TR
-
Satellite Research Lab Named After Late Hyundai Chairman Chung
KAIST, Aug. 11, 2008 -- KAIST held a naming ceremony for a research lab which was named after the late Hyundai Asan Chairman Mong-Hun Chung on Monday (Aug. 11) at the KAIST Satellite Technology Research Center.
During the ceremony, a seminar room was also named after Dr. Soon-dal Choi, President of Daeduk College, for his distinguished contributions to the development of Korean space science.
Back in 1992, the late chairman Chung donated 3.4 billion won (US$3.4 million) to KAIST to build a satellite laboratory for the development of core space technologies and the nurturing of skilled manpower.
The naming ceremony was held in commemoration of the 16th anniversary of the launch of Korea"s first small satellite "Uribyeol 1" on Aug. 11, 1992. Chung died in 2003.
Dr. Soon-Dal Choi who laid the ground work for Korea"s space development program, served as the inaugural director general of the KAIST Satellite Technology Research Center, the birthplace of Korea"s artificial satellite.
On hand at the naming ceremony were a slew of dignitaries including Jeong-Eun Hyun, Hyundai Group Chairwoman and wife of the late Chung; and about 10 chief executives of Hyundai Group companies; Seong-Hyo Park, Mayor of the Daejeon Metropolitan City; Ms. So-Yeon Lee, Korea"s first astronaut; and KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh.
President Suh noted that late Chairman Chung made great contributions to Korea"s artificial satellite development with his donation to the satellite laboratory. He said Dr. Choi is the father of the nation"s satellite program who provided the vision of space development in Korea at a time when Korea lagged behind in the artificial satellite technology.
2008.08.12 View 14662 -
Home-Grown Transparent Thin Film Transistor Developed
KAIST, Aug. 6, 2008 -- A KAIST research team led by Profs. Jae-Woo Park and Seung-Hyup Yoo of the Electrical Engineering Division has developed a home-grown technology to create transparent thin film transistor using titanium dioxide., university authorities said.The KAIST team made the technological advance in collaboration with the LCD Division of Samsung Electronics and the Techno Semichem Co., a local LCD equipment maker. Transparent thin film transistor continues to enjoy a wealth of popularity and intensive research interest since it is used in producing operating circuits including transparent display, active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display and flexible display.
The new technology is significant in that it is based on a titanium dioxide, the first such attempt in the world, while the technologies patented by the United States and Japan are based on ZnO.
Researchers will continue to work on securing technological reliability and developing a technology to mass-produce in a large-scale chemical vapor deposition equipment for the next couple of years.
"The development of technology to produce transparent thin film transistor will help Korean LCD makers reduce its dependence on foreign technologies, as well as maintain Korea"s status as a leader of the world"s display industry," said Prof. Park.
KAIST has applied for local patent registration of the technology and the process is expected to complete by this October or November. International patents have been also applied for in the U.S., Japan and Europe.
The new technology was introduced in the latest edition of the Electron Device Letters, a journal published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE, a New York-based international non-profit, professional organization for the advancement of technology related to electricity. It will be presented at the International Display Workshop 2008 on Dec. 5 in Niigata, Japan.
2008.08.07 View 14214 -
Storing Stably Hydrogen Atoms in Icy Materials Discovered
KAIST, Aug. 8, 2008 -- A KAIST research team led by Prof. Huen Lee of the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering has discovered that icy organic hydrates, which contain small cages that can trap guest molecules, can be used to create and trap hydrogen atoms at higher temperatures.
The properties and reactions of single hydrogen atoms are of great scientific interest because of their inherent quantum mechanical behavior; experimentally, they can be generated and stabilized at very low temperatures (4 K) by high-energy irradiation of solid molecular hydrogen.
The finding was reported in the journal of American Chemical Society and featured in the "Editor"s Choice" in the July 11 issue of Science as a recent research highlight.
Hydrogen is a clean and sustainable form of energy that can be used in mobile and stationary applications. Hydrogen has the potential to solve several major challenges today: depletion of fossil fuels, poor air quality, and green house gas emissions.
