KAIST

Good morning everyone. 

It is my very great pleasure to welcome you all to this exciting workshop for future particle accelerators. 

As a physicist myself, there is no greater pleasure than welcoming my colleagues from around the world. Today, we have a very distinguished group of more than 100 theorists, experimentalists, and accelerator physicists representing 40 institutions from 10 countries. 

My special thanks go to Dr. Yifang Wang from the Institute of High Energy Physics in China, Professor Hitoshi Murayama from UC Berkeley and the University of Tokyo, and Professor Geoffrey Taylor from the University of Melbourne for joining us at KAIST. 

I also would like to recognize the chairs of the organizing committees including Professor Young-Kee Kim from the University of Chicago and a KAIST Distinguished Visiting Professor. 

From my previous experiences as a scientist, I know very well that it is not an easy job to bring such renowned scholars to a single event. Without the chairs’ leadership and hard work, I believe this would not have been possible. Thank you once again. 

I understand that this workshop will explore a wide array of physics opportunities and technical challenges associated with particle accelerators. Especially, I am honored and proud that the KAIST Advanced Institute for Science-X, ‘KAIX’ is hosting this workshop. KAIX is the place where all the excitement of basic research abounds. 

As we all know, basic science is the foundation that creates new knowledge and solves big problems. It has not only led to the discovery of new applications but new understanding as well. 

For instance, the discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider(LHC) opened the door for the next phase of experimental exploration in fundamental physics. 

While more details will come to light during the next run of the LHC, it is already clear that the future of the field hinges on the construction of new accelerators. The LHC offered a much clearer picture of the Higgs itself, and new accelerators will propel us much deeper into the energy frontier. 

One of the many things that sets KAIST apart from other universities in Korea is our history of dedication to national development. When established in 1971 with a six-million dollar US Aid loan to the Korean government, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. KAIST was missioned to educate scientists and engineers who were urgently needed for the rapid industrialization and scientific advancement of Korea. 

KAIST has fulfilled its mission passionately and faithfully, thus far producing over 64,000 graduates, including 13,000 doctoral degree holders. Our alumni have played pivotal roles in Korea’s remarkable economic growth and produced countless scientific and technological innovations over the past half-century. 

As such, we have formed deep ties to industry, making it easier for our scientific discoveries to enter the market. KAIST values and supports collaboration across science and engineering. 

When I was elected as the president of KAIST two years ago, I launched Vision 2031 for KAIST, a blueprint for becoming a global leading university that creates new knowledge with a global impact. We also reaffirmed our commitment to becoming the world’s best or first in basic research. 

KAIX is one of our initiatives that will help bring about the convergence of different disciplines. I believe that it will allow us to stay ahead and remain competitive globally. 

I look forward to the KAIX initiative serving as a global hub for convergent basic research that will lead to new knowledge and discoveries. Many of the collaborations among the distinguished scholars through our KAIX initiative will advance science and thus benefit humanity, and this workshop will be its first step. 

Let me close my speech by welcoming you all once again and wishing you all a very productive two week-workshop at our beautiful KAIST campus. 

Thank you very much. 

July 8, 2019