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Zero-Crease Foldable Technology to Shift the Paradigm of Next-Generation Displays
< Professor Phil-Seung Lee (center), Master’s graduate Jun-han Bae (top left) >
The "crease," long considered the biggest weakness of foldable smartphones, has been pointed out as a major obstacle to market expansion, causing screen distortion and reduced durability over repeated use. A research team at KAIST has presented a solution to this problem, marking a turning point for foldables to leap forward as the standard for next-generation smartphones. Furthermore, the technology is expected to establish itself as a core component of the future mobile industry, expanding into various devices such as laptops.
KAIST announced on April 20th that a research team led by Professor Phil-Seung Lee of the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed an original technology capable of fundamentally solving the crease issue that occurs at the folding area of foldable smartphone displays and has registered a patent for it. The team has secured global technological competitiveness by filing patent applications in the United States, China, and the European Union (EU), in addition to South Korea.
While global smartphone companies have attempted to solve this issue through massive R&D investments for years, they have yet to achieve the complete removal of the crease. Consequently, the industry has identified the crease problem as the single greatest barrier to the widespread adoption of the foldable smartphone market.
The research team began their study to resolve the inconveniences they personally experienced while using mobile foldable phones. After disassembling dozens of used foldable phones and repeating various experiments, they derived a solution by innovatively redesigning the "adhesive area" between the display and the supporting plate. The core of the design is ensuring that deformation is not concentrated in a specific folding area but is instead distributed to the surrounding sections. Through this, they perfectly demonstrated the feasibility of a "crease-free foldable" while maintaining normal smartphone functionality.
To verify performance, the team shone a straight-line LED light onto the screen. Unlike commercial products where the light refracts and the straight line appears curved at the fold, the prototype maintained a sharp, straight reflection without any distortion. Notably, no visual distortion appeared even under conditions sensitive enough to detect minute curves with a crease depth of less than 0.1mm.
< Display surface reflecting a straight-line LED lamp >
This technology presents a new design paradigm that surpasses the limitations faced by the current industry. It not only fundamentally suppresses the formation of creases but also ensures superior durability by minimizing deformation even after tens of thousands of folding cycles.
Furthermore, because the structure is intuitive and simple, it can be easily integrated into existing manufacturing processes. It is expected to have high industrial utility, as it can be expanded beyond smartphones to various foldable display devices, including tablets and laptops.
< Core idea of the invention: (a) Adhesive and non-adhesive areas of a conventional foldable smartphone, (b) Adhesive and non-adhesive areas in this invention, (c) Stress distribution in a conventional foldable smartphone display, (d) Stress distribution in a foldable smartphone display applying this technology >
Industry experts anticipate that the commercialization of this technology will encourage global companies—which have been hesitant to enter the market due to crease issues—to participate. This is projected to significantly improve consumer satisfaction and accelerate the growth of the stagnating foldable market.
Professor Phil-Seung Lee stated, "We have solved a challenge that global giants could not resolve, using a relatively simple and clear method. We expect this technology to spread across next-generation displays, including laptops and tablets, further strengthening Korea's technological competitiveness."
Meanwhile, this research was conducted with support from the "2022 Daedeok Innopolis Campus Project," and the patent for the related original technology was registered on September 9, 2025.
2026.04.21 View 1020 -
KAIST Develops Electrode Technology Achieving 86% Efficiency for Converting CO₂ into Plastic Precursors
<(From Left) Dr. Jonghyeok Park, Ph.D candidate Yunkyoung Han, Professor Hyunjoon Song, Dr. Sungjoo Kim>
KAIST Develops Electrode Technology Achieving 86% Efficiency for Converting CO₂ into Plastic Precursors
In the process of converting carbon dioxide into useful chemicals such as ethylene—a key precursor for plastics—a major challenge has been the flooding of electrodes, where electrolyte penetrates the electrode structure and reduces performance. KAIST researchers have developed a new electrode design that blocks water while maintaining efficient electrical conduction and catalytic reactions, thereby improving both efficiency and stability.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 6th of April that a research team led by Professor Hyunjoon Song from the Department of Chemistry has developed a novel electrode structure utilizing silver nanowire networks—ultrafine silver wires arranged like a spiderweb—to significantly enhance the efficiency of electrochemical CO₂ conversion to useful chemical products.
In electrochemical CO₂ conversion processes, a long-standing issue has been flooding, where the electrode becomes saturated with electrolyte, reducing the space available for CO₂ to react. While hydrophobic materials can prevent water intrusion, they typically suffer from low electrical conductivity, requiring additional components and complicating the system.
To overcome this, the research team designed a three-layer electrode architecture that simultaneously repels water and enables efficient charge transport. The structure consists of a hydrophobic substrate, a catalyst layer, and an overlaid silver nanowire (Ag NW) network, which acts as an efficient current collector while preventing electrolyte flooding.
< Schematic diagram of a porous polymer–copper oxide catalyst silver nanowire network electrode structure >
A key finding of this study is that the silver nanowires do more than just conduct electricity—they actively participate in the chemical reaction. During CO₂ reduction, the silver nanowires generate carbon monoxide (CO), which is then transferred to adjacent copper-based catalysts, where further reactions occur. This creates a tandem catalytic system, in which two catalysts cooperate sequentially, significantly enhancing the production of multi-carbon compounds such as ethylene.
The electrode demonstrated outstanding performance. It achieved 79% selectivity toward C₂₊ products in alkaline electrolytes and 86% selectivity in neutral electrolytes, representing a world-leading level. It also maintained stable operation for more than 50 hours without performance degradation. These results indicate that most of the converted products are the desired chemicals, while also overcoming the durability limitations of conventional systems.