However, the trapping of hydrogen atoms in crystalline solid matrix has never been attempted mainly because of experimental difficulties in identifying the generated hydrogen atoms with either spectroscopic or microscopic technique.
"To overcome the barriers and limitations of the existing storage approaches, we have continuously attempted to find the new hydrogen storage media such as icy powders and other related inclusion compounds," said Prof. Lee
The discovery follows the breakthrough concept Prof. Lee"s research team proposed in Nature in 2005 to use pure ice to capture and store hydrogen molecules. At moderate temperature and pressure conditions small guest molecules are entrapped in pure ice powders to form the mixed icy hydrate materials.
"Stable existence of single hydrogen molecule/radical in icy crystalline matrices may offer significant advantages in exploring hydrogen as a quantum medium because icy hydrogen hydrates can be formed at milder conditions when compared with pure solid hydrogen, which requires the ultra low temperature of 4.2 K," said Prof. Lee.
The novel design and synthesis of ionic and radicalized icy hydrates are expected to open a new field for inclusion chemistry and ice-based science and technology. Specifically, the fact that hydrogen atoms can be stably stored in icy materials might provide versatile and practical applications to energy devices including fuel cells, ice-induced reactions, and novel energy storage process, according to the KAIST professor.
2008.08.07 View 12650 -
KAIST Professors Article Featured as Cover Thesis of Biotechnology Journal
An article authored by a research team of Prof. Sang-yup Lee at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Dr. Jin-Hwan Park at the KAIST Institute for the BioCentury has been featured as the cover thesis of the August 2008 issue of Trends in Biotechnology.
The paper, titled "General strategy for strain improvement by means of systems metabolic engineering," focuses on the application of systems biology for the development of strains and illustrates future prospects. Trends in Biotechnology, published by Cell Press, is one of the most prestigious review journals in the field.
Jin-Hwan Park, the primary author of the research thesis, said that the KAIST team"s research work was expected to provide substantial help to researchers involved in biotechnology industry.
The strategy has been established on the basis of the experiences gained in the actual microbial production process using the systems biology methods which his research team has recently worked on, Prof. Park said.
2008.07.24 View 13831 -
KAIST Professor Named International Research Grant Reviewer
Prof. Kwang-Hyun Cho of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST, was appointed as a research grant review committee member of the international Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) for 2008-2009, university authorities reported.
The HFSP is a funding agency that supports international collaboration in interdisciplinary, basic research in the life sciences. It was initiated in 1989 by G7 countries as the sole funding program for international researches in neuroscience and molecular biology. The HFSP now has a membership of 35 countries and Korea joined the program in 2004. Prof. Cho will be responsible for reviewing grant applications in the field of systems biology.
Prof. Cho received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from KAIST in 1993, 1995, and 1998, respectively. He has been working as a director of the KAIST Institute for the BioCentury and KAIST"s Laboratory for Systems Biology and Bio-Inspired Engineering. He has been serving on editorial advisory boards of various international science journals, including Systems and Synthetic Biology (Springer, Netherlands, from 2006), BMC Systems Biology (BMC, London, U.K., from 2007) and Gene Regulation and Systems Biology (Libertas Academica, New Zealand, from 2007).
He is a senior member of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) affiliated with the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE). His research interests cover the areas of systems science with bio-medical applications, especially systems biology and bio-inspired engineering based on molecular systems biology.
2008.07.18 View 17126 -
Int'l Conference for Integration of Science & Technology into Society Opens
The 2008 International Conference for the Integration of Science and Technology into Society (ICISTS-KAIST) opened a four-day meeting on Tuesday (July 15) at Daejeon KAIST campus. The conference is an annual event organized by a group of KAIST undergraduate students.
The fifth-year gathering is designed to provide participants with an opportunity to broaden their scientific perspectives by sharing ideas and experiences in related topics, as well as building an international human network. This year"s event has drawn about 200 students from 40 countries.
