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'Happy College Life' Course Established
The newly established course ‘happy college life’ is attracting attention.
The course is aimed at allowing freshmen to experience teamwork, community service, and other participatory activities to find meaning in life and have a happy time in college. The course was planned by sophomores who best understand the freshmen life.
It is a mandatory course for freshmen and is comprised of ‘Happy College Life’ I and II in the spring and fall semesters respectively.
950 Freshmen will be divided into 30 classes and will have class every Thursday from 7pm to 8pm.
The students will plan community service independently and execute them along with participating in sports competitions, special lectures, dorm parties, and singing competitions.
Professors in charge, dormitory deans and upperclassmen will be assigned to each class allowing understanding of freshmen to become easier thereby making it easier to meet the needs of the freshmen.
The Academic Advisor will be in charge of counseling and future vocation discussion along with the actual lecture itself. In addition, the teaching assistants will shorten the distance between the professor and the students and look over the students’ everyday life.
Resident Advisors consists of the admission interview committee members and will monitor the students they have admitted into KAIST and give advice in matters of vocation and relationships.
The upperclassmen who volunteered to become Proctors will live in the same dorms as the freshmen and give guidance on freshmen studies and lifestyle and will focus on being accessible to freshmen instead of being authoritative.
In addition, KAIST has established a freshmen support program in order to effectively help freshmen in matters of grades, college life, vocation, and etc. to make acclimatizing easier on the freshmen.
2011.02.21 View 8523 -
College of Cultural Science selects 'Best English Paper' Recipients
KAIST’s College of Cultural Science (Dean Kim Dong Won) announced the winners of ‘2010 Fall Semester Best English Paper Award’: Excellence Award went to Kwak Ah Young (department of Biology), Seong Du Hyun (undeclared major), Ahn Da In (Biological Chemical Engineering), and nine other students received the Participation Award.
Ahn Da In discussed ‘Joyce and Chopin on use of epiphany’, Seong Du Hyun discussed ‘On Kant’s Groundwork for the metaphysics of Morals, its Achievements, and Implications’, and Kwak Ah Young discussed ‘Fact Pattern of Environmental Law’.
The ‘Best English Paper’ Award has been awarded to undergraduates since 2009 Fall semester in the Humanities and Social Science Department’s efforts to increase creativity and English writing skills of students attending KAIST.
For the 2010 fall semester, each professor in charge went through 1 to 2 papers (among 610 papers admitted across human science subjects) and recommended 29 papers to be discussed with great scrutiny. The evaluation took place throughout January and the 3 papers discussing English Literature, Scientific Philosophy, and Environmental Law were awarded the Excellence Award, and 9 other papers were awarded the Participation Award.
Dean of Cultural Science College Kim Dong Won commented, ‘I am very encouraged by the level of papers and is becoming a very large art of the College of Cultural Science’.
The chairman of the screening committee, Professor Kim Eun Kyung also commented, ‘the best paper award is helping students better their English levels’ and that ‘in order to form and encourage a sound and structured English paper writing environment, a anti-plagiarism program will be implemented amongst implementing other judging standards’.
2011.02.21 View 10281
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Honorary Doctorate given to 5 Domestic and Foreign Figures
KAIST will be presenting doctor degrees to 5 domestic and foreign figures that have helped development of science and technology, society, and KAIST on the 11th of February.
The degrees will be awarded to Shirley Ann Jackson President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Mrs. Oh Lee Won, Chairman Cho Chun Shik, Jang Young Shin Chairman of Aekyung Group, and Kim Young Gil President of University of Han Dong.
President Jackson will be given the Honorary Science Technology Doctorate, Mrs. Oh Lee Won, Chairman Cho Chun Shik, Chairwoman Jang Young Shin, President Kim Young Gil will be given Honorary Management Doctorate degree.
President Shirley Ann Jackson is a brilliant physicists and has great managerial skills and leadership and has been the chairperson of Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Obama ministration’s Presidential Council of Advisers on Science and Technology along with the president of the university, making great contribution to the development of science and technology and society.
President Jackson is the leading female science-engineer and has received honorary doctor degrees from 45 universities and is a proven world renowned and respected leader and scholar. She has made great impact in America and on the world in research findings as a physicist, public policies, and in terms of education.
Mrs. Oh Lee Won donated 10billion Won to KAIST with wishes that it be used as scholarship for the development of future leaders of Korea.
Mrs. Oh’s donation allowed KAIST to newly establish ‘Lee Won Assistant Professor System’ that encourages promising assistant professors to educate students and focus on research and allows KAIST to invite promising scientists.
With the new system in place, KAIST now has the foundations necessary to develop excellent scientific talents and future world leaders, giving it competitive advantage in becoming the best university in the world.
