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Thomson Reuters Nominates Distinguished Professor Ryong Ryoo for Its 2014 Nobel Citation Laureates in Chemistry
The Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters announced on September 25th its “2014 Citation Laureates,” a list of candidates considered likely to win the Nobel Prize in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and economics. The annual Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates will be recognized in perpetuity as contenders for a Nobel Prize.
Distinguished Professor Ryong Ryoo of the Department of Chemistry, KAIST, has been nominated for the 2014 Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates in Chemistry. He is the first Korean scientist who has made the list. In addition to Professor Ryoo, seven other scientists were selected as possible contenders for the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, or in the future.
Professor Ryoo was named alongside Charles T. Kresge, Chief Technology Officer of Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, and Galen D. Stucky, Professor of the Department Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for their research on the design of functional mesoporous materials (http://sciencewatch.com/nobel/2014-predictions/chemistry-laureates). Mesoporous materials have high surface areas with narrow pore-sized distribution and tunable pores diameters, offering promising properties and applications in various areas including adsorption, separation, sensing, and catalysis.
Professor Ryoo has focused his research interest in the synthesis of new functional nanoporous materials such as hierarchical zeolites, mesoporous silicas, carbons, and organic-inorganic composite materials that can be used for advanced applications in the production of alternative energy sources and in green chemical processes.
According to the press release by the Thomson Reuters, the list of the 2014 Nobel predictions includes 27 researchers representing 27 distinct academic and research organizations across nine different countries.
The annual Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates study is based on the analysis of proprietary data from the research and citation database, identifying the most influential researchers in the categories of chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, and economics. Since its inception in 2002, the study has accurately forecasted 35 Nobel Prize winners. For the full text of the press release, please go to: http://thomsonreuters.com/press-releases/092014/2014-nobel-laureates-predictions.
2014.09.29 View 11244 -
President of KAIST Becomes an International Board Member of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in Russia
President Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang of KAIST has been appointed a member of the International Board of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) in 2014, a leading Russian university specializing in theoretical and applied physics, mathematics, and related science and technology disciplines.
President Kang is the only scientist from Asia to become the latest member of the MIPT International Board. Consisting of 11 highly regarded scientists and scholars from all around the world, such as Professor Carlo Rubbia, a Nobel laureate in physics in 1984, President Alexander F. Andreev of the Kapitsa Institute for Physical Problems, President Ralph Eichler of the Zurich Federal Institute of Technology, and President Jaques Biot of the École Polytechnique Paris. Currently, President Leo Rafael Raif of MIT chairs the Board.
MIPT created the International Board (http://mipt.ru/en/about/general/international-board/) in 2013 to promote collaboration in international research and educational programs as well as to enhance its global visibility in the international community.
MIPT was established in 1946 by a group of prominent Soviet scientists including Pyotr Kapitsa, a Nobel laureate in physics in 1978, and was approved later in 1951 by the government of the former Soviet Union as a state university. Often referred as the “Russian MIT,” MIPT has earned international and domestic recognition through its unique educational system, providing students with opportunities for rigorous education in fundamental science and extensive research at leading research institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
2014.09.28 View 6450 -
KAIST and University of Waterloo in Canada Agree to Enhance Cooperation
KAIST and the University of Waterloo, Canada, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore collaboration in education and research in areas such as computer science, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, quantum computing, and nanotechnology. The two universities also agreed to expand their cooperation in entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and startup support programs. The signing ceremony took place at the University of Waterloo (UW) in Ontario, Canada, on September 22, 2014.
Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of UW, noted that “KAIST and the University of Waterloo have so much in common. Both institutions pursue excellence in teaching and research, attract some of the highest quality students and faculty alike, and seek out innovation that has the potential to change the world.”
