Research
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KAIST-Saudi Nuclear Workforce Training
Nuclear Engineering Intensive Course Program Held in Saudi Arabia from January 5th to 23rd
KUSTAR (The Khalifa University of Science and Technology Studies)-KAIST Institute of Education began its Nuclear Engineering Intensive Course Program on 5th January with researchers from K.A.CARE (King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy) of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This program, which was lasted until 23rd January, provided education to students on the basic technologies in the field of nuclear power.
The course involves a wide range of lectures, such as basic nuclear physics, applications using radiation, nuclear reactor design and safety, as well as nuclear power engineering.
In order to utilize the nuclear power and renewable energy, K.A.CARE was established in April 2010. The institution is also involved in the construction of nuclear infrastructure, including the site investigations, the establishment of regulatory bodies and state-owned nuclear companies, along with the newly launched workforce-training program.
The Director of the KUSTAR-KAIST Education Research Institute, Professor Soong-Heung Jang said, “This program is the beginning of long-term cooperation with Saudi Arabia. Our experience can be the basis for the construction of an extensive training program that involves many areas of nuclear engineering field.”
KAIST has been working in close cooperation with various institutions around the world, which also includes the establishment of KUSTAR-KAIST Institute of Education and Research in July 2010. KAIST is also actively cooperating with UAE Khalifa University in Middle East, sharing faculty, holding joint research programs and exchanging students.
2014.02.03 View 10885 -
Professor Suk-Bok Chang receives 14th Korea Science Award in the field of Chemistry
Professor Suk-Bok Chang from the Department of Chemistry at KAIST received the “2013 Korea Science Award” in chemistry hosted by the National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, Republic of Korea.
The Korea Science Award is a presidential award of Korea, which was first established in 1987 to recognize research excellence in natural science. Three scientists are selected for the award in every other year.
Professor Chang primarily researches the catalyzing mechanism of carbon-hydrogen bonds in organic molecules. He has succeeded in making great progress in the field of organic chemistry especially in developing a new type of transition metal catalytic behavior that can be applied to low-reactivity compounds.
Hydrocarbons are abundant in nature, but its unreactive nature in ambient conditions makes it unsuitable as reactant for compound synthesis. In addition, the mechanism behind transition metal catalyzed carbon-hydrogen bond synthesis has not been proven sufficiently.
The prediction that fossil fuels will be depleted before the end of the century makes hydrocarbon synthesis an extremely important matter.
The need for an effective hydrocarbon synthesis method inspired Professor Chang to pursue research in the transition metal catalysis method and to develop a catalytic system that would allow efficient synthesis even in ambient conditions.
Professor Chang has been the lead researcher for the Institute for Basic Science’s “molecule catalysis reaction research team” since December 2012 and has been carrying out this research in KAIST.
2014.01.27 View 10744 -
Mechanism in regulation of cancer-related key enzyme, ATM, for DNA damage and repair revealed
Professor Kwang-Wook Choi
A research team led by Professor Kwang-Wook Choi and Dr. Seong-Tae Hong from the Department of Biological Sciences at KAIST has successfully investigated the operational mechanism of the protein Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM), an essential protein to the function of a crucial key enzyme that repairs the damaged DNA which stores biometric information. The results were published on December 19th Nature Communications online edition.
All organisms, including humans, constantly strive to protect the information within their DNA from damages posed by a number of factors, such as carbonized materials in our daily food intake, radioactive materials such as radon emitting from the cement of buildings or ultraviolet of the sunlight, which could be a trigger for cancer.
In order to keep the DNA information safe, the organisms are always carrying out complex and sophisticated DNA repair work, which involves the crucial DNA damage repair protein ATM. Consequently, a faulty ATM leads to higher risks of cancer.
Until now, academia predicted that the Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein (TCTP) will play an important role in regulating the function of ATM. However, since most of main research regarding TCTP has only been conducted in cultured cells, it was unable to identify exactly what mechanisms TCTP employs to control ATM.
The KAIST research team identified that TCTP can combine with ATM or increase the enzymatic activity of ATM. In addition, Drosophilia, one of the most widely used model organisms for molecular genetics, has been used to identify that TCTP and ATM play a very important role in repairing the DNA damaged by radiation. This information has allowed the researchers to establish TCTP’s essential function in maintaining the DNA information in cell cultures and even in higher organisms, and to provide specific and important clues to the regulation of ATM by TCTP.
