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President Lee Myung-bak's Congratulatory Address at 2009 KAIST Commencement Ceremony
Following is the full text of President Lee Myung-bak"s congratulatory address at the 2009 KAIST Commencement Ceremony.
Beloved graduates, proud parents, dear family members,
Mr. Cho Jeong-nam, Chairman of the Board of Directors,
Dr. Suh Nam-pyo, President of KAIST,
Esteemed faculty and staff members, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is great to see you all.
First of all, I must begin by extending my most sincere congratulations to the 1,976 graduates who are receiving their degrees today. You worked hard, you earned it and I congratulate you.
We must also remember your parents who worked just as hard as you did, if not more, to support you. You may have family members whom you wish to thank for their support and understanding. I also thank and congratulate the faculty and staff members who worked hard to provide the best possible education for you.
Today is also a great day since we can all join together to recognize the achievements of Dr. Ryu Geun-chul and show him how deeply we respect and appreciate his generous contributions to KAIST. Today, Dr. Ryu received an honorary doctorate in science for his life-long contributions in the field of Korean traditional medicine. He has also donated a vast portion of his personal wealth to KAIST for educating future leaders in science and technology.
Dear graduates, faculty members,
KAIST has been in the forefront of leading Korea’s development over the last thirty-eight years. As the preeminent institution devoted to educating the very best minds in science and technology, more than 20% of all doctorate degree holders in Korea’s science and engineering field are KAIST alumnus. KAIST has led the drive to create more than 470 venture start-ups, opening up a vast new horizon for Korea’s scientific and technological breakthrough while leading the economic growth of Korea.
KAIST has done exceptionally well even compared to the world’s best. It is ranked 34th in engineering and IT. It is ranked 46th in natural sciences. These rankings are a demonstration that KAIST is a research-focused institution with global competitiveness.
Moreover, KAIST has been an example for other higher institutions seeking to reform the way colleges and universities operate. KAIST has demonstrated its forward-looking and reform-minded vision in terms of selecting students, recruiting and evaluating professors and managing its courses. In particular, when KAIST selects its students, it doesn’t look only at their test scores but looks for creative and innovative minds with real character and potential. Such practices are having positive influences on how other universities and colleges select their students. Furthermore, KAIST has taken the lead in applying their research skills to matters of global concern through its EEWS initiative. I am proud of such visionary work and will continue to have high hopes for KAIST.
Our promising future depends on gifted individuals and gifted individuals are nurtured through solid education. For a country such as Korea with no natural resources, human capital is our greatest and most precious resource. We must overcome our lack of natural resources with our abundant and limitless brain power.
The 21st century will be a knowledge-based society and so national competitiveness of individual countries will be determined by how competitive its universities and research institutes are. And the time calls for universities with world-class capabilities in research. Especially, our investments in science and technology today will ensure a brighter tomorrow.
I assure you that this government will spare no effort to KAIST so that it can continue to foster the best minds for even greater achievements.
My dear graduates and professors, proud parents and family members,
All of us are going through difficult times due to the global economic crisis. At the same time, we must face global climate change which is our common concern. And this global concern must not be put aside or given less priority because of the economic crisis. We must do all we can to overcome the economic crisis while aggressively and consistently implementing measures to deal with climate change. At the same time, we must continue our quest to develop the next-generation engines of growth in preparation for the future when this economic crisis is eventually over. This is killing three birds with one stone and this is the core of my Low Carbon/Green Growth vision for Korea’s future.
For a country like Korea with no oil reserves whatsoever, Low Carbon/Green Growth is a must. We simply do not have any other choice. It is also the path that the global community must take.
Korea was late in joining the club of industrialized countries but we are ahead in the information technology sector. But, because we did not possess the core technologies in information and communication, we were unable to fully benefit from being ahead.
Now, we must excel in all areas in the age of green growth. Korea’s future growth will depend on how many core technologies we manage to accrue in green technology, such as technologies to conserve energy, development of new and renewable energy. The government will double, compared to last year, its investments into research and development of green technology.
The government has a long-term vision and this vision calls for continuously increasing strategic investments into the new engines of growth and they include basic sciences, core technologies and big science. Deregulation will continue so that we can foster scientific and technological advancements and also attract more investments and people from abroad.
Dear graduates,
Another source of our new engine of growth and our green technology is none other than fusion technology. Our bio, IT and nano technology will come together, and coupled with what is already a world-class IT industry, we can create future engines of growth.
