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KAIST tech-clinic center opens
- Consists of total 124 staffs including KAIST professors, experts from state-run institutes in Daedeok Innopolis, etc.
- Introduce the patient treatment system of general hospitals and provide the services of diagnosis, treatment, and later management of small and medium-sized venture enterprises
A tech-clinic center is opened in KAIST to solve technical problems of enterprises in Daedeok Innopolis.
KAIST (President Nam Pyo Suh) and Daedeok Innopolis (President&CEO In Chul Park) held the opening ceremony of ‘Daedeok Innopolis-designated KAIST tech-clinic center’ at the High-tech Venture Hall in KAIST, 5:00 p.m. Monday, August 28.
KAIST tech-clinic center consists of total 124 staffs including KAIST professors and researchers, experts from state-run institutes in Daedeok Innopolis, etc.
The staffs will take charge of general diagnosis and treatment in the fields of Information Communication, BioTechnologies, Nano-Technologies, Environmental Engineering, Management, Design, and so on.
The tech-clinic center, upon the request by small and medium-sized enterprises, will dispatch the staffs in the corresponding field to check the state of the enterprises and provide assistance to solve problems in technology development and researches.
The center plans to transfer technologies that enterprises need and solve long-term tasks through joint/ entrusted researches.
The center will also perform treatments in the fields of management, law, and accounting of enterprises in association with company founding and management consultation project, which is being promoted by Daedeok Innopolis.
Unlike the existing consulting institutes that put a high value on consultation, the center is featured with its distinguished way of running that it will analyze the causes of problems, find fundamental solutions, and perform even later management.
An official from KAIST said, “Considering various circumstances, it’s not easy for individual enterprises to find suitable experts in the corresponding fields and request proper solutions to settle their problems. That’s the reason why KAIST has promoted this project. KAIST hopes many enterprises in Daedeok Innopolis based on the cutting-edge technologies will gain substantial assistance from this center.”
An official from Daedeok Innopolis said, “In order to provide practical supports, the treatment will be carried out in preliminary/ routine/ expert phases. Also, it is planned to strengthen regular omnidirectional support services for enterprises in association with the internet web call center, etc.”
2006.09.05 View 14215 -
Professor Sejin Kwon develops thruster for small satellite
- World’s first application of high-performance liquid propellant to small satellite thruster
- Show about four times higher thrust performance than the cold gas thruster of University of Surrey, the state-of-the-art technology in the field of small satellite
- Expect a considerable contribution to the extension of the lifespan and mission range of small satellites
The team of Professor Sejin Kwon (Department of Aerospace Engineering in KAIST/ President Nam Pyo Suh) and Space Solution Inc. (President Jaehun Lee) have jointly developed a micro thruster for small satellite motion-control.
Kwon"s team has succeeded in developing an integrated thruster which can be mounted on a satellite by integrating catalyst reactor and propellant-supplying system, which are the core technologies of small satellite thruster system.
For the first time in the world, Kwon’s team employs a high-performance liquid propellant to the thruster.
In the thruster, liquid-state hydrogen peroxide is dissolved into vapor and oxygen at the catalytic layer to emit a huge amount of heat. And, the emitted heat is converted into the kinetic energy of the gas to produce a propulsive force.
This thruster can perform the motion-control of a several tens-kilogram satellite with a propulsive force of less than one Newton and shows about four times higher thrust performance than the cold gas thruster of University of Surrey, who possesses the state-of-the-art technologies in the field of small satellites.
Professor Kwon said, “Although University of Surrey has also tried to develop a similar system, it’s not yet solved the problem on catalytic reactor bed. I expect this thruster will considerably contribute to the extension of the lifespan and mission range of scientific small satellites. Also, this thruster can be employed for the attitude control of the upper end of the launch vehicle, which is now being developed by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).”
<Thruster module for small satellite application>
2006.09.05 View 13993
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Professor Chan Beum Park, requested for joint international research by a German biotechnology enterprise.
- Bitop AG (Germany) requested a joint development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease
- The meaning of the financial support by European enterprise to the research result of domestic university.
