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KAIST to Support R&D Plans of Mid-Small Sized Enterprises
KAIST signed a MOU for the ‘Support for R&D Plans for Mid-Small Sized Firms’ with the Small and Medium Business Conference and Korea South-East Power Co. Ltd.
KAIST and Korea South-East Power Co. Ltd. will now be improving their cooperation on supporting R&D plans to help the technology development and commercialization for Small and Medium Businesses.
Korea South-East Power Co. Ltd. will now select 20 best qualified firms out of its 300 cooperating firms and suggest them as candidates to KAIST Business membership System.
The suggested firms will be given: ▲Strategy R&D Planning ▲Consult Difficult Technology ▲Provide Information on Research Labs and Researchers among other various programs.
The firms participating in the KAIST Business membership System will be able to minimize risk and increase its possibility for success on Development Technology.
KAIST Business membership System is a program provided to firms for a membership fee, in order to create technological innovation and strengthen cooperation between university and industry.
2012.01.31 View 8401 -
A Step Closer to Ultra Slim Mobile Phone
Professor Baek Kyung Wook (department of Material Science and Engineering) succeeded in developing an ultra-thin conjugation technique that can perfectly replace the modular contact in electronic devices.
The research team developed a compound material using ultra-fine solder-adhesive film and developed the vertical ultrasonic conjugation process thereby making a reliable utra-thin conjugation.
The developed technique allowed for very thin and reliable conjugation and will be able to replace the socket type connector and is expected to revolutionize the electronic device industry.
In mobile electronic devices like the smartphone, the trend is to incorporate various functional modules like camera, display, touchscreens, etc. in addition to striving for miniaturization of the device.
Recently the problem was the fact that the number of modules within the device was increasing due to the incorporation of various functions, and consequently the volume that these modules took up increased as well, which made miniaturization almost impossible.
Professor Baek‘s team succeeded in improving upon this problem by creating a compound material that has ultra-fine solder particles that can melt to form alloy fusion with the electrode and thermosetting adhesive film that can wrap around the electrode and provide mechanical protection.
The use of this material made it possible to reduce the thickness of the connector by hundredth fold which improved electrical, mechanical properties and highly reliable.
From a processing standpoint the conventional conjugation process involved heating the mechanical block and was therefore hard to manage its production and also consumed 1000W and took up to 15 seconds.
By contrast, Professor Baek’s team’s new process uses only ultrasound to locally heat and melt the conjugation point itself thereby reducing power consumption to 100W and conjugation time to 1~5 seconds.
The technique developed by Professor Baek and Lee Ki Won Doctorate student was awarded Excellent Dissertation Award by world famous journals like the Electronic Components and Technology Conference and is being recognized worldwide.
2012.01.31 View 8822
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Interview with the president of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The president of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Dr. Tony Chan, who is also a member of KAIST’s President Advisory Council (PAC), had an interview with the Korea Times, November 16, 2011 and shared his thoughts on some fundamental essentials that make a good science and technology university. He visited KAIST Campus on November 10th and had a meeting with students as part of the university’s mentor program between PAC members and the students. For the interview, please visit the link below: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2011/11/181_98928.html
2011.11.18 View 10045
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2011 International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities
KAIST’s 4th International Presidential Forum Held in Seoul on November 8, 2011
The largest annual congregation of university presidents in Asia invited leaders from academia, government, and industry for talks on issues related to higher education in the Age of Globalization.
Borderless and Creative Education: the ability to cross borders a crucial key to dominate the information era
Seoul, Republic of Korea, November 8, 2011—The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) hosted the “2011 International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities (IPFGRU)” on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in Seoul.
With more than 120 participants from 44 institutions in 27 countries present, the full-day forum provided participants with an opportunity to discuss challenges and responsibilities facing higher education in a time of globalization that has resulted from an ever-growing demand for technological innovation.
In his plenary speech, Dr. Robert Birgeneau, Chancellor of UC Berkeley, stressed that “Higher educational intuitions must be prepared to drive innovation and enhance competitiveness by educating a highly trained workforce that will have the critical skills necessary to solve problems and lead in today’s interdependent world.”
