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KAIST NYU Host AI Governance Summit in New York
< KAIST Professor Kyung Ryul Park delivering a keynote speech >
KAIST announced on February 9th that the KAIST-NYU AI and Digital Governance Summit, co-hosted with New York University (NYU), was held at NYU in New York from February 6 to 7 (local time). Amid the rapidly expanding impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across society, this summit was designed to combine private consensus meetings with public discussions to seek practical AI governance solutions that harmonize technological innovation with safety and ethical responsibility.
The summit was attended by 60 global AI governance leaders representing academia, industry, and civil society, including NYU professors Matthew Liao and David Chalmers, Victoria Nash (Director of the Oxford Internet Institute), Professor Vincent Conitzer (Carnegie Mellon University), Iason Gabriel (Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind), and Philip Goldberg (former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea). In particular, the public discussion on the second day drew high interest, with approximately 450 audience members in attendance.
< Brad Carson, U.S. Representative for Responsible Innovation and former U.S. Congressman, delivering a keynote speech >
This event garnered attention as an 'experimental consensus model' aimed at deriving an actionable AI governance framework beyond a simple forum. KAIST’s Global Center for Open Development with Evidence-based Strategies (G-CODEs) and the NYU Center for Bioethics had formed three working groups—Governance Requirements, Institutional Architecture, and Implementation Pathways—since last December to conduct preliminary discussions. At the New York site, practice-oriented recommendations were derived through intensive consensus-style discussions and voting.
In the Governance Requirements session, the need for enhanced oversight and monitoring of high-risk AI systems was discussed. In the ‘Institutional Architecture’ session, principles for designing AI oversight bodies were reviewed, referencing existing high-risk technology oversight models such as the FDA, IRB, and FAA. In the Implementation Pathways session, short-term governance tools and corporate responsibility standards that could be applied even during the current gap in international regulation were addressed as key issues.
Major global Big Tech experts from Meta, Google DeepMind, IBM, Amazon, Anthropic, TikTok and Hugging Face participated in the summit. From KAIST, researchers including Prof. So Young Kim , Prof. Kyung Ryul Park, and Prof. Hyungjun Kim shared Korea’s research achievements in AI governance.his event was conducted with support from the Korea Foundation’s (KF) international collaborative research program.
Professor Kyung Ryul Park of KAIST stated, “This summit was a meaningful attempt to expand AI governance beyond technical regulation into a matter of international cooperation and institutional design. Through the cooperation between KAIST and NYU, we will build a foundation for Korea to lead global AI governance discussions.”
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee remarked, “The importance of governance discussions for responsible AI innovation is growing. KAIST will continue to lead interdisciplinary research and policy discussions in the field of AI governance through international partnerships.”
< Sebastien Krier, AI Policy Lead at Google DeepMind, speaking >
2026.02.09 View 900 -
AI Enters the Experienced Hire Era... Teaching Learned Knowledge with Ease
< (From left) KAIST Professor Hyunwoo J. Kim, Postdoctoral Researcher Sanghyeok Lee, M.S candidate Taehoon Song, Korea University Ph.D candidate Jihwan Park >
How inconvenient would it be if you had to manually transfer every contact and photo from scratch every time you switched to a new smartphone? Current Artificial Intelligence (AI) models face a similar predicament. Whenever a superior new AI model—such as a new version of ChatGPT—emerges, it has to be retrained with massive amounts of data and at a high cost to acquire specialized knowledge in specific fields. A Korean research team has developed a "knowledge transplantation" technology between AI models that can resolve this inefficiency.
KAIST announced on January 27th that a research team led by Professor Hyunwoo J. Kim from the School of Computing, in collaboration with a research team from Korea University, has developed a new technology capable of effectively "transplanting" learned knowledge between different AI models.
Recently, Vision-Language Models (VLM), which understand both images and text simultaneously, have been evolving rapidly. These are easily understood as multimodal AIs, like ChatGPT, which can provide explanations when a user shows them a photo and asks a question. These models have the advantage of adapting relatively quickly to new fields using small amounts of data by pre-learning large-scale image and language data.
However, the need to repeat this "adaptation process" from scratch every time a new AI model is released has been pointed out as a major inefficiency. Existing adaptation techniques also faced limitations: they were difficult to use if the model structure changed even slightly, or they significantly increased memory and computational costs because multiple models had to be used simultaneously.
To solve these problems, the research team proposed "TransMiter," a transferable adaptation technique that allows learned knowledge to be reused regardless of the model's structure or size. The core of this technology is directly transferring the "adaptation experience" accumulated by one AI as it learns to another AI model.