< Conceptual diagram of a CO₂ electrolysis electrode utilizing a stacked silver nanowire structure (AI-generated image) >
Professor Hyunjoon Song stated, “This study is significant in showing that silver nanowires not only serve as electrical conductors but also directly participate in chemical reactions,” adding, “This approach provides a new design strategy that can be extended to converting CO₂ into a wide range of valuable products such as ethanol and fuels.”
This research, led by Jonghyeok Park (KAIST, first author), was published on March 24, 2026, in the international journal Advanced Science.
※ Paper title: “Overlaid Conductive Silver Nanowire Networks on Gas Diffusion Electrodes for High-Performance Electrochemical CO₂-to-C₂₊ Conversion,” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.75003
2026.04.07 View 858 -
KAIST Professor Jinjoon Lee’s 10-Meter Hanji Scroll PhD Thesis from Oxford Enters the Permanent Collection of the World’s Oldest Museum, First Work by a Contemporary Korean Artist
<A ten-metre scroll doctoral thesis reinterpreting the 15th-century Joseon landscape painting scroll tradition, Empty Garden, exhibited at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, founded in the 15th century. 2020>
- Media artist and KAIST professor Jinjoon Lee's doctoral thesis 'Empty Garden' officially acquired by the Ashmolean Museum, UK, for permanent collection
- Korean artistic and academic achievement recognized as public cultural heritage at a museum predating the Louvre by 110 years — the 'heart of Western intellectual history'
- Blending Eastern aesthetics of 'wandering' (거닐기) and 'emptiness' with data technology in the AI era — awarded Oxford's unanimous 'No Corrections' in just 2.5 years in 2020
- First work by a contemporary Korean artist to enter the Ashmolean's permanent collection — officially confirmed by the museum's curator
- Korean artistic and academic achievement officially recognised as intellectual cultural heritage — permanently preserved, researched, and exhibited within the Western public knowledge system
A doctoral thesis is often imagined as a dense, bound volume. Yet a 10-meter-long hanji scroll- traditional Korean mulberry paper prized for its durability across centuries- is now drawing global attention from the art world and academia alike.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 26th that Empty Garden – A Liminoid Journey to Nowhere in Somewhere (2020), a doctoral thesis by media artist and KAIST Graduate School of Culture Technology Professor Jinjoon Lee, has been officially acquired by the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, for its permanent collection and exhibition — through formal purchase, not donation.
Founded in 1683, the Ashmolean Museum is the world's first university museum, operated by the University of Oxford with over 340 years of history. It predates the Louvre (1793) by 110 years and the British Museum (1759) by 76 years, and is regarded as the starting point of European Enlightenment scholarship. Its collections include masterworks by Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Turner, alongside ancient artefacts and East Asian ceramics and paintings — over one million objects in total.
The Ashmolean is not simply an exhibition venue but an academic institution integrating collection, research, and education. Unlike Tate Modern, which engages with the contemporary art market, or the British Museum, which displays national heritage, the Ashmolean's core mission is scholarly preservation and research. The acquisition of Professor Lee's doctoral thesis here signifies that Korean aesthetics and philosophical thought have entered the public record of European intellectual history.
Professor Lee's PhD thesis Empty Garden reinterprets the concept of uiwon (意園) — an imaginary garden cultivated in the mind by Joseon-era scholars — through contemporary data and media language, proposing 'data gardening' as a methodology for tending to the philosophy of emptiness. It is a work that continues to ask fundamental questions about human sensation, memory, and existence, even within an environment dominated by AI and data.
The 10-meter hanji scroll format is itself a central feature of the thesis. As readers engage with the text, they are naturally led to move through space — physically enacting the East Asian garden tradition of 'wandering' (거닐기). The work is designed not merely to be read but to be experienced through movement and contemplation. The thesis was produced as nine hanji scrolls in total; one of these has been acquired by the Ashmolean for its permanent collection.
This thesis received unanimous 'No Corrections' approval at its DPhil in Fine Art examination at the University of Oxford in 2020, recognising its academic rigour and originality — an achievement completed in just two and a half years, where the process typically takes over four. It is an extremely rare distinction even within Oxford's 900-year history, and drew significant attention at the time.
Oxford doctoral theses are typically archived at the Bodleian Library as academic records. This acquisition is entirely separate from that process: the museum conducted an independent five-year review following the award of the degree, assessed the work on its artistic and scholarly merits, and made a formal purchase. The inclusion of a living artist's doctoral thesis in the permanent collection of the world's oldest university museum through purchase — not donation — is exceptionally rare.
Professor Shelagh Vainker, Alice King Curator of Chinese and Korean Art at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, stated:
"I am delighted that the Ashmolean Museum has been able to acquire Dr Jinjoon Lee's Empty Garden for our permanent collection. The long, contemplative scroll breaks new ground in so many ways: in the materials and techniques employed, in the breadth and depth of cultural and intellectual knowledge embedded in it, and in the complexity of the presentation of different spaces — all providing the viewer with multiple perspectives and experiences. Empty Garden is the first piece by a contemporary Korean artist to enter the collection; when not on display it will be available for viewing by appointment."
