui Joon dean of administration, and Lee Seung Sup dean of student affairs.
KAIST has decreased winter vacation by a month and commences the new semester in February and increased summer vacation to three months from two months since 2009 to encourage students to experience society.
2011.02.21 View 9287 -
The 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of KAIST Commemoration Held
KAIST, aspiring to become the best Science and Technology University, has turned 40.
KAIST held the commemoration ceremony for the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of KAIST in the auditorium.
Five awards (Scholar, Creative Lecture, Excellence in Lecture, International Cooperation, Experiment) were given to Professors Kim Eun Jun and Walton Jones (department of Biology), Professor Abigail Shin (department of Humanities and Social Sciences), Professor Shin Seong Chul (department of Physics), and Professor Lee Sang Yeop (department of Biological Chemical Engineering). Each recipient received a prize of five million won.
Professor Song Joon Hwa (department of Computer Sciences) received the ‘New Knowledge Award’ in recognition of his development of the Orchestrator Mobile platform. The new platform is different from Android or the IOS platform in that it allows a fluid relationship to be formed between the smartphone and the user.
KAIST also showed off its new emblem.
The emblem consists of a star which represents the KAIST’s goals of becoming the world leader, of training leaders, the center point, and hope. The main keywords are: ‘Leadership’, ‘Premium’, ‘Scientific’, and ‘Humanity’.
KAIST plans on having various events from May 9th when there will be the Vision Declaration.
2011.02.21 View 13636
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KAIST establishes Indoor Location Recognition Industrial-Educational Research Center
KAIST has signed the memorandum of understanding on the 15th of February for the establishment of ‘KTNET-KAIST Industrial-Educational Research Center’ (Head of Center, Professor Han Dong Soo of department of Computer Sciences). Korea International Trade Association and KTNET will be working with KAIST to develop wi-fi based indoor location recognition service and applications of the developed technology.
The memorandum of understanding states that KTNET and Korea International Trade Association will be allowed access to the technology KAIST has in order to obtain competitive advantage in the field of location recognition.
In addition, KAIST will continue on making technological advances in the field of wi-fi based indoor location recognition for the next 5 years, develop new core technologies and applications, along with the export of related technologies abroad, under the support of the KITA and KTNET.
The KTNET-KAIST research center is special in that it has been derived off of the technology developed for the hosting of the G20 Global Summit. Last year, KAIST, KITA, and KTNET developed a wi-fi based Coex indoor navigation system and called it ‘myCoex’ and released it to the public in tandem with hosting G20 Summit.
‘myCoex’ application was the first of its kind in the world to provide wi-fi based indoor navigation system without problems. Despite ‘myCoex’ only useable within Coex, over 150,000 users have downloaded the application.
The research center plans on developing the necessary technology that will allow the application of such an app like ‘mCoex’ to large indoor spaces like Incheon International Airport, subway, shopping malls, and etc.
In addition the addition of a social commerce service to ‘myCoex’ is being looked into which will be the marriage of navigation services and social commerce services.
The KTNET KAIST research center will develop a wi-fi based indoor location recognition service platform that can be widely used and open it so that numerous other developers can develop personalized services.
Han Dong Soo Head od Center commented, “The wi-fi based indoor location recognition technology is still found wanting in its accuracy, response time, and energy consumption efficiency making further research imperative in this particular field. The establishment of KTNET-KAIST research center has created a research friendly environment and KAIST will do its utmost to become the leader in the field”.
2011.02.21 View 11672
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Waking Up Is Hard to Do: Scientists have discovered a new mechanism in the core gears of the circadian clock.
The US News & World Report released an article (Feb. 18, 2011) on KAIST’s research collaboration with Northwestern University in the US to identify a gene that regulates the rhythm of a fruit fly’s circadian clock, which may be applied to explain human’s sleep-wake cycle. The research result was published February 17 in the journal Nature.
For the link of the US News & World Report article, please go to the following link:
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2011/02/18/waking-up-is-hard-to-do_print.html
2011.02.21 View 9923
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KAIST MBA program was ranked 99th by Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2011.
The Business School of KAIST in Seoul made the 99th placement among the top 100 business schools in the world, according to the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2011. The Hindustan Times, an English daily newspaper in India, brifely carried an article on this topic. For the article, please go to http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/656953.aspx.
Financial Times Business Education and School Rakings 2011: http://www.ft.com/businesseducation/mba2011
2011.02.03 View 10089
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Soyeon's Odyssey by Space Travel, Feb. 1, 2011
Soyeon Yi, an alumna of KAIST who joined the Soyuz TMA-12 mission to the International Space Station in 2008 and successfully returned to the Earth after completion of her mission. She is often cited as the first Korean astronaut who had spaceflight. She recently had an interview with an Australian based online newspaper that publishes space related news stories. For the interview, please go to the link.
http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Soyeon_Odyssey_999.html
2011.02.02 View 9337
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New Korean Robot Responds to Non-Verbal Commands
An online newspaper covering the latest headline news based on MS Windows, Internet and technology trends, Infopackets, posted an article on the research result of KAIST researchers: a robot prototype developed, which is able to respond to human’s non verbal communication.