Professor Chan Beum Park (Department of Materials Science and Engineering in KAIST/ President Nam Pyo Suh) has been entrusted with a joint international research for the development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease from Bitop AG, German biotechnology enterprise.
KAIST recently agreed with Bitop AG to cooperate for a research program pursuing the development of inhibitors that inhibit the formation of plaque relevant to amyloid diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Based on this agreement, KAIST will be provided with a financial support of sixty thousands Euro (about 74 million won) from Bitop AG.
Professor Park will perform the screening of inhibitors, which are the core of the research, and KAIST will share patent rights from the research with Bitop AG.
It is known that various degenerative nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, mad cow disease, and so on arise mainly from the accumulation of pathological protein plaque termed amyloid, and environmental stress accelerates the diseases.
So far, no effective remedy has been developed for amyloid diseases.
Recently, the use of chemicals inhibiting the formation of amyloid has been raised as a potential remedy.
Natural small stress molecules extracted from microbes growing in extreme environments like volcanic region on the bottom of the deep sea, etc. are gaining attention as an amyloid inhibitor.
Professor Park found out for the first time in the world that Anti-stress materials are effective in inhibiting the formation of amyloid plaque and published that fact in several renowned European scientific journals.
After that, Professor Park was requested by Bitop AG for a joint research and has studied for the development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease using various kinds of Anti-stress materials.
Professor Park said, “I’d like to grant a highly valuable meaning to this entrustment since it implies that European enterprises perceive the value of the research result by domestic universities and hope to promote research and development by providing practical financial support, etc. I wish this time’s entrustment will be a momentum to advance Korea’s research level one step higher through active joint researches with enterprises or institutes in U.S. and Europe as well as Bitop AG.”
Bitop AG is a German enterprise that produces various Anti-stress materials coming from extreme-loving microbes.
Currently, Anti-stress materials are being sold mainly as protein and cell protectants, cosmetic additives, health supplement, etc.
Anti-stress materials extracted from microbes well growing in extreme environment of one hundred centigrade or more are expected to perform a role of inhibitors that inhibit the formation of amyloid plaque, the main factor of stress-related degenerative nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, etc. Such Anti-stress materials are gaining attention as a future medicine for Alzheimer’s disease, etc.
2006.09.05 View 13895
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President Nam Pyo Suh appreciates Exhibition 'Rounault' with executives
The president of KAIST Nam Pyo Suh appreciated the exhibition ‘Rounault - artist preserving the freedom of sprit’, which was held at Daejeon Museum of Art in commemoration of the 120th anniversary of amity between Korea and France, with all KAIST executives.
About 80 executives of KAIST including President Suh, Inspector Incheol Yeo, Vice president Soonheung Chang, deans, chiefs of office, heads of department, heads of team, etc. enjoyed the exhibition for one hour from 5:20 p.m. August 24, Thursday.
President Suh revealed his intention that KAIST would cooperate with Daejeon City Hall and its community to develop Daejeon into one of the world-class high-tech cities at the press conference, which was held on July 14 in commemoration of his inauguration.
This day’s event was also the expression of an intention that KAIST would be together with Daejeon community.
An official from KAIST revealed that the purports of the event are ▲ KAIST will actively participate in the events happening in the community, which makes Daejeon citizen have affection to KAIST and ▲ KAIST wishes to play a practical role to enhance Daejeon’s image as the city of science and technology, and art and culture.
2006.09.05 View 14154
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Ju-pyeong Lee won the Best Paper Award from IEEE RTAS
Ju-pyeong Lee, doctoral student of the Dept. of Electrical Engineering of KAIST, received the Best Paper Award from the 11th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Real-Time and Embedded Technology and Applications Symposium (IEEE RTAS) sponsored by IEEE TC on Real Time System and supported from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
He is in the Computer Engineering laboratory, and won the honor by his research of technique of Delayed Locking Technique for Improving Real-Time Performance of Embedded Linux by Prediction of Timer Interrupt. His paper was selected to be the best because of its practicality. His research purposed the technique that can dramatically improve real time problem, which was indicated to be the big problem of Linux. Moreover, he presented the way to easily materialize this technique in the practical system.
