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KAIST tech-clinic center opens
- Consists of total 124 staffs including KAIST professors, experts from state-run institutes in Daedeok Innopolis, etc.
- Introduce the patient treatment system of general hospitals and provide the services of diagnosis, treatment, and later management of small and medium-sized venture enterprises
A tech-clinic center is opened in KAIST to solve technical problems of enterprises in Daedeok Innopolis.
KAIST (President Nam Pyo Suh) and Daedeok Innopolis (President&CEO In Chul Park) held the opening ceremony of ‘Daedeok Innopolis-designated KAIST tech-clinic center’ at the High-tech Venture Hall in KAIST, 5:00 p.m. Monday, August 28.
KAIST tech-clinic center consists of total 124 staffs including KAIST professors and researchers, experts from state-run institutes in Daedeok Innopolis, etc.
The staffs will take charge of general diagnosis and treatment in the fields of Information Communication, BioTechnologies, Nano-Technologies, Environmental Engineering, Management, Design, and so on.
The tech-clinic center, upon the request by small and medium-sized enterprises, will dispatch the staffs in the corresponding field to check the state of the enterprises and provide assistance to solve problems in technology development and researches.
The center plans to transfer technologies that enterprises need and solve long-term tasks through joint/ entrusted researches.
The center will also perform treatments in the fields of management, law, and accounting of enterprises in association with company founding and management consultation project, which is being promoted by Daedeok Innopolis.
Unlike the existing consulting institutes that put a high value on consultation, the center is featured with its distinguished way of running that it will analyze the causes of problems, find fundamental solutions, and perform even later management.
An official from KAIST said, “Considering various circumstances, it’s not easy for individual enterprises to find suitable experts in the corresponding fields and request proper solutions to settle their problems. That’s the reason why KAIST has promoted this project. KAIST hopes many enterprises in Daedeok Innopolis based on the cutting-edge technologies will gain substantial assistance from this center.”
An official from Daedeok Innopolis said, “In order to provide practical supports, the treatment will be carried out in preliminary/ routine/ expert phases. Also, it is planned to strengthen regular omnidirectional support services for enterprises in association with the internet web call center, etc.”
2006.09.05 View 14251 -
Professor Chan Beum Park, requested for joint international research by a German biotechnology enterprise.
- Bitop AG (Germany) requested a joint development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease
- The meaning of the financial support by European enterprise to the research result of domestic university.
Professor Chan Beum Park (Department of Materials Science and Engineering in KAIST/ President Nam Pyo Suh) has been entrusted with a joint international research for the development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease from Bitop AG, German biotechnology enterprise.
KAIST recently agreed with Bitop AG to cooperate for a research program pursuing the development of inhibitors that inhibit the formation of plaque relevant to amyloid diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Based on this agreement, KAIST will be provided with a financial support of sixty thousands Euro (about 74 million won) from Bitop AG.
Professor Park will perform the screening of inhibitors, which are the core of the research, and KAIST will share patent rights from the research with Bitop AG.
It is known that various degenerative nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, mad cow disease, and so on arise mainly from the accumulation of pathological protein plaque termed amyloid, and environmental stress accelerates the diseases.
So far, no effective remedy has been developed for amyloid diseases.
Recently, the use of chemicals inhibiting the formation of amyloid has been raised as a potential remedy.
Natural small stress molecules extracted from microbes growing in extreme environments like volcanic region on the bottom of the deep sea, etc. are gaining attention as an amyloid inhibitor.
Professor Park found out for the first time in the world that Anti-stress materials are effective in inhibiting the formation of amyloid plaque and published that fact in several renowned European scientific journals.
After that, Professor Park was requested by Bitop AG for a joint research and has studied for the development of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease using various kinds of Anti-stress materials.
Professor Park said, “I’d like to grant a highly valuable meaning to this entrustment since it implies that European enterprises perceive the value of the research result by domestic universities and hope to promote research and development by providing practical financial support, etc. I wish this time’s entrustment will be a momentum to advance Korea’s research level one step higher through active joint researches with enterprises or institutes in U.S. and Europe as well as Bitop AG.”
Bitop AG is a German enterprise that produces various Anti-stress materials coming from extreme-loving microbes.
Currently, Anti-stress materials are being sold mainly as protein and cell protectants, cosmetic additives, health supplement, etc.
