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Op-Ed by Prof. David Helfman: Global Science and Education in the 21st Century
Professor David Helfman from the Department of Biological Sciences and Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology(https://sites.google.com/site/cellsignalinglaboratory/home) recently wrote an Op-Ed in the January 2013 issue of Journal of Happy Scientists and Engineers that ispublished by the Ministry of Science, Education and Technology, the Republic of Korea. In the article entitled “Global Science and Education in the 21st Century,” Professor Helfman addressed three important issues in science and education, which will have a great impact for the development of world-leading universities in Korea. For the article, please see the attachment.
2013.01.22
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Ph.D. students Hyowon Park and Won Ma receive Grand Prizes in Mathematics and Biology respectively.
Researchers in KAIST received best paper awards in two out of three fields at this year’s award ceremony for the “Second Annual Best Thesis Paper Award” held collectively by the Korea University Presidents’ Federation (with Chairman DaeSoon Lee) and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (with Director GilSang Jung). Two researchers from KAIST, Hyowon Park (Department of Mathematics) and Won Ma (Department of Biology) received best paper awards. This prize, given by the both the Korea University Presidents’ Federation and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology since last year, is awarded to researchers and assistant professors who write the most outstanding thesis papers in the field of basic sciences. Park, who received the best paper award this year, did research on graph braid groups. He was supervised by Professor Kihyung Ko, who received the best supervisor reward. Ma, who received the best paper award in the field of biological science, researched about the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder due to deficiency of the GIT1 synapse protein. His supervising professor also received the supervisor award. The award ceremony was held in the auditorium of the S-OIL headquarters in Seoul on November 30. Meanwhile, NASA researcher Jaehwa Lee received the best paper award in the field of earth science, and his supervising professor, Professor Jun Kim from Yonsei University who studies atmospheric science, received the best supervisor award.
2012.12.21
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Novel material that prevents health decline with age found
Professor Kim Dae Soo (Department of Biological Science), his research team, the Choong Nam University Medicine School, and various companies conducted collaborative research succeeded in developing a novel material that prevents health decline with age. The result was published in PLoS One Journal with the title “Beta-lapachone, a modulator of NAD metabolism, prevents health declines in aged mice”. Longevity and health can be obtained with reducing consumption of food and aerobic exercise. Professor Kim’s team focused on the fact that reduced consumption of food and aerobic exercise increase the coenzyme (NAD+) which suppresses the aging of cells. The research team discovered that by activating NQO1 enzyme with Beta-lapachone, the amount of NAD+ in the body increases even without reduction of food consumption or aerobic exercise. Even consumption of Beta-lapachone by aging mice caused an improved on the brain and exercise ability of the mice. It is expected that commercialization of Beta-lapachone will be possible as it is a chemical that is commonly found in herbs used in both the orient and the oxidant.
2012.12.21
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The 2nd 'Humanities Lecture for Citizens" to be held
The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) at KAIST will hold its 2nd ‘Humanities Lecture for Citizens’, making high level humanities and social science programs available to ordinary citizens. The program will start on October 16th and will provide one lecture a week for 8 weeks. The lectures will start every Tuesday from 3pm to 5pm at the KAIST international conference room in the N4 building. The lecture topics include love, psychology, food culture, public opinion, gender and technology- issues that are widely cited throughout society, but are hard to define. The program will end with field trips to the Daejeon Museum of Art and the Ungno Lee Museum of Art. Professor Shin Dong Won, who managed the program said that ‘this will be a great opportunity for citizens to participate in HSS lectures and to self reflect on social matters. Lecture Topics (in Korean) 이원재 KAIST 문화기술대학원 교수 <사랑의 역설과 소셜 네트워크> 김정훈 KAIST 인문사회과학과 교수 <심리학적 지식의 불편한 진실> 이석봉 대덕넷 대표 <디지털 시대의 아날로그 해법 ‘종이 신문’> 김동주 KAIST 인문사회과학과 교수 <우리 시대의 먹거리 문화에 대한 성찰 : 고대 인류는 무엇을 먹고 살았을까?> 신피터경섭 KAIST 인문사회과학과 교수<삼성 대 애플, 최후의 승자는?> 박현석 KAIST 인문사회과학과 교수 <여론 조사와 대통령 선거: 과연 국민의 뜻은 무엇인가?> 윤정로 KAIST 인문사회과학과 교수 <여성의 눈으로 본 과학 기술> 김원준 KAIST 경영과학과 교수가 <요즘 왜 자꾸 통섭, 융합이 화두인가?>
2012.10.20
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Professor Yoon Dong Ki becomes first Korean to Receive the Michi Nakata Prize
Professor Yoon Dong Ki (Graduate School of Nano Science and Technology) became the first Korean to receive the Michi Nakata Prize from the International Liquid Crystal Society. The Awards Ceremony was held on the 23rd of August in Mainz, Germany in the 24th Annual International Liquid Crystal Conference. The Michi Nakata Prize was initiated in 2008 and is rewarded every two years to a young scientist that made a ground breaking discovery or experimental result in the field of liquid crystal. Professor Yoon is the first Korean recipient of the Michi Nakata Prize. Professor Yoon is the founder of the patterning field that utilizes the defect structure formed by smectic displays. He succeeded in large scale patterning complex chiral nano structures that make up bent-core molecules. Professor Yoon’s experimental accomplishment was published in the Advanced Materials magazine and the Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. and also as the cover dissertation of Liquid Crystals magazine. Professor Yoon is currently working on Three Dimensional Nano Patterning of Supermolecular Liquid Crystal and is part of the World Class University organization.