Chairman Cho Chun Shik donated his entire fortune believing that supporting the science community will improve the economy.
With the donations KAIST established the ‘Cho Chun Shik Green Transportation Graduate School’ thereby laying the foundations that will allow KAIST to tap into the rapidly growing high tech green transportation market by developing related technologies and experts in this field. This will allow KAIST to become the best university centered on fusion and compound studies.
Chairwoman Jang Young Shin is the first Korean woman CEO. She graduated from Gyoung Gi girl’s High School and majored in Chemistry in the University of Chesternut Hill. She started management in 1972 and overcame social prejudice and discrimination towards women and has made the small soap company into the Aekyung group with 20 subsidiaries.
Chairwoman Jang is currently director at KAIST. She is giving advice and encouragement so that KAIST can become the world’s best using her experiences as the vice president of the Korean Businessperson Federation and Korea Trade Federation.
Chairman Kim Young Gil has worked in NASA until he answered government’s call for help in 1979 and was made professor in the department of materials and science and engineering. He became the first president at Handong University in 1995 and has been making great effort to realize a ‘education based university’ for the development of students both academically and ethically competent.
He has implemented various educational experiments, like no major, no undergraduate studies, no affiliation, mandatory double major, no proctor tests, Asia’s first American system Law School, etc. These educational innovations are seen as the new beginning of a knowledge based society’s education of science and technology.
2011.02.21 View 9369
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Waking Up Is Hard to Do: Scientists have discovered a new mechanism in the core gears of the circadian clock.
The US News & World Report released an article (Feb. 18, 2011) on KAIST’s research collaboration with Northwestern University in the US to identify a gene that regulates the rhythm of a fruit fly’s circadian clock, which may be applied to explain human’s sleep-wake cycle. The research result was published February 17 in the journal Nature.
For the link of the US News & World Report article, please go to the following link:
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2011/02/18/waking-up-is-hard-to-do_print.html
2011.02.21 View 9525
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KAIST MBA program was ranked 99th by Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2011.
The Business School of KAIST in Seoul made the 99th placement among the top 100 business schools in the world, according to the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2011. The Hindustan Times, an English daily newspaper in India, brifely carried an article on this topic. For the article, please go to http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/656953.aspx.
Financial Times Business Education and School Rakings 2011: http://www.ft.com/businesseducation/mba2011
2011.02.03 View 9782
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Soyeon's Odyssey by Space Travel, Feb. 1, 2011
Soyeon Yi, an alumna of KAIST who joined the Soyuz TMA-12 mission to the International Space Station in 2008 and successfully returned to the Earth after completion of her mission. She is often cited as the first Korean astronaut who had spaceflight. She recently had an interview with an Australian based online newspaper that publishes space related news stories. For the interview, please go to the link.
http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Soyeon_Odyssey_999.html
2011.02.02 View 8918
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New Korean Robot Responds to Non-Verbal Commands
An online newspaper covering the latest headline news based on MS Windows, Internet and technology trends, Infopackets, posted an article on the research result of KAIST researchers: a robot prototype developed, which is able to respond to human’s non verbal communication.
Robots now can read human gestures and react to their subtle commands by “designing the robot’s main system to mimic the actions of a human in the same manner in which human brains function.” For details of the article, please click the link:
http://www.infopackets.com/news/technology/science/2011/20110125_new_korean_robot_responds_to_non_verbal_commands.htm
2011.01.26 View 8477
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Korean researchers reveal new sea defense model by EurekAlert
The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation, a peer review journal devoted to advancing the practice, science and art of modeling and simulation that relate to military and defense purposes.
The SAGE Publication that issues the journal released a press release on January 18, 2011, announcing that KAIST researchers in collaboration with other intuitions in Korea devised “improved methods to model underwater warfare, which could aid future decisions about weapons and defense purchases.” Details of the article follow below: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/sp-krr011811.php
2011.01.19 View 8857
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Success in differentiating Functional Vascular Progenitor Cells (VPC)
KAIST’s Professor Han Yong Man successfully differentiated vascular progenitor cells from human embryonic stem cells and reversed differentiated stem cells.
The research went beyond the current method of synthesis of embryonic body or mice cell ball culture and used the careful alteration of signal transmission system of the human embryonic stem cells to differentiate the formation of vascular progenitor cells.
The team controlled the MEK/ERK and BMP signal transmission system that serves an important role in the self replication of human embryonic stem cells and successfully differentiated 20% of the cells experimented on to vascular progenitor cells.
The vascular progenitor cells produced with such a method successfully differentiated into cells forming the endodermis of the blood vessel, vascular smooth muscle cells and hematopoietic cells in an environment outside of the human body and also successfully differentiated into blood vessels in nude mice.
