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The KAIST Graduate Program for Future Strategy Holds Symposium on Futurology
The KAIST Graduate Program for Future Strategy held the 2014 Futurology Symposium entitled "Limits to Growth and Quantum Jumps"
at the Korea Press Center on April 3rd. The symposium was organized in efforts to
overcome the limits of Korean society’s growth potential and find a new growth momentum.
Three types of sessions took place: special lectures, field-specific subject presentations, and comprehensive debates.
As keynote speakers, Jim Dator, a professor at the University of Hawaii, lectured on Korea’s limits and possibilities, and David E. Van Zandt, the president of the New School in New York City on future social changes and our choice.
The seven field-specific subject presentations included: "The re-framing of social conflicts and frames" by Young-Jin Kang of Sungkyunkwan University, "The limits of technology and three-dimensional tech-knowledge solutions" by Chun-Taek Rim of KAIST, and "The limits of capitalism and the present financial system" by
Su-Chan Chae of KAIST
.
In addition, Yong-Suk Seo of the Korea Institute of Public Administration made a presentation on the "Population structure change and three future strategy options," Se-Yeon Kim, Congressman of the Saenuri party, on "The limits of politics and future strategy organization," and Seung-Bin Park, Dean of the KAIST College of Engineering, on the "Energy exhaustion and environmental problems."
The debate topic at the third session,
chaired by Kyu-Yeon Lee, a member of the editorial board of
Joongang Ilbo,
a Korean
daily newspaper, was "The limits of growth and another leap proposed by opinion leaders of Korea."
The seven
fields
stand for society, technology, economy, population, politics, environment, and resource, the major elements that bring
changes
in future society.
Jim Dator (left) and
David E. Van Zandt (right)
2014.04.04 View 7887 -
An Electron Cloud Distribution Observed by the Scanning Seebeck Microscope
All matters are made of small particles, namely atoms. An atom is composed of a heavy nucleus and cloud-like, extremely light electrons.
Korean researchers developed an electron microscopy technique that enables the accurate observation of an electron cloud distribution at room-temperature. The achievement is comparable to the invention of the quantum tunneling microscopy technique developed 33 years ago.
Professor Yong-Hyun Kim of the Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology at KAIST and Dr. Ho-Gi Yeo of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) developed the Scanning Seebeck Microscope (SSM). The SSM renders clear images of atoms, as well as an electron cloud distribution. This was achieved by creating a voltage difference via a temperature gradient.
The development was introduced in the online edition of Physical Review Letters (April 2014), a prestigious journal published by the American Institute of Physics.
The SSM is expected to be economically competitive as it gives high resolution images at an atomic scale even for graphene and semiconductors, both at room temperature. In addition, if the SSM is applied to thermoelectric material research, it will contribute to the development of high-efficiency thermoelectric materials.
Through numerous hypotheses and experiments, scientists now believe that there exists an electron cloud surrounding a nucleus. IBM's Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) was the first to observe the electron cloud and has remained as the only technique to this day. The developers of IBM microscope, Dr. Gerd Binnig and Dr. Heinrich Rohrer, were awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics.
There still remains a downside to the STM technique, however: it required high precision and extreme low temperature and vibration. The application of voltage also affects the electron cloud, resulting in a distorted image.
The KAIST research team adopted a different approach by using the Seebeck effect which refers to the voltage generation due to a temperature gradient between two materials.
The team placed an observation sample (graphene) at room temperature (37~57℃) and detected its voltage generation. This technique made it possible to observe an electron cloud at room temperature.
Furthermore, the research team investigated the theoretical quantum mechanics behind the electron cloud using the observation gained through the Seebeck effect and also obtained by simulation capability to analyze the experimental results.
The research was a joint research project between KAIST Professor Yong-Hyun Kim and KRISS researcher Dr. Ho-Gi Yeo. Eui-Seop Lee, a Ph.D. candidate of KAIST, and KRISS researcher Dr. Sang-Hui Cho also participated. The Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, the Global Frontier Initiative, and the Disruptive Convergent Technology Development Initiative funded the project in Korea.
Picture 1: Schematic Diagram of the Scanning Seebeck Microscope (SSM)
Picture 2: Electron cloud distribution observed by SSM at room temperature
Picture 3: Professor Yong-Hyun Kim
2014.04.04 View 16596 -
Professor Sang-Yup Lee Named the Winner of the Ho-Am Prize in 2014
The Ho-Am Prize, awarded by Samsung Group’s Ho-Am Foundation, was announced on April 2, 2014 in Seoul. Professor Sang-Yup Lee of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST was among the five recipients.
The prize is presented to Koreans who have made great contributions to the development of Korea in the field of science, engineering, medicine, arts, and philanthropy.
Professor Lee received the award in recognition of his pioneering research on systems metabolic engineering.