Anti-stress materials extracted from microbes well growing in extreme environment of one hundred centigrade or more are expected to perform a role of inhibitors that inhibit the formation of amyloid plaque, the main factor of stress-related degenerative nerve diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, etc. Such Anti-stress materials are gaining attention as a future medicine for Alzheimer’s disease, etc.
2006.09.05 View 13933
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Former Information and Communication Minister Soonhoon Bae appointed to Vice president of KAIST
“KAIST graduate school of management will be a world-class graduate school of management”
Professor Soonhoon Bae was appointed to the vice president of KAIST in Seoul campus on August 16.
Vice president Bae started his carrier with Daewoo Inc. as the head of the technical H.Q. in Daewoo Heavy Industry in 1976, and took office as the CEO of Daewoo Electronics (1991-95) and Daewoo Inc. (1995-97).
He was also the Minister of Information and Communication in 1998 and the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Business Hub during 2004-05.
He became an issue by ‘TANKism’, a motto of making strong and core function-convergent electronic goods, when he was the CEO of Daewoo Electronics in 1992. From 1999, he’s made lectures for KAIST graduate school of techno management and Classroom No. 101 in Supex Management Hall where he has made lectures is called ‘tank classroom’.
Vice president Bae expressed his intention of the globalization and level-up of the school by saying, “I will focus on basic researches of management and thus raise the level of KAIST graduate school up to be qualified for Nobel Prize. I’ve taken many high-rank positions such as the CEO of major companies and the minister, however, position doesn’t matter at all. I am fully satisfied with the fact that the organizations that I belonged to have been reborn as world-class communities, and I am planning to lead KAIST graduate school of management in such a direction.”
2006.09.05 View 13538
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Ju-pyeong Lee won the Best Paper Award from IEEE RTAS
Ju-pyeong Lee, doctoral student of the Dept. of Electrical Engineering of KAIST, received the Best Paper Award from the 11th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Real-Time and Embedded Technology and Applications Symposium (IEEE RTAS) sponsored by IEEE TC on Real Time System and supported from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
He is in the Computer Engineering laboratory, and won the honor by his research of technique of Delayed Locking Technique for Improving Real-Time Performance of Embedded Linux by Prediction of Timer Interrupt. His paper was selected to be the best because of its practicality. His research purposed the technique that can dramatically improve real time problem, which was indicated to be the big problem of Linux. Moreover, he presented the way to easily materialize this technique in the practical system.
Best Paper Award is the prize awarded by IEEE Computer Society in the recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of real time system and embedded technology.
IEEE RTAS is a symposium held annually by IEEE. In this year, the 11th symposium was held from March 7 to March 10, for four days, in San Francisco, United States. The purpose of this year symposium was to seek papers describing significant contributions both to state of the art and state of the practice in the broad field of embedded and open real-time computing, control, and communication. Therefore, it especially focused on online real-time and embedded applications ranging from industrial embedded applications such as aeronautics and automotive systems to open multimedia, telecommunication and mobile computing systems.
Approximately 200 related erudite from almost 20 countries including United States, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden participated in this symposium. Total number of papers submitted to IEEE RTAS was 158, while only 53 of them were selected.
by Hye-jung Won / Staff ReporterApril, 2005 / The KAIST Herald
2005.04.12 View 16027
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National NanoFab Center Established
NNFC Emerges with Cutting-edge Nanotech
On March 16, a dedication ceremony was held at KAIST to mark the completion of the National NanoFab Center(NNFC). The opening was graced with the presence of several prominent figures, namely, President Robert B. Laughlin, Daejeon City Mayor Hong-chul Yum, and Myung Oh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Technology.Celebrations of the opening were attended by roughly 300 related personnel. After a welcoming speech given by Hee-Chul Lee, President of NNFC, the event proceeded with a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a grand tour of the cleanroom.
The newly completed NNFC on campus boasts a total area of 17,035 square meters which consists of a four-storey research building, a cleanroom and a central utility building.
Still at the first stage of its equipment supplementation, the center has currently achieved an immense 140 in gear variety, worth approximately 80 billion won. At its final stage, a total of 206 equipment arrangements are to be available for various research purposes.
Implementing the use of state-of-the-art facilities, NNFC’s devices include an electron beam capable of critical measurements as small as ten nanometers and an ion beam structure for the analysis of nano-scale materials. These equipments are to be used in numerous areas - fundamental physics, biotechnology and nanoscience
Until the year 2011, a sum of 290 billion won is to be invested in the NNFC by the government and other private organizations. The center, along with Daedeok Techno Valley, aspires to play an integral role in maturing towards a new age of nanotechnology.