< TransMiter: A transferable adaptation technique reusable regardless of model structure, size, etc. >
The researchers' technology does not overhaul the complex internal structure of the AI; instead, it adopts a method of passing on "know-how" learned by observing only the prediction results (output) to another AI. Even if the AI models have different architectures, if the know-how learned by one AI is organized based on the answers given to the same questions, another AI can utilize that knowledge immediately. Consequently, there is no need to undergo the complex and time-consuming retraining process, and there is almost no slowdown in speed.
This study is highly significant as it is the first to prove that AI adaptation knowledge—previously considered almost impossible to reuse if model structures or sizes differed—can be precisely transplanted regardless of the model type. This is expected to not only reduce repetitive learning costs but also be utilized as a so-called "knowledge patch" technology that updates Large Language Models (LLMs) in real-time according to specific needs.
Professor Hyunwoo J. Kim explained, "By extending this research, we can significantly reduce the cost of post-training that had to be performed repeatedly whenever a rapidly evolving hyper-scale language model appears. It will enable 'model patches' that easily add expertise in specific fields."
The study involved Taehoon Song (Master's student, KAIST School of Computing), Sanghyeok Lee (Postdoctoral researcher), and Jihwan Park (Doctoral student, Korea University) as co-authors, with Professor Hyunwoo J. Kim serving as the corresponding author. The research results were accepted for oral presentation (4.6% acceptance rate as of 2025) at AAAI 2026 (Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence), the most prestigious international conference in the field of AI, and were presented on January 25th.
Paper Title: Transferable Model-agnostic Vision-Language Model Adaptation for Efficient Weak-to-Strong Generalization
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2508.08604
Meanwhile, Professor Hyunwoo J. Kim's laboratory presented a total of three papers at the conference, including this paper and "TabFlash," a technology developed in collaboration with Google Cloud AI to enhance the understanding of tables within documents.
2026.01.27 View 1120 -
Playground for Future Quantum Technology: KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School Successfully Concluded
< Group photo of the KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School >
“Through the KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School, I was able to view research from a broader perspective. The experience of collaborating with students from various universities and majors to complete a project was very refreshing,” said Jun-hyeong Cho, a student at the KAIST School of Electrical Engineering.
KAIST announced on the 16th that the Graduate School of Quantum Science and Technology successfully concluded the ‘KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School,’ held jointly with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from January 5th to 16th at the KAIST main campus in Daejeon.
For this year’s Winter School, 50 junior and senior undergraduate students from Korea and abroad were selected to receive intensive training to grow into next-generation quantum talent. Eight world-renowned scholars from KAIST and MIT participated in the program, providing a multi-dimensional curriculum that spanned theory and practice—ranging from theoretical lectures and introductions to cutting-edge quantum experiments to visits to government-funded research institutes and student poster presentations.
Celebrating its third anniversary since its inception in 2024, the Winter School is now evaluated as a premier quantum information education program in Korea. Alongside KAIST faculty, world-class scholars from MIT participated directly in lectures and field training, operating an intensive curriculum that covered the entirety of quantum information science.
The lecturing faculty included world authorities in quantum computing, quantum devices, quantum machine learning, and quantum simulation, such as MIT professors Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Seth Lloyd, Kevin P. O’Brien, and William D. Oliver, as well as KAIST scholars Jaewook Ahn, Joonwoo Bae, Gil-Young Cho, and Jae-yoon Choi.
Going beyond theoretical lectures, participants gained a broad understanding of research trends, technical limitations, and future development directions of state-of-the-art quantum technology through experimental training in core areas such as quantum computing, communication, sensing, and simulation.
< Scene from a Winter School lecture >
Furthermore, students visited the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) to experience actual research sites, engaging in field-oriented education that bridges quantum theory and practice. The poster presentation session, where students shared their own research ideas, received enthusiastic responses as a forum for deep academic exchange, allowing students to receive direct feedback from MIT faculty.
Tae-hee Kim, a student from Pusan National University, remarked, “I was greatly inspired by the passion of the MIT faculty and the high level of questions from the students. It served as a motivation for me to pursue deeper studies independently.” Byung-jin Hwang, a student from Yonsei University, added, “I expected lectures from world-class scholars to be difficult, but I was impressed by the explanations tailored to the undergraduate level. The poster presentation session was particularly memorable.”
Eun-seong Kim, Dean of the KAIST Graduate School of Quantum Science and Technology, stated, “The KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School is a special educational program where students can learn directly from world-renowned quantum researchers and experience cutting-edge research. We look forward to the active participation of future talents who will lead the quantum industry.”
