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KAIST, K-Water Sign MOU for Cooperation in EEWS
KAIST has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water), a state-invested organization responsible for the development and management of inland water resources, for cooperation in the research on the four global issues of energy, environment, water and sustainability (EEWS).
The MOU was signed by KAIST President Suh Nam-Pyo and K-Water President Kwak Kyul-ho on Feb. 22 at the KAIST.
KAIST and K-Water agreed to establish a cooperative network for exchanges of personnel and research resources for advanced R&D on EEWS. The agreement has been reached on the common belief that EEWS is the most imminent problem facing the humanity in the 21st century.
Under the MOU, KAIST and K-Water will work together to build a EEWS global network; to develop policies and conduct researches to strengthen the competitiveness of Korea"s water industry; and to train and exchange research manpower of the two institutions. The agreement also calls for sharing technological information, exchanging research results and publications; and jointly hosting symposiums and workshops.
2008.03.09 View 13705 -
KAIST Retains Top Spot in Systems and Software Engineering
For two consecutive years, KAIST, Korea"s top science and technology university, topped the list of the world"s most published institutions in the field of systems and software engineering, according to a survey conducted by the Journal of Systems and Software.
The survey assessed systems and software engineering scholars and institutions by the number of papers they published in six major journals of the field from 2001 to 2005.
Geographically, seven of the top 15 institutions are from the Asia-Pacific region, six from the United States and two from Europe. In previous assessments, institutions from the Americas took the lion"s share.
KAIST topped the list of 15 in 2006 and again in 2007. The runner-up for 2007 is China"s National Chiao Tung University. Norway"s Simula Research Laboratory and Korea"s Seoul National University were ranked third and fourth, respectively. Rounding up the top ten list are Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Iowa State University, and University of Texas at Dallas, all from the United States; and City University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Two KAIST professors, Chung Chin-Wan and Kim Myoung-Ho, were among the top ten most published scholars. Chung"s papers were mostly about his researches in database, web, and multimedia, while Kim"s researches concerned database systems and distributed information processing.
The Journal of Systems and Software, a computer science journal specializing in the software systems, is published by Elsevier, the Dutch-based world"s largest publisher of medical and scientific literature.
2008.02.28 View 12473
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Pop Singer Kim Makes Second Donation to KAIST
Popular singer Kim Jang-Hoon donated 50 million won to KAIST for the development of Korea"s prestigious S&T university on Thursday, Feb. 14.
It was the singer"s second gift to KAIST in a year. Kim donated the same amount of money in March 2007 to express his gratitude to Professor Oh Jun-Ho and his research team for allowing him to use HUBO, South Korea"s first humanoid robot, for his concerts in 2006.
In a brief donation ceremony at the KAIST president"s office, Kim said he hoped he would be of any help in the development of science in Korea.
2008.02.18 View 11923 -
KAIST Holds Symposium on Metabolic Engineering
The KAIST Institute for Bio-Century held a symposium on metabolic engineering at the auditorium of the KAIST"s Applied Engineering Bldg. on Thursday, Feb. 14, in cooperation with the BK21 Chemical Engineering Research Team.
The symposium focused on researches on bio-refinery program and bio-energy production in connection with steep hikes in oil prices and worsening environmental problems, including global warming.
Seven Korean experts presented their views on metabolic engineering strategies to effectively produce bio-energy and biofuel and the latest research trends.
Among the speakers, Prof. Lee Sang-yup, co-head of the KAIST Institute for Bio-Century, spoke on the theme of "Metabolic Engineering for Bio-refinery and Bio-energy.
The symposium provided an opportunity to take a glimpse into the latest research trends of metabolic engineering technology. Metabolic engineering technology is crucial to producing chemicals, energy and other substances from renewable biomass materials in a departure from heavy reliance on crude oil.
2008.02.14 View 12678
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Prof. Lee Listed on Marquis Who's Who
Professor Lee Ji-hyun of the Graduate School of Culture Technology at KAIST was registered to Marquis Who"s Who, known as one of the world"s three leading biographical dictionaries.