Professor Kwang-Wook Choi said, “Our research is a good example that basic research using Drosophilia can make important contributions to understanding the process of diseases, such as cancer, and to developing adequate treatment.”
The research has been funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Republic of Korea, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Figure 1. When the amount of TCTP protein is reduced, cells of the Drosophila's eye are abnormally deformed by radiation. Scale bars = 200mm
Figure 2. When the amount of TCTP protein is reduced, the chromosomes of Drosophilia are easily broken by radiation. Scale bars = 10 mm.
Figure 3. When gene expressions of TCTP and ATM are reduced, large defects occur in the normal development of the eye. (Left: normal Drosophilia's eye, right: development-deficient eye)
Figure 4. ATM marks the position of the broken DNA, with TCTP helping to facilitate this reaction. DNA (blue line) within the cell nucleus is coiled around the histone protein (green cylinder). When DNA is broken, ATM protein attaches a phosphate group (P). Multiple DNA repair protein recognizes the phosphate as a signal that requires repair and gathers at the site.
2014.01.07 View 13280 -
Professor Yong-Hee Lee of Physics Received the Humboldt Research Award
In recognition of his past accomplishments in research and teaching, Professor Yong-Hee Lee of Physics at KAIST received the Humboldt Research Award in November 2013. The Humboldt Research Award is annually given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to internationally renowned scientists and scholars in the fields of biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, linguistics, management, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, and physics. The winners of the award are offered with 60,000 Euros of research grant as well as an opportunity to undertake prolonged periods of research in collaboration with researchers in Germany.Professor Lee, who may be the first Korean physicist receiving the award, plans to conduct joint research with colleagues at the Technical University of Berlin and University of Würzburg.
2014.01.05 View 8750 -
Professor Jin-Hyung Kim appointed as the founding director of the Software Policy Research Center
Professor Jin-Hyung Kim from the Department of Computer Science at KAIST was appointed as the founding director of the newly established research institute, the Software Policy Research Center. He will serve as director for three years. The research center will undertake studies and analysis on software policy, statistics, and new software technology.
2014.01.05 View 8465 -
First International Conference on Science and Technology for Society
KAIST co-organized the 2013 International Conference on Science and Technology for Society which was held on November 28 at the Grace Hall in Seoul EL-Tower. More than 300 people, including members of the Global Social Technology Advisory Board, domestic social technology experts, private companies, government officials, private citizens, and students joined the conference to discuss the roles and responsibilities of science and technology for society.
R&D policies and technologies for solving social issues were introduced, and discussions were held on desirable directions for technological development.
The first speaker, Yasushi Watanabe, Director of RISTEX (Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society) in Japan, introduced the importance of science and technology for society under the title “Change of R&D Paradigm for Society.”
Robert Wimmer, GrAT (Center for Appropriate Technology), Vienna University of Technology in Austria, presented “Need-oriented Design & Solutions for Development.” Kiyoaki Murakami, MRI, Japan, presented “Introduction of Platinum Vision” and Robert Ries, University of Florida, U.S.A., presented “Evaluating the Social Impacts of the Built Environment Using Life Cycle Assessment.”
Case studies on social enterprises and presentations on R&D for solving social problems were introduced by ICISTS (International Conference for the Integration of Science, Technology and Society), which is a student group at KAIST, National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI), and Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT).The conference was hosted by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning and co-organized by NRF, KIMM, KRIBB, KITECH, ETRI and KRICT.
2013.12.11 View 11534 -
Cambridge University Press and HISTAC to Publish Science and Civilization in Korea
The KAIST Research Institute for the History of Science, Technology and Civilization of Korea (HISTAC) and Cambridge University Press have agreed to publish a 10-volume collection entitled “Science and Civilization in Korea” in collaboration with the Needham Research Institute.
HISTAC was found in December 2012 with the support of the Academy of Korean Studies and the Korean Studies Promotion Service with the aim of publishing a collection composed of 30 Korean books and 7 English books on Korean science and civilization.
By November 2013, the HISTAC research team submitted a research paper composed of 11 Korean and 1 English book. It has now exceeded its initial goal of publishing 7 English books by signing the recent agreement with the Cambridge University Press.
