OCT
-
KAIST confers Honorary Doctorate of Science on NYU President Emeritus John Edward Sexton
< Photo 1. NYU President Emeritus John Edward Sexton posing with KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee holding the Honorary Doctorate at the KAIST Commencement Ceremony >
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced that it conferred an honorary doctorate of science degree on NYU President Emeritus John Edward Sexton at the Commencement Ceremony held on the 17th.
An official from KAIST explained, "KAIST is conferring an honorary doctorate for President Sexton's longstanding leadership in higher education, and for his contributions to the process of establishing the groundwork for collaboration with NYU through which KAIST is to become a leading global value-creating university."
President Emeritus Sexton served as the president of NYU from 2002 to 2015, establishing two degree-granting campuses and several global academic sites of NYU around the world. Because of its steady rise in university rankings, such as its medical school earning the number two position in the United States, not only has NYU joined the ranks of first-class universities, but it has also achieved remarkable growth, with the number of students increasing dramatically from 29,000 to 60,000.
In addition, during his tenure as president at NYU, President Emeritus Sexton successfully expanded fundraising to support the University’s academic goals. During his 14-year tenure as president, he organized initiatives such as 'Raise $1 Million Every Day' and 'Call to Action' to raise $4.9 billion in donations, the largest in NYU history to date.
President Emeritus Sexton is famous for teaching full time even during his presidential tenure and for the anecdotes about his special care for students, addressing the school members as “family”. In particular, he is famous for giving hugs to all graduates at the commencement ceremony. Minister Park Jin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea, who graduated from NYU School of Law in 1999 with a Master of Studies in Law, is one of the graduates who received President Sexton's hug.
President Emeritus Sexton, born in 1942, visited KAIST on the 17th to receive the honorary doctorate and to encourage the expedited development of the KAIST-NYU Joint Campus, for which he helped lay the foundation.
President Emeritus Sexton said, "I like the slogan, 'Onward and upward together,'" and added, "I look forward to having the two universities achieve their shared vision of becoming the world-class universities together through cooperation to establish the KAIST-NYU Joint Campus."
< Photo 2. NYU President Emeritus John Edward Sexton giving the acceptance speech at the KAIST Commencement Ceremony >
The US Ambassador to Korea, the Honorable Philip Goldberg, also attended the commencement ceremony at KAIST to congratulate President Emeritus Sexton on the conferment of the honorary doctorate. Ambassador Goldberg has been serving as the US Ambassador to Korea since July of last year.
President Kwang Hyung Lee said, “President Emeritus Sexton was a president best described as an innovator who promoted diversity in education and pursued academic excellence throughout his life.” He went on to say, “The KAIST-NYU Joint Campus, which will be completed on the foundation laid by President Emeritus Sexton, will serve as the focal point that will attract global talents flooding into New York by the driving force created from the synergy of the two universities as well as serving as a starting point for KAIST's outstanding talents to pursue their dreams toward the world.”
KAIST signed a cooperation agreement with NYU in June of 2022 to build a joint campus, and held a presentation of signage for the KAIST-NYU Joint Campus in September. Currently, about 60 faculty members are planning to begin joint research initiatives in seven fields, including robotics, AI, brain sciences, and climate change. In addition, cooperation in the field of education, including student exchange, minors, double majors, and joint degrees, is under discussion.
2023.02.17 View 2954 -
Commencement Ceremony Honors the Class of 2022
Third online commencement ceremony since the pandemic outbreak celebrates 2741 graduates
The 2022 commencement ceremony convened online on February 18 to celebrate and award degrees to the Class of 2022. The graduating class of 2022 included 663 PhDs, 1,383 Masters, and 695 Bachelors. The limited number of attendees included 86 graduate representatives and approximately 20 faculty members in senior leadership, as well as Korea’s Minister of Science and ICT Hyesook Lim. The ceremony was livestreamed on KAIST’s YouTube channel.
Valedictorian Ji-Young Lee from the Department of Physics received the Minister of Science and ICT’s Award. Yu-Jin Bang from the School of Business and Technology Management was the Awardee of the Chairman of the KAIST Board of Trustees and the KAIST Presidential Awardee was Jong-Hwan Lee from the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
KAIST conferred honorary doctorates to Honorary Chairman Jae-Chul Kim of Dongwon Group and Chairman Sung-Hwan Chang of Samsung Brush. Chairman Kim, whose donation funded the establishment of the Kim Jae-Chul Graduate School of AI, was awarded an honorary doctorate of science technology. Chairman Chang was awarded an honorary doctorate of business administration in recognition of his funding in the fields of medical science and engineering at KAIST.