“Finding solutions to the world’s most challenging problems will depend on the ability to cross borders: national borders, border between different fields of discipline and research, and borders between academe, government, and industry,” said Chancellor Birgeneau to address the importance of “borderless and creative education,” the theme of the forum.
Other major keynote speakers were Jörg Steinbach, President of Technische Universität Berlin, Lars Pallesen, President of Technical University of Denmark, Paul F. Greenfield, President of University of Queensland, Marcelo Fernandes de Aquino, President of the University of the Sinos Valley (UNISINOS), and Eden Woon, Vice President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Dr. Nam-Pyo Suh, President of KAIST, gave talks on the university’s new education plan, “The I-Four Education,” at the afternoon session. The four Is are information technology (IT), independent learning, integrated knowledge acquisitions, and an international learning environment.
“In this format, there are no formal lectures,” President Suh explained. “A group of students learn together by using the materials available on the internet, doing homework and conducting experiments together. Pre-recorded lectures are delivered in English by I-Four professors, some of them regular KAIST professors and some professors in other countries who participate in the I-Four Program as consulting professors.”
He added, “The overall purpose of the I-Four Education Program is to encourage students to learn independently, gain exposure to the best lectures by the most eminent professors in the world, accelerate the development of a global frame of reference in the students by dealing with information available throughout the world, and provide an integrated learning environment by using diverse examples from many disciplines to achieve understanding of basic principles.”
The 2011 IPFGRU, the fourth forum since its inception in 2008, rose to prominence in the past years as an international network for leaders of research universities from around the world to share information and exchange views about contemporary issues in higher education.
At this year’s forum, entitled “Borderless and Creative Education,” speakers took a deeper look into the transitions and transformations many research universities are undergoing today, delving into the following topics: the development of e-learning and cyber campuses; increased student mobility and international collaborations; multi-disciplinary and convergence approaches in research and education; and methodology of nurturing future global leaders.
Participants also discussed experiences and accomplishments earned from their own endeavors to accommodate such changes and presented ways to strengthen internationalization and improve the academic and research competitiveness of universities.
The 2011 International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities (IPFGRU) was organized by KAIST and sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, POSCO, Hyundai Motor Company, Samsung Heavy Industries, S-Oil, and Elsevier Korea.
2011.11.09 View 11888 -
New York Times, "First, Catch Your Faculty-A Recipe for Excellence"
The World Bank has recently published a new book entitled “The Road to Academic Excellence: The Making of World Class Research Universities.” The report (book) examined the recent experience of 11 universities in 9 countries (for Korea, it sampled Pohang University of Science and Technology, established in 1986) that have undergone transformations in order to become world-class universities. The book has received a wide coverage from the media all around the world since its publication in late September, among others, the latest article by New York Times (NYT), dated October 16, 2011. The gist of the book, i.e., what elements are required should a research university to become “truly prestigious” in the global scene, is well introduced by the NYT article, and here’s the link:
New York Times, “First, Catch Your Faculty-A Recipe for Excellence”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/world/americas/17iht-educLede17.html
2011.10.17 View 10223
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Fusion performing arts, called space musical, 'NARO' performed at KAIST
In commemoration of the 6th anniversary of the establishment of the Graduate School of Cultural Technology, KAIST organized an English musical show on space at the Auditorium on the 29th and 30th of September. The name of the musical was NARO.
The musical was funded by the ‘NaDa Center’ operated by KAIST’s Graduate School of Cultural Technology. The musical was created with participation from adolescents, which told a tale about a genius boy Naro’s journey in space.
The musical was composed of two parts, and the basic storyline was about Naro who conducts research based on space, and his friends went on a time travel to the constellation Scorpios; more specifically, it was a Korean traditional children’s story about a brother and sister who became the sun and the moon. Naro and his friends prevent the plot of Tyran, a villan, who plans on destroying the space and Earth by inducing a red giant star, Antares.
In preparation for the musical, NaDa Center selected 14 students ranging from elementary to high school students during March of 2011. The selected students met every Saturday and Sunday from March to September for practice; a gargantuan commitment.