President Suh Nam-pyo stressed that “Inter-disciplinary study that takes place amidst the boundaries of different disciplines is where new discoveries and added-value are found.” This is a reminder of the importance of fusion research. And we all know that KAIST is the leader in this endeavor.
Fusion technology will greatly improve our quality of life and introduce new and innovative ways to solve our real concerns. Healthcare and medical science are just two examples. As our society becomes an aged society, identifying the causes of and finding the cure for degenerative diseases such as Pakinson’s and dementia are becoming more and more important. If we manage to successfully combine our knowledge in medicine, science and engineering, we can come up with revolutionary ways to detect and cure these and other diseases.
In particular, we will soon see science and medicine come together to create an entirely new paradigm in how we take care of our health. Medicinal research and high-tech research hospitals will be the norm. I truly believe that we can save both this planet as well as ourselves by utilizing green technologies and high-tech fusion technology. The government will continue to support such efforts.
Dear graduates, the heroes of today,
Some of you may wish to pursue higher degrees in order to reach even loftier academic goals. Some of you may opt to venture into society.
Wherever you go and whatever you decide to do, do not be afraid of failure. Pursue your dreams. Face the challenges that come your way. And when you boldly face these challenges with the most precious gift you have, your youth and ideals, your dream will come true. Remember that history is made by those who take up the challenge. Do not be discouraged if you fail today. Just pick yourselves up tomorrow and try again. And again.
Do not be consumed by selfish ambitions. But instead, always think what you can do for your society, your country and for humankind.
Science and technology that is used for personal gains or new innovations and technologies lacking even the very basic ethical standards can become a curse to mankind. This is why those aspiring to become scientists and engineers must first agonize over how they plan to better the lives of man before they learn how to conduct experiments. Once you’ve gone through this, you will then be eligible to become true leaders, with your character and technological know-how.
Remember the time you spent hunched over a book, in the classroom, in the library or in laboratories. Do not forget why you came here in the first place. Aim for higher goals in your respective fields.
With that, I wish you a wondrous and exciting new journey.
Again, congratulations and well done!
Thank you.
2009.03.13 View 13399 -
KAIST Wins First Prize at Recon Challenge of Int"l Magnetic Resonance Society
Professor Jong-chul Ye of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering and Hong Jeong, a doctorate student, won the first prize at the Recon Challenge held as part of a workshop sponsored by the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) held in Sedona, the United States.
The workshop took place under the theme of “data sampling and image reconstruction” on Jan. 25-28 in Sedona, Arizona, the United States. The KAIST team beat out major magnetic resonance imaging groups from the U.S. and Europe.
The Recon Challenge is a biennial competition highlighting different reconstruction strategies and metrics to compare them. ISMRM is an international, nonprofit, scientific association which promotes communication, research, development, and applications in the field of magnetic resonance in medicine and biology and other related topics.
At the competition, the KAIST team presented a new dynamic MRI algorithm called k-t FOCUSS that is optimal from a compressed sensing perspective. The main contribution of the method is extension of k-t FOCUSS to a more general framework with prediction and residual encoding. The prediction provides an initial estimate while the residual encoding takes care of the remaining residual signals.
2009.02.06 View 12817 -
Prof. Cho Identifies Dynamics of Signal Transportation System in Control of Cell Proliferation
KAIST, Jan. 22, 2009 -- A research team led by Prof. Kwang-Hyun Cho of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST, has identified a hidden mechanism of the dynamic behavior of signal transportation system involved in the control of cell proliferation, university authorities said.
The finding is expected to provide a clue to appropriately controlling the pathway of ERK protein which is known to play a significant role in causing and spreading cancer. The research was featured as the cover paper of the latest online edition of the Journal of Cell Science.
The Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK pathway (or ERK pathway) is an important signal transduction system involved in the control of cell proliferation, survival and differentiation. However, the dynamic regulation of the pathway by positive- and negative-feedback mechanism, in particular the functional role of Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) are still incompletely understood. RKIP is a physiological endogenous inhibitor of MEK phosphorylation by Raf kinases, but also participates in a positive-feedback loop in which ERK can inactivate RKIP.
"We attempted to unearth the hidden dynamics of these feedback mechanisms and to identify the functional role of RKIP through combined efforts of biochemical experiments and computer simulations based on an experimentally validated mechanical model," Prof. Cho was quoted as saying.
2009.02.03 View 11140 -
Six Organizations Join Forces to Induce Projected National Brain Institute to Daejeon
Six major organizations including KAIST have joined forces to help Daejeon City to win the government approval to build the envisioned Korean Brain Institute in Daedeok Research Complex.