This year’s undergraduate commencement speaker was Hye-Lin Park from the School of Computing. She has severe cerebral palsy and was the first student admitted to KAIST with a severe physical handicap.
“I loved mathematics and wanted to become a mathematician. When I learned programming in my second year, I was so mesmerized by it that I transferred to the School of Computing,” said Park, who plans to continue studying programming languages in graduate school at KAIST.
“I spent my entire life of 24 years in this beautiful wheelchair. Without the support and help of my parents, friends, and my special teachers who helped me move and study at the campus, I would not have made it this far,” said Park. For easier access to classrooms and facilities, KAIST started to remodel its facilities to make the entrance of buildings more wheelchair-friendly. Park made many suggestions to the Office of Student Life and the Facilities Management Office on how to ease mobility for handicapped people on campus. The physical education course that was required for graduation was also revised to stipulate exceptions.
Minister Lim stressed the role of young scientists and researchers in these times of digital transformation dominated by AI and the metaverse. She encouraged the graduates to carry out their dreams with warm hearts and challenging spirits.
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee also stressed the power of dreams, calling for graduates to dream big even in times of uncertainty.
“Humanity stands at an inflection point in history. The fourth industrial revolution and outbreak of Covid-19 have unfolded the grand global transformation. Although the future gives us new opportunities, it also comes with anxiety regarding the uncertainties ahead.”
“Dreams make your heart race and push us to live life to the fullest. Dreams will help you keep moving forward even in the face of adversity,” he said.
2022.02.18 View 3836 -
Marien Buissonniere Awarded the 9th Grand Award for Future Strategy
Global healthcare and humanitarian activist honored by the Grand Award for Future Strategy
The Moon Soul Graduate School of Future Strategy awarded the 9th Grand Award for Future Strategy to Marine Buissonniere, an independent advisor and practitioner in the fields of global health and humanitarian action. She currently works as a senior advisor to the Prevent Epidemics team at Resolve to Save Lives. She also co-chairs Doctors Without Borders’ Transformational Investment Capacity.
Buissonniere was recognized for designing and implementing global response strategies in global strife and disaster stricken areas over the 25 years while serving as secretary general of Doctors Without Borders. She has been working with various government agencies around the world including Resolve to Save Lives to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and preparing global future strategies for the post-pandemic era.
The Grand Award for Future Strategy recognizes individual and organization who have contributed to the nation and humanity through future research and strategies in the fields of science and technology, economy and industry, society and culture, politics and governance, and resources and environment.
The selection committee place particular emphasis on her humanitarian efforts toward North Korea. She was in charge of the task force for resuming the health project in North Korea and facilitated the North Korean program in 2002. She also played a significant role in raising awareness of North Korea’s humanitarian issues in the international community by lecturing at Columbia and Princeton.
Buissonniere said during the awards ceremony held online on November 5, “I am very grateful to receive this award from KAIST, a world’s top-flight university as well as from South Korea related to the Korean Peninsula and North Korea, where I have spent most of my life. What makes this award even more special is it is about the international medical relief activities and system innovations that I’ve devoted my life to over the last 25 years. I am going to continue this journey to help many people in difficult situations. Eventually, I would like to make it possible for those people in need to make their own future by themselves.”
2021.11.11 View 2859 -
Virtual Commencement Ceremony Honors the Class of 2020
The KAIST community gathered online to celebrate the 2020 graduating class. The blended ceremony conferred their hard-earned degrees on August 28. The belated celebration, which was postponed from February 21 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, honored the 2846 graduates with live streaming on YouTube beginning at 2:00 pm. The graduates include 721 PhDs and 1399 master’s degree holders.
The government raised its social distancing guidelines to level two out of three on August 23 as the second wave of the virus hit the nation. Level two guidelines prohibit the gathering of more than 50 persons indoors or 100 persons outdoors.
For the virtual ceremony, the Office of Student Affairs and Policy announced a list of 67 graduates who signed up to participate in the graduation ceremony. Graduates were divided into three groups to attend at three different places and watch the ceremony via Zoom. No family and friends of the graduates were allowed to participate at the campus.