Participants for this Winter School were selected through a document review process, and the program was operated entirely free of charge. KAIST covered all educational expenses and provided dormitory accommodations and lunch. Detailed information about the event can be found on the KAIST Graduate School of Quantum Science and Technology website (https://quantumschool.kaist.ac.kr/).
< Poster for the KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School >
2026.01.16 View 1146 -
KAIST Welcomes NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s Cooperation Initiative “Strengthening Collaboration in AI and Robotics Innovation”
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced its strong support for the meeting between Korean President Jae-myung Lee and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang on October 31, where both sides discussed strategies to advance Korea’s AI ecosystem.
KAIST stated that the meeting marks “a significant turning point for Korea’s AI innovation and global cooperation.” During the discussion, NVIDIA, a global leader in artificial intelligence, explored partnership opportunities with the Korean government to realize its vision of becoming one of the “Top Three AI Nations” and achieving an “AI-based Society.”
NVIDIA also unveiled plans to expand Korea’s AI computing infrastructure by introducing more than 260,000 of its latest GPUs, while strengthening technology cooperation to meet both public and private sector AI demand.
The meeting covered a wide range of potential collaborations, including:
Building advanced AI infrastructure, joint research and technology cooperation in physical AI (AI in robotics, autonomous systems, and manufacturing), and
expanding AI talent development and startup support programs.
At the APEC CEO Summit, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said, “NVIDIA’s goal is not only to provide hardware to Korea, but to help build a sustainable AI ecosystem. And we will work closely with AI researchers in Korea universities, amazing university like KAIST, startups, the government, and research institutions to become the AI Frontier.”
He further emphasized that, “The evolution of AI will inevitably converge with robotics. Realizing autonomous robots and robotic factories that can work alongside humans represents the next stage and ultimate goal of AI technology.”
As Korea’s leading AI research institution, KAIST has long collaborated with government and industry partners in key areas such as AI semiconductors, autonomous driving, robotics, digital twins, and quantum computing.
Building on this dialogue, KAIST plans to further strengthen its partnership with NVIDIA and major domestic industries through next-generation AI semiconductor and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) research, physical AI applications in robotics and autonomous systems, hands-on AI education and talent development, and global open innovation through academia–industry joint research.
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee stated: “AI is the core driver of national competitiveness. Jensen Huang’s visit represents a symbolic milestone as Korea emerges as a global leader in AI.” He added: “Huang’s vision of integrating AI and robotics aligns perfectly with KAIST’s research direction. KAIST will continue to work closely with NVIDIA to build an AI innovation ecosystem that benefits humanity.”
Following CEO Huang’s proposal, KAIST will further concretize its collaboration with NVIDIA and expand partnerships with both global enterprises and domestic industries.
Through these efforts, KAIST aims to advance AI research clusters, develop next-generation AI computing platforms, nurture AI professionals, and foster a vibrant startup ecosystem, contributing continuously to Korea’s global AI competitiveness.
2025.11.03 View 1790 -
KAIST Seoul Campus Dormitory Remodeling Completed, Improving Student Housing
< President Kwang Hyung Lee, Booyoung Group Chairman Joong Keun Lee, and executives >
KAIST held a completion and donation ceremony for the newly remodeled Pajeongsa and Sojeongsa dormitories at the Seoul Campus on the 18th. The event was attended by key figures including President Kwang Hyung Lee, Booyoung Group Chairman Joong Keun Lee, and students.
Booyoung Group is a company that has consistently engaged in various social contribution activities, including housing rental, construction, and support for education and culture. With a deep interest in the field of education, the company is taking the lead in improving student welfare by enhancing university dormitory environments.
This remodeling project was carried out as part of a KRW 20 billion donation agreement signed by Booyoung Group last year to create a safe and comfortable learning environment for KAIST students.
< President Kwang Hyung Lee, Booyoung Group Chairman Joong Keun Lee, and executives >
This remodeling project is being conducted on a total of four dormitory buildings across the Daejeon and Seoul campuses. Three of these buildings, including Pajeongsa and Sojeongsa, have been completed, providing students with newly improved living spaces. The remaining one building is also expected to be completed soon.
Through this remodeling, the aging facilities of Pajeongsa and Sojeongsa on the Seoul Campus have been upgraded, including exterior construction and overall mechanical and electrical systems. The two buildings will be named "Ujeong Pajeongsa" and "Ujeong Sojeongsa," taking their names from the donor's pen name.
< Group photo of attendees at the Seoul Campus dormitory remodeling completion ceremony >
Chairman Joong Keun Lee said, "The dormitory remodeling project, which began with the hope that Korea's scientific talents would be able to devote themselves to their studies and research in a more stable home, has now come to fruition. I hope this will serve as the foundation for KAIST to develop into a world-class university for science and technology innovation." At the completion ceremony, President Kwang Hyung Lee said, "I am very happy to be able to introduce these buildings, which have been reborn through the chairman's donation. KAIST will engrave the chairman's great will in our hearts and dedicate ourselves to nurturing the world's best talent."