2012.09.11
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Professor Kim Eun Joon receives In Chon Award
Professor Kim Eun Joon (Department of Biological Sciences) received the In Chon Awarded hosted by In Chon Memorial and Dong Ah Newspaper. The Award Ceremony will be held on the 8th of October in Seoul Lotte Hotel and Professor Kim will be given a medal and prize money amounting 100million Korean Won. Professor Kim is a world renowned research in the field of Synapses. Professor Kim graduated from the Department of Pharmacy in Pusan University, B.A. at KAIST, and Ph.D at Michigan University. He has been a Professor at KAIST since 2000.
2012.09.11
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Hosting of Third Annual 2012 Social Web International Workshop
KAIST Department of WebScience Engineering hosted the 2012 Social Web International Workshop in JaeJu Ramada Hotel. The 3rd Annual International Workshop involves the coming together of domestic and international experts on various fields like sociology, journalism, electronics, economics, and etc. to introduce and discuss the direction of social web’s numerous factions. Dr. Krishna Gummadi (Max Plank Research Institute), Professor Irwin King (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Dr. Winter Mason (Stevens Technology Research Institute), and Professor Daniele Quercia (Cambridge University) made up the international participants of the workshop. Professor Kim Yong Chan (Yonsei University), Professor Kim Ye Ran (KwangWoon University), Professor Park Ju Yong (Kyung Hee University), Professor Oh Hae Yeon and Professor Lee Won Jae (KAIST) made up the domestic participants to the workshop. The workshop was a place for free discussion of social networks and apps and the research direction of social sciences.
2012.08.21
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Ultra Elastic Electrode Material Developed
KAIST research team succeeded in developing the next generation flexible and elastic electrode material crucial in the development of flexible displays, wearable computers, and etc. Professor Jeon Seok Woo’s team of the department of Materials Science and Engineering succeeded in the development of a super elastic material. The result of the experiment was introduced as the research highlight in Nature Communications and is especially significant as the main driving force behind the achievement were domestic researchers. Professor Jeons team developed a structured three dimensional nano-porous structure over a 1inch by 1inch area that is 10micrometers in thickness. The structure is fabricated using world’s largest area three dimensional nano patterning technique. The nano-porous structure was injected with elastomeric material and was subsequently removed to yield an inverse three dimensional elastic nano material. The pores were infiltrated with liquid conductive material which yielded a super elastic flexible electrode. The fabricated electrode showed amazing elasticity levels and was able to light LED lamps in a 200% stretched state without decrease in electrical conductivity. Conventional methods included folding and expanding a material like an accordion or creating a mesh-like structure by making holes in the material. However these methods yielded materials with limited elasticity and even 100% stretching resulted in the drastic decrease in electrical conductivity. Professor Jeon expects the domestically developed technology to obtain the upper hand in the market and make great contributions in both science and society.