This year’s valedictorian, Kon-Yong Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, received the Award of Minister of Science and Technology. Salutorian Hee-Kwang Roh from the Department of Chemistry received the Award of the KAIST Board of Trustees, while the recipient of the KAIST Presidential Award was Hong Jae-Min from the School of Computing.
President Sung-Chul Shin, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Woo-Sik Kim, former Minister of Science and Technology and former Provost at KAIST Dr. KunMo Chung, and a very limited number of faculty and staff members officiated the commencement ceremony from the KAIST auditorium.
President Shin in his commencement speech applauded the graduates’ hard work and dedication and delivered a very special congratulatory message to them. He encouraged the new graduates to be courageous enough to deal with these new challenges as well as future uncertainties, during the greatest transformation brought about by COVID-19.
“Instead of following behind others as a fast follower, we should take the initiative and walk down new paths as a first mover.” He also stressed, “We can transform this crisis into an opportunity by practicing the C3 values KAIST pursues: Challenging, Creating, and Caring.”
As new alumni of Korea’s top science and technology university, he said, “Our graduates should focus on creating the world’s best, first, or only one in their research or their work.” However, he also pointed out the importance of a caring mind for others when working together.
At the ceremony, KAIST conferred an honorary doctorate degree to Dr. Younghoon David Kim, CEO and Chairman of Daesung Group, in recognition of his lifetime dedication to making innovations in the energy industry.
Daesung Group is a leading energy company in Korea which manufactures and supplies natural gas for industries and home users. Dr. Kim is committed to making efficient energy sources by advancing cutting-energy sciences and disruptive technologies. He has served as chairman of the World Energy Council since 2016.
In his acceptance speech, Kim stressed the Grand Energy Transition as a new driving force in the future energy industry for maximizing energy efficiency.
“Since energy is the most basic foundation for all industries, improvements in energy efficiency translate into benefits for all related industries in terms of its efficiency and productivity.”
“The Grand Energy Transition is progressing widely and rapidly across the entire value chain of energy production, distribution, and consumption with decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization serving as its driving force.”
He went on, “We should regard energy efficiency not as the fifth fuel but the first primary fuel.”
(END)
2020.08.28 View 6476 -
Scientist of October, Professor Haeshin Lee
(Professor Haeshin Lee from the Department of Chemistry)
Professor Haeshin Lee from the Department of Chemistry received the ‘Science and Technology Award of October’ from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea for his contribution to developing an antibleeding injection needle. This novel outcome will fundamentally prevent the problem of secondary infections of AIDS, Ebola and Hepatitis viruses transmitting from patients to medical teams.
This needle’s surface is coated with hemostatic materials. Its concept is simple and the key to this technology is to make materials that are firmly coated on the needle so that they can endure frictional force when being injected into skin and blood vessels. Moreover, the materials should be adhesive to skin and the interior of blood vessels, but harmless to humans.
Professor Lee found a solution from natural polymer ingredients. Catecholamine can be found in mussels. Professor Lee conjugated catechol groups on the chitosan backbone. He applied this mussel-inspired adhesive polymer Chitosan-catechol, which immediately forms an adhesive layer with blood, as a bioadhesion for the antibleeding injection needle.
Professor Lee said, “Chitosan-catechol, which copies the adhesive mechanism of mussels, shows high solubility in physiological saline as well as great mucoadhesion. Hence, it is perfectly suitable for coating the injection needle. Combining it with proteins allows for efficient drug delivery to the heart, which is a challenging injection location, so it will be also useful for treating incurable heart disease.”
2018.10.05 View 5440 -
Park Chosen for Principality of Monaco/ITER Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Jaesun Park in the Integrated Master's and Doctoral Degree Program )
Jaesun Park from the Department of Physics, was selected as a Principality of Monaco/ITER Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient.
This program was established by the Principality of Monaco and an international organization, ITER, in January 2008 to support postdoctoral researchers who will be working for ITER. It is a relatively competitive program because it chooses only five people every two years.
The selected postdoctoral researchers will be working for ITER for two years while conducting research projects with outstanding researchers in the field of nuclear fusion.
ITER, one of the most ambitious energy projects, was launched in 1985 with the purpose of carrying out joint research on nuclear fusion energy. Currently, about 800 people are working for this organization.