2025.09.18 View 1612 -
KAIST Professors Participate in Mastering Immunity 2025 Singapore Summit
<2025 Global Infectious Diseases Summit>
KAIST is proud to announce the participation of Professors Eui-Cheol Shin and Jeong Seok Lee in the Mastering Immunity 2025: Global Infectious Diseases Summit, held on 1–2 September 2025 in Singapore. This international symposium brought together leading experts in immunology to discuss the latest advancements in infectious disease research, vaccine development, and immune response characterization.
At the summit, Professor Eui-Cheol Shin contributed as a speaker, sharing insights from his groundbreaking research in immunology, while Professor Jeong Seok Lee also presented on his latest work in the field. Professor Eui-Cheol Shin joined a panel discussion alongside other distinguished global experts, highlighting the importance of collaboration in addressing pressing infectious disease challenges.
The summit was organized by ProImmune, an international life-science company specializing in innovative immunology solutions. Through cutting-edge technologies, including Ankyron® target-binding reagents, Pro5® MHC Class I Pentamers, ProT2® MHC Class II Tetramers as well as immunology-based assays such as REVEAL® MHC Binding Assays and ProPresent® Antigen Presentation Assays are accelerating this vital research. ProImmune supports researchers worldwide in understanding immune responses and accelerating the development of vaccines and immunotherapies.
<Presentation at the Summit>
KAIST celebrates the contributions of Professors Shin and Lee in representing Korean science on the global stage and advancing the understanding of infectious diseases.
For more information about the Mastering Immunity 2025 summit and to view the recorded talks, visit: https://www.proimmune.com/conference-videos
2025.09.13 View 1621 -
KAIST to Host the ‘6th Emerging Materials Symposium’
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 22nd of August that it will host the 6th KAIST Emerging Materials Symposium on the 26th in the Meta Convergence Hall (W13) on its main Daejeon campus, to explore the latest research trends in next-generation promising nanomaterials and discuss future visions.
Launched in 2020, this symposium marks its sixth year and has established itself as KAIST’s flagship academic event by inviting world-renowned scholars on next-generation materials to share groundbreaking achievements.
The event will feature six speakers from four prestigious overseas universities—the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Yale University, UCLA, and Drexel University—providing an overview of cutting-edge global research trends in emerging materials, while also showcasing KAIST’s representative achievements.
Notably, Professor Yury Gogotsi of Drexel University, who gained global recognition for the pioneering development of MXene—an emerging material attracting attention for its high electrical conductivity and electromagnetic shielding capability—will deliver a lecture titled “The Future of MXene.”
In the session “Global Frontier in MIT,” three MIT professors will present the institute’s leading research: ▴Professor Ju Li, an authority on AI-robotics-based materials synthesis, ▴Professor Martin Z. Bazant, an expert in the fields of electrochemistry and electronic transport dynamics, and ▴Professor Jeehwan Kim, a leading researcher tackling the limitations of silicon wafer-based semiconductor manufacturing.
In the session “Emerging Materials and New Possibilities,” ▴Professor Yury Gogotsi of Drexel University, ▴Professor Liangbing Hu of Yale University, a pioneer in nanoparticle synthesis through rapid high-temperature thermal processing, and ▴Professor Jun Chen of UCLA, a key researcher in bioelectronic materials using multifunctional flexible materials, will present the development of core emerging materials and future directions.
Additionally, six professors from KAIST’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering will lead the session “KAIST’s MSE Entrepreneurial Spirit” where they will share the process of founding startups based on KAIST’s advanced materials technologies and how nanomaterials have taken root as foundational industries.
The session will include: ▴Professor Il-Doo Kim, founder of the nanofiber and colorimetric gas sensor company IDKLAB; ▴Professor Kibeom Kang, CEO of TDS Innovation, a company specializing in precursors and equipment for 2D material synthesis; ▴Professor Yeonsik Jeong, co-founder of Pico Foundry, a company producing SERS chips; ▴Professor Sang Wook Kim, founder of Materials Creation, which develops products based on high-quality graphene oxide; ▴Professor Jaebeom Jang, founder of Flashomic Inc., a leader in the commercialization of high-speed multiplexed protein imaging technology; and ▴Professor Steve Park, co-CEO of Aldaver, a company developing artificial cadavers (practice organs) that fully replicate the human body. They will each share their entrepreneurial cases, offering vivid lectures on the journey of scientific technologies into the marketplace.