President Lee of the NNFC stated that the center is essential for Korea’s nanotechnology skills to achieve higher standards and compete with countries such as the U.S. and Japan. President Lee is also a professor of KAIST at the Division of Electrical Engineering.
By Kyoung-lee Park / Staff ReporterApril, 2005 / The KAIST Herald
2005.04.12 View 19748
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KAIST president R. Laughlin speaks during a news conference
KAIST president Robert Laughlin speaks during a news conference
at the Government Complex in Kwachon, south of Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea Times 2005-02-01
THE KOREA TIMES
By Kim Tae-gyuStaff Reporter
Robert Laughlin, president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), takes a step backward from his hardline push for KAIST reform in the face of strong opposition.
The 1998 Nobel laureate in physics, who took the helm of the nation’s top technology university last July, made the point Tuesday at a press conference at the Kwachon Government Complex in southern Seoul.
``Privatization of KAIST is not on the table. We are only discussing securing money for the advancement of KAIST as a world-class institution,’’ the 54-year-old president said.
Laughlin also denied the swirling suspicions that he plans to transform KAIST to a general-purpose, undergraduate-focused college from the current research-oriented graduate school.
``The issue we are discussing is moving the business model of KAIST toward the one used by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, not changing KAIST’s structure,’’ he said.
This is a retreat from his original plan to fundamentally overhaul the state-funded KAIST to a market-oriented institute by several aggressive measures.
In a new investment strategy for KAIST in December, roughly five months after his tenure began, Laughlin said KAIST is trapped in a funding squeeze from which there appears to be no exit.
He then suggested revamping its traditional emphasis on graduate education because this type of system has come to be out of tune with the market.
He even proposed expanding the enrollment of KAIST to 20,000 from the current total of 7,500 and charging tuition fees of 3 million won per semester from the current fee of under 850,000 won.
The surprise reform plan created a backlash from KAIST faculty, students and government officials, who regarded the scheme as a privatization attempt.
In the process, professor Park O-ok, dean of the school’s planning office, resigned from his position in early December and asked Laughlin to abandon the reform.
In response, Laughlin said the miscommunication resulted from the secret process of KAIST reform discussion. He expected policy announcement in early March to clear up misconceptions.
Regarding Park’s protests, he said: ``I had a personality problem with him but that has now been fixed.’’
Yesterday, Laughlin appointed Chang Soon-heung, professor in the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, to fill Park’s position.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
2005.02.02 View 14116
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Nerve-protecting gene discovered
Korean scientists for the first time have identified a gene that blocks nerve damage from fevers and the use of narcotics, a state-run research institute said yesterday.
The finding may open the way for new medicine that can prevent the loss of brain function which is frequently caused by excessive stimulation of nerves and abnormally high body temperature.
"The research is in an early stage. But this approach has the potential to develop genetics-based preventatives against brain-attacking diseases," said Kim Jae-seob, a bioscience professor of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, who led the study.
The researchers named the gene Pyrexia, which means fever. Kim"s team extracted it from genetically engineered fruit flies using a genome-screening system. In laboratory tests, they found that the gene is activated to 39 degrees Celsius or higher.
The researchers enhanced Pyrexia"s functionality in some fruit flies while removing the gene from others to observe their different reactions when exposed to high temperature.
"The fruit flies without the gene showed severe nerve disorder and suffered paralysis of brain function, while Pyrexia-enhanced flies maintained their normal brain conditions," the professor said.
The researchers got the same result from experiments with human cells, he said.
There are a lot of channel proteins, which enable ions to enter and exit the cell, that react to the level of temperature, but Pyrexia is the first of its kind that actually protects the neurons from external stimulus, he said.
The finding will appear on the March edition of the London-based science magazine Nature Genetics.
THE KOREA HERALD 2005.1.31 (thkim@heraldm.com) By Kim Tong-hyung
2005.02.02 View 13885
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Gene Protecting Brain Nerves Discovered
THE KOREA TIMES 2005.1.31By Kim Tae-gyu / Staff Reporter
South Korean scientists have for the first time discovered genes tasked with protecting brain nerves.
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology professor Kim Jae-seob said Sunday the new genes, named pyrexia, shield brain nerves from outside stimuli, including high temperatures.
``The channel gene of pyrexia will open the door to developing new-concept medicines for brain damage in patients of high fever or drug addicts,’’ he said.