President Steve Kang said, “The University of Waterloo has been leading the co-operative education field, offering valuable opportunities to young students to receive classroom-based education with practical work experience. This has been an important approach in higher education, and perhaps more so in this age when technological innovations create new values for social advancement and new opportunities for better growth. I hope that through the collaboration, KAIST and the University of Waterloo will produce research outcomes with global recognition.”
The University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada’s technology hub, has become one of the nation’s leading comprehensive universities in just half a century. The university is home to the world’s largest post-secondary co-operative education program, encouraging enterprising partnerships in learning and research.
The picture shows the signing of the MOU by President Steve Kang (right) and President and Vice-chancellor Feridun Hamdullahpur (left).
2014.09.26 View 7608 -
Ultra-high Resolution 2-dimentional Real-time Image Capture with Super Lens
Ultra-high Resolution 2-dimentional Real-time Image Capture with Super Lens
Applications to high-precision semiconductor processing or intracellular structures observation are possible.
A joint research team led by Professors Yongkeun Park and Yong-Hoon Cho from the Department of Physics, KAIST, has succeeded in capturing real-time 2D images at a resolution of 100 nm (nanometers), which was impossible with optical lens due to the diffraction limit of light until now. Its future application includes high-precision semiconductor manufacturing process or observation of intracellular structures.
This research follows the past research of the super-lens developed by Professor Park last April, using paint spray to observe images that have three times higher resolution than those discovered by conventional optical lens.
Since optical lens utilize the refraction of light, the diffraction limit, which prevents achieving focus smaller than the wavelength of light, has always been a barrier for acquiring high-resolution images. In the past, it was impossible to observe objects less than the size of 200 to 300 nm in the visible light spectrum.
In order to solve the problem of near-field extinction due to scattering of light, the research team used spray paint consisting of nano-particles massed with dense scattering materials to obtain high-resolution information.
Then, by calculating and restoring the first scattering shape of light using the time reversibility of light, the researchers were able to overcome the diffraction limit. The original position of an object to be observed is obtained by deriving the complex trajectory of the light, and reversing the time to locate the particular position of the object.
Professor Park said, “This new technology can be used as the core technology in all fields which require optical measurement and control. The existing electron microscopy cannot observe cells without destroying them, but the new technology allows us to visualize at ultra-high resolution without destruction.”
The research results were published online in the 9th edition of Physical Review Letters, a prestigious international journal in the field of physics.
2014.09.23 View 8991 -
Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee Gives Special Lecture at Tianjin University, China
Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST gave a special lecture at Tianjin University, China, on September 12, 2014.
The university has invited prestigious scholars and scientists including Nobel Prize laureates from all around the world to their program called the "BeiYang Lecture Series."
Professor Lee said:
"The lecture series has invited many eminent global leaders such as Dr. Steven Chu, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997 and also served the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. It is a great honor to participate in the program as a speaker. The university told me that in recognition of my research in the development of sustainable biochemical industry through systems metabolic engineering, I was invited to speak.”
Professor Lee presented his speech entitled “Production of Chemical Materials through Microorganism Metabolic Systems Engineering” and took questions from the audience.
Professor Lee developed the world’s most efficient microorganism and bioprocess such as succinate, butanol, and engineering plastic raw materials. In recent years, he has succeeded in producing a small quantity of gasoline through converting in-vivo generated fatty acids.
2014.09.16 View 8451 -
Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee Participates in the 2014 Summer Davos Forum
Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, was invited to lead four sessions at the Annual Meeting 2014, the World Economic Forum, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, which was held in Tianjin, China, from September 10th to 12th.
Two of the four sessions Professor Lee participated in were held on September 10th. At the first session entitled “Biotechnology Ecosystem,” he examined with other panelists the future of bioengineering in depth and discussed major policies and industry trends that will be necessary for the development of future biotechnologies.
Professor Lee later attended the “Strategic Shifts in Healthcare” session as a moderator. Issues related to transforming the health industry such as the next-generation genomics, mobile health and telemedicine, and wearable devices and predictive analytics were addressed.