The symposium will also feature a tour of the automated research lab at the Top-Tier KAIST-MIT Future Energy Initiative Research Center, jointly established by KAIST and MIT. The center, designed to build an AI-robotics-based autonomous research laboratory for the rapid development and application of advanced energy materials to help solve the global climate crisis, will operate for ten years. Overseas scholars will also be given an inside look at research and development using automated infrastructure, with discussions to follow on upcoming international collaborations.
Professor Il-Doo Kim of KAIST’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, who organized the event, emphasized, “This symposium, featuring six global scholars and six KAIST entrepreneurial professors, will be a valuable opportunity to instill an international perspective and entrepreneurial mindset in students. It will also mark a turning point in KAIST’s innovative materials research and international collaborative research network.”
As part of the program, on Wednesday the 27th, KAIST will hold academic exchange sessions with overseas scholars. These will include discussions on international joint research, as well as sessions where KAIST students and early-career researchers can present their work and interact, opening opportunities for future collaborations.
The 6th KAIST Emerging Materials Symposium is open free of charge to all researchers interested in the latest research trends in chemistry, physics, biology, and materials science-related engineering fields.
Participation on the 26th will be available through on-site registration without prior application. Further details are available on the KAIST Department of Materials Science and Engineering EMS website (https://mse.kaist.ac.kr/index.php?mid=MSE_EMS).
2025.08.22 View 3169 -
KAIST School of Transdisciplinary Studies Is Driving Innovation in Korean Education
<(From Left) Professor Jaeseung Jeong, haed of the School of Transdiciplinary Studies, Dr, Albert Chau, Vice President of Hong Kong Baptist University>
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 24th of July that its School of Transdisciplinary Studies has been consistently showcasing the results of its experiments and practices for educational innovation both domestically and abroad.
On June 27, Professor Jaeseung Jeong, head of the School of Transdisciplinary Studies, was invited to speak at the “Pacific Asia Summit on Transdisciplinary Education 2025 (PASTE 2025)” held at Hong Kong Baptist University. He presented the Korean model of transdisciplinary education under the title “The Philosophy and Achievements of the KAIST School of Transdisciplinary Studies.”
In his talk, Professor Jeong pointed out the limitations of conventional education systems that rely on answer-centered evaluation, perfectionism, and competitiveness, claiming that they hinder creativity and integrative thinking. He then introduced the philosophy and operational practices of the School of Transdisciplinary Studies, which was established in 2019 to overcome these issues.
Professor Jeong outlined five key principles that define the school's educational philosophy: ①a broad and integrative academic foundation, ②student-driven and customized education, ③creativity and execution, ④a sense of social responsibility and global citizenship, and ⑤learning driven by intrinsic motivation and curiosity. He explained that students are admitted without a declared major, allowed to design their own learning plans, and evaluated under a P/NR system* that focuses on growth rather than competition.
*P/NR system: A non-competitive grading system led by KAIST’s School of Transdisciplinary Studies. Instead of traditional letter grades (A/B/C/Fail), students receive Pass (P) or No Record (NR), with the latter not appearing as a failure and not affecting GPA.
Professor Jeong emphasized, “This experiment at KAIST represents a new educational paradigm that values questions over knowledge, culture over structure, and inquiry over competition. Students are bridging academic learning and real-world practice by addressing societal challenges through technology, which could lead to a fundamental shift in global higher education.”
His presentation provided an opportunity to spotlight how KAIST’s experimental approach to nurturing transdisciplinary talent is pointing to new directions for the global education community beyond Korea.
< Hyungjoon Jang, a student at the School of Transdisciplinary Studies>
The achievements of KAIST’s transdisciplinary education model are also reflected in students’ academic accomplishments. Hyungjoon Jang, a student at the School of Transdisciplinary Studies, participated in a collaborative study led by his mentor, Professor Jaekyung Kim in the Department of Mathematical Sciences, along with researchers from Chungnam National University and the Institute for Basic Science (IBS). Their groundbreaking analytical method enables the accurate estimation of inhibition constants using only a single inhibitor concentration. The paper was published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications in June, with Jang listed as co–first author.
Jang played a leading role throughout the research process by developing the experimental methodology, creating a software package to support the method, drafting the manuscript, and engaging in peer review. He also effectively communicated mathematical and statistical models to pharmaceutical experts by mastering presentation techniques and visual explanation strategies, thereby setting a strong example of interdisciplinary collaboration.
He emphasized that “the School of Transdisciplinary Studies’ mentor system allowed regular research feedback and the systematic acquisition of essential knowledge and analytical skills through courses in biochemistry and computational neuroscience.”