The channel gene refers to transport proteins, which provide a static passageway for a variety of essential substances to enter into cells.
``Up until now, a lot of channel genes activated by temperatures have been identified. But among them, pyrexia is first that guards brain nerves from external stresses,’’ Kim said.
Kim’s team learned pyrexia plays a pivotal role in the body through experiments with genetically engineered flies that did not have any pyrexia.
Up to 60 percent of the pyrexia-depleted mutants were paralyzed within three minutes of exposure to a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.
In comparison, just 9 percent of normal flies were paralyzed with the same stimulus, indicating pyrexia is responsible for protecting animals from high-temperature stress.
``Our next goal is to develop pyrexia-embedded drugs, which can be expected to commercially debut in about five years,’’ Kim said.
Kim has already applied for international patents for his medical breakthrough, which will be printed in the March edition of Nature Genetics, a science journal.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
2005.02.02 View 14004
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KAIST Develops Thinking, Feeling Human-Like Robot
By Kim Tae-gyu / Staff ReporterTHE KOREA TIMES 2005.1.31(page 1)
South Korean scientists created the world"s first artificial species, a software robot with ``genes"" and ``chromosomes.""
Kim Jong-hwan, professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, said Sunday his team had developed a robot with 14 chromosomes, which gives the machine a ``personality.""
``This robot is a software-based one, sometimes called a sobot. It has a unique synthetic character determined by its specific combination of 14 chromosomes,"" the 47-year-old Kim said.
When Kim"s team gave a stimulus to the chromosome-equipped sobots, they showed totally different responses even under the same environment due to their distinctive personalities.
Several cognitive sensors enable the prototype models to identify 47 differing outside stimuli. The virtual robots also have 77 behavior patterns.
``Because a sobot is basically a software system, it can easily travel to other robots and multiply. In the middle of such processes, it can evolve through crossover and mutation,"" Kim said.
With the development of associated technologies, Kim expected the number of chromosomes would be augmented as sobots evolve to a more sophisticated species in the future.
The capacity to load large volumes of data is related to the evolution of sobots. Currently, 14 chromosomes consist of roughly 2,000 bytes of data.
The effort to incorporate the sobot into a platform, robot hardware, is now underway and Kim"s team looks to unveil the new-concept species as soon as next month.
``Diverse behavior patterns driven by sobots" specific personalities will be precisely translated into action just like the soul rules the body,"" Kim said.
Kim did not think the robotic evolution would lead to the human race being threatened; the concept of the recent blockbuster ``I, Robot.""
``If we design the chromosomes safely, the self-reproducing robot will not post a threat back to us,"" Kim said.
Kim first revealed the robotic breakthrough at a keynote speech of the International Conference on Autonomous Robots and Agents, held in New Zealand last December.
Kim is also known as pioneer in the field of robot football and has headed the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA) since its foundation in 1999.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
2005.02.02 View 14909
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Bently Pressurized Bearing Company donates 1 million dollars to KAIST to establish a new chair professorship
KAIST has announced that it recently received an endowment of 1 million US dollars from an American company, Bently Pressurized Bearing Co., earmarked to establish a chair professorship, and appointed Professor Jong Hyun Kim of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering Department as Donald E. Bently and Agnes Muszynska Endowed Chair Professor.
Professor Kim is a world-renowned expert in thermal and fluids sciences applied to energy systems and an authority on their applications to rotating machinery and nuclear safety analysis. He did his research in these areas at EPRI, GE, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Penn State University. He is a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and of American Nuclear Society, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Transport Phenomena.
Bently Pressurized Bearing Co. (BPB) is pioneering fully lubricated, pressurized bearing to improve energy efficiency in rotating machinery. Mr. Donald E. Bently, Chairman and CEO of BPB, is an international authority on vibration monitoring and diagnostics of rotating machinery, published widely on these topics and holds patents. A philanthropist deeply interested in technology and science education, Mr. Bently made generous donations to a number of universities. He received numerous honors and awards, including those from ASME, the Pacific Center of Thermal-Fluids Engineering, University of Iowa, and received Nevada’s Outstanding Inventor Award. He was conferred an Honorary Doctorate Degree by the University of Nevada and is a Fellow of ASME.
Dr. Agnes Muszynska is a world-renowned scientist in the area of rotating machinery dynamics in which she published 300 papers and a book. She was in responsible charge of research and development at Bently’s companies for many years. She was conferred the prestigious national title of Professor granted by the President of Poland. Dr. Muszynska is a Fellow of ASME.