“Science and Civilization in Korea” is the second collection of non-western science to be published by the Cambridge University Press since 1954 following “Science and Civilization in China” by Joseph Needham who is well-known for his momentous achievements in history of science in East Asia. This collection will highlight the achievements of Korea in science and civilization of Korea, much of which has been under-valued compared to those of China and Japan.[ It now has the significance similar to the Western science and civilization].
HISTAC appointed Professor Hong-Gi Yoon from the University of Auckland as the translator and invited Professor Christopher Cullen from Cambridge University and Professor Morris Low from the University of Queensland as co-editors. Professor Cullen was an editor of “Science and Civilization in China” and is now the director of the Needham Research Institute and Professor Low is an expert in modern science of East Asia.
The series includes:
- History of Science and Technology in Korea
- Technology, Everyday Life, and Korean Civilization
- History and Cultural Studies of Geomancy in Korea
- Patients, Doctors and the State: History of Korean Medical and Pharmaceutical Culture
- History of Astronomy in Korea
- Mathematics and the History of Korean Civilization
- The West and Korea in the History of Science and Technology, 1600-1950
- Imperialism, Colonialism, Post-colonialism and Technological Science in Korea
- Development of Science and Technology Under the Korean Authoritarian Regime
- Dynamics of Technological Development in Korean Industrialization
The HISTAC team believes that the publication will illuminate the nation’s triumphs in science and technology and expects that the publication will serve as valuable research resources for the study of the history of East Asian scientific civilization which has mainly focused on China and Japan. Further, by adopting various case studies of scientific achievements of South Korea and developing countries, they hope to propose a new model for studying history of science and civilization.
2013.11.28 View 8999 -
2013 International Forum on Eco-Friendly Vehicle and System
Leaders in transportation technology gathered at KAIST to discuss commercialization & standardization and to encourage the exchange of research progress, strategy, and future initiatives in transportation technology.
The Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST hosted the 2013 International Forum on Eco-friendly Vehicles and Systems (IFEV) in Fusion Hall of the KAIST Institute Building from October 21 to 22.
About 50 leaders in the field of future transportation from academic institutes and industries including Dr. Soon-Man Hong, President of Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI), Dr. Kwang-Hee Nam, Professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), and Mr. Mike Schagrin, the Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Manager of the US Department of Transportation (retired) participated in the 4th annual IFEV.
The commercialization & standardization session and a technical session were followed by the plenary meeting of the forum.
Dr. Hong, the keynote speaker, introduced the High Capacity Double Deck High Speed Train, Near Surface Subway System, and Urban Railway System with Wireless Power Transfer Technology under the title “Korea’s Policy and Technology Initiative for Enhancing Green Transport Systems.”
Dr. Kwang-Hee Nam presented “Electric Vehicle Trends & the POSTECH E-Car Research Center Power Train Design,” followed by Mr. Mike Schagrin who spoke about “Going Green with Connected Automation.”
Dr. Omer C. Onar from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) shared recent research on “ORNL Development in Stationary and Dynamic Wireless Charging.”
In the commercialization session, Faical Turki of Vahle, Germany, presented “Wireless Inductive Battery Chargers,” and Professor Kazuyuki Ouchi from Tokyo University presented “Wind Challenger, the Next Generation Hybrid Vessels.”
In the technical session, presentations and discussions were performed on future ground vehicles and railroad technology, intelligent transportation systems and strategy, and policy on eco-friendly vehicle technology, including Professor In-Soo Suh of the Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST who presented on “Armadillo-T: 4WD Micro Electric EV with a Foldable Body Concept.”
On the second day of IFEV 2013, representatives of the European Union’s Safe and Green Road Vehicles (SAGE) consortium discussed connectivity in road transportation as a means of improving safety, efficiency and convenience in future safe and green vehicles with collaboration from Korean transportation organizations such as the Korea Transport Institute and Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.
Professor Suh, who organized the forum, said, “This forum will serve as an excellent opportunity to discuss and share R&BD progress in the green transportation field. “Details can be found at http://gt.kaist.ac.kr/ifev2013/.
2013.11.15 View 12479 -
KAIST announced a novel technology to produce gasoline by a metabolically engineered microorganism
A major scientific breakthrough in the development of renewable energy sources and other important chemicals; The research team succeeded in producing 580 mg of gasoline per liter of cultured broth by converting in vivo generated fatty acids
For many decades, we have been relying on fossil resources to produce liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and many industrial and consumer chemicals for daily use. However, increasing strains on natural resources as well as environmental issues including global warming have triggered a strong interest in developing sustainable ways to obtain fuels and chemicals.