The theme of the musical is space, the future, and hope, and it does not utilize any stage settings. Instead, it attempts the incorporation of high technology into the stage by using interactive video, laser art, and specially built props. In addition, the entire process from script to performance and advertisement was utilized as an education model to suggest a good fusion between science and technology and cultural arts.
The musical ‘NARO’ is a collective effort. Professor Won Kwan Yeon who pioneered the field of Cultural Technology directed the musical, Professor Koo Bon Chul was in charge of the script and music composition, acting was charged to Lee Min Ho, choreography was charged to Han Eun Kyung, astrological reference was charged to Park Seok Jae among other students in the Graduate School of Cultural Technology. Members of the KAIST Acting Club ‘Lee Bak Teo’, Jeong Soo Han, Son Sharon and graduate of Chung Nam National University with vocal music major Yang Su Ji also made appearances. The Space Musical ‘NARO’ was funded by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and LG School of Multi Culture.
2011.10.10 View 9835 -
Bicycle Sharing System "Ta-Shu" Arrives at KAIST.
KAIST has begun providing a bike rental service, called “Ta-Shu,” to its students. This bicycle sharing system, implemented in tandem with the local city government, has been in service since the 7th of September and will allow KAIST students to rent bicycles for travel within campus and even to other parts of the city, Daejeon.
The ‘University Pubic-Bicycle Rental System’ is a program in which numbers of bicycles are made available for shared use by students. Initiated by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the university expects that more students will use bicycles as part of their daily mobility means through this system.
2011.09.22 View 7888 -
Wireless electric trams at Seoul Amusement Park begin full operations.
Photo by Hyung-Joon Jun
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wireless electric trams at Seoul Amusement Park begin full operations.
KAIST’s On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) becomes an icon of green technology, particularly for young students who aspire to transform their nation into the “vanguard of sustainability.”
Seoul, South Korea, July 19, 2011—As young students wrap up their school work before summer vacation in late July, Seoul Grand Park, an amusement park located south of Seoul, is busily preparing to accommodate throngs of summer visitors. Among the park’s routine preparations, however, there is something new to introduce to guests this summer: three wireless electric trams have replaced the old diesel-powered carts used by passengers for transportation within the park.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the city of Seoul held a ceremony this morning, July 19, 2011, to celebrate their joint efforts to adopt a green public transportation system and presented park visitors with the three On-Line Electric Vehicles (OLEVs), which will be operated immediately thereafter. Approximately one hundred people, including science high school students across the nation, attended the ceremony and had a chance to ride the trams.
KAIST unveiled the prototype of an electric tram to the public in March 2010, and since then it has developed three commercial trams. The Korean government and the institute have worked on legal issues to embark on the full-scale commercialization of OLEV, and the long awaited approval from the government on such issues as standardization of the OLEV technology and road infrastructure, regulation of electromagnetic fields and electricity safety, and license and permits for vehicle eligibility, finally came through.
The On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) is no ordinary electric car in that it is remotely charged via electromagnetic fields created by electric cables buried beneath the road. Unlike other currently available electric cars, OLEV can travel unlimited distances without having to stop to recharge. OLEV also has a small battery onboard, which enables the vehicle to travel on roads that are not equipped with underground power cables. This battery, however, is only one-fifth of the size of a conventional electric vehicle battery, resulting in considerable savings in the cost, size, and weight of the vehicle.
The OLEV project was initiated in 2009 as a method of resolving the battery problems of electric cars in a creative and disruptive way. KAIST came up with the idea of supplying electricity directly to the cars instead of depending solely on the onboard battery for power. Since then, the university has developed core technologies related to OLEV such as the “Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR),” which enables an electric car to collect the magnetic fields and convert them into electricity, and the “Segment Technology,” which controls the flow of electromagnetic waves through an automatic power-on/shut-down system, thereby eliminating accidental exposure of the electromagnetic waves to pedestrians or non-OLEV cars.
According to KAIST, three types of OLEV have been developed thus far: electric buses, trams, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The technical specifications of the most recently developed OLEV (an electric bus), the OLEV research team at the university said, are as follows:
· Power cables are buried 15cm beneath the road surface.
· On average, over 80% power transmission efficiency is achieved.
· The distance gap between the road surface and the underbody of the vehicle is 20cm.
· The OLEV bus has a maximum electricity pickup capacity of 100kW.