— Shelagh Vainker, Alice King Curator of Chinese and Korean Art, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
<Dr Shelagh Vainker, Professor at the University of Oxford and Alice King Curator of Chinese and Korean Art at the Ashmolean Museum, reviewing the doctoral thesis Empty Garden in the Eastern Art Study Room, Ashmolean Museum. 2026>
Professor Lee noted that during his doctoral research at Oxford, a serious leg injury left him using a wheelchair for an extended period, during which he reflected deeply on the relationship between movement, stillness, and thought. He stated: "In the age of AI, art cannot remain confined to immaterial images on screens. Data and images can only acquire depth through material forms capable of enduring time and preservation."
He further expressed his hope that Empty Garden, now housed within the public collection of Western intellectual history, would "serve as a continuing reference point connecting East Asian thought — including that of Korea — with new sensory frameworks for the age of artificial intelligence."
The first practicing artist to be appointed as a tenure-track professor at KAIST, Professor Lee currently holds concurrent positions as Visiting Fellow at Exeter College, University of Oxford, Visiting Senior Researcher at Tokyo University of the Arts, and Adjunct Professor at New York University, continuing interdisciplinary research across art, technology, and the humanities. Most recently, his work has drawn international attention from arts community, including Good Morning, Mr. G-Dragon, a space art project based on the iris data of K-pop artist G-Dragon, and Cine Forest: Awakening Bloom, an AI-based media symphony at Bundang Central Park in S. Korea.
<Jinjoon Lee, artist's studio, Seoul. 2025>
This acquisition is an exceptionally rare case of a doctoral thesis entering the permanent collection of the world's oldest university museum through formal purchase, and a historic event in which a work by a contemporary Korean artist has entered the Ashmolean's collection for the first time. Korean research that poses new questions about the role of art and the humanities in the post-AI era has now found a permanent place within the public record of Western intellectual history.
2026.03.26 View 1150 -
KAIST Reveals the Orbital Principle of Electron Motion for Realizing Memory of Dreams
<(From Left) Dr. Geun-Hee Lee, Professor Kyung-Jin Lee, Professor Kyoung-Whan Kim>
Research is actively underway to develop a “dream memory” that can reduce heat generation in smartphones and laptops while delivering faster performance and lower power consumption. Korean researchers have now proposed a new possibility for controlling magnetism using the exchange interaction of electron orbitals—the motion of electrons orbiting around an atomic nucleus—rather than relying on the conventional exchange interaction of electron spin, the rotational property of electrons inside semiconductors.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 16th of March that a joint research team led by Professor Kyung-Jin Lee of the Department of Physics at KAIST and Professor Kyoung-Whan Kim of the Department of Physics at Yonsei University (President Dong-Sup Yoon) has established, for the first time in the world, a new theoretical framework enabling magnetism to be freely controlled through orbital exchange interaction*, surpassing the limitations of conventional technologies that control magnetism using electric currents.*Orbital exchange interaction: a phenomenon in which the orbitals formed by electrons moving around an atomic nucleus interact with one another, thereby influencing the direction or properties of magnetism.
Until now, next-generation memory research has mainly focused on the spin of electrons. Spin refers to the property of electrons that rotate on their own axis like tiny spinning tops, and information can be stored by using the direction of this rotation. However, electrons simultaneously move around the atomic nucleus along paths known as orbitals. In this study, the research team theoretically demonstrated that when electric current flows, the orbital energy of electrons interacts directly with the orbitals of magnetic materials, enabling the transmission of information. Through this mechanism, they confirmed that the properties of magnets can be altered much more efficiently than with conventional spin-based approaches.
The most significant outcome of this research is the discovery that electric current does not merely change the direction of a magnet but can also modify the intrinsic properties of the magnet itself, such as the magnetic anisotropy (a magnet’s preferred direction) and rotational characteristics.
In particular, calculations by the research team showed that orbital-based control effects could be significantly stronger than existing spin-based methods. This finding suggests the possibility of a future era of orbital-based electronic devices, in which orbitals rather than spin play the central role in semiconductor components. The researchers also proposed practical experimental methods to measure these effects, which is expected to increase the potential for industrial applications.
The principle may also apply to altermagnetic materials, which have recently attracted significant attention in academia. Altermagnetism refers to a new form of magnetic material in which electron spins within atoms are arranged in alternating directions in an ordered pattern. Although these materials do not appear magnetic externally, they strongly influence electron motion. Because of this property, they allow precise control of electron states and are considered promising for high-speed, low-power semiconductor devices and next-generation memory technologies. The study therefore provides a strong theoretical foundation for developing future logic and memory devices.
Dr. Geun-Hee Lee stated, “This study demonstrates that controlling magnetism with electric current does not necessarily have to rely solely on spin. A new perspective—understanding and controlling magnetism using the orbital motion of electrons—will become an important milestone for the development of next-generation ultra-fast, low-power memory.”
In this research, Dr. Geun-Hee Lee (KAIST) participated as the first author, while Professor Kyoung-Whan Kim (Yonsei University) and Professor Kyung-Jin Lee (KAIST) served as co-corresponding authors. The results were published on February 2 in the internationally renowned journal Nature Communications, recognizing the academic significance of the work.
※ Paper title: “Orbital exchange-mediated current control of magnetism,” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68846-x
This research was supported by the Frontier Challenge R&D Project, the Mid-Career Researcher Program, the Science Research Center (SRC) program, the Early Career Researcher Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea, and Samsung Electronics.