The six organizations signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperating in establishing the government-funded institute built within the Daedeok Research Complex in the city of Daejeon, at KAIST on Jan. 14. The six organizations are KAIST, the Daejeon City Government, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Korea Research Institute of Standard and Science, Asan Medical Center, and SK Corp., a pioneer in effective therapeutic invention for serious brain disorders.
The partnership of the six organizations is expected to bring a broad-based cooperation opportunities and create a massive synergy effect in the brain science researches and the development of new therapeutic treatment for brain disorders by combining their resources and infrastructures.
The six organizations have also built an international research network with such globally-renowned brain research institutions as RIKEN, a large natural sciences research institute in Japan, Max Plank Institute in Germany, Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, in Switzerland and Brain Research Institute of University of Queensland in Australia. The research network is under the support and guidance of Dennis Choi, a prominent neuroscientist who once served as the President of the Society for Neuroscience and is currently a professor in the Departments of Neurology and biology at Emory University.
The tentatively titled Korea Brain Institute is envisioned to help fight brain disorders and create Korea"s new growth engine, as well as lengthening life span, by conducting convergence researches in nero science, brain science and pharmacology. If the consortium of the six organizations wins the government approval to build the proposed institute within the Daedeok complex, the central government and the Daejeon city government are expected to pour a total of 329.7 billion won into the project by 2020.
2009.01.14 View 15768 -
Five KAIST Students Offered Internship from Qualcomm
Qualcomm Inc., a wireless telecommunications research and development company based in San Diego, California, has offered internship for five KAIST students of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, university authorities said on Monday (Jan. 5).
The five students who are graduate and doctoral students studying communication and RFID (radio frequency identification) design will be working for six months at Qualcomm"s RFIC (radio frequency integrated circuits) Department in Santa Clara, Calif., as co-researchers. These interns will receive about $7,000 a month each with other benefits.
It is the first time that Qualcomm has offered internship for students outside the U.S., according to external relations officials at KAIST. Students who have shown outstanding research output during the internship period will be offered employment at Qualcomm.
"Qualcomm"s internship for KAIST students is designed to help young Korean talents to become professionals who will lead global advancement in the IT sector and strengthen its research network with Korea," Seung-Soo Kim, senior director of Qualcomm Korea, was quoted as saying.
Qualcomm plans to continue providing internship program for KAIST students, as well as pursuing joint research initiatives, the officials said.
2009.01.08 View 14152 -
Prof. Seong Publishes English Book on Reliability in Digital Control Systems
Prof. Poong-Hyun Seong of Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering has recently published an English-language book on reliability and risk issues in large scale safety-critical digital control systems used in complex facilities such as nuclear power plants.
The book entitled “Reliability and Risk Issues in Large Scale Safety-critical Digital Control Systems” is a result of Prof. Seong’s collaboration with some KAIST graduates who used to be under his guidance. The 303-page publication has been published by Springer, one of the world’s leading publishers of academic journals, as part of the Springer Series in Reliability Engineering.
The book consists of four parts; part I deals with issues related to hardware, part II software, part III human factors and finally the last part integrated systems. It can be purchased through some on-line book stores such as Amazon.com.
Prof. Seong served as an editor-in-chief for Nuclear Engineering and Technology (NET), an international journal of Korean Nuclear Society (KNS), from 2003 to 2008. He also worked as a chair of the Human Factors Division (HFD) of American Nuclear Society (ANS) from 2006 to 2007. Prof. Seong is now a commissioner of Korea Nuclear Safety Commission which is the nation’s highest committee on Nuclear Safety.
2008.12.26 View 14977
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KAIST Scientists Creates Transparent Memory Chip
--See-Through Semis Could Revolutionize Displays
A group of KAIST scientists led by Prof. Jae-Woo Park and Koeng-Su Lim has created a working computer chip that is almost completely clear -- the first of its kind.
The new chip, called "transparent resistive random access memory (TRRAM), is similar in type to an existing technology known as complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) memory -- common commercial chips that provide the data storage for USB flash drives and other devices. Like CMOS devices, the new chip provides "non-volatile" memory, meaning that it stores digital information without losing data when it is powered off. Unlike CMOS devices, however, the new TRRAM chip is almost completely clear.
The paper on the new technology, entitled "Transparent resistive random access memory and its characteristics for non-volatile resistive switching," was published in the December issue of the Applied Physics Letters (APL), and the American Institute of Physics, the publisher of APL, issued a press release about this breakthrough.