This example demonstrates how undergraduate students at the School of Transdisciplinary Studies can take leading roles in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research.
The school’s educational philosophy is also reflected in students’ practical actions. Inseo Jeong, a current student and founder of the startup MPAge Inc., made a meaningful donation to help establish a creative makerspace in the school.
<Inseo Jeong, founder of MPAG>
Inseo Jeong explained that the decision was made to express gratitude for the knowledge gained and the mentorship received from professors, saying that at the School of Transdisciplinary Studies, she learned not only how to solve problems with technology but also how to view society, and that learning has helped her grow. She added, “The deep understanding of humanity and the world emphasized by Professor Jaeseung Jeong will be a great asset not only to entrepreneurs but to all students pursuing diverse paths,” expressing support for her fellow students.
Inseo Jeong collaborated for over two years with Professor Hyunwook Ka of the School of Transdisciplinary Studies on software research for individuals with hearing impairments. After numerous algorithm designs and experimental iterations, their work, which considered the social scalability of technology, was presented at the world-renowned CSUN Assistive Technology Conference held at California State University, Northridge. The project has filed for a patent under KAIST’s name.
※ Presentation title: Evidence-Based Adaptive Transcription for Sign Language Users
KAIST is now working to complete the makerspace on the third floor of the Administrative Annex (N2) in Room 314 with a size of approximately 33 m2 during the summer. The makerspace is expected to serve as a hands-on, integrative learning environment where various ideas can be realized and implemented, playing a key role in fostering students’ creative problem-solving and integrative thinking skills.
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee stated, “The School of Transdisciplinary Studies is both an experimental ground and a practical field for overcoming the limitations of traditional education and nurturing global talents with creative problem-solving skills and integrative thinking, which are essential for the future.” He added, “KAIST will continue to lead efforts to cultivate question-asking, inquiry-driven, transdisciplinary talents and propose new paradigms for education and research.”
2025.07.24 View 2811 -
Professor Moon-Jeong Choi Appointed as an Advisor for the ITU's 'AI for Good Global Summit'
Professor Moon-Jeong Choi from KAIST’s Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy has been appointed as an advisor for "Innovate for Impact" at the AI for Good Global Summit, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
The ITU is the UN's oldest specialized agency in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) and serves as a crucial body for coordinating global ICT policies and standards.
This advisory committee was formed to explore global cooperation strategies for realizing the social value of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and promoting sustainable development. Experts from around the world are participating as committee members, with Professor Choi being the sole Korean representative.
<Moon-Jeong Choi from KAIST’s Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy>
The AI for Good Global Summit is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from July 8 to 11. It is organized by the ITU in collaboration with approximately 40 other UN-affiliated organizations. The summit aims to address global challenges facing humanity through the use of AI technology, focusing on key agenda items such as identifying AI application cases, discussing international policies and technical standards, and strengthening global partnerships.
As an "Innovate for Impact" advisor, Professor Choi will evaluate AI application cases from various countries, participating in case analyses primarily focused on public interest and social impact. The summit will move beyond discussions of technical performance to focus on how AI can contribute to the public good, with diverse case studies from around the world being debated. Notably, during a policy panel discussion at the summit, Professor Choi will discuss policy frameworks for AI transparency, inclusivity, and fairness under the theme of "Responsible AI Development."
Professor Choi commented, "I believe the social impact of technology mirrors the values and systems of each nation. As a society's core values permeate technology, the way AI is developed and used varies significantly from country to country. These differences lead to diverse manifestations of AI's impact on society." She further emphasized, "Korea's vision of becoming an AI powerhouse should not merely be about technological superiority, but rather about enhancing social capital through human-centered AI and realizing communal values that enable us to live together."
Professor Moon-Jeong Choi currently serves as the Dean of the Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy. She is also an external director for the National Information Society Agency (2023-present) and chair of the Korea-OECD Digital Society Initiative (2024-present).
For more information about the AI for Good Global Summit, please visit the official website: https://aiforgood.itu.int.