Robots now can read human gestures and react to their subtle commands by “designing the robot’s main system to mimic the actions of a human in the same manner in which human brains function.” For details of the article, please click the link:
http://www.infopackets.com/news/technology/science/2011/20110125_new_korean_robot_responds_to_non_verbal_commands.htm
2011.01.26 View 8821
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Korean researchers reveal new sea defense model by EurekAlert
The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation, a peer review journal devoted to advancing the practice, science and art of modeling and simulation that relate to military and defense purposes.
The SAGE Publication that issues the journal released a press release on January 18, 2011, announcing that KAIST researchers in collaboration with other intuitions in Korea devised “improved methods to model underwater warfare, which could aid future decisions about weapons and defense purchases.” Details of the article follow below: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/sp-krr011811.php
2011.01.19 View 9209
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Success in differentiating Functional Vascular Progenitor Cells (VPC)
KAIST’s Professor Han Yong Man successfully differentiated vascular progenitor cells from human embryonic stem cells and reversed differentiated stem cells.
The research went beyond the current method of synthesis of embryonic body or mice cell ball culture and used the careful alteration of signal transmission system of the human embryonic stem cells to differentiate the formation of vascular progenitor cells.
The team controlled the MEK/ERK and BMP signal transmission system that serves an important role in the self replication of human embryonic stem cells and successfully differentiated 20% of the cells experimented on to vascular progenitor cells.
The vascular progenitor cells produced with such a method successfully differentiated into cells forming the endodermis of the blood vessel, vascular smooth muscle cells and hematopoietic cells in an environment outside of the human body and also successfully differentiated into blood vessels in nude mice.
In addition, the vascular progenitor cell derived from human embryonic cells successfully formed blood vessels or secreted vascular growth factors and increased the blood flow and the necrosis of blood vessels when injected into an animal with limb ischemic illness.
The research was funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 21st Century Frontier Research and Development Institution’s Cell Application Research Department and Professor Ko Kyu Young (KAIST), Professor Choi Chul Hee (KAIST), Professor Jeong Hyung Min (Cha Medical School) and Doctor Jo Lee Sook (Researcher in Korea Bio Engineering Institute) participated in it.
The results of the research was published as the cover paper of the September edition of “Blood (IF:10.55)”, the American Blood Journal and has been patented domestically and has finished registration of foreign PCT.
The results of the experiment opened the possibility of providing a patient specific cure using stem cells in the field of blood vessel illness.
2011.01.18 View 13225 -
Explanation for the polymerized nucleic acid enzyme's abnormal activation found
KAIST’s Professor Park Hyun Kyu of the Department of Bio Chemical Engineering revealed on the 23rd of December 2010 that his team had successfully developed the technology that uses the metal ions to control the abnormal activation of nucleic acids’ enzymes and using this, created a logic gate, which is a core technology in the field of future bio electrons.
The polymerized nucleic acid enzyme works to increase the synthesis of DNA and kicks into action only when the target DNA and primers form complimentary pairs (A and T, C and G).
Professor Park broke the common conception and found that it is possible for none complimentary pairs like T-T and C-C to initiate the activation of the enzyme and thus increase the nucleic acid production, given that there are certain metal ions present.
What Professor Park realized is that the enzymes mistake the uncomplimentary T-T and C-C pairs (with stabilized structures due to the bonding with mercury and silver ions) as being complimentary base pairs. Professor Park described this phenomenon as the “illusionary polymerase activity.”
The research team developed a logic gate based on the “illusionary polymerase activity’ phenomenon.” The logic gate paves the way to the development of future bio electron needed for bio computers and high performance memories.
Professor Park commented, “The research is an advancement of the previous research carried on about metal ions and nucleic acid synthesis. Our research is the first attempt at merging the concepts of the two previously separately carried out researches and can be adapted for testing presence of metal ions and development of a new single nucleotide polymorphic gene analysis technology.”
Professor Park added that, “Our research is a great stride in the field of nano scale electron element research as the results made possible the formation of accurate logic gates through relatively cost efficient and simple system designs.”
On a side note, the research was funded by Korea Research Foundation (Chairman: Park Chan Mo) and was selected as the cover paper for the December issue of ‘Angewandte Chemie International Edition’.
2011.01.18 View 10621 -
Rise of the mimic-bots that act like we do: Human-machine teamwork.