"It is a new milestone of transparent electronic systems," says researcher Jung-Won Seo, who is the first author of the paper. "By integrating TRRAM devices with other transparent electronic components, we can create a totally see-through embedded electronic system."
Technically, TRRAM devices rely upon an existing technology known as resistive random access memory (RRAM), which is already in commercial development for future electronic data storage devices. RRAM is built using metal oxide materials between equally transparent electrodes and substrates.
According to the research team, TRRAM devices are easy to fabricate and may be commercially available in just 3-4 years.
"We are sure that TRRAM will become one of alternative devices to current CMOS-based flash memory in the near future after its reliability is proven and once any manufacturing issues are solved," says Prof. Jae-Woo Park, who is the co-author on the paper. He adds that the new devices have the potential to be manufactured cheaply because any transparent materials can be utilized as substrate and electrode. They also may not require incorporating rare elements such as Indium.
2008.12.17 View 15855 -
Prof. Kim's Team Wins Silver Prize at International Design Contest
A KAIST team led by Prof. Myung-Suk Kim of the Department of Industrial Design won a silver prize (given by the Mayor of Osaka) at the 17th International Design Competition held at the Osaka International Convention Center on Nov. 27.
The team, made up of KAIST students Da-Woon Chung (representative), Ji-Hoon Kim and Bo-Yeon Kim, presented a sonic energy absorbing (SONEA) system to transform noise energy into electrical energy. At the 2008 competition held under the main theme of "Earth-Life: Clean Aqua, Clean Air, Clean Energy," a Chinese team won the gold prize, Japanese and Korean groups shared silver prizes, and bronze prizes were given to U.S. and German contestants.
It was noteworthy that the KAIST team was the only undergraduate contestants who won the prize. Ji-hoon Kim had already won a bronze prize last year at the same competition.
The International Design Competition Osaka has been held annually or biannually, organized by the Japan Design Foundation, since 1983 and is considered as one of the most prestigious design competitions.
2008.12.09 View 14442 -
Two KAIST Professors Elected Fellows of APS
Profs. Sung-Chul Shin and Chang-Hee Nam of the Department of Physics, KAIST, have recently been elected the 2009 fellows of the American Physical Society (APS), university officials said on Tuesday (Dec. 2).
The APS fellowship is a prestigious recognition of the two professors" outstanding academic achievements in the field of physics, the officials said. The selection criteria are known to be extremely stringent and only a small fraction of APS members become fellows.
Prof. Shin was cited for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of magnetization reversal dynamics, in particular critical scaling behavior of Barkhausen avalanches of 2D ferromagnets, and discovery of novel magnetic thin films and multilayers for high-density data storage.
Prof. Nam was recognized for his contributions to the theory and experiments of physical processes of high harmonic generation for the development of attosecond coherent x-ray sources and related femtosecond laser technology.
The American Physical Society, founded in 1899, is the world"s second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. It has 46,000 members across the world.
2008.12.04 View 13115 -
2008 IEEE International Conference on Humanoid Robots Opens
The 2008 IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, an international gathering to identify new research trends and technology in humanoid robotics, will open a three-day session on Monday (Dec. 1) at the Hotel Rivera and KAIST in Daejeon.
The annual conference is organized by KAIST and the Robotics and Automation Society of the Institute for Electric and Electronic Engineers, a U.S.-based international non-profit, professional organization for the advancement of technology related to electricity.
The conference is expected to draw a total of 200 robotics researchers from 19 different countries. Prof. Jun-Ho Oh, at the Department of Mechanical Engineering who led the creation of Korea"s first humanoid robot Hubo, is serving as general chair of the conference. Prof. Oh was named the host of the 2008 conference at the 2007 conference held at the Carnegie Melon University of the United States. The eight-year old conference was inaugurated in Boston in 2000.
On the opening day of Dec. 1, seven lectures will be given on diverse areas of robotics including cognitive humanoid vision, and robot vision sensor and sensing. On the subsequent two days, a total of 110 papers will be presented.
During the conference period, a variety of robots produced by six local and foreign robot makers will be on demonstration, providing opportunities for researchers and industrial robot makers to share technological ideas.
Highlights of the conference will be special lectures by world-renowned robot researchers Prof. Yoshiyuki Sankai of University of Tsukuba, who has created an exoskeletal "robot suit," and Prof. Art Kuo of Univerity of Michigan who is regarded as a leading authority in dynamic walking.
Following the conference, all participants are scheduled to tour Prof. Oh"s Hubo Lab and the Human-Robot Interaction Research Center, both located at KAIST.