Professor Kim said, “I am pleased that KAIST received this endowment, which can be interpreted as an international recognition for the research standard of KAIST. The chair named after the two prominent engineers means a lot to me, as they are familiar with my research activities. I feel particularly honored because the endowment came from overseas.”
KAIST has raised its eyesight to become a global leader in technology and science and recently lured a Nobel Laureate from Stanford University, Dr. Robert Laughlin, to head the institute. The school is striving to accelerate the pace for globalizing itself. The establishment of this chair professorship through a foreign endowment is in concert with the KAIST’s grand vision.
Resume for Jong Hyun Kim, Ph.D. Donald E. Bently and Agnes Muszynska Endowed Chair Professor
Education
1966 BS in Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University
1967 MS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Missouri
1971 Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Californian Institute of Technology
Professional Career
2002 - present Professor, Dept. of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST
2001 - 2002 Distinguished Chair Professor, Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, GyeongSang National University
1980 - 2000 Project Manager, EPRI
1977 - 1980 Senior Engineer, GE
1975 - 1977 Associate Engineer, Brookhaven National Laboratory
1973 - 1975 Research Associate, Applied Research Laboratory, Penn State University
1971 - 1973 Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology
Achievements/Recognitions
Fellow, American Nuclear Society
Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
National Academy of Engineering of Korea: overseas Korean member
Research:
- Total 185 publications: 117 papers, 11 books, 16 symposia volumes, and others
- Professor Kim’s research products helped nuclear industry save a few hundred million dollars
Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Transport Phenomena
Chairman, Thermal Hydraulics Division, American Nuclear Society (2002-2003)
Chairman, Heat Transfer Division. American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2001-2002)
UC Berkeley, Adjunct Professor in Mechanical Engineering (1993-1995)Stanford University, Consulting Professor in Mechanical Engineering (1988-1995)
About Donald E. Bently and Agnes Muszynska
Donald E. Bently, Chairman & CEO of Bently Pressurized Bearing Company, Minden, Nevada, is an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, agriculturist, environmental conservationist, and visionary who is also a philanthropist.
Entrepreneurial Accomplishments
Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Bently Nevada Corp., the world"s leading supplier of condition monitoring instrumentation and services for rotating machinery until it was sold to GE in 2002
Founder of Bently Rotor Dynamics Research Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bently Nevada, where the basic ideas for his bearing technology were pioneered
Pioneered the first commercially successful eddy current proximity transducer and introduced its use to measure vibration and other critical parameters in rotating machinery. Today, he is actively pioneering fully lubricated, pressurized bearing technology.
His Bently Agrowdynamics practices environmentally sustainable agriculture through the innovative use of renewable resources and conducts research and development of biofuels such as biodiesel, which can be used in conventional diesel engines.
In addition, Donald E. Bently owns a diverse portfolio of other businesses including National Tribology Services, Inc., Gibson Tool & Supply, and Bently Holdings California, LP.
Scientific and Technological Contributions
Mr. Bently is an international authority on rotor dynamics as well as vibration monitoring and diagnostics. He has authored or co-authored more than 140 papers and a book on these subjects, Fundamentals of Rotating Machinery Diagnostics, and is the holder of two patents.
Honors and Awards
2003: Distinguished Service Award, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
2002: Distinguished Nevadan Award, the University of Nevada, Reno. Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
2001: Inducted into the University of Iowa"s Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy
2000: Frederick P. Smarro Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
1999: R. Tom Sawyer Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
1997: N.O. Myklestad Award, ASME Design Engineering Division
1995: ISROMAC Award for his distinguished research achievements in the field of rotating machinery, the Pacific Center of Thermal-Fluids Engineering
1992: Elected a Foreign Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Engineering in Russia
Visiting Scholar, Tsinghua University, China
The first recipient of the Vibration Institute"s DECADE Award
1983: Nevada"s outstanding inventor award, the Nevada Innovation and Technology Council
1945-1946: Received four battle stars while on an amphibious landing team in the Pacific as a member of the U.S. Navy Seabees during World War II
Educational and Professional Credentials
Registered Professional Engineer in Electrical Engineering, Nevada and California
A senior member of IEEE and a Fellow of ASME
A member of honorary societies Sigma Xi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Tau Beta Pi
B.S. in Electrical Engineering (with Distinction), University of Iowa, 1949
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Iowa, 1950
Honorary Doctorate in Engineering, University of Nevada at Reno, 1987
Honorary AA Degree, Western Nevada Community College, 1998
Agnes Muszynska, President, A.M. Consulting Co.