Best Paper Award is the prize awarded by IEEE Computer Society in the recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of real time system and embedded technology.
IEEE RTAS is a symposium held annually by IEEE. In this year, the 11th symposium was held from March 7 to March 10, for four days, in San Francisco, United States. The purpose of this year symposium was to seek papers describing significant contributions both to state of the art and state of the practice in the broad field of embedded and open real-time computing, control, and communication. Therefore, it especially focused on online real-time and embedded applications ranging from industrial embedded applications such as aeronautics and automotive systems to open multimedia, telecommunication and mobile computing systems.
Approximately 200 related erudite from almost 20 countries including United States, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden participated in this symposium. Total number of papers submitted to IEEE RTAS was 158, while only 53 of them were selected.
by Hye-jung Won / Staff ReporterApril, 2005 / The KAIST Herald
2005.04.12 View 15973
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National NanoFab Center Established
NNFC Emerges with Cutting-edge Nanotech
On March 16, a dedication ceremony was held at KAIST to mark the completion of the National NanoFab Center(NNFC). The opening was graced with the presence of several prominent figures, namely, President Robert B. Laughlin, Daejeon City Mayor Hong-chul Yum, and Myung Oh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Technology.Celebrations of the opening were attended by roughly 300 related personnel. After a welcoming speech given by Hee-Chul Lee, President of NNFC, the event proceeded with a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a grand tour of the cleanroom.
The newly completed NNFC on campus boasts a total area of 17,035 square meters which consists of a four-storey research building, a cleanroom and a central utility building.
Still at the first stage of its equipment supplementation, the center has currently achieved an immense 140 in gear variety, worth approximately 80 billion won. At its final stage, a total of 206 equipment arrangements are to be available for various research purposes.
Implementing the use of state-of-the-art facilities, NNFC’s devices include an electron beam capable of critical measurements as small as ten nanometers and an ion beam structure for the analysis of nano-scale materials. These equipments are to be used in numerous areas - fundamental physics, biotechnology and nanoscience
Until the year 2011, a sum of 290 billion won is to be invested in the NNFC by the government and other private organizations. The center, along with Daedeok Techno Valley, aspires to play an integral role in maturing towards a new age of nanotechnology.
President Lee of the NNFC stated that the center is essential for Korea’s nanotechnology skills to achieve higher standards and compete with countries such as the U.S. and Japan. President Lee is also a professor of KAIST at the Division of Electrical Engineering.
By Kyoung-lee Park / Staff ReporterApril, 2005 / The KAIST Herald
2005.04.12 View 19681
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KAIST Develops Thinking, Feeling Human-Like Robot
By Kim Tae-gyu / Staff ReporterTHE KOREA TIMES 2005.1.31(page 1)
South Korean scientists created the world"s first artificial species, a software robot with ``genes"" and ``chromosomes.""
Kim Jong-hwan, professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, said Sunday his team had developed a robot with 14 chromosomes, which gives the machine a ``personality.""
``This robot is a software-based one, sometimes called a sobot. It has a unique synthetic character determined by its specific combination of 14 chromosomes,"" the 47-year-old Kim said.
When Kim"s team gave a stimulus to the chromosome-equipped sobots, they showed totally different responses even under the same environment due to their distinctive personalities.
Several cognitive sensors enable the prototype models to identify 47 differing outside stimuli. The virtual robots also have 77 behavior patterns.
``Because a sobot is basically a software system, it can easily travel to other robots and multiply. In the middle of such processes, it can evolve through crossover and mutation,"" Kim said.
With the development of associated technologies, Kim expected the number of chromosomes would be augmented as sobots evolve to a more sophisticated species in the future.
The capacity to load large volumes of data is related to the evolution of sobots. Currently, 14 chromosomes consist of roughly 2,000 bytes of data.
The effort to incorporate the sobot into a platform, robot hardware, is now underway and Kim"s team looks to unveil the new-concept species as soon as next month.