Seven ITER member countries (i.e. Korea, the European Union, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, and India) are sharing the expenses and engaging in mega-scale science projects. Korea shares 9.1% (20 billion Euro) of the total construction costs of ITER experimental devices.
Park will begin his duties in early 2019.
2018.05.04 View 5649 -
GSIS Graduates Its First Doctor
The Graduate School of Information Security at KAIST (GSIS) granted its first doctoral degree to Il-Goo Lee at the university’s 2016 commencement on February 19, 2016.
Lee received the degree for his dissertation entitled “Interference-Aware Secure Communications for Wireless LANs.”
He explained the background of his research:
“As we use wireless technology more and more in areas of the Internet of Things (IoT), unmanned vehicles, and drones, information security will become an issue of major concern. I would like to contribute to the advancement of communications technology to help minimize wireless interference between devices while ensuring their optimal performance.”
Based on his research, he developed a communications technique to increase wireless devices’ energy efficiency and the level of their security, and created a prototype to showcase that technique.
He plans to continue his research in the development of the next generation WiFi chip sets to protect the information security of IoT and wireless devices.
Since its establishment in March 2011, KAIST’s GSIS has conferred 50 master’s and one doctoral degrees.
2016.02.18 View 5929 -
A Technology Holding Company Establishes Two Companies Based on Technologies Developed at KAIST
Mirae Holdings is a technology holding company created by four science and technology universities, KAIST, DIGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology), GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology), and UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) in 2014 to commercialize the universities’ research achievements. The company identifies promising technologies for commercialization, makes business plans, establishes venture capitals, and invests in startup companies.
Over the past year, Mirae Holdings has established two venture companies based on the technologies developed at KAIST. In September 2014, it founded Cresem Inc., a company used the anisotropic conductive film (ACF) bonding technology, which was developed by Professor Kyung-Wook Paik of the Material Science and Engineering Department at KAIST. Cresem provides a technology to bond electronic parts ultrasonically. The company is expected to have 860,000 USD worth of sales within the first year of its launching.
Last June, Mirae Holdings created another company, Doctor Kitchen, with the technology developed by Professor Gwan-Su Yi of the Bio and Brain Engineering Department at KAIST. Doctor Kitchen supplies precooked food, which helps diabetic patients regulate their diet. The company offers a personalized diet plan to customers so that they can effectively manage their disease and monitor their blood sugar level efficiently.
The Chief Executive Officer of Mirae Holdings, Young-Ho Kim, said, “We can assist KAIST researchers who aspire to create a company based on their research outcomes through various stages of startup services such as making business plans, securing venture capitals, and networking with existing businesses.”
Young-Ho Kim (left in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Mirae Holdings, holds a certificate of company registration with Sang-Min Oh (right in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Cresem.
Young-Ho Kim (left in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Mirae Holdings, holds a certificate of company registration with Jae-Yeun Park (right in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Dr. Kitchen.
2015.07.29 View 7909 -
KAIST doctoral student wins prize at 2014 International Military Science and Technology Fair
Min-Kyu Yoo (far left), a doctoral student in the Department of Materials Science Engineering, KAIST, received a silver prize at the 2014 International Military Science and Technology Fair held from May 29 to June 1, 2014 at KINTEX, Ilsan City, Korea.
Yoo presented a paper on aluminum composite materials that were reinforced by carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes reinforced aluminum composite materials have strong mechanical properties, and some nations have used them to manufacture battle tanks.
Aluminum generates hydrogen in an alkaline solution. Utilizing this property and the galvanic corrosion of carbon nanotubes and aluminums, Yoo developed a hydrogen energy system that is fueled with composite materials of carbon nanotube reinforced aluminum. He produced 5 kW electric power and maintained it 22 days using 10 kg of the composite materials for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell and its auxiliary power system.
Yoo’s research will alleviate the difficulty of transporting fuels during wartime and can be applied to the development of an auxiliary power system for next generation aircrafts and battle tanks.
2014.06.24 View 6496 -
President Steve Kang Received an Honorary Degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University
At its 71st Commencement held on May 20, 2014, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) in Teaneck, NJ, conferred an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Science) on President Steve Kang. FDU is President Kang’s alma mater. He received a bachelor’s degree from FDU in electrical engineering in 1970.