Gasoline, the petroleum-derived product that is most widely used as a fuel for transportation, is a mixture of hydrocarbons, additives, and blending agents. The hydrocarbons, called alkanes, consist only of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Gasoline has a combination of straight-chain and branched-chain alkanes (hydrocarbons) consisted of 4-12 carbon atoms linked by direct carbon-carbon bonds.
Previously, through metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli (E. coli), there have been a few research results on the production of long-chain alkanes, which consist of 13-17 carbon atoms, suitable for replacing diesel. However, there has been no report on the microbial production of short-chain alkanes, a possible substitute for gasoline.
In the paper (entitled "Microbial Production of Short-chain Alkanes") published online in Nature on September 29, a Korean research team led by Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) reported, for the first time, the development of a novel strategy for microbial gasoline production through metabolic engineering of E. coli.
The research team engineered the fatty acid metabolism to provide the fatty acid derivatives that are shorter than normal intracellular fatty acid metabolites, and introduced a novel synthetic pathway for the biosynthesis of short-chain alkanes. This allowed the development of platform E. coli strain capable of producing gasoline for the first time. Furthermore, this platform strain, if desired, can be modified to produce other products such as short-chain fatty esters and short-chain fatty alcohols.
In this paper, the Korean researchers described detailed strategies for 1) screening of enzymes associated with the production of fatty acids, 2) engineering of enzymes and fatty acid biosynthetic pathways to concentrate carbon flux towards the short-chain fatty acid production, and 3) converting short-chain fatty acids to their corresponding alkanes (gasoline) by introducing a novel synthetic pathway and optimization of culture conditions. Furthermore, the research team showed the possibility of producing fatty esters and alcohols by introducing responsible enzymes into the same platform strain.
Professor Sang Yup Lee said, "It is only the beginning of the work towards sustainable production of gasoline. The titer is rather low due to the low metabolic flux towards the formation of short-chain fatty acids and their derivatives. We are currently working on increasing the titer, yield and productivity of bio-gasoline. Nonetheless, we are pleased to report, for the first time, the production of gasoline through the metabolic engineering of E. coli, which we hope will serve as a basis for the metabolic engineering of microorganisms to produce fuels and chemicals from renewable resources."
This research was supported by the Advanced Biomass Research and Development Center of Korea (ABC-2010-0029799) through the Global Frontier Research Program of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) through the National Research Foundation (NRF), Republic of Korea. Systems metabolic engineering work was supported by the Technology Development Program to Solve Climate Changes on Systems Metabolic Engineering for Biorefineries (NRF-2012-C1AAA001-2012M1A2A2026556) by MSIP through NRF.
Short-Chain Alkanes Generated from Renewable Biomass
This diagram shows the metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the production of short-chain alkanes (gasoline) from renewable biomass.
Nature Cover Page (September 29th, 2013)
2013.11.04 View 12189 -
Collaboration with Korea Institute of Energy Research
KAIST and the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) agreed on September 4th to further collaboration on energy research such as the development of nano-based hybrid solar cells, bio-fuels, artificial photosynthesis, and carbon dioxide reduction.
The two institutions will select 11 research projects to focus on their cooperation. President Steve Kang (in the right) stood with Jooho Whang, the president of KIER (in the left), holding the signed memorandum of understanding.
2013.11.04 View 8054 -
Core Technology for Lithium Air Secondary Battery Developed
KAIST-Kyonggi University joint research team developed composite catalyst out of nano fiber and graphene
Five times improvement in capacity compared to lithium-ion secondary battery, driving 800 km at maximum
The core technology for lithium air secondary battery, the next generation high capacity battery, has been developed.
A research team formed by KAIST Department of Materials Science’s Professors Il-Doo Kim and Seokwoo Jeon, and Kyonggi University Department of Materials Science’s Professor Yong-Joon Park has created a lithium air secondary battery, with five times greater storage than the lithium-ion secondary battery, by developing a nano fiber-graphene composite catalyst. The research results are published in the August 8th online edition of Nano Letters.
A cathode of a lithium-ion battery consists of graphite and an anode of the battery consists of a lithium transition metal oxide. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in mobile phones and laptops. However, lithium-ion batteries cannot support electric vehicles, providing energy for only 160 kilometers on one full charge. The lithium air secondary battery just developed by the research team uses lithium on the cathode and oxygen on the anode. It is earning a popular acknowledgement among the next generation secondary battery research community for having lightweight mass and high energy density.