2026.03.16 View 1043 -
KAIST Develops Self-Regenerating Catalyst That Restores Its Own Performance, Opening a Breakthrough for CO₂ Conversion Technology
<(From Left) Professor Dong Young Chung, Ph.D Candidate Hongmin An, Hanjoo Kim>
Technologies that convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from factories and power plants into useful chemical feedstocks are considered key to achieving carbon neutrality. However, rapid degradation of catalyst performance has long hindered commercialization. KAIST researchers have now developed a “self-regenerating” catalyst that restores its activity during operation, offering a potential solution to this challenge.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 11th of March that a research team led by Professor Dong Young Chung from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering has identified the fundamental cause of catalyst degradation in electrochemical reactions that convert CO₂ into useful materials and has developed a new design strategy that allows catalysts to maintain their active state during the reaction.
<Schematic Illustration of Copper Catalyst Reconstruction>
The research team focused particularly on copper (Cu) catalysts, which are widely used in CO₂ conversion reactions. Copper catalysts are known not to simply degrade during reactions but instead undergo a process called surface reconstruction, in which their surface structure continuously changes. The study revealed that the performance and lifetime of the catalyst vary significantly depending on how this reconstruction occurs.
The researchers discovered that copper catalyst reconstruction occurs mainly through two different mechanisms. The first involves formation and reduction of oxide layers on the catalyst surface. While this temporarily increases catalytic activity, it ultimately leads to long-term degradation of catalyst performance.
The second mechanism involves partial dissolution of the catalyst metal into the electrolyte followed by redeposition onto the catalyst surface. During this process, new reactive sites—known as active sites—are continuously created on the catalyst surface.
Based on this mechanism, the team proposed a method that allows the catalyst to maintain its active state during the reaction. By introducing a trace amount of copper ions into the electrolyte, dissolution and redeposition of copper occur in a balanced cycle on the catalyst surface. This continuous cycle generates new active sites, enabling the catalyst to maintain stable performance over extended periods.
Importantly, this technology can be implemented without complex additional processes or high-voltage conditions, significantly reducing energy consumption while enabling stable production of high-value C₂ compounds such as ethylene and ethanol. C₂ compounds are molecules containing two carbon atoms and are industrially important chemicals used as feedstocks for plastics, fuels, and other materials.
This research is significant because it proposes a new design concept in which catalysts are not merely optimized at the initial stage but are engineered to maintain their optimal state throughout the reaction process. The concept is expected to be applicable not only to CO₂ conversion technologies but also to a wide range of electrochemical energy conversion systems.
Professor Dong Young Chung stated, “This research approached catalyst degradation not as an inevitable phenomenon but as a controllable process,” adding, “We proposed a new strategy that allows catalysts to continuously maintain optimal activity during the reaction.”
The study was led by Hanjoo Kim, a doctoral student at KAIST, and Hongmin An, a combined master’s-doctoral student, as co-first authors. The research was published online on February 5 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), one of the world’s most prestigious journals in chemistry.
※ Paper title: “Dynamic Interface Engineering via Mechanistic Understanding of Copper Reconstruction in Electrochemical CO₂ Reduction Reaction” DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c16244
This research was supported by the Global Young Connect Program for Materials and the National Strategic Materials Technology Development Program funded through the National Research Foundation of Korea.
2026.03.11 View 1416 -
Professor Kuk-Jin Yoon’s Research Team at the Department of Mechanical Engineering Achieves Landmark Success with 10 Papers Accepted at CVPR 2026
<Professor Kuk-Jin Joon from Department of Mechanical Engineering>
Professor Kuk-Jin Yoon’s research team from our university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering has once again demonstrated its overwhelming academic prowess by having a total of 10 papers accepted as lead authors at the IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition 2026 (CVPR 2026).
CVPR is the most influential international conference in the fields of artificial intelligence and visual intelligence. Since its inception in 1983, it has selected outstanding research through a rigorous peer-review process every year. For CVPR 2026, a total of 16,092 papers were submitted worldwide, with 4,090 accepted, resulting in a competitive acceptance rate of approximately 25.42%. Achieving 10 accepted papers as lead or corresponding authors from a single laboratory is regarded as an exceptionally rare and world-class feat.
Professor Kuk-Jin Yoon’s team conducts extensive research with the ultimate goal of achieving human-level visual intelligence. The papers accepted this year cover cutting-edge topics in computer vision, including:
Event camera-based technologies
Perception technologies for autonomous driving
AI optimization and adaptation techniques
This achievement follows the team's remarkable success at ICCV 2025 last year, where they published 12 papers as lead/corresponding authors. The results at CVPR 2026 further solidify the laboratory's position as a global hub for pioneering computer vision research. The research team plans to continue contributing to the advancement of future AI technologies by tackling challenging research that transcends the limitations of existing methods.
Meanwhile, CVPR 2026 is scheduled to be held in Denver, Colorado, USA, from June 3 to June 7.
<CVPR 2026 (Denver, USA)>
2026.03.06 View 2919 -
KAIST Launches Deep-Tech Scale-up Valley, Unveils Execution Strategies for Physical AI
< Progress Report Meeting of the Deep-Tech Scale-up Valley Project >
KAIST announced on February 27th that it held the "Deep-Tech Scale-up Valley Project Progress Report Meeting" at its main campus in Daejeon on the 26th. During the meeting, the university unveiled its Physical AI strategies and execution structures, currently being developed with a focus on robotics.
The Deep-Tech Scale-up Valley Promotion Project is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Daejeon Metropolitan City, and KAIST. KAIST has secured a total budget of 13.65 billion KRW for a period of three years and six months, starting from 2025. The project aims to commercialize KAIST's deep-tech capabilities in robotics to build a robust robot innovation ecosystem. A "Robot Alliance" has been formed, led by KAIST (headed by Professor Jung Kim) and including KAIST Holdings, Daejeon Techno Park, Daejeon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, Angel Robotics, and Eurobotics.