· The OLEV bus complies with international standards for electromagnetic fields (below 24.1 mG).
The eco-friendly electric trams at Seoul Grand Park consume no fossil fuels and do not require any overhead wires or cables. Out of the total circular driving route (2.2km), only 16% of the road, 372.5m, has the embedded power lines, indicating that OLEV does not require extensive reconstruction of the road infrastructure. The city government of Seoul signed a memorandum of understanding with KAIST in 2009 as part of its initiatives to curtail emissions from public transportation and provide cleaner air to its citizens. Both parties plan to expand such collaboration to other transportation systems including buses in the future.
KAIST expects the OLEV technology to be applied in industries ranging from transportation to electronics, aviation, maritime transportation, robotics, and leisure. There are several ongoing international collaborative projects to utilize the OLEV technology for a variety of transportation needs, such as inner city commute systems (bus and trolley) and airport shuttle buses, in nations including Malaysia, US, Germany, and Denmark.
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More information about KAIST’s On-Line Electric Vehicle can be found at http://olev.co.kr/en/index.php. For any inquiries, please contact Lan Yoon at 82-42-350-2295 (cell: 82-10-2539-4303) or by email at hlyoon@kaist.ac.kr.
2011.07.22 View 14487 -
New Scientist: Wind power harnesses the energy of galloping, June 2, 2011
Researchers from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, KAIST, released their research results in Smart Materials and Structures on ways to “harness strange properties of turbulent airs.” They built a prototype that produces energy using a specific type of unstable airflow called “wake galloping.” New Scientist wrote an article about the paper, which appeared on June 2, 2011. For the article, please follow the link below.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028145.700-wind-power-harnesses-the-energy-of-galloping.html?full=true&print=true
2011.06.04 View 8076
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South Korean scientists use laser to inject drugs into brain by Bernama.com, May 26, 2011
Bernama.com, the Malaysian national news agency, reported on the recent development by a KAIST research team of a safe and cheap treatment method for various neurological diseases. For details, please follow the link:
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=589195
2011.05.31 View 9190
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Professor Hwang Kyu Young Receives Outstanding Contributions Award from DASFAA
Professor Hwang Kyu Young received the 2011 Outstanding Contributions Award from the International Conference on Database Systems for Advanced Applications (DASFAA).
Professor Hwang was the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Executive, etc. of the DASFAA Steering Committee for the past 12 years and has been leading the development in the field of database in the Asia/Pacific Region. He was also the editor in chief of The VLDB Journal which is the leading magazine in the field of database and the member of ACM SIGMOD Jim Gray Dissertation Award Committee, VLDB 10-year Best Paper Award Committee, and IEEE ICDE Influential Paper Awards Committee. He receives the Outstanding Contributions Award for ensuring high standards in world database research.
2011.05.31 View 8621
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Research Conducted on the Development Policy of Medical Researchers in United States
The topic dealt in the paper was “The Vietnam War and Medical Research: Untold Legacy of the U.S. Doctor Draft and the NIH ‘Yellow Berets’” and basically deals how a Doctor Draft made a positive impact on improving the basic research of clinical medicine.
Professor Park received his Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University and came to KAIST in 2007.
Summary of Dissertation
From the start of the Korean War in 1950 to the end of the Vietnam War in 1973 a large number of medical school graduates were drafted to the army. Of those drafted, 100 personnel were chosen annually to focus on researching in the National Institute of Health who developed into leaders of the field.
For example, those who worked as a researcher at the National Institute instead of their armed services were 1.5 times more likely to become a tenured professor, 2 times more likely to be promoted to Dean of the department, and 3 times more likely to be the Dean. In addition, 9 out of 50 Nobel Prize winners in fields of natural sciences between 1985 and 2007 were from the same pool of researchers, and 10 out of 76 recipients of National Medal of Science were also from the same pool of researchers.
They were named the ‘Yellow Berets’ like the special forces ‘Green Berets’ and made great contribution to the field in implementing and executing the bench to beside culture that involves development in laboratories to clinical testing.
Professor Park maintains that there has to be improvements made in current policies to encourage research work in medical graduate schools.
2011.05.31 View 10395