Prof. Lee"s biography was published in the 25th anniversary edition of "Marquis Who"s Who in the World 2008."
Lee"s research interests are the color and culture, computer-supported collaborative design, creative design, evolutionary systems in design, formal models of design process, representation and reasoning in design and visualization for design information.
Lee has published about 30 papers in science journals and for scholastic conferences. She is also a participating professor at KAIST Institute for Entertainment Engineering. Before joining KAIST in 2007, she was an assistant professor at the Department of Digital Media Design and Graduate School of Computational Design, the National Yunlin University of Science & Technology (NYUST) in Taiwan starting from 2002.
She received her Ph.D. from the School of Architecture (Computational Design) at Carnegie Mellon University in 2002. She graduated from the Department of Housing & Interior Design at Yonsei University in Seoul in 1991 and received her M.S. from the same university in 1993.
2008.02.14 View 14644 -
KAIST, Nokia Launch Joint Research Project
Prof. Kyung Wook Baik of KAIST and his research team in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering announced the launch of a joint research project with Nokia, the world"s leading mobile phone supplier, on Jan. 24.
It is the first time that Nokia runs a joint research project with a Korean university or research institute.
Under the agreement, KAIST will develop a new ultrasonic welding process to bond various modules for mobile phones. The ultrasonic welding process, an indigenous technology patented by the research team led by Prof. Baik, is expected to contribute greatly to improving productivity in manufacturing mobile phones, as well as making it smaller and lighter.
The research period is six month and the project fund amounts to 35,000 euros.
2008.01.29 View 11416
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Intelligent SoC Robot War 2007 Has Finale
Kyung Hee University’s “Sandi2007” and “Triple K” of Korea University of Technology and Education and Chungbuk National University were victorious in the Tank Robot category and the Taekwon Robot categories of the 6th Robot War Contest hosted by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
Boldly entitled “07 Intelligent SoC Robot War”, KAIST hosted its 6th Robot War Contest. In this contest, battles between mechanical robots utilizing System on Chip (SoC) technology are fought. The first Robot War contest was held in 2002. Before the actual contest from October 18th to 21st, preliminary assessments and the final selection was administered in August.
The Intelligent SoC Robot War Contest has two sections called Tank Robot and Taekwon Robot. The Tank Robot contest has robots in the form of tanks duel with laser beams through visual recognition, wireless communication, and audio recognition. On the other hand, the Taekwon Robot contest is a hand-to-hand fight. The robots had to be capable of defending, recognizing the opponent, and attacking without external control.
The 15 teams of the Tank Robot section and the 10 teams of the Taekwon Robot section that passed through the preliminary selections participated in the final battles for 3 days starting on October 18th. The Tank Robot category winner “Sandi2007” showed great ability in visual sensing and the Taekwon Robot category winner “Triple K” had effective arm and leg combinations that eventually led the team to victory.
Kyung Hee University’s “Sandi2007” received 2 million Korean Won as the grand prize along with a special recognition from the Prime Minister, while “Triple K” received 1 million Korean Won with a special recognition from the Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE).
The Intelligent SoC Robot War contest was part of the 2007 International Robot Contest (IRC 2007) which was organized by the Center for Robot Industry Promotion (CRIP) and held at Convention & Exhibition Center (COEX) Indian Hall. The individual contests included 8 competitions: Grand Challenge, Robotpiad, Humanoid Robot Contest, Robofest, Intelligent SoC Robot War, FIRA Challenge Cup, Robot Festival, and URC Robot Contest.By KAIST Herald on November, 2007
2007.12.21 View 13419
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Three Professors Selected as IEEE Fellows
Three Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)’s professors, Ju-Jang Lee, Yong-Hee Lee, and Hoi-Jun Yoo, were selected as a part of the 2008 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc (IEEE)’s “Fellows.” A Fellow is the highest level of membership given only to those “with an extraordinary record of accomplishments” in their field of study. Although some IEEE memberships can be gained freely by all, the Fellow status is bestowed only by the IEEE Board of Directors.