However, lithium-ion batteries remain difficult to commercialize because of their short lifespan. Lithium and oxygen meet up to form lithium oxide (Li2O2) at discharge, and decompose again at charge. In a traditional lithium air battery, this cycle does not occur smoothly and results in high resistance, thereby reducing the lifespan of the battery. It is thus essential to develop high efficiency catalyst that facilitates the formation and decomposition of lithium oxides.
The research team used electric radiation to develop a nano composite catalyst by mixing cobalt oxide nano fiber and graphene. The performance of the battery has been maximized by settling nonoxidative graphene, which has high specific surface area and electrical conductivity, on catalyst active cobalt oxide nano fiber. Applying the nano composite catalyst on both poles of the lithium air battery resulted in an improved lifespan of over 80 recharge cycles with capacity greater than 100mAh/g, five times greater than a lithium ion battery. The newly discovered charge-discharge property is the highest among the reported performances of the lithium air battery so far.
The lithium air battery is cheap to make, as the main materials are metal oxide and graphene. “There are yet more issues to resolve such as stability, but we will collaborate with other organizations to open up the era of electronic vehicles,” said Professor Il-Doo Kim. “We hope to contribute to vitalizing the fields of next generation lithium air battery by leading nanocatalyst synthesis technology, one of the core materials in the fields of secondary battery,” Professor Kim spoke of his aspiration.
The graduate students participated in the research are Won-Hee Ryu, a postdoctorate at KAIST Department of Materials Science, Sungho Song, a PhD candidate at KAIST Department of Materials Science, and Taek-Han Yoon, a graduate student at Kyonggi University.
Picture I: Schematic Diagram of Lithium Air Battery Made of Nano Composite Catalysts
Picture II: Images of Cobalt Oxide Nano Fibers and Graphene Nano Composite Catalysts
Picture III: Images of Manufacturing Process of Cobalt Oxide Nano Fibers and Graphene Nano Composite Catalysts for Lithium Air Battery
2013.10.18 View 12045 -
Nanowire Made of Diverse Materials May Become Marketable
- Technology to commercialize nanowire developed after 2 years of industrial-academic joint research -
- 2 million strands of 50nm-width, 20 cm-length nanowire mass producible in 2 hours –
A South Korean joint industrial-academic research team has developed the technology to put forward the commercialization of nanowire that is only a few nanometers wide. It is expected to be applied in various fields such as semiconductors, high performance sensors, and biodevices.
In cooperation with LG Innotek and the National Nanofab center, Professor Jun-Bo Yoon, from KAIST Department of Electrical Engineering, developed the technology to mass produce nanowire at any length with various materials. The research results are published on the online edition of Nano Letters on July 30th.
Nanowire has a long linear structure with its width at 100 nanometers at maximum. It is a multifunctional material that has yet undiscovered thermal, electric, and mechanical properties. Nanowire is highly acclaimed as a cutting-edge material with unique nano-level properties that can be applied in semiconductors, energy, biodevices, and optic devices.
Previously, nanowires had an extremely low synthesis rate that required three or four days to grow few millimeters. It was therefore difficult to produce the desired products using nanowires. Moreover, nanowires needed to be evenly arranged for practical application, but the traditional technology required complex post-treatment, not to mention the arrangement was not immaculate.
The research team applied semiconductor process instead of chemical synthesis to resolve these issues. The team first formed a pattern greater that of the target frequency by using a photo-engraving process on a silicon wafer board whose diameter was 20 centimeters, then repeatedly reduced the frequency to produce 100 nm ultrafine linear grid pattern. Based on this pattern, the research team applied the sputtering process to mass-produce nanowires in perfect shapes of 50 nm width and 20 cm maximum length.
The new technology requires neither a lengthy synthesis process nor post-cleaning to attain a perfectly aligned state. Thus, academic and industrial circles consider the technology has high possibilities for commercialization.
“The significance is in resolving the issues in traditional technology, such as low productivity, long manufacturing time, restrictions in material synthesis, and nanowire alignment,” commented Professor Yoon on this research. “Nanowires have not been widely applied in the industry, but this technology will bring forward the commercialization of high performance semiconductors, optic devices, and biodevices that make use of nanowires.”
2013.10.18 View 9478