For the story written by Korea Joongang Daily, please go to the link below:
Ho-Am Foundation Names Annual Prize Winners
Korea Joongang Daily
April 3, 2014
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2987332
2014.04.03 View 11226 -
Press release from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International): Eighty-five business schools extend their AACSB accreditation in business or accounting
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) released a news announcement on April 1, 2014, saying that 85 business schools around the world extended their AACSB accreditation in business or accounting. KAIST is one of the 85 schools which is renewing its business accreditation for another five years.
Founded in 1916, AACSB International is a global accrediting organization for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting. The release said, “AACSB Accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education and has been earned by less than five percent of the world’s business schools. Today, there are 694 business schools in 45 countries and territories that have earned the accreditation.”
For the entirety of the release, please go to:
http://www.aacsb.edu/en/newsroom/2014/4/eighty-five-b-schools-extend-accreditation/
2014.04.02 View 7338 -
Newsletter: KAIST Breakthroughs in Engineering and Information Science & Technology
The
College of Engineering and the College of Information Science & Technology
at KAIST jointly published a bi-annual online newsletter, KAIST Breakthroughs in Engineering and Information Science &
Technology. The newsletter highlights major research achievements of the
two colleges while updating readers on any news or developments in their educational
programs.
For
the spring issue of the newsletter, please go to:
http://kaist.e-eyagi.com/newsletter/2014/01/
2014.03.28 View 7681 -
ACM Interactions: Demo Hour, March and April 2014 Issue
The
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the largest educational and scientific
computing society in the world, publishes a magazine called
Interactions
bi-monthly.
Interactions
is the flagship magazine
for the ACM’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI) with
a global circulation that includes all SIGCHI members.
In
its March and April 2014 issue, the Smart E-book was introduced. It was developed by Sangtae Kim, Jaejeung
Kim, and Soobin Lee at the Information Technology Convergence in KAIST
Institute, KAIST.
For
the article, please go to the link or download the .pdf files below:
Interactions,
March &
April 2014
Demo Hour: Bezel-Flipper
Bezel-Flipper
Interactions_Mar & Apr 2014.pdf
http://interactions.acm.org/archive/view/march-april-2014/demo-hour29
2014.03.28 View 11958 -
KAIST Holds 'Wearable Computer Contest'
Application for ‘2014 Wearable Computer Contest’ until May 23rd
KAIST is holding the 2014 Wearable Computer Contest (WCC) sponsored by Samsung Electronics in November and is currently receiving applications until May 23rd.
Wearable Computer is a device that can be worn on body or clothing, which allows users to be connected while on the move. It is currently receiving attention as the next generation of computer industry that will replace smart phones.
The Wearable Computer Contest will be held under the topic “Smart Fashion to Simple Life” and will be divided into a designated topic contest and an idea contest.
In the “designated topic contest,” each group will compete with their prototypes based on their own ideas about a wearable computer that combines IT and fashion. A total of 15 teams that enter the finals after a document review will be provided with USD 1,400 for a prototype production, Samsung's smart IT devices, and a systematic training program.
For the “idea contest,” competitors will present their ideas for a wearable computer in a poster format. The teams qualified to continue onto the finals will be given an opportunity to create and exhibit a life-sized model.
Chairman of the Wearable Computer Contest (WCC), Professor Hoejun Yoo from the KAIST Department of Electrical Engineering said, “Wearable Computer is the major future growth industry that will lead IT industry after smart phones. I hope WCC will help nurture the future professionals in the field of wearable computer industry.”
The applications for the Wearable Computer Contest can be found on the main website (http://www.ufcom.org) until May 23rd. Both undergraduate and graduate students can participate as a team for the “designated topic contest,” and there are no qualifications required for those who enter the “idea contest.”
Last year, a total of 104 teams from universities all around Korea has participated in the Wearable Computer Contest. The finalist, team 'Jump' from Chungnam University, received the Award of the Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Republic of Korea.
2014.03.28 View 11746 -
Partnership Agreement between KAIST and SK Telecom for Cyber Security
KAIST
and SK Telecom, one of the largest wireless telecommunications operators in
Korea, signed a memorandum of understanding on the industry and university cooperation
to establish a research center for cyber security on March 18, 2014.
The
center will conduct research projects to improve privacy protection, develop core
technologies needed for cyber security, train engineers and researchers, and
host seminars and conferences.
The
two organizations will implement the first joint research project on the
development of software-defined network-based solutions and universal subscriber
identity module-based personal identification solutions.
2014.03.26 View 8098 -
Extreme Tech: Nanowire "impossible to replicate" fingerprints could eliminate fraud, counterfeit goods
Research done by Professor Hyun-Joon Song of Chemistry at KAIST on
anti-counterfeit, nanoscale fingerprints generated by randomly distributed
nanowires was introduced by Extreme Tech, an online global science and technology
news.