``Diverse behavior patterns driven by sobots" specific personalities will be precisely translated into action just like the soul rules the body,"" Kim said.
Kim did not think the robotic evolution would lead to the human race being threatened; the concept of the recent blockbuster ``I, Robot.""
``If we design the chromosomes safely, the self-reproducing robot will not post a threat back to us,"" Kim said.
Kim first revealed the robotic breakthrough at a keynote speech of the International Conference on Autonomous Robots and Agents, held in New Zealand last December.
Kim is also known as pioneer in the field of robot football and has headed the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA) since its foundation in 1999.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
2005.02.02 View 14868
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Nerve-protecting gene discovered
Korean scientists for the first time have identified a gene that blocks nerve damage from fevers and the use of narcotics, a state-run research institute said yesterday.
The finding may open the way for new medicine that can prevent the loss of brain function which is frequently caused by excessive stimulation of nerves and abnormally high body temperature.
"The research is in an early stage. But this approach has the potential to develop genetics-based preventatives against brain-attacking diseases," said Kim Jae-seob, a bioscience professor of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, who led the study.
The researchers named the gene Pyrexia, which means fever. Kim"s team extracted it from genetically engineered fruit flies using a genome-screening system. In laboratory tests, they found that the gene is activated to 39 degrees Celsius or higher.
The researchers enhanced Pyrexia"s functionality in some fruit flies while removing the gene from others to observe their different reactions when exposed to high temperature.
"The fruit flies without the gene showed severe nerve disorder and suffered paralysis of brain function, while Pyrexia-enhanced flies maintained their normal brain conditions," the professor said.
The researchers got the same result from experiments with human cells, he said.
There are a lot of channel proteins, which enable ions to enter and exit the cell, that react to the level of temperature, but Pyrexia is the first of its kind that actually protects the neurons from external stimulus, he said.
The finding will appear on the March edition of the London-based science magazine Nature Genetics.
THE KOREA HERALD 2005.1.31 (thkim@heraldm.com) By Kim Tong-hyung
2005.02.02 View 13840
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Gene Protecting Brain Nerves Discovered
THE KOREA TIMES 2005.1.31By Kim Tae-gyu / Staff Reporter
South Korean scientists have for the first time discovered genes tasked with protecting brain nerves.
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology professor Kim Jae-seob said Sunday the new genes, named pyrexia, shield brain nerves from outside stimuli, including high temperatures.
``The channel gene of pyrexia will open the door to developing new-concept medicines for brain damage in patients of high fever or drug addicts,’’ he said.
The channel gene refers to transport proteins, which provide a static passageway for a variety of essential substances to enter into cells.
``Up until now, a lot of channel genes activated by temperatures have been identified. But among them, pyrexia is first that guards brain nerves from external stresses,’’ Kim said.
Kim’s team learned pyrexia plays a pivotal role in the body through experiments with genetically engineered flies that did not have any pyrexia.
Up to 60 percent of the pyrexia-depleted mutants were paralyzed within three minutes of exposure to a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.
In comparison, just 9 percent of normal flies were paralyzed with the same stimulus, indicating pyrexia is responsible for protecting animals from high-temperature stress.
``Our next goal is to develop pyrexia-embedded drugs, which can be expected to commercially debut in about five years,’’ Kim said.
Kim has already applied for international patents for his medical breakthrough, which will be printed in the March edition of Nature Genetics, a science journal.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
2005.02.02 View 13974
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U.S. Nobel Laureate to Run Korea's Top Tech University
Robert Laughlin,
President of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
DAEJEON, July 14 (Yonhap) -- Nobel Physics Prize laureate Robert Laughlin was sworn in Wednesday as the first foreign president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea"s top technology university.
Laughlin, in his inauguration speech, pledged to transform the state-run Korean university into a globally competitive educational institution, while also vowing to make it research oriented.
"Many people have asked me how I, as a foreigner, could possibly understand the situation here at KAIST, much less figure out a path forward," he said. "The short answer is that the situation here is not unique. The problems facing the research university are historical in nature and essentially identical all over the world."
He added the same worried discussions are taking place in other universities around the globe such as at Stanford, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Heidelberg and Tokyo.