2025.07.08 View 2795 -
KAIST's Li-Fi - Achieves 100 Times Faster Speed and Enhanced Security of Wi-Fi
- KAIST-KRISS Develop 'On-Device Encryption Optical Transmitter' Based on Eco-Friendly Quantum Dots
- New Li-Fi Platform Technology Achieves High Performance with 17.4% Device Efficiency and 29,000 nit Brightness, Simultaneously Improving Transmission Speed and Security
- Presents New Methodology for High-Speed and Encrypted Communication Through Single-Device-Based Dual-Channel Optical Modulation
< Photo 1. (Front row from left) Seungmin Shin, First Author; Professor Himchan Cho; (Back row from left) Hyungdoh Lee, Seungwoo Lee, Wonbeom Lee; (Top left) Dr. Kyung-geun Lim >
Li-Fi (Light Fidelity) is a wireless communication technology that utilizes the visible light spectrum (400-800 THz), similar to LED light, offering speeds up to 100 times faster than existing Wi-Fi (up to 224 Gbps). While it has fewer limitations in available frequency allocation and less radio interference, it is relatively vulnerable to security breaches as anyone can access it. Korean researchers have now proposed a new Li-Fi platform that overcomes the limitations of conventional optical communication devices and can simultaneously enhance both transmission speed and security.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 24th that Professor Himchan Cho's research team from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Kyung-geun Lim of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS, President Ho-Seong Lee) under the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST, Chairman Young-Sik Kim), has developed 'on-device encryption optical communication device' technology for the utilization of 'Li-Fi,' which is attracting attention as a next-generation ultra-high-speed data communication.
Professor Cho's team created high-efficiency light-emitting triode devices using eco-friendly quantum dots (low-toxicity and sustainable materials). The device developed by the research team is a mechanism that generates light using an electric field. Specifically, the electric field is concentrated in 'tiny holes (pinholes) in the permeable electrode' and transmitted beyond the electrode. This device utilizes this principle to simultaneously process two input data streams.
Using this principle, the research team developed a technology called 'on-device encryption optical transmitter.' The core of this technology is that the device itself converts information into light and simultaneously encrypts it. This means that enhanced security data transmission is possible without the need for complex, separate equipment.
External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) is an indicator of how efficiently electricity is converted into light, with a general commercialization standard of about 20%. The newly developed device recorded an EQE of 17.4%, and its luminance was 29,000 nit, significantly exceeding the maximum brightness of a smartphone OLED screen, which is 2,000 nit, demonstrating a brightness more than 10 times higher.
< Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the device structure developed by the research team and encrypted communication >
Furthermore, to more accurately understand how this device converts information into light, the research team used a method called 'transient electroluminescence analysis.' They analyzed the light-emitting characteristics generated by the device when voltage was instantaneously applied for very short durations (hundreds of nanoseconds = billionths of a second). Through this analysis, they investigated the movement of charges within the device at hundreds of nanoseconds, elucidating the operating mechanism of dual-channel optical modulation implemented within a single device.
Professor Himchan Cho of KAIST stated, "This research overcomes the limitations of existing optical communication devices and proposes a new communication platform that can both increase transmission speed and enhance security."
< Photo 2. Professor Himchan Cho, Department of Materials Science and Engineering >
He added, "This technology, which strengthens security without additional equipment and simultaneously enables encryption and transmission, can be widely applied in various fields where security is crucial in the future."
This research, with Seungmin Shin, a Ph.D. candidate at KAIST's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, participating as the first author, and Professor Himchan Cho and Dr. Kyung-geun Lim of KRISS as co-corresponding authors, was published in the international journal 'Advanced Materials' on May 30th and was selected as an inside front cover paper.※ Paper Title: High-Efficiency Quantum Dot Permeable electrode Light-Emitting Triodes for Visible-Light Communications and On-Device Data Encryption※ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202503189
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST), and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.
2025.06.24 View 7451 -
KAIST Discovers Protein Switch that Turns Anti-Viral Immune Response On and Off
Even after the COVID-19 pandemic, various new infectious diseases continue to emerge, posing ongoing viral threats that demand robust and sustained immune defenses. However, excessive immune reactions can also harm body tissues, causing significant health issues. KAIST and an international research team have discovered a critical protein that acts as a 'switch' regulating immune responses to viruses. This breakthrough is expected to lay the groundwork for future infectious disease responses and autoimmune disease treatment strategies.
KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced on May 14 that a joint research team led by Professor Yoosik Kim from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST and Professor Seunghee Cha from University of Florida has discovered the mechanism by which double-stranded RNA derived from mitochondria amplifies immune responses. They identified the protein SLIRP as an 'immune switch' that regulates this process, playing a crucial role in both viral infections and autoimmune diseases.
< (From left) Master's candidate Yewon Yang, Professor Yoosik Kim and Ph.D. candidate Doyeong Ku of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering >
Autoimmune diseases arise when the immune system fails to differentiate between external pathogens and the body's own molecules, leading to self-directed attacks. Despite extensive research, the precise causes of excessive inflammatory conditions like Sjögren’s syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus remain unclear, and effective treatments are still limited.
To uncover the molecular mechanisms driving immune hyperactivation and to identify potential regulatory factors, the research team led by Professor Yoosik Kim focused on mitochondrial double-stranded RNA (mt-dsRNA), a genetic immunogenic material produced within cellular organelles. Since mt-dsRNA structurally resembles viral RNA, it can mistakenly trigger immune responses even in the absence of an actual viral infection.