For details, please refer to the press statement released by FDU on May 20, 2014.
Fairleigh Dickinson University holds 71st Commencement on May 20
During the Commencement ceremony, the University will confer honorary degrees on Joyce Carol Oates, Rachel Robinson, and Sung Mo “Steve” Kang (BSEE’70).
http://inside.fdu.edu/prpt/71st_commencement.html
2014.05.25 View 6123 -
High Resolution 3D Blood Vessel Endoscope System Developed
Professor Wangyeol Oh of KAIST’s Mechanical Engineering Department has succeeded in developing an optical imaging endoscope system that employs an imaging velocity, which is up to 3.5 times faster than the previous systems. Furthermore, he has utilized this endoscope to acquire the world’s first high-resolution 3D images of the insides of in vivo blood vessel.
Professor Oh’s work is Korea’s first development of blood vessel endoscope system, possessing an imaging speed, resolution, imaging quality, and image-capture area. The system can also simultaneously perform a functional imaging, such as polarized imaging, which is advantageous for identifying the vulnerability of the blood vessel walls.
The Endoscopic Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) System provides the highest resolution that is used to diagnose cardiovascular diseases, represented mainly by myocardial infarction.
However, the previous system was not fast enough to take images inside of the vessels, and therefore it was often impossible to accurately identify and analyze the vessel condition. To achieve an in vivo blood vessel optical imaging in clinical trials, the endoscope needed to be inserted, after which a clear liquid flows instantly, and pictures can be taken in only a few seconds.
The KAIST research team proposed a solution for such problem by developing a high-speed, high-resolution optical tomographic imaging system, a flexible endoscope with a diameter of 0.8 mm, as well as a device that can scan the imaging light within the blood vessels at high speed. Then, these devices were combined to visualize the internal structure of the vessel wall.
Using the developed system, the researchers were able to obtain high-resolution images of about 7 cm blood vessels of a rabbit’s aorta, which is similar size to human’s coronary arteries. The tomography scan took only 5.8 seconds, at a speed of 350 scans per second in all three directions with a resolution of 10~35㎛.
If the images are taken every 200 ㎛, like the currently available commercial vascular imaging endoscopes, a 7cm length vessel can be imaged in only one second.
Professor Wangyeol Oh said, “Our newly developed blood vessel endoscope system was tested by imaging a live animal’s blood vessels, which is similar to human blood vessels. The result was very successful.”
“Collaborating closely with hospitals, we are preparing to produce the imaging of an animal’s coronary arteries, which is similar in size to the human heart,” commented Professor Oh on the future clinical application and commercialization of the endoscope system. He added, “After such procedures, the technique can be applied in clinical patients within a few years.”
Professor Oh’s research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Global Frontier Project by the Korean government. The research results were published in the 2014 January’s edition of Biomedical Optics Express.
Figure 1: End portion of optical endoscope (upper left)
Figure 2: High-speed optical scanning unit of the endoscope (top right)
Figure 3: High-resolution images of the inside of in vivo animal blood vessels (in the direction of vascular circumference and length)
Figure 4: High-resolution images of the inside of in vivo animal blood vessels (in the direction of the vein depth)
2014.03.25 View 8144 -
Former Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. KunMo Chung, Awarded KAIST Honorary Doctorate
KAIST will confer an honorary doctorate on former minister of Science and Technology, Dr. KunMo Chung, at the 2014 KAIST graduation ceremony on Friday, February, 21.Dr. Chung presented the Survey Report for the Establishment of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIS) to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1969. This proposal for nurturing the advanced science technology elite and boost Korean industrial development became the foundation for KAIS, which is now known as KAIST.After passing the KAIS Foundation Law in 1970, Dr. Chung designed the faculty room, secured faculty members, and acquired a $6 million education loan from the USAID. Dr. Chung devoted himself to research and teaching. His first appointment was the position of assistant professor at the University of South Florida, followed by research professor positions at the Princeton Nuclear Fusion Research Center and MIT Nuclear Engineering, and an associate professor position in the Department of Electrophysics at the Polytechnic Institute of New York.When KAIS was founded on Feb. 16, 1971, 31-year-old Dr. KunMo Chung became the provost and a professor in the Electronic and Electrical Science Department where he made outstanding contributions to the development of science and technology in Korea.
2014.02.21 View 7609