The project seeks to foster a virtuous cycle ecosystem and nurture future "Unicorn" companies based on a three-pillar framework: Technology Commercialization, Deep-Tech R&D, and Commercialization Scale-up. In its first year (2025), the project achieved 230 billion KRW in technology transfers and investment attraction through Physical AI lectures, startup pitching sessions, and investment networking.
Physical AI refers to technology that combines robotics with artificial intelligence, allowing machines to make autonomous decisions and act in the real world. While it is gaining traction as a core field of next-generation industry—with increasing government R&D, corporate investment, and startup activity—critics have noted that successful business models applicable to actual industrial sites remain limited.
This report meeting is significant in that it redefined Physical AI not merely as a competition of AI technology, but as a matter of "industrial structure." It emphasized that commercialization is difficult unless R&D, industrial sites, and the investment ecosystem are organically linked.
Specifically, the report stated that for Physical AI to be applied to industrial sites, "meaningful data" generated from real-world operations is required, going beyond virtual environments. The strategy involves collaborating with skilled experts in manufacturing processes to accumulate data reflecting physical sensations and judgment, and establishing an execution system where robots can continuously cooperate with humans without obstructing their tasks.
Professor Kyoungchul Kong of the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering stated, "It is now crucial to clarify the mixed concepts of Physical AI and create a concrete platform that anyone can utilize." He added, "For AI learned in virtual environments to function properly with actual robots in the real world, we must not only improve the accuracy of virtual technologies but also ensure that physical variables in the real world are predictable and stably managed." In simpler terms, technology is needed to ensure that a robot's performance in a simulation translates seamlessly to the real world.
Professor Hyun Myung of the KAIST School of Electrical Engineering highlighted, "In the field of AI, research on Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINN), which incorporate physical laws into the learning process, is actively underway." He emphasized, "The completion of Physical AI is possible only when hardware researchers, who understand actual physical systems, and AI researchers, who implement these into learning structures, are organically integrated. We need AI that understands physical principles, going beyond simply learning massive amounts of data."
Based on this execution structure, KAIST plans to establish a clear Value Chain connecting researchers, industrial experts, and corporations. The strategy is to expand Physical AI from lab-scale demonstrations to technologies that solve real-world industrial problems.
Jung Kim, Head of the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering, stated, "We have moved past the era of competing on data volume; now is the time to contemplate how to execute AI in the physical world. Based on KAIST's specific preparations and execution strategies, we will support startups and companies to succeed in the commercialization of Physical AI."
Meanwhile, the Deep-Tech Scale-up Valley Project plans to step-by-step promote the establishment of a Physical AI platform, startup discovery and investment expansion, the creation of verification testbeds, and the expansion of cooperation networks with global robotics companies.
2026.02.27 View 2160 -
KAIST Breaks Ground on 'Innovative Digital Institute of Medical Science' to Cultivate Physician-Scientists and Medical Engineers
<Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Innovative Digital Institute of Medical Science>
The success of the AI and bio-health industries depends on how many convergence-oriented talents, who understand both medicine and science/technology simultaneously, can be secured. While major global universities are accelerating the establishment of medical schools and convergence education, our university has officially commenced the construction of core infrastructure that will determine South Korea's bio-health competitiveness.
KAIST announced on February 19th that the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering held a groundbreaking ceremony for the ‘Innovative Digital Institute of Medical Science,’ a key infrastructure that will lead the future of the Korean bio-health industry, and has begun full-scale construction.
The Innovative Digital Institute of Medical Science, to be built at the KAIST Munji Campus, is a project designed to support the national development goal of ‘Realizing a Powerhouse in Medical AI, Pharmaceuticals, and Bio-health’ by fostering key talent and establishing an innovative startup infrastructure. A total project cost of 42.232 billion KRW will be invested through cooperation between the government, Daejeon City, and KAIST. It is being constructed with a total floor area of approximately 10,000 square meters (3,025 pyeong) and is scheduled for completion in November 2027.
Through the establishment of this institute, our university expects to create a foundation to expand the scale of physician-scientist training from the current level of about 20 per year to 50–70 per year, which accounts for approximately 50% of the national demand. Through this, we plan to establish a full-cycle support system so that convergence-type talents, who possess medical and clinical experience as well as science, technology, and AI capabilities, can grow into leading figures in the development of innovative new drugs, vaccines, and medical devices.
This talent cultivation strategy is also in line with global trends. Convergence models of science/engineering and medicine are spreading around global science and technology universities, such as the approval for the new medical school at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (November 2025), the merger between Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tokyo Medical and Dental University (October 2024), and the establishment and operation of the medical school at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. This demonstrates the strategic importance of cultivating physician-scientists and medical engineers who will lead the future bio-health industry.
In contrast, the proportion of medical school graduates in Korea entering the fields of physician-scientists or medical engineers remains below 1%, leading to concerns about a decline in future bio-health competitiveness due to a shortage of manpower.
The Innovative Digital Institute of Medical Science will feature advanced research and support facilities, including an AI Precision Medicine Platform Research Center, a Data-driven Convergence Healthcare R&D Center, an Advanced Biomedical Data Analysis Center, a Digital Medical-Bio Open Lab, and open networking halls and seminar rooms.