Professor Ju-Jang Lee was awarded the Fellow status “for contributions to intelligent robust control and robotics.” Robust control is a system’s stable maintenance under many inputs in a dynamic environment. A part of KAIST’s Electrical Engineering Department, Professor Ju-Jang Lee has conducted successful research in these fields, and has published 538 papers. He also holds many patents in and outside of the country, and is the General Chair for two upcoming IEEE conferences in 2008 and 2009.
Professor Yong-Hee Lee of KAIST’s Physics Department was recognized for his “contributions to photonic devices based upon vertical cavity surface emitting lasers and photonic crystals.” Photonic devices are those that allow the practical use of photons, and photon crystals are structures that affect the motion of photons. Professor Yong-Hee Lee is an expert in the field of Photonics and his works have been cited over 2500 times. He is also an outstanding speaker, giving over 30 lectures in front of international audiences in the past 5 years, and receiving The Distinguished Lecturer’s Award from IEEE.
Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo was granted the prestigious Fellow status for his “contributions to low-power and high-speed VLSI design.” VLSI stands for ‘very large scale integration’ and refers to the skill for packing a huge number of semiconductors on an integrated circuit. Professor Lee’s Fellow status is noteworthy in that he studied, worked, and researched solely in Korea. He is also the youngest of the three KAIST professors to be granted membership in the class of 2008 Fellowship. IEEE also recognized Professor Yoo as the most frequent publisher during the past 8 years.
IEEE, originally concentrating on Electric Engineering, has now branched into many related fields. It is a nonprofit organization, and its aim is to be the world"s leading professional association for the advancement of technology. For its Fellow Class of 2008, 295 members were chosen; which is less that 0.1% of their total members.By KAIST Herald on December, 2007
2007.12.21 View 17114
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KAIST Takes Merging Steps with ICU
Plans to begin the merging of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Information and Communications University (ICU) have emerged.
ICU board members and Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) officials held a meeting at Lotte Hotel, Seoul, on November 21st. The two parties agreed upon the merging of KAIST and ICU; and an interim organization to carry out the merging procedures was to be established. In addition, a preliminary road-map was presented during the meeting.
In the event that a company would show a willingness to financially support ICU, the parties agreed to take this path into consideration as well.
Also at this meeting, the resignation of ICU President Huh Unna was accepted by the board members of ICU. President Huh and the executive board have opposed any proposals of unification between the two universities. The president called for an independent ICU in response to MIC’s withdrawal of funding.
On November 27th, ICU Electrical Engineering Professor Hyuck Jae Lee was appointed as ICU president.
The talk of merging the two universities surfaced when the Board of Audit and Inspection concluded that financial support of ICU from the government was illegal as ICU was established under the private school law exempting the institution from governmental support. When ICU was established in 1997, MIC provided 200 billion Korean Won and has continually supported the university financially with 10 billion Korean Won per year.
Both universities have not released official statements regarding the merging of the respective institutions.
ICU has a student body of about 400 undergraduate students and 600 graduate students. On the other hand, KAIST has a student body of around 3000 undergraduate students, 2000 graduate students, and 2000 doctorate students. Both institutions are located in Daejeon, Korea.
Talk of establishing a single-department IT-convergence university where ICU is currently located surfaced as a possible merging-concept by KAIST.
Organizations and groups opposing the unification of the two technology-related institutions are concerned with details of the merger, such as the personnel management of ICU professors. However, analyses demonstrate that the unification will give KAIST the competitive edge through a larger faculty, student body, and increased facilities.