2012.07.26
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The hereditary factor of autism revealed
Korean researchers have successfully investigated the causes and hereditary factors for autistic behavior and proposed a new treatment method with fewer side effects. This research was jointly supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation as part of the Leading Researcher and Science Research Center Program The research findings were publishing in the June edition of Nature magazine and will also be introduced in the July edition of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, under the title ‘Autistic-like social behavior in Shank2-mutant mice improved by restoring NMDA receptor function’. The research team found that lack of Shank2 genes in mice, which are responsible for the production of synapse proteins, caused autistic-like behavior. The results strongly suggested that the Shank2 gene was linked to autistic behavior and that Shank2 deficiency induced autistic behaviors. Autism is a neural development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, repetitive behavior, mental retardation, anxiety and hyperactivity. Around 100 million people worldwide display symptoms of autistic behavior. Recent studies conducted by the University of Washington revealed that 1 out of 3 young adults who display autistic behavior do not fit into the workplace or get accepted to college, a much higher rate than any other disorder. However, an effective cure has not yet been developed and current treatments are limited to reducing repetitive behavior. The research team confirmed autistic-like social behavior in mice without the Shank2 genes and that the mice had decreased levels of neurotransmission in the NMDA receptor. The mice also showed damaged synaptic plasticity* in the hippocampus**. * Plasticity: ability of the connectionbetween two neurons to change in strength in response to transmission of information **Hippocampus: part of the brain responsible for short-term and long-term memory as well as spatial navigation. The research team also found out that, to restore the function of the NMDA receptor, the passive stimulation of certain receptors, such as the mGLuR5, yielded better treatment results than the direct stimulation of the NMDA. This greatly reduces the side effects associated with the direct stimulation of receptors, resulting in a more effective treatment method. This research successfully investigated the function of the Shank2 gene in the nerve tissue and showed how the reduced function of the NMDA receptor, due to the lack of the gene, resulted in autistic behavior. It also provided new possibilities for the treatment of autistic behavior and impaired social interaction
2012.06.24
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Flexible Nanogenerator Technology
KAIST research team successfully developed the foundation technology that will enable to fabrication of low cost, large area nanogenerator. Professor Lee Gun Jae’s team (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) published a dissertation on a nanogenerator using nanocomplexes as the cover dissertation of the June edition of Advanced Materials. The developed technology is receiving rave reviews for having overcome the complex and size limitations of the nanogenerator fabrication process. A nanogenerator is an electricity generator that uses materials in the nanoscale and uses piezoelectricity that creates electricity with the application of physical force. The generation technology using piezoelectricity was appointed as one of top 10 promising technologies by MIT in 2009 and was included in the 45 innovative technologies that will shake the world by Popular Science Magazine in 2010. The only nanogenerator thus far was the ZnO model suggested by Georgia Tech’s Professor Zhong Lin Wang in 2005. Professor Lee’s team used ceramic thin film material BaTiO3 which has 15~20 times greater piezoelectric capacity than ZnO and thus improved the overall performance of the device. The use of a nanocomplex allows large scale production and the simplification of the fabrication process itself. The team created a mixture of PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) with BaTiO3 and either of CNT (Carbon Nanotube) or RGO (Reduced Graphene Oxide) which has high electrical conductivity and applied this mixture to create a large scale nanogenerator.
2012.06.18
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Successful Development of Excavation System of Biomarkers containing Protein Decomposition Control Enzyme Information
A Korean team of researchers successfully developed a biomarker excavation system named E3Net that excavates biomarkers containing information of the enzymes that control the decomposition of proteins. The development of the system paved the possibility of development of new high quality biomarkers. *Biomarker: Molecular information of unique patterns derived from genes and proteins that allow the monitoring of physical changes from genetic or environmental causes. Professor Lee Kwan Soo’s team (Department of Biological Sciences) composed of Doctorate candidate Han Young Woong, Lee Ho Dong Ph.D. and Professor Park Jong Chul published a dissertation in the April edition of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. (Dissertation Title: A system for exploring E3-mediated regulatory networks of cellular functions). Professor Lee’s team compiled all available information of the enzyme that controls protein decomposition (E3 enzyme) and successfully compiled the inter-substrate network by extracting information from 20,000 biology related data base dissertations. The result was the development of the E3Net system that analyzes the related cell function and disease. Cells have a system that produces, destroys, and recycles proteins in response to the ever changing environmental conditions. Error in these processes leads to disease. Therefore finding the relationship between E3 enzymes that control the decomposition of proteins and the substrates will allow disease curing and prevention to become much easier. E3 enzyme is responsible for 80% of the protein decomposition and is therefore predicted to be related to various diseases. However the information on E3 enzyme and inter-substrate behavior are spread out among numerous dissertations and data bases which prevented methodological analysis of the role of the related cells and characteristics of the disease itself. Professor Lee’s team was successful in creating the E3Net that compiled 2,201 pieces of E3 substrate information, 4,896 pieces of substrate information, and 1,671 pieces of inter-substrate relationship information. This compilation allows for the systematic analysis of cells and diseases. The newly created network is 10 times larger than the existing network and is the first case where it is possible to accurately find the cell function and related diseases. It is anticipated that the use of the E3Net will allow the excavation of new biomarkers for the development of personalized drug systems. The research team applied the E3Net to find tens of new candidate biomarkers related to the major modern diseases like diabetes and cancer.