The team discovered that SLIRP, a key regulator of mt-dsRNA, amplifies immune responses by stabilizing the RNA. They confirmed that SLIRP expression increases in experimental models simulating the tissues of autoimmune disease patients and viral infections. Conversely, suppressing SLIRP significantly reduced the immune response, underscoring its role as a critical factor in immune amplification.
This study also demonstrated the dual function of SLIRP in different contexts. In cells infected with human beta coronavirus OC43 and encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), SLIRP suppression led to reduced antiviral responses and increased viral replication. Meanwhile, in the blood and salivary gland cells of Sjögren’s syndrome patients, where both SLIRP and mt-dsRNA levels were elevated, suppressing SLIRP alleviated the abnormal immune response.
These findings highlight SLIRP as a key molecular switch that regulates immune responses in both infections and autoimmune diseases.
< Figure 1. Schematic diagram of antiviral signal amplification by SLIRP: SLIRP-based mt-dsRNA induction, cytoplasmic accumulation, and strong interferon response induction by positive feedback of immune response activation. Confirmation of the immune regulatory function of SLIRP in defense against autoimmune diseases Sjögren's syndrome, coronavirus, and encephalomyocarditis virus infection. >
Professor Yoosik Kim remarked, "Through this study, we have identified SLIRP as a crucial protein that drives immune amplification via mt-dsRNAs. Given its dual role in autoimmune diseases and viral infections, SLIRP presents a promising target for immune regulation therapies across various inflammatory disease contexts."
The study, with Ph.D. student Do-Young Ku (first author) and M.S. student Ye-Won Yang (second author) from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST as primary contributors, was published online in the journal Cell Reports on April 19, 2025.
※ Paper title: SLIRP amplifies antiviral signaling via positive feedback regulation and contributes to autoimmune diseases※ Main authors: Do-Young Ku (KAIST, first author), Ye-Won Yang (KAIST, second author), Seunghee Cha (University of Florida, corresponding author), Yoosik Kim (KAIST, corresponding author)
This study was supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Public Health Technology Research Program and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through Research Project (R01) funding.
2025.05.14 View 7544 -
A KAIST Team Develops Face-Conforming LED Mask Showing 340% Improved Efficacy in Deep Skin Elasticity
- A KAIST research team led by Professor Keon Jae Lee has developed a deep skin-stimulating LED mask which has been verified in clinical trials to improve dermis elasticity by 340%.
< Figure 1. Overall concept of face-fit surface-lighting micro-LEDs (FSLED) mask. a. Optical image of the FSLED mask showing uniform surface-lighting. schematic illustration of the FSLED mask. The 2D to 3D transformation procedure b. Difference in cosmetic effect on deep skin elasticity, wrinkles, and sagging between FSLED mask and CLED mask. (improvement percentage in eight weeks) >
Conventional LED masks, with their rigid design, fail to conform closely to the skin's contours. This limitation causes substantial light reflection, with up to 90% reflected over a distance of 2 cm, reducing light penetration and limiting stimulation of the deep skin layers essential for effective skin rejuvenation.
To address these challenges, Professor Lee's team developed a face-conforming surface lighting micro-LED (FSLED) mask, which can provide uniform photostimulation to the dermis. The key technology lies in the mask's ability to deliver uniform light to deep skin tissues while maintaining a conformal skin attachment. This is achieved through a 3D origami structure, integrated with 3,770 micro-LEDs and flexible surface light-diffusion layer, minimizing the gaps between the light source and the skin.
In clinical trials involving 33 participants, the FSLED mask demonstrated a 340% improvement in deep skin elasticity compared to conventional LED masks, proving its efficacy in significantly reducing skin wrinkles, sagging and aging.
Professor Keon Jae Lee said, “The FSLED mask provides cosmetic benefits to the entire facial dermis without the side effects of low-temperature burns, making home-care anti-aging treatment that enhances the quality of human life possible. The product is being manufactured by Fronics, KAIST startup company, and will be distributed globally through Amorepacific's network, with sales starting in November.”
This result titled “Clinical Validation of Face-fit Surface-lighting Micro Light-emitting Diode Mask for Skin Anti-aging Treatment”, in which Min Seo Kim, a student of the Master-Doctorate integrated program, and Jaehun An, a Ph.D. candidate, in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of KAIST, took part as co-first authors, was published in Advanced Materials on October 22nd, 2024 (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202411651).
Introductory Video: Face-conforming surface LED mask for skin anti-aging ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSccLwx8N_w )
2024.10.29 View 14767