In particular, the 6th floor, the top floor, will host the Daejeon Bio-Medical Venture Cluster. Similar to ‘LabCentral’ in Boston, USA, this is planned to be operated as an open innovation space where high-cost research equipment can be shared not only by KAIST researchers but also by researchers from government-funded research institutes in the Daedeok Innopolis and bio-medical startups, allowing them to share research results and technologies and collaborate freely.
The Innovative Digital Institute of Medical Science is expected to serve as an innovation hub that supplements the structural limitations of the Daejeon Bio Cluster, moving beyond being a simple education and research facility. Leading domestic bio companies such as Alteogen, LigaChem Bio, and Peptron are concentrated nearby, and the site is adjacent to the ‘Wonchon-dong Advanced Bio-Medical Innovation District’ being promoted by Daejeon City, providing an ecosystem where industry, academia, research, and hospitals are organically connected.
KAIST plans to use this to vitalize translational research that connects clinical demands from hospitals with basic research from the university, and to promote the development of medical AI and digital data-based technologies to continuously create success stories of physician-scientist startups such as Sovagen and Enocras.
Kwang Hyung Lee, President of KAIST, stated, “The KAIST Innovative Digital Institute of Medical Science will become a core base for the future AI digital health industry, growing science and engineering talents into physician-scientists and medical engineers. Through translational research and startups based on industry-academia-research-hospital cooperation, we will enhance national bio-health industrial competitiveness and contribute to the promotion of human health.”
<Bird’s-Eye View of the Innovative Digital Medical Science Institute>
2026.02.19 View 2384 -
KAIST Overcomes Limitations of Existing Image Sensors… Clear Colors Even Under Oblique Light
<(From Left) Ph.D candidate Chanhyung Park from Electrical Engineering, Jaehyun Jeon from Department of Physics, Professor Min Seok Jang from Electrical Engineering>
Smartphone cameras are becoming smaller, yet photos are becoming sharper. Korean researchers have elevated the limits of next-generation smartphone cameras by developing a new image sensor technology that can accurately represent colors regardless of the angle at which light enters. The team achieved this by utilizing a “metamaterial” that designs the movement of light through structures too small to be seen with the naked eye.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 12th of February that a research team led by Professor Min Seok Jang of the School of Electrical Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Haejun Chung’s team at Hanyang, has developed a metamaterial-based technology for image sensors that can stably separate colors even when the angle of light incidence varies.
Conventional smartphone cameras capture images by concentrating light into a small lens. However, as camera pixels become extremely small, lenses alone struggle to gather sufficient light. To address this, the Nanophotonic Color Router was introduced. Instead of concentrating light through a lens, this technology uses microscopic structures invisible to the eye to precisely separate incoming light by color. By designing the pathways through which light travels, this metamaterial-based structure accurately divides light into red (R), green (G), and blue (B).
Samsung Electronics has already demonstrated the commercialization potential of this technology by applying it to actual image sensors under the name “Nano Prism.” Theoretically, stacking multiple layers of extremely fine nanostructures enables greater light collection and more accurate color separation.
<Nanophotonic color router technology that works reliably even under oblique incidence conditions (AI-generated image)>
However, existing Nanophotonic Color Routers had limitations. While they functioned well when light entered vertically, their performance deteriorated significantly—or colors mixed—when light entered at an angle, as is common in smartphone cameras. This issue, known as the “oblique incidence problem,” has been considered a critical challenge that must be resolved for real-world product applications.
The research team first investigated the root cause of this issue. They found that previous designs were overly optimized for vertically incident light, causing performance to drop sharply even with slight changes in the angle of incidence. Since smartphone cameras receive light from various angles, maintaining performance under angular variation is essential.
Instead of manually designing the structure, the team adopted an “inverse design” approach, which allows the computer to autonomously determine the optimal structure. Through this method, they derived a color router design capable of stable color separation even when the angle of incoming light changes.
As a result, whereas previous structures nearly failed when light was tilted by about 12 degrees, the newly designed structure maintained approximately 78% optical efficiency within a ±12-degree range, demonstrating stable color separation performance. In other words, the technology reaches a level suitable for practical smartphone usage environments.
<Nanophotonic color router robust to oblique incidence>
The team further analyzed performance variations by considering factors such as the number of metamaterial layers, design conditions, and potential fabrication errors. They also systematically defined the limits of robustness against changes in the angle of incidence. This study is particularly meaningful in that it presents design criteria for color routers that reflect realistic image sensor environments.
Professor Min Seok Jang of KAIST stated, “This research is significant in that it systematically analyzes the oblique incidence problem, which has hindered the commercialization of color router technology, and proposes a clear solution direction,” adding, “The proposed design methodology can be extended beyond color routers to a wide range of metamaterial-based nanophotonic devices.”
In this study, KAIST undergraduate student Jaehyun Jeon and doctoral candidate Chanhyung Park participated as co-first authors. The research findings were published on January 27 in the international journal Advanced Optical Materials.
※ Paper title: “Inverse Design of Nanophotonic Color Router Robust to Oblique Incidence”
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202501697※ Authors: Jaehyun Jeon (KAIST, first author), Chanhyung Park (KAIST, first author), Doyoung Heo (KAIST), Haejun Chung (Hanyang University), Min Seok Jang (KAIST, corresponding author)
This research was supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, Korea Semiconductor Research Consortium) under the project “Design Technology of Meta-Optical Structures for Next-Generation Sensors,” by the Ministry of Science and ICT (National Research Foundation of Korea) under the projects “Development of Full-Color Micro LED Devices and Panels Based on Beam-Steerable High-Color-Purity Meta Color Conversion Layers” and “Development of a Real-Time Zero-Energy Argos-Eye Metasurface Network Computing with All Properties of Light,” and by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Korea Creative Content Agency) under the project “International Joint Research for Next-Generation Copyright Protection and Secure Content Distribution Technologies.”
