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KAIST Research Team Discovers Process for Rapid Growth of N-Doped CNT Arrays
A team of scientists led by Profs. Sang-Ouk Kim, Won-Jong Lee and Duck-Hyun Lee of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering has found a straightforward process for rapid growth of wall-number selected, nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays, university officials said on Monday (March 16).
KAIST researchers prepared highly uniform nanopatterned iron catalyst arrays by tilted deposition through block copolymer nanotemplates. This remarkably fast growth of highly uniform N-doped CNTs, whose material properties and chemical functionalizability are reinforced by N-doping, offers a new area of a large-scale nanofabrication, potentially useful for diverse nano-devices.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are of broad technical interest in electronics, photonics, energy devices, and other applications. However, establishing a straightforward process for mass production of uniform CNTs with desired structure and properties has been a long-standing challenge.
In particular, it was strongly desired to precisely control the numbers of walls and diameter of CNTs, which are decisive parameters for the physical properties of CNTs. In this respect, the preparation of monodisperse catalyst array having a narrow size distribution is generally considered an effective pathway to produce well-defined CNTs, since the number of walls and diameter of the produced CNTs are closely related to the catalyst size.
The finding was featured in the March 13 edition of Nano Letters, a leading journal in the nano technology field.
2009.03.20 View 13137 -
Workshop on Biomedical IC to Be Held on March 26
KAIST will hold a workshop on "biomedical IC for future healthcare system" on March 26 at a lecture room of the School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. The workshop is organized by SEECS and the Korean Institute of Next Generation Computing.
At the workshop, a variety of new technologies expected to expedite the development of biomedical systems will be presented. KAIST Prof. Hoi-Jun Yoo will speak on the "body channel communication" using the human body as the signal transmission medium and Dr. Seung-Hwan Kim of Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) on a wearable vital sign monitoring system.
Other subjects are CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) fully electronic biosensor for biomolecular detection to be presented by KAIST Prof. Gyu-Hyeong Cho; nerve interface and IC (integrated circuit) system design by KAIST Prof. Yoon-gi Nam; design of neural recording and stimulation IC using time-varying magnetic field by KAIST Prof. Seong-Hwan Cho; low power multi-core digital signal processor for hearing aid by Dong-Wook Kim, senior researcher at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology; and a non-contact cardiac sensor by KAIST Prof. Seung-Chul Hong.
With the advent of the ageing society, medical expenses of the elderly people are rapidly increasing. As a way to address the issue, interests are growing in "ubiquitous healthcare," a technology that uses a large number of environmental and patient sensors and actuators to monitor and improve patients’ physical and mental condition.
The upcoming workshop is the first academic event on biomedical integrated chips to be held in Korea. The workshop will provide a valuable opportunity for experts in biomedical area to get together and examine the present status of Korean biomedical area and discuss about its future, KAIST officials said.
2009.03.20 View 16592
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Oriental Medical Scientist Lyu Awarded Honorary Doctorate Degree from KAIST
KAIST awarded an honorary doctorate degree to Keun-Chul Lyu, an Oriental medical scientist who donated property valued at 57.8 billion won (US$56 million) to KAIST at its 2009 commencement ceremony on Feb. 27.
Dr. Lyu who was born in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, in 1926 received the first-ever doctorate degree in Oriental medicine from Kyung Hee University in 1976. His researches and practices have had profound impact on Oriental medicine in Korea and elsewhere. He successfully administered acupuncture anesthesia for Caesarean section in 1972, for the first time outside China.
During the three years (1973-1975) he worked at the Kyung Hee University"s Apoplexy Center as superintendent, he developed a new cure incorporating the Oriental and Western medicines for patients seized with apoplexy. With a thesis based on the cure, he earned a Ph.D. in medical engineering from Moscow State Technical University Bauman in 1996.
His outstanding capabilities drew attention in the 1970s when he served as a professor of the Department of Acupuncture at Kyung Hee University and later as deputy director of the university"s Hospital of Oriental Medicine. His record of treating about 50,000 patients a year is still touted among the younger generation of Korean Oriental medicine practitioners.
Dr. Lyu"s unselfish spirit of public service has been well exhibited in that he actively engaged in rendering voluntary medical services in rural and medically disadvantaged areas. He also distinguished himself with his strong interest in donation for humanitarian causes. Among his many charitable activities, his donation of a multipurpose gymnasium and golf practice range to a primary school in his native town Cheonan made so many children happy and helped them develop great ambitions. In 2008, he donated property valued at 57.8 billion won (US$56 million) to KAIST, wishing to help broaden the academic horizon of students studying at Korea"s premier research university.
His donation to KAIST was the largest in amount in the history of private donations to universities in Korea.
2009.03.02 View 11464 -
Prof. Song Develops Nano-Structure to Enhance Power of Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery
A team of scientists led by Prof. Hyun-Joon Song of the Department of Chemistry, KAIST, developed a nano-structure that could increase the power of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, university sources said on Monday (Feb. 16).
The research team found that a nano-structured material using copper oxide (CuO) could produce lithium-ion batteries with some 50 percent more capacity than conventional products. The study was published in the online edition of peer-review journal Advanced Materials.
In rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, lithium ions move between the battery"s anode and cathode. The high-energy density of the batteries led to their common use in consumer electronics products, expecially portable devices. Their demand in automotive and aerospace applications is growing, and nano-structured, or nano-enabled batteries are emerging as the new generation of lithium-ion batteries for their edge in recharging time, capacity and battery life.
Graphite has been a popular material for cathodes in lithium-ion batteries. However, graphite cathodes are also blamed for lost capacity due to their consumption of lithium ions, which are linked to shorter battery life.
As such, scientists have been looking for materials that could replace graphite in cathodes, and silicon and metal oxide have been studied as possible alternatives.
2009.02.17 View 11246
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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 12825 -
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 11153 -
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 15789 -
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 14169
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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 14997
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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 15863 -
Prof. Cho Wins Best Paper Award
KAIST Prof. Nam-Zin Cho of the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, won the Best Thesis Award in the nuclear reactor physics category at the 2008 Winter Meeting of the American Nuclear Society held on Nov. 9-13 in Reno, Nevada.
His paper, entitled "Thermal Feedback Transient Analysis of a Pebble Fuel Based on the Two-Temperature Homogenized Model," was jointly authored by Hwi Yu and Jong-Un Kim under the guidance of Prof. Cho.
Prof. Cho was elected a fellow of the American Nuclear Society in 2001 and has served as the deputy editor of the Nuclear Science and Engineering, the research journal of the American Nuclear Society, since 1999.
2008.12.09 View 13311 -
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 14456