In addition, the vascular progenitor cell derived from human embryonic cells successfully formed blood vessels or secreted vascular growth factors and increased the blood flow and the necrosis of blood vessels when injected into an animal with limb ischemic illness.
The research was funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 21st Century Frontier Research and Development Institution’s Cell Application Research Department and Professor Ko Kyu Young (KAIST), Professor Choi Chul Hee (KAIST), Professor Jeong Hyung Min (Cha Medical School) and Doctor Jo Lee Sook (Researcher in Korea Bio Engineering Institute) participated in it.
The results of the research was published as the cover paper of the September edition of “Blood (IF:10.55)”, the American Blood Journal and has been patented domestically and has finished registration of foreign PCT.
The results of the experiment opened the possibility of providing a patient specific cure using stem cells in the field of blood vessel illness.
2011.01.18 View 12418 -
Professor Kang Suk Joong receives 'Korea Engineering Award.'
KAIST”s Professor Kang Suk Joong of the Department of Material Science and Engineering received ‘Korea Engineering Award’ from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and Korea Research Foundation. The award is given to those professors who have accomplished world class research and results.
Professor Kang has potentially redirected the direction of research in the field of the microstructure of materials by explaining the fundamental principle behind how the microstructure of a material that affects the physical properties of the polycrystalline structure and changes through processing. Professor Kang applied the results of his findings in the manufacture of new materials and made significant contributions to Korean Material Engineering Industry and was consequently awarded the award.
The ‘Korea Engineering Award’ was thought of in 1994 and a total of 24 recipients were recognized through the award in various fields like electronics, mechanics, chemistry, construction, etc. The recipient is awarded in addition the President’s award and 50million won as prize money.
The ceremony for ‘Korea Engineering Award’ and the ‘Young Scientist Award’ was held in Seoul Press Center Press Club on the 22nd of December at 3pm. The Minister of Education, Science and Technology (Lee Joo Ho), member of Board of Directors of the Korea Research Foundation (Kim Byoung Gook), Director of Korea Science and Technology Archive (Jeong Gil Seng), along with the recipients attended the ceremony.
In addition, Professor Kang was appointed as Distinguished Professor in March 2010 in recognition of his research accomplishments.
2011.01.18 View 10570 -
Explanation for the polymerized nucleic acid enzyme's abnormal activation found
KAIST’s Professor Park Hyun Kyu of the Department of Bio Chemical Engineering revealed on the 23rd of December 2010 that his team had successfully developed the technology that uses the metal ions to control the abnormal activation of nucleic acids’ enzymes and using this, created a logic gate, which is a core technology in the field of future bio electrons.
The polymerized nucleic acid enzyme works to increase the synthesis of DNA and kicks into action only when the target DNA and primers form complimentary pairs (A and T, C and G).
Professor Park broke the common conception and found that it is possible for none complimentary pairs like T-T and C-C to initiate the activation of the enzyme and thus increase the nucleic acid production, given that there are certain metal ions present.
What Professor Park realized is that the enzymes mistake the uncomplimentary T-T and C-C pairs (with stabilized structures due to the bonding with mercury and silver ions) as being complimentary base pairs. Professor Park described this phenomenon as the “illusionary polymerase activity.”
The research team developed a logic gate based on the “illusionary polymerase activity’ phenomenon.” The logic gate paves the way to the development of future bio electron needed for bio computers and high performance memories.
Professor Park commented, “The research is an advancement of the previous research carried on about metal ions and nucleic acid synthesis. Our research is the first attempt at merging the concepts of the two previously separately carried out researches and can be adapted for testing presence of metal ions and development of a new single nucleotide polymorphic gene analysis technology.”
Professor Park added that, “Our research is a great stride in the field of nano scale electron element research as the results made possible the formation of accurate logic gates through relatively cost efficient and simple system designs.”
On a side note, the research was funded by Korea Research Foundation (Chairman: Park Chan Mo) and was selected as the cover paper for the December issue of ‘Angewandte Chemie International Edition’.
2011.01.18 View 10000 -
Professor Young-Ho Cho elected as head of international academic conference
KAIST’s Professor Young-Ho Cho of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering was appointed as the head of the PowerMems (Power Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) symposium to be held at Se-Jong Hotel in Seoul from November 15-18, 2011.
Professor Jo is America’s first engineering doctor in the field of MEMS and is the founding member of the BSAC (Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center), the start of the MEMS technology.
PowerMEMS is the core of green growth and next generation energy production. It focuses on harvesting energy from minute vibrations or renewable energy sources such as sunlight or plants to harvest and store energy via micro or even nano size systems.
The symposium was first held in 2000, and it is where leading experts in the field share papers on the production and harvesting energy in the micro scale.
2011.01.14 View 10388