An online magazine, Technology Marketing Corporation, based in the UK published an article, dated January 8, 2011, on a robot research project led by Professor Jong-Hwan Kim from the Electrical Engineering Department. The article follows below:
Technology Marketing Corporation
[January 08, 2011]
Rise of the mimic-bots that act like we do Human-machine teamwork
(New Scientist Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Rise of the mimic-bots that act like we doA robot inspired by human mirror neurons can interpret human gestures to learn how it should actNow follow meA robot inspired by human mirror neurons can interpret human gestures to learn how it should actA HUMAN and a robot face each other across the room. The human picks up a ball, tosses it towards the robot, and then pushes a toy car in the same direction.
Confused by two objects coming towards it at the same time, the robot flashes a question mark on a screen. Without speaking, the human makes a throwing gesture. The robot turns its attention to the ball and decides to throw it back.
In this case the robot"s actions were represented by software commands, but it will be only a small step to adapt the system to enable a real robot to infer a human"s wishes from their gestures.
Developed by Ji-Hyeong Han and Jong-Hwan Kim at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, the system is designed to respond to the actions of the person confronting it in the same way that our own brains do. The human brain contains specialised cells, called mirror neurons, that appear to fire in the same way when we watch an action being performed by others as they do when we perform the action ourselves. It is thought that this helps us to recognise or predict their intentions.
To perform the same feat, the robot observes what the person is doing, breaks the action down into a simple verbal description, and stores it in its memory. It compares the action it observes with a database of its own actions, and generates a simulation based on the closest match.
The robot also builds up a set of intentions or goals associated with an action. For example, a throwing gesture indicates that the human wants the robot to throw something back. The robot then connects the action "throw" with the object "ball" and adds this to its store of knowledge.
When the memory bank contains two possible intentions that fit the available information, the robot considers them both and determines which results in the most positive feedback from the human?- a smile or a nod, for example. If the robot is confused by conflicting information, it can request another gesture from the human. It also remembers details of each interaction, allowing it to respond more quickly when it finds itself in a situation it has encountered before.
The system should allow robots to interact more effectively with humans, using the same visual cues we use. "Of course, robots can recognise human intentions by understanding speech, but humans would have to make constant, explicit commands to the robot," says Han. "That would be pretty uncomfortable."Socially intelligent robots that can communicate with us through gesture and expression will need to develop a mental model of the person they are dealing with in order to understand their needs, says Chris Melhuish, director of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the UK. Using mirror neurons and humans" unique mimicking ability as an inspiration for building such robots could be quite interesting, he says.
Han now plans to test the system on a robot equipped with visual and other sensors to detect people"s gestures. He presented his work at the Robio conference in Tianjin, China, in December. nAs the population of many countries ages, elderly people may share more of their workload with robotic helpers or colleagues. In an effort to make such interactions as easy as possible, Chris Melhuish and colleagues at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the UK are leading a Europe-wide collaboration called Cooperative Human Robotic Interaction Systems that is equipping robots with software that recognises an object they are picking up before they hand it to a person. They also have eye-tracking technology that they use to monitor what humans are paying attention to. The goal is to develop robots that can learn to safely perform shared tasks with people, such as stirring a cake mixture as a human adds milk.
(c) 2011 Reed Business Information - UK. All Rights Reserved.
2011.01.10 View 10134
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KAIST developed a plastic film board less sensitive to heat.
The research result was made the cover of magazine, Advanced Materials and is accredited to paving the way to commercialize flexible display screens and solar power cells.
Transparent plastic and glass cloths, which have a limited thermal expansion needed for the production of flexible display screens and solar power cells, were developed by Korean researchers.
The research, led by KAIST’s Professor Byoung-Soo Bae, was funded by the Engineering Research Center under the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation. The research result was printed as the cover paper of ‘Advanced Materials’ which is the leading magazine in the field of materials science.
Professor Bae’s team developed a hybrid material with the same properties as fiber glass. With the material, they created a transparent, plastic film sheet resistant to heat. Transparent plastic film sheets were used by researchers all over the world to develop devices such as flexible displays or solar power cells that can be fit into various living spaces. However, plastic films are heat sensitive and tend to expand as temperature increases, thereby making it difficult to produce displays or solar power cells.
The new transparent, plastic film screen shows that heat expansion index (13ppm/oC) similar to that of glass fiber (9ppm/oC) due to the presence of glass fibers; its heat resistance allows to be used for displays and solar power cells over 250oC.
Professor Bae’s team succeeded in producing a flexible thin plastic film available for use in LCD or AMOLED screens and thin solar power cells.
Professor Bae commented, “Not only the newly developed plastic film has superior qualities, compared to the old models, but also it is cheap to produce, potentially bringing forward the day when flexible displays and solar panels become commonplace. With the cooperation of various industries, research institutes and universities, we will strive to improve the existing design and develop it further.”
2011.01.05 View 13664