For the articles, please go to:
Extreme Tech, March 25, 2014Nanowire ‘impossible to replicate’ fingerprints could eliminate fraud, counterfeit goods
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/179131-nanowire-impossible-to-replicate-fingerprints-could-eliminate-fraud-counterfeit-goods
2014.03.26 View 9885 -
Professor Sang-Ouk Kim Publishes Review Article in the Journal of "Nature Materials"
Nature Materials, a
peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Publishing Group, covers a
range of topics within materials science from materials engineering and
structural materials. The
journal invited Professor Sang-Ouk Kim of Materials Science and Engineering at
KAIST to contribute to the April issue of 2014. Professor Kim,
together with his doctoral student, Ju-Young Kim, wrote a review article in the
“News and Views” section of the journal, which was entitled “Liquid Crystals:
Electric Fields Line Up Graphene Oxide.” The
News and Views is a peer-reviewed section where an academic authority in a particular
field reviews and evaluates papers published in the journal. In
the article, Professor Kim reviewed a paper written by Jang-Kun Song et al. and
highlighted important research outcomes such as the efficient electric field switching
of graphene oxide (GO) liquid-crystals in low-concentration dispersions and the
demonstration of a prototype of a GO liquid-crystal display. This technology
could lead the development of a flexible display. Professor
Kim is an eminent scholar who has reported for the first time in the world on
the solvent-based graphene oxide liquid crystals formation in 2011. For the article, please go to: http://www.kaist.ac.kr/_prog/download.php?filename=Nature_Materials_Professor_Sang-Ouk_Kim_Apr_2014.pdf
2014.03.26 View 10995 -
High Resolution 3D Blood Vessel Endoscope System Developed
Professor Wangyeol Oh of KAIST’s Mechanical Engineering Department has succeeded in developing an optical imaging endoscope system that employs an imaging velocity, which is up to 3.5 times faster than the previous systems. Furthermore, he has utilized this endoscope to acquire the world’s first high-resolution 3D images of the insides of in vivo blood vessel.
Professor Oh’s work is Korea’s first development of blood vessel endoscope system, possessing an imaging speed, resolution, imaging quality, and image-capture area. The system can also simultaneously perform a functional imaging, such as polarized imaging, which is advantageous for identifying the vulnerability of the blood vessel walls.
The Endoscopic Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) System provides the highest resolution that is used to diagnose cardiovascular diseases, represented mainly by myocardial infarction.
However, the previous system was not fast enough to take images inside of the vessels, and therefore it was often impossible to accurately identify and analyze the vessel condition. To achieve an in vivo blood vessel optical imaging in clinical trials, the endoscope needed to be inserted, after which a clear liquid flows instantly, and pictures can be taken in only a few seconds.
The KAIST research team proposed a solution for such problem by developing a high-speed, high-resolution optical tomographic imaging system, a flexible endoscope with a diameter of 0.8 mm, as well as a device that can scan the imaging light within the blood vessels at high speed. Then, these devices were combined to visualize the internal structure of the vessel wall.
Using the developed system, the researchers were able to obtain high-resolution images of about 7 cm blood vessels of a rabbit’s aorta, which is similar size to human’s coronary arteries. The tomography scan took only 5.8 seconds, at a speed of 350 scans per second in all three directions with a resolution of 10~35㎛.
If the images are taken every 200 ㎛, like the currently available commercial vascular imaging endoscopes, a 7cm length vessel can be imaged in only one second.
Professor Wangyeol Oh said, “Our newly developed blood vessel endoscope system was tested by imaging a live animal’s blood vessels, which is similar to human blood vessels. The result was very successful.”
“Collaborating closely with hospitals, we are preparing to produce the imaging of an animal’s coronary arteries, which is similar in size to the human heart,” commented Professor Oh on the future clinical application and commercialization of the endoscope system. He added, “After such procedures, the technique can be applied in clinical patients within a few years.”
Professor Oh’s research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Global Frontier Project by the Korean government. The research results were published in the 2014 January’s edition of Biomedical Optics Express.
Figure 1: End portion of optical endoscope (upper left)
Figure 2: High-speed optical scanning unit of the endoscope (top right)
Figure 3: High-resolution images of the inside of in vivo animal blood vessels (in the direction of vascular circumference and length)
Figure 4: High-resolution images of the inside of in vivo animal blood vessels (in the direction of the vein depth)
2014.03.25 View 13170 -
Professor Huen Lee to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Conference on Gas Hydrates
Professor Huen Lee of the Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering Department at KAIST will receive a lifetime
achievement award at the 8th International Conference on Gas
Hydrates (ICGH) to be held from July 28, 2014 to August 2, 2014 in Beijing,
China.
Among his other scholarly and research accomplishments, Professor Lee achieved the development of natural gas by injecting
carbon dioxide and nitrogen into the layers of gas hydrates. With this
technology, ConocoPhilips, an American multinational energy corporation,
successfully extracted natural gas from the gas hydrates in the North Slope of
Alaska in the US in April 2012.
Meeting every three years in a different
country around the world, ICGH is a leading gathering of scientists and
engineers in gas hydrates. The 8th conference will be held under the
theme of “Opportunity and Challenge-Development and Utilization of Gas
Hydrates.”
2014.03.25 View 8968