"I have come here not to solve your problems but to solve my own," the 54-year-old American said.
Laughlin said KAIST is a large, well-functioning organization for which few things needed to be changed.
The former Stanford University professor also promised to work hard to lead the university in a novel direction.
"All of us in the technical university have a holy obligation ... we are here for the sole purpose of having big dreams and finding the strength to make them come to pass," Laughlin said.
"As far as I"m concerned, my job comes down to one thing: to make sure that your dreams are big enough, and to help everyone here -- faculty and students -- find the means to make them come to pass. That"s all," he said.
The ceremony was attended by Science and Technology Minister Oh Myung, Daejeon City Mayor Yeom Hong-chul and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Thomas Hubbard, among others.
On Thursday, Laughlin is scheduled to meet President Roh Moo-hyun in Seoul. Laughlin will start his four-year term from mid-August, KAIST said.
Laughlin won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1998 with Horst Stoermer of Germany and Daniel Tsui of the United States for discovering a new form of quantum fluid that gives more profound insights into the general inner structure and dynamics of matter.
On May 28, he was chosen to run the Korean university at a board meeting. (END)
2004.07.15 View 14368
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KAIST-Tsinghua High-Tech EXPO 2004
THE KAIST Herald 2004.5.12
By Jong-kyoung KimThe KAIST Herald Staff Reporter
KAIST and Tsinghua University are holding KAIST-Tsinghua Korea-China High Tech EXPO 2004 from July 12 to 14, at the Beijing International Convention Center. The Expo seeks to contribute to economic development through promoting exchanges between exceptional Korean and Chinese start-up companies, and to promote cooperation between high-tech industries and academic institutions through academic and technological exchanges between each nation"s best technology institutions.
The Expo is a big international affair held by a university from Korea and one from China. The Expo is also a means to implement the agreement between KAIST and Tsinghua in 2002 to promote exchanges between the two universities and to conduct international co-research. It is sponsored by various technology institutions of both nations.
The Expo is different from other expos in that it is a specialized expo where Tsinghua-related companies, experts, and buyers participate to discuss the transfer of technologies and to deal in trades. Also, to insure that the Expo is beneficial to participating Korean companies, the Expo plans to offer business talks with at least ten Chinese companies per company. From Korea, thirteen companies from enterprise-incubation center and graduate start-ups with high-tech start-ups in areas of IT, BT, NT and mechatronics that are possible in exporting related products or transferring related technologies are participating. From China, Tsinghua-related companies, China Telecom, China Unicom, and other companies under China Telecommunication Association with other famous Chinese companies are expected to participate.
In addition to exhibitions, co-work between KAIST and Tsinghua"s research centers and KAIST"s Technology Transfer & Exchange Center"s explanation on public technology transfer are taking place during the Expo.
And, after three days of the Expo, about ten companies will move to Chungking, a city in western China to hold a product and technology explanation session.
2004.05.21 View 17387
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Professor Kim Donates W5 Bil. to KAIST
Korea Times 2004.5.21
By Kim Tae-gyu / Staff Reporter
A professor from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has donated his inherited wealth of 5 billion won to the state-owned institute.
The KAIST announced professor Kim Dong-won contributed 5 billion won in properties and cash, which he inherited from his father, who passed away late last year.
``Professor Kim has asked us to spend the contribution in the development of Korea’s science in accordance with the late Kim’s will,’’ said Park Jae-wook, a KAIST spokesman.
Park added Kim had tried to remain anonymous, but his identity was revealed by some local newspapers. Kim is currently in the United States as he is out of his post on an interim basis and will come back to Korea in August.
Four billion won of the donation will be used to set up scholarships, which will endow 20 million won each to 10 KAIST students every year. The remaining 1 billion won will help invite illustrious scholars to the institute.
Adding to the good news for KAIST, Lee Chong-moon, chairman of the U.S.-based venture company Ambex, has also donated 2 billion won.
The 76-year-old Lee called for the KAIST to inspire a sprit among students by establishing a management center named after him.
2004.05.21 View 15851