2012.05.30
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High-resolution Atomic Imaging of Specimens in Liquid Observed by Transmission Electron Microscopes Using Graphene Liquid Cells
Looking into specimens in liquid at the atomic level to understand nanoscale processes so far regarded as impossible to witnessThe Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced that a research team from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering has developed a technology that enables scientists and engineers to observe processes occurring in liquid media on the smallest possible scale which is less than a nanometer. Professor Jeong Yong Lee and Researcher Jong Min Yuk, in collaboration with Professors Paul Alivisatos’s and Alex Zettl’s groups at the University of California, Berkeley, succeeded in making a graphene liquid cell or capsule, confining an ultra-thin liquid film between layers of graphene, for real-time and in situ imagining of nanoscale processes in fluids with atomic-level resolution by a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Their research was published in the April 6, 2012 issue of Science. (http://www.sciencemag.org/content/336/6077/61.abstract) The graphene liquid cell (GLC) is composed of two sheets of graphene sandwiched to create a sealed chamber where a platinum growth solution is encapsulated in the form of a thin slice. Each graphene layer has a thickness of one carbon atom, the thinnest membrane that has ever been used to fabricate a liquid cell required for TEM. The research team peered inside the GLC to observe the growth and dynamics of platinum nanocrystals in solution as they coalesced into a larger size, during which the graphene membrane with the encapsulated liquid remained intact. The researchers from KAIST and the UC Berkeley identified important features in the ongoing process of the nanocrystals’ coalescence and their expansion through coalescence to form certain shapes by imaging the phenomena with atomic-level resolution. Professor Lee said, “It has now become possible for scientists to observe what is happening in liquids on an atomic level under transmission electron microscopes.” Researcher Yuk, one of the first authors of the paper, explained his research work. “This research will promote other fields of study related to materials in a fluid stage including physical, chemical, and biological phenomena at the atomic level and promises numerous applications in the future. Pending further studies on liquid microscopy, the full application of a graphene-liquid-cell (GLC) TEM to biological samples is yet to be confirmed. Nonetheless, the GLC is the most effective technique developed today to sustain the natural state of fluid samples or species suspended in the liquid for a TEM imaging.” The transmission electron microscope (TEM), first introduced in the 1930s, produces images at a significantly higher resolution than light microscopes, allowing users to examine the smallest level of physical, chemical, and biological phenomena. Observations by TEM with atomic resolution, however, have been limited to solid and/or frozen samples, and thus it has previously been impossible to study the real time fluid dynamics of liquid phases. TEM imaging is performed in a high vacuum chamber in which a thin slice of the imaged sample is situated, and an electron beam passes through the slice to create an image. In this process, a liquid medium, unlike solid or frozen samples, evaporates, making it difficult to observe under TEM. Attempts to produce a liquid capsule have thus far been made with electron-transparent membranes of such materials as silicon nitride or silicon oxide; such liquid capsules are relatively thick (tens to one hundred nanometers), however, resulting in poor electron transmittance with a reduced resolution of only a few nanometers. Silicon nitride is 25 nanometers thick, whereas graphene is only 0.34 nanometers. Graphene, most commonly found in bulk graphite, is the thinnest material made out of carbon atoms. It has unique properties such as mechanical tensile strength, high flexibility, impermeability to small molecules, and high electrical conductivity. Graphene is an excellent material to hold micro- and nanoscopic objects for observation in a transmission electron microscope by minimizing scattering of the electron beam that irradiates a liquid sample while reducing charging and heating effects. ### Figure 1. Schematic illustration of graphene liquid cells. Sandwiched two sheets of graphene encapsulate a platinum growth solution. Figure 2. In-situ TEM observation of nanocrystal growth and shape evolution. TEM images of platinum nanocrystal coalescence and their faceting in the growth solution.
2012.04.23
View 11050
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