2026.02.19 View 1726 -
KAIST Team Wins Grand Prize at Kakao AI Incubation Project
<(From Left) Professor Jongse Park, Professor youngjin Kwon, Professor Jaehyuk Huh, Professor Knunle Olukotun>
Currently, Large Language Model (LLM) services like ChatGPT rely heavily on expensive GPU servers. This structure faces significant limitations, as costs and power consumption skyrocket as service scales increase. Researchers at KAIST have developed a next-generation AI infrastructure technology to address these challenges.
KAIST announced on January 30th that the ‘AnyBridge AI’ team, led by Professor Jongse Park from the School of Computing, has developed a next-generation AI infrastructure software. This software allows for efficient LLM services by integrating various AI accelerators instead of relying solely on GPUs. The technology won the Grand Prize at the "4 ISTs (Science & Tech Institutes) × Kakao AI Incubation Project" hosted by Kakao.
This project is a joint industry-academic collaboration between Kakao and the four major science and technology institutes (KAIST, GIST, DGIST, and UNIST). It selected outstanding teams by evaluating the technical prowess and business viability of preliminary startup teams based on AI technology. The Grand Prize winning team receives a total of 20 million KRW in prize money and up to 35 million KRW in Kakao Cloud credits.
AnyBridge AI is a technical startup team led by Professor Jongse Park (CEO), with Professors Youngjin Kwon and Jaehyuk Huh from KAIST's School of Computing participating. Based on research achievements in AI systems and computer architecture, the team aims to develop technology applicable to actual industrial sites. Furthermore, Professor Kunle Olukotun of Stanford University—co-founder of the Silicon Valley AI semiconductor startup SambaNova—is participating as an advisor to push for global technology and business expansion.
The AnyBridge team noted that most current LLM services are dependent on expensive GPU infrastructure, leading to structural limits where operating costs and power usage surge as services scale. The researchers analyzed that the root cause of this issue lies not in the performance of specific hardware, but in the absence of a system software layer capable of efficiently connecting and operating various AI accelerators, such as NPUs (AI-specialized chips) and PIMs (next-gen chips that process AI within memory), alongside GPUs.
<Technical diagram of AnyBridge: Enhancing LLM performance by flexibly utilizing various AI accelerators>
In response, the AnyBridge team proposed an integrated software stack that can service LLMs across the same interface and runtime environment, regardless of the accelerator type. Specifically, they received high praise for pointing out the limitations of existing GPU-centric LLM serving structures and presenting a "Multi-Accelerator LLM Serving Runtime Software" as their core technology.
This technology enables the implementation of a flexible AI infrastructure where the most suitable AI accelerator can be selected and combined based on the task's characteristics, without being tied to a specific vendor or hardware. This is evaluated as a major advantage that can reduce costs and power consumption while significantly increasing scalability for LLM services.
<Illustration of the Multi-Accelerator LLM Service Platform - AI-generated image>
Additionally, based on years of accumulated research in LLM serving system simulation, the AnyBridge team possesses a research foundation that can pre-verify various hardware/software design combinations without building a large-scale physical infrastructure. This point demonstrated both the technical maturity and the industrial feasibility of their work.
"This award is a result of recognizing the necessity of system software that integrates various AI accelerators, moving beyond the limits of GPU-centric AI infrastructure," said Professor Jongse Park. He added, "It is meaningful that we could expand our research results into industrial fields and entrepreneurship. We will continue to develop this into a core technology for next-generation LLM serving infrastructure through cooperation with industrial partners."
This award is seen as a prime example of KAIST's research moving beyond academic papers toward next-generation AI infrastructure technology and startups. AnyBridge AI plans to advance and verify its technology through future collaborations with Kakao and related industrial partners.
<Photo of the Grand Prize ceremony: Left - Kakao Investment CEO Do-young Kim; Right - KAIST Prof. Jongse Park>
2026.01.30 View 2193 -
Playground for Future Quantum Technology: KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School Successfully Concluded
< Group photo of the KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School >
“Through the KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School, I was able to view research from a broader perspective. The experience of collaborating with students from various universities and majors to complete a project was very refreshing,” said Jun-hyeong Cho, a student at the KAIST School of Electrical Engineering.
KAIST announced on the 16th that the Graduate School of Quantum Science and Technology successfully concluded the ‘KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School,’ held jointly with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from January 5th to 16th at the KAIST main campus in Daejeon.
For this year’s Winter School, 50 junior and senior undergraduate students from Korea and abroad were selected to receive intensive training to grow into next-generation quantum talent. Eight world-renowned scholars from KAIST and MIT participated in the program, providing a multi-dimensional curriculum that spanned theory and practice—ranging from theoretical lectures and introductions to cutting-edge quantum experiments to visits to government-funded research institutes and student poster presentations.
Celebrating its third anniversary since its inception in 2024, the Winter School is now evaluated as a premier quantum information education program in Korea. Alongside KAIST faculty, world-class scholars from MIT participated directly in lectures and field training, operating an intensive curriculum that covered the entirety of quantum information science.
The lecturing faculty included world authorities in quantum computing, quantum devices, quantum machine learning, and quantum simulation, such as MIT professors Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Seth Lloyd, Kevin P. O’Brien, and William D. Oliver, as well as KAIST scholars Jaewook Ahn, Joonwoo Bae, Gil-Young Cho, and Jae-yoon Choi.