On September 12, Professor Lee joined the “IdeasLab with KAIST” and gave a presentation on nanotechnology. There was a total of ten IdeasLab sessions held at the Summer Davos Forum, and KAIST was the only Korean university ever invited to host this session. In addition to Professor Lee’s presentation, three more presentations were made by KAIST professors on such topics as “Sustainable Energy and Materials” and “Next-generation Semiconductors.”
Lastly, Professor Lee participated in the “Global Promising Technology” session with the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council members. At this session, he explained the selection of the “World’s Top 10 Most Promising Technologies” and “Bio Sector’s Top 10 Technologies” and led discussions about the “2015 Top 10 Technologies” with the council members.
The Davos Forum has been announcing the “World’s Top 10 Most Promising Technologies” since 2012, and Professor Lee has played a key role in the selection while working as the Chairman of Global Agenda Council. The selection results are presented at the Davos Forum every year and have attracted a lot of attention from around the world.
2014.09.15 View 10731 -
Kiseok Song, a Ph.D. candidate in the Electrical Engineering Department, receives the 2014 Marconi Society Young Scholar Award
Established
in 1974 to commemorate the eminent Italian inventor and electrical engineer,
Guglielmo Marconi, the Marconi Society has recognized significant contributions
in science and technology by awarding the Marconi Prize, with an annual USD
100,000 grant, to a living scientist who has made great advancements in
communications technology.
Along
with the Marconi Prize, the Society has been presenting the Young Scholars
Awards over the past six years to reward young and emerging scientists’ brilliant
academic and research achievements as well as their entrepreneurship. For this
year’s seventh Young Scholar Awards, a KAIST doctoral student was selected as
one of the two recipients.
Kiseok
Song, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical Engineering, KAIST, has
been named as a 2014 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar. The Marconi Society said that Song was being recognized for "his
academic achievements and leadership in the field of communications and
information science,” according to a press release distributed by the Society on August 28, 2014.
Studying
under the advice of Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo of the Department of Electrical
Engineering at KAIST, Song has developed bio-medical System on a Chip (SoC)
such as smart wireless bio-medical systems combined with optimized SoCs,
compact bio-medical patch systems connected to smart phones, smart electro-acupuncture
and transdermal drug delivery, and multi-modal non-invasive glucose monitors.
The
press release quoted Professor Yoo’s comment on the meaning of Song’s research:
“All
of these bio-medical systems open a new healthcare paradigm to improve people’s
quality of life in combination with the current mobile smart phones.”
In
addition to Song, Himanshu Asnani, a Stanford Ph.D. candidate and system engineer
at Ericsson Silicon Valley, received the other award. The award
ceremony will be held at the Marconi Society’s annual award gala at the
National Academies of Science Building in Washington D.C., on October 2, 2014.
For
details, please read the following press release:
The
Marconi Society, Press Release, August 28, 2014
“Kiseok
Song Receives the 2014 Marconi Society Young Scholar Award”
http://www.marconisociety.org/press/2014Song.html
2014.09.08 View 7899 -
KAIST Researchers Fabricate Defect-free Graphene for Lithium-ion Batteries
Although graphene has been hailed as promising materials for lithium-ion batteries, making it for large-scale production has remained a challenging task for researchers. So far, high-quality graphene has been produced at the expense of large volume. It is possible to fabricate bulk quantities of graphene, but they will likely contain many defects.
Recently, a KAIST research team, headed by Professors Jung-Ki Park and Hee-Tak Kim from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, developed a fabrication method to produce a large amount of defect-free graphene (df-G) while preserving the structural integrity of the graphene.
This research result was published online in the July 11, 2014 issue of Nano Letters, entitled "Defect-free, Size-tunable Graphene for High-performance Lithium Ion Battery."