The centerpiece of the conference is three workshops on the following themes; Human-Robot Symbiotic Society, Neo-brain Science and Trafficmatics. Myung-Ja Kim, former Korean Environment Minister, will appear as a keynote speaker.
In the workshop sessions, two speakers will discuss specific issues and arrive at a tentative conclusion. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in the debate through Q&A for each session.
The first theme "Human-Robot Symbiotic Society" delves into the current trend that robot is being transformed into a perceivable and touchable concept from an abstract one. Guests for the workship include June-Ho Oh, professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST; James Dater, professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Director of the Hawaii Research Center for Future; Michael Pollitt, CEO of Shadow Robot Company; and Steven Dubowsky, professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT.
The second theme "Neo-Brain Science" focuses on attempts to shed light on brain from diverse perspectives including psychology, economics and art. Among invited speakers are Prof. Jai-Seung Jung at the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST; Prof. Un-Jung Kang at the University of Chicago Medical Center; and Peter Geyer, a consultant for the Association for Psychological Type.
The third workshop on "Traffimatics" will deal with "intelligent transport systems (ITS)" which will discusst new paradigm in transportation policy and traffic engineering. On the list of speakers are Assaf Biderman, assistant director, SENSEable City Laboratory, MIT; Prof. Richard Tay, at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary; Prof. Shoshi Mizokami at Kumamoto University; and Ho-Jong Baik, research associate professor of Virginia Tech.
2008.07.16 View 17283 -
KAIST, CT&T Develop Multi-Energy Hybrid Electric Car
KAIST exchanged a memorandum of understanding for the development and production of a multi-energy plug-in hybrid electric car (ME-PHEV) with CT&T, an electric car maker, on Monday (June 30).
The ME-PHEV is a new vehicle model incorporating a small electric generator and solar energy as power source with conventional plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with rechargeable batteries. The new vehicle has been jointly developed by a research team led by Profs. Soon-Heung Chang and Yong-Hoon Chung, at the department of nuclear and quantum engineering, KAIST, and CT&T.
The ME-PHEV features an increased mileage, improved battery durability and better passenger convenience compared to conventional hybrid vehicles. The joint developers have applied for domestic and international patents.
Prior to the MOU signing ceremony, Prof. Chang, who is also a vice president of KAIST, had a trial ride of the vehicle for the media at the KAIST campus.
"Major car makers of the world currently focus on developing hybrid electric vehicles with battery and internal combustion engine. Compared to these cars, the ME-PHEV offers advantage in terms of reduced air pollution and lowered production costs," said Prof. Chang.
Under the agreement, CT&T will put the features of ME-PHEV into e-Zone, the company"s city-class, low-speed electric vehicle model, with a schedule go into commercial production of the car next year.
2008.07.02 View 14778 -
Super-Fast Internet Data Chip Developed
A KAIST research team led by Prof. Kyoung-Hoon Yang of the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department developed a super-fast chip that could lead to huge advancements in broadband Internet technology, the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said on Thursday (June 26).
The multiplexer chip is the first of its kind to be developed using the quantum effect of resonant tunnelling diode, according to the Ministry.
The integrated circuit chip built at the university laboratory has an operating speed of 45 gigabits per second (Gb/s), while using roughly 75 percent less energy than the previous version. The speed enables the transfer of about 4 full-length movies in one second.
The best operational broadband Internet services provide users with data transfer speed of 40 Gb/s, while most other high-speed online connections offer 10 Gb/s.
"Besides speed, the greatest achievement is low energy use," Prof. Yang said. He stressed that energy use in chips is a crucial factor because power creates heat that can melt circuits and make them inoperable.
"By cutting down on energy use, the new chips can be made smaller and with faster data transfer speed," the scientist said.
He added that efforts are underway to increase operational speed to 100 Gb/s, with energy consumption to be cut to 10 percent of current chips like the high electron mobility transistor, the heterojunction bipolar transistor and the complementary metal oxide semiconductor.