Going beyond theoretical lectures, participants gained a broad understanding of research trends, technical limitations, and future development directions of state-of-the-art quantum technology through experimental training in core areas such as quantum computing, communication, sensing, and simulation.
< Scene from a Winter School lecture >
Furthermore, students visited the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) to experience actual research sites, engaging in field-oriented education that bridges quantum theory and practice. The poster presentation session, where students shared their own research ideas, received enthusiastic responses as a forum for deep academic exchange, allowing students to receive direct feedback from MIT faculty.
Tae-hee Kim, a student from Pusan National University, remarked, “I was greatly inspired by the passion of the MIT faculty and the high level of questions from the students. It served as a motivation for me to pursue deeper studies independently.” Byung-jin Hwang, a student from Yonsei University, added, “I expected lectures from world-class scholars to be difficult, but I was impressed by the explanations tailored to the undergraduate level. The poster presentation session was particularly memorable.”
Eun-seong Kim, Dean of the KAIST Graduate School of Quantum Science and Technology, stated, “The KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School is a special educational program where students can learn directly from world-renowned quantum researchers and experience cutting-edge research. We look forward to the active participation of future talents who will lead the quantum industry.”
Participants for this Winter School were selected through a document review process, and the program was operated entirely free of charge. KAIST covered all educational expenses and provided dormitory accommodations and lunch. Detailed information about the event can be found on the KAIST Graduate School of Quantum Science and Technology website (https://quantumschool.kaist.ac.kr/).
< Poster for the KAIST-MIT Quantum Information Winter School >
2026.01.16 View 2448 -
Breaking the 1% Barrier, KAIST Boosts Brightness of Eco-Friendly Ultra-Small Semiconductors by 18-Fold
<(Front rwo, from left) KAIST co-first author Changhyun Joo, co-first author Seongbeom Yeon, (Back row, from left) Jaeyoung Ha, Professor Himchan Cho, Jaedong Jang>
Light-emitting semiconductors are used throughout everyday life in TVs, smartphones, and lighting. However, many technical barriers remain in developing environmentally friendly semiconductor materials. In particular, nanoscale semiconductors that are tens of thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair (about 100,000 nanometers) are theoretically capable of emitting bright light, yet in practice have suffered from extremely weak emission. KAIST researchers have now developed a new surface-control technology that overcomes this limitation.
KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 14th of January that a research team led by Professor Himchan Cho of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering has developed a fundamental technology to control, at the atomic level, the surface of indium phosphide (InP)* magic-sized clusters (MSCs)—nanoscale semiconductor particles regarded as next-generation eco-friendly semiconductor materials.* Indium phosphide (InP): a compound semiconductor made of indium (In) and phosphorus (P), considered an environmentally friendly alternative that does not use hazardous elements such as cadmium
The material studied by the team is known as a magic-sized cluster, an ultrasmall semiconductor particle composed of only several tens of atoms. Because all particles have identical size and structure, these materials are theoretically capable of emitting extremely sharp and pure light. However, due to their extremely small size of just 1–2 nanometers, even minute surface defects cause most of the emitted light to be lost. As a result, luminescence efficiency has remained below 1% to date.
Previously, this issue was addressed by etching the surface with strong chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid (HF). However, the overly aggressive reactions often damaged the semiconductor itself.
Professor Cho’s team adopted a different approach. Instead of removing the surface all at once, they devised a precision etching strategy that allows chemical reactions to proceed in a highly controlled, incremental manner. This enabled selective removal of only the defect sites that hindered light emission, while preserving the overall structure of the semiconductor. During this defect-removal process, fluorine generated by the reaction combined with zinc species in the solution to form zinc chloride, which in turn stabilized and passivated the exposed nanocrystal surface.
< Schematic illustration of overcoming emission efficiency limits via atomic-scale precision control >
As a result, the research team increased the luminescence efficiency of the semiconductor from below 1% to 18.1%. This represents the highest reported performance to date among indium phosphide–based ultrasmall nanosemiconductors, corresponding to an 18-fold increase in brightness.
This study is particularly significant in that it demonstrates, for the first time, that the surfaces of ultrasmall semiconductors—previously considered nearly impossible to control—can be precisely engineered at the atomic level. The technology is expected to find applications not only in next-generation displays, but also in advanced fields such as quantum communication and infrared sensing.
< Eco-friendly Ultra-compact Semiconductor Chemical Reaction (AI-generated image) >
Professor Himchan Cho explained, “This work is not simply about making brighter semiconductors, but about demonstrating how critical atomic-level surface control is for achieving desired performance.”
This research was carried out with Changhyun Joo, a doctoral student, and Seongbeom Yeon, a combined master’s-doctoral student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST, serving as co–first authors. Professor Himchan Cho and Professor Ivan Infante of the Basque Center for Materials, Applications, and Nanostructures (BCMaterials, Spain) participated as co-corresponding authors. The study was published online on December 16 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), one of the most prestigious journals in chemistry.
※ Paper title: “Overcoming the Luminescence Efficiency Limitations of InP Magic-Sized Clusters,” DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c13963
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea through the Nano Materials Technology Development Program, the Next-Generation Intelligent Semiconductor Technology Development Program, the Quantum Information Science Human Infrastructure Program, and by the Korea Basic Science Institute through its Infrastructure Support Program for Early-Career Researchers.
2026.01.14 View 1992