2008.12.01 View 12713
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KAIST Collaborating with U.S. Universities to Advance Humanoid Robotics
Hubo, a life-size walking bipedal humanoid robot, is perhaps the best-known character in Korea that KAIST has ever produced. It was shown to the government heads of the Asia-Pacific region during the APEC held in Busan, Korea, in 2005 and appeared at the hit concerts of the pop singer Jang-Hoon Kim. The humanoid robot is soon likely to catch the fancy of Americans as a U.S. government-funded project seeks to create a Hubo that can work and interact with people in collaboration with Korean scientists.
"We are going to give the brains to Hubo. (Japanese) Asimo can do only pre-programmed actions. We want to create a Hubo that can help people, interact with people," said Prof. Paul Oh of the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics at Drexel University in Philadelphia and leader of the five-year international project which was launched in November 2007.
The U.S.$2.5 million project is funded through the Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE) Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States. It brings together world-renowned experts in humanoid design and information technologies.
"Dr. Jun-Ho Oh"s lab at KAIST (that has created Hubo) is the world"s leader in humanoid design and the U.S. has advanced technologies in the areas such as artificial intelligence, mechanical learning and robot vision. Combining the strengths of the two countries can create a synergy effect and develop a more advanced humanoid robot," said Paul Oh. He is currently serving as Program Director of Robotics of the NSF which is overseeing robotics research (non-military) in the U.S. consisting over 150 robotics faculty.
Paul Oh"s research team consists of experts from five U.S. universities -- Drexel, Bryn Mawr College, Colby College, the University of Pennsylvania and Virginia Tech -- and KAIST.
Leading a delegation of six professors and eight students, Dr. Paul Oh made a two-day visit to KAIST on Nov. 18-19 to review the progress of the project and have a technical meeting with participants.
"The U.S. universities participating in this program are scattered across the nation. So we decided to have a technical meeting here in Korea," he said.
Asked the reason why he chose KAIST as a partner for the program, Dr. Oh said that KAIST is willing to open Hugo to international researchers, whereas in Japan only Honda engineers are allowed to touch Asimo, which is a humanoid robot created by Honda Motor Company.
The project is to establish no barrier for roboticists anywhere in the world to pursue the humanoid research; a suite of humanoid platforms will be available for researchers to develop and advance capabilities like locomotion and human-robot interaction.
The team has been initially involved in development of three tools, all of which are based on the Hubo platform, in order to kick-start humanoid research in the U.S. They are the Mini-Hubo (a small, light-weight and affordable humanoid purchasable at the price lower than $8,000), On-Line Hubo (a program to operate Hubo online) and Virtual Hubo (a simulation program to do researches in cyberspace). As the first outcome of the project, the Mini-Hubo is expected to be released in the U.S. around next April.
Another important purpose of the PIRE program is to seek transformative models to train scientists and engineers to effectively work in global multi-disciplined design teams. To this end, an aggregate number of 20 students from U.S. universities are to stay at the KAIST during the next five years, with two students taking turns on a six-month term.
"I was really amazed how much work is done with small funding here. This is really an excellent example to learn," said Roy Gross, an undergraduate from Drexel who has been staying at Prof. Oh"s Lab for the past three months.
2008.11.21 View 16365 -
KAIST Opens Cell Bench Research Center
KAIST opened a cell bench research center on the campus on Monday, Nov. 17, as a joint project with Samsung Electric Co. and Samsung Medical Center.
On hand at the opening ceremony were about 100 persons from the three organizations, including KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh, Samsung Electric"s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Byung-Cheon Koh and Samsung Medical Center Vice President Hyo-Geun Lim.
The newly-opened research center will be involved in the development of individually-tailored anti-cancer medicine using bio-inspired cell chips and technologies for clinical applications. Prof. Young-Ho Cho of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering was named director of the research center.
"Top-notch professionals from the electronic industry, academia and the medical community have gathered together to establish this research center. We expect the center will open a new path for the science and technology community and the industry to combine their strengths and develop innovative anti-cancer therapeutics," said KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh at the opening ceremony.
"The development of bio-cell chip technology represents a new challenge for the Samsung Electric which has focused on information technologies thus far. Through cooperation with KAIST and Samsung Medical Center, we expect to be able to develop a simple and efficient cure for cancer patients," commented Samsung Electric CTO Byung-Cheon Koh.
The research center will be initially concentrating on the development of cell chips for lung cancer, one of the primary causes of death for Koreans.
2008.11.17 View 14833