The researcher speculated that such revolutionary chips could be developed in 1-2 years and become the new benchmark in this field since existing chips have limited development capabilities.
The project has received funding from the Education-Science-Technology Ministry since 2000. The Ministry"s financial support will last until 2010.
2008.06.26 View 12109 -
KAIST Opens M&S Technology Research Center
KAIST held an opening ceremony for a new defense research center focusing on modelling & simulation located at its main campus in Daejeon on Thursday (June 19).
The opening of the M&S Technology Research Center is aimed at developing technologies and processes to test, practice and operate newly-developed precision and micro weapons systems in virtual space. The center will be supported by two state-run defense agencies, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Korean Agency for Defense Development.
The new research center is expected to receive a total of 11.5 billion won (US$11.2 million) research grants from the state for the next eight years until 2016. The center will be involved in the development of sophisticated, complex and inter-related weapons system and training research personnel in the specialized area.
The research center will undertake a total of 21 specific projects in collaboration with seven other universities in Korea. Also joining the projects are such overseas institutions as Georgia Institute of Technology and the U.S. Naval Post-Graduate School, and private defense solution providers including Posdata, Samsung Thales and LIG Nex 1.
The opening of the research center comes at a time when modelling and simulation gain growing importance as today"s armies employ more sophisticated, complex and inter-related. weapons systems and equipment than ever before.
Tae-Uk Lee, director of the research center said: "The opening of the center will spur development of operational technologies of precision and micro weapons system on our own, departing from dependence on advanced countries."
2008.06.19 View 15247 -
STX Shipbuilding Donates 500 Million won to KAIST
STX Shipbuilding Co, one of Korea"s leading shipbuilders, signed a memorandum of understanding with KAIST to donate 500 million won (about US$480,000) to Korea"s premier research university on Tuesday, June 17.
KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh and STX Shipbuilding Vice Chairman In-Sung Lee signed the MOU in a ceremony at the KAIST attended by about 20 officials from the university and STX.
STX Shipbuilding donated the sum for the promotion of industrial-academia research projects at KAIST. It will be spent on supporting students" academic activities and scholarships, according to KAIST authorities.
At the signing ceremony, the two institutions also agreed to collaborate in the development of joint research projects and on-the-job training.
2008.06.18 View 10893 -
New System to Generate Extreme-Ultraviolet Light Developed
A KAIST research team led by Prof. Seung-Woo Kim of the Mechanical Engineering Department developed a new system for generating coherent extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) light, school authorities announced on June 5.
The new system comes in a metallic nano-structure consisting of a two-dimensional array of gold "bow tie" elements on a sapphire plate. The new process was featured in the British journal Nature on June 5.
The properties of coherent EUV light make it a prime candidate for exciting technological applications. But, at present, the equipment needed to generate the short-wavelength light is costly and bulky. The system developed by Prof. Kim"s research team is expected to reduce both cost and bulk.
The new system uses the conventional principle of high-harmonic generation via the interaction of a femtosecond laser pulse with a gas, but adopts the novel concept of amplifying light by way of local plasmon field enhancement, according to the research team.
2008.06.10 View 12424 -
Actress Han Makes Donation to KAIST
Actress and movie star Han Eunjung donated 100 million won ($98,000) to KAIST to help Korea"s prestigious research-oriented university continue its academic development on Wednesday (June 4).
In a donation ceremony held at the KAIST President"s office, she signed an agreement for donation.
Han said that she came to realize the importance of science and technology while filming a new movie based on a 15th century Joseon Dynasty episode featuring the development of a rocket-like firearm called "Singijeon." The blockbuster movie will be released in early August.
She also said that she was impressed by the first Korean astronaut So-Yeon Lee who took her undergraduate, master"s and doctorate degrees at KAIST, and decided to make a contribution to the school.
"I hope that I would be of any help in the development of KAIST in becoming one of the top research universities in the world," she said.
Han has been cast for the MBC drama "Lawyers of Korea" which will be aired starting from July.
2008.06.05 View 10892