Phys.org, a science, research and technology news website, published an article on this research. To read article, please visit the link below:
Phys.org, August 22, 2014
“Scientists fabricate defect-free graphene, set record reversible capacity for Co3O4 node in Li-ion batteries”
http://phys.org/news/2014-08-scientists-fabricate-defect-free-graphene-reversible.html
2014.09.07 View 9418 -
News Article on the Development of Synthesis Process for Graphene Quantum Dots
Before It's News, an international online news agency, highlighted the recent research conducted by KAIST professors (Seokwoo Jeon of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yong-Hoon Cho of the Department of Physics, and Seunghyup Yoo of the Department of Electrical Engineering) on the development of synthesis process for graphene quantum dots, nanometer-sized round semiconductor nanoparticles that are very efficient at emitting photons. If commercialized, this synthetic technology will lead the way to the development of paper-thin displays in the future.
For the article, please go to the link below:
Before It’s News, September 3, 2014“Graphene quantum dots prove highly efficient in emitting light”
http://beforeitsnews.com/science-and-technology/2014/09/graphene-quantum-dots-prove-highly-efficient-in-emitting-light-2718190.html
2014.09.07 View 11728 -
Newsweek: The Goosebump Sensor That Knows How You Feel
Newsweek covered the introduction of the goosebump sensor invented by Professor Young-Ho Cho of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering at KAIST in an article dated July 27, 2014.
The article entitled “The Goosebump Sensor That Knows How You Feel” explains how the sensor works and reports on the current research and development trends in emotion-sensing technology.
Professor Cho’s research paper was originally published in the journal Applied Physics Letters on June 24, 2014, titled “A Flexible Skin Piloerection Monitoring Sensor."
Newsweek, July 27, 2014
“The Goosebump Sensor That Knows How You Feel”
http://www.newsweek.com/goosebump-sensor-knows-how-you-feel-260689
2014.07.28 View 7703 -
Op-ed on Korea's economic success and KAIST: Making the impossible possible
Professor Ajith de Alwis of the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, contributed an op-ed to DailyFT, a daily English-language newspaper published in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on July 17, 2014. The piece entitled “Making the impossible possible!” introduced Korea’s advancement and the role of KAIST as an important feeder for the development of science and technology in the nation.
For the op-ed, please go to the link below:
DailyFT, Op-ed, July 17, 2014
“Making the impossible possible!”
By Ajith de Alwis
2014.07.17 View 6145 -
Professor Sang Ouk Kim receives the 2014 Prime Minister Award for Nano Research
Professor Sang Ouk Kim
Sang Ouk Kim, a professor of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST, received the 2014 Prime Minister Award from the Korean government for his nano research. The award ceremony, Nano Korea 2014, was held on July 2, 2014 at Coex in Seoul, Korea.
Professor Kim was recognized for his research on the control of various shapes of ultra-fine nano-structures using molecular assembly with ductile materials, such as polymers and carbon nano materials, and for his contribution to the growth of the nano field in Korea.
He developed a new molecular assembly control technology, for the first time in the world, which produced large-scale, ultra-fine nanopatterns through controlling the molecular arrangement of block copolymers. Using this technology, he further created a new semiconductor nanotechnology to reinforce the existing lithographic process of semiconductor manufacturing.
In addition, Professor Kim has focused on making a new type of three-dimensional carbon nano-materials by assembling carbon nanotubes or graphene at the molecular level. Developing a new process to produce nano-materials through the chemical doping process of carbon materials, which can be widely applied to solar cells or energy devices, is one of his research interests as well.
Professor Kim has published a total of 124 papers in international journals, such as Nature, Science, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, and Nano Letters. He was recently invited by Advanced Materials to contribute a review article for its 25th anniversary issue.
Professor Kim received both the KAIST Academic Award and the 13th Young Scientist Award of Korea in 2010. Since March 2014, he has served as one of the chair professors of KAIST.
Most recently, he was selected as the Scientist of the Month in June 2014 by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Republic of Korea, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2014.07.08 View 8740