Dr. Agnes Muszynska, a native of Poland, is a world-renowned scientist in the area of rotating machinery dynamics. She worked for 18 years as a Senior Research Scientist and Research Manager at Bently Nevada Corporation and Bently Rotor Dynamics Research Corporation. For more than 40 years, Dr. Muszynska had conducted theoretical and experimental research on rotating machine dynamics. Dr. Muszynska received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Technical University of Warsaw, Poland. She received her Ph.D. from Polish Academy of Sciences and the prestigious title of Professor granted by the President of Poland. She is author or co-author of almost 300 scientific publications including a comprehensive book on rotordynamics. Several of her papers received awards from ASME, NASA, and ASEM. She also received the Distinguished Research Award for research achievements from the Pacific Center of Thermal-Fluids Engineering. Dr. Muszynska is currently the owner and President of A.M. Consulting Company. She is a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Mr. Donald Bently and Dr. Agnes Muszynska fruitfully collaborated on rotating machinery dynamics and diagnostics for many years.
2004.11.08 View 18898
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U.S. Nobel Laureate to Run Korea's Top Tech University
Robert Laughlin,
President of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
DAEJEON, July 14 (Yonhap) -- Nobel Physics Prize laureate Robert Laughlin was sworn in Wednesday as the first foreign president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea"s top technology university.
Laughlin, in his inauguration speech, pledged to transform the state-run Korean university into a globally competitive educational institution, while also vowing to make it research oriented.
"Many people have asked me how I, as a foreigner, could possibly understand the situation here at KAIST, much less figure out a path forward," he said. "The short answer is that the situation here is not unique. The problems facing the research university are historical in nature and essentially identical all over the world."
He added the same worried discussions are taking place in other universities around the globe such as at Stanford, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Heidelberg and Tokyo.
"I have come here not to solve your problems but to solve my own," the 54-year-old American said.
Laughlin said KAIST is a large, well-functioning organization for which few things needed to be changed.
The former Stanford University professor also promised to work hard to lead the university in a novel direction.
"All of us in the technical university have a holy obligation ... we are here for the sole purpose of having big dreams and finding the strength to make them come to pass," Laughlin said.
"As far as I"m concerned, my job comes down to one thing: to make sure that your dreams are big enough, and to help everyone here -- faculty and students -- find the means to make them come to pass. That"s all," he said.
The ceremony was attended by Science and Technology Minister Oh Myung, Daejeon City Mayor Yeom Hong-chul and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Thomas Hubbard, among others.
On Thursday, Laughlin is scheduled to meet President Roh Moo-hyun in Seoul. Laughlin will start his four-year term from mid-August, KAIST said.
Laughlin won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1998 with Horst Stoermer of Germany and Daniel Tsui of the United States for discovering a new form of quantum fluid that gives more profound insights into the general inner structure and dynamics of matter.
On May 28, he was chosen to run the Korean university at a board meeting. (END)
2004.07.15 View 14408
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Nobel Laureate Heads KAIST
Nobel Laureate Heads KAIST
By Kim Tae-gyu / Staff Reporter
THE KOREA TIMES 05-29-2004
A Nobel laureate will lead the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), winning a stiff race with a pair of strong Korean candidates.
The KAIST on Friday said the state-financed institute appointed Robert Laughlin as its 12th president instead of two local hopefuls, professors Shin Seong-cheol and Park Seong-ju.
This is the first time that foreigners take charge of the KAIST since it was established in 1971 and Laughlin also is noted in the history as the first Nobel Prize winner to head Korea"s educational institute.
After receiving approval of Science-Technology Minister Oh Myung, Laughlin will be inaugurated as early as next month, according to a KAIST official.
Laughlin, a Stanford professor, made his name after being co-awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics with Horst Stoermer and Daniel Tsui for the discovery of a new form of quantum fluid.
The findings, which explained the fractional quantum hall effect for the first time, have been recognized as a significant breakthrough in understanding quantum physics.
The American physicist had also sustained a special connection with Korea even before he garnered the prestigious prize and has visited Korea several times.
Early last month, Laughlin was named to head the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) in recognition of his notable interest in Korea.
The APCTP is an international research institute headquartered inside Pohang University of Science and Technology in North Kyongsang Province.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr
2004.05.31 View 17124