KAIST

The 2008 World Micromachine Summit will be held at Hotel Riviera in Daejeon for a four-day run from April 30, drawing worldwide industrial and academic leaders in the micro-nano-technology (MNT).

Organizers say that 76 delegates and 56 observers from 19 countries and regions will take part in this year"s Micromachine Summit. Prof. Cho Young-ho of the Department of Bio & Brain Engineering of KAIST will play host to the annual event.

Participants will discuss the progress of micro-nano-technology in each country and region development of national policies in this area. The Summit was first organized in 1995 by the Micromachine Center of Japan with representatives from 10 countries participating. They were Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Korea was first invited to the conference in 1999. Since then, Korea has played an active role in promoting technological exchanges among nations and has conducted presentations and discussions on major technological breakthroughs.

During the four-day run, each delegation will outline their country"s policies and strategies and present local features on focused areas including this year"s main theme, "Micromachine towards Technology Convergence Era."

The gathering will offer a valuable opportunity for the participants to exchange and collect information on the current state of the MNT, as well as providing a forum for worldwide networking of leaders in the area.