In July, an in-house poll was conducted at ICU and the results showed that 15 percent of graduate school students and undergraduate students were against the merger while 82.6 percent of undergraduate students and 84.8 percent of graduate students were in favor. 88.6 percent of ICU professors supported the unification of the two universities.By KAIST Herald on December, 2007
2007.12.21 View 12220
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KAIST Introduces Dual Degree Program for MBA with American and British
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Graduate School of finance signed a dual degree program contract with the University of Rochester and London Business School. Starting from the entering class of 2009, the dual degree program will allow students of the Graduate School of finance to attend ten lectures in a foreign university and receive degrees from both institutes. After the dual degree program is applied, in the case of the University of Rochester, KAIST students will finish three terms at KAIST Graduate School of Business. Then the students will spend the last eight months in the University of Rochester. This opportunity will be given to roughly 20 students out of 100 entering students.KAIST MBA School was built in 1995 and has been operated as the Graduate School of Business Administration for ten years. Then, it was developed into two major departments: the Graduate School of finance and the Graduate School of information and media. After the division, they have chosen the dual degree program as the strategy for building up the capability of the Graduate School of Business.The dual degree program of KAIST has a unique feature that other MBA Schools do not have. Once a student is selected by KAIST to participate in the dual degree program, the student will be able to study in the foreign university even if he or she had been rejected from it. This is an important characteristic that differentiates KAIST from other MBA Schools where students need to have approvals from both universities.As well as the Graduate School of finance, the Graduate School of information and media is currently working on signing a dual degree program contract with Marshall University. Once a contract on Memorandum of Understanding is signed, students will be able to receive MBA degrees from both KAIST and Marshall University.The University of Rochester is a MBA School specializing in finance, which in 2007, was ranked 5th in financial affairs and accounting according to Financial Times. Currently, 14 KAIST students are enrolled in a dual degree program for MBA in the university.By KAIST Herald on November 2007
2007.12.21 View 12854
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S&T Policy Agenda of Major Presidential Candidates
Science and Technology Policy Agenda of Major Presidential Candidates
The KAIST TIMES recently reviewed science and technology policy suggestions made by five major presidential candidates. Below is a summary of the information assembled based on written interviews conducted by The KAIST TIMES, gatherings on science and technology policies, and press conferences.
Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party
The UNDP’s Chung Dong-young presented a vision to join the world’s top seven aerospace leaders in an effort to transform Korea into a science-technology powerhouse.
In order to achieve this goal, he suggested five policy strategies: support research and development of creative, innovative science and technology, ; expand resources for the innovation of science and technology, ; promote academia and business partnerships, ; strengthen infrastructure to innovate scientific and technological fields, ; boost the morale of scientists and engineers, ; and promote the dissemination of scientific culture.
The most noticeable striking part element of his vision is to make add Korea to join the list of the world’s top seven aerospace powerhouses. Chung included the this vision in his 20 key 20 pledges, underscoring his commitment to the aerospace industry. He said that the aerospace industry can produce simultaneous growth of various high-tech industries.
Chung also vowed that he would extensively foster high-value added assembly industry in conjunction with a scheme to nurture parts and material industries.
As detailed action plans to achieve his vision, he cited development of small and medium-sized aircraft carriers and upgrading air control systems as part of the efforts to make Korea as a stronghold of popular aviation of in Northeast Asia. He also revealed plans to embark on a project to explore the Moon and send an unmanned probe there by 2020.
To implement aerospace development plans systematically, he suggested inaugurating the envisioned Korean Aeronautics and Space Administration, modeled after the NASA of the United States and JAXA of Japan.
Lee Myung-bak of the National Grand Party
Presidential candidate Lee pointed out basic sciences and open-source technologies as crucial prerequisites to achieve economic growth. As five implementation strategies to promote the development of these areas, he called for the fostering of more scientific and technological talents; a drastic increase in investment in science and technology; creation of new fusion industries that will serve as future growth engines; promotion of autonomy and creativity; and popularization of science and technology.
He also pledged to carry out two large-scale projects, the creation of “an international scientific-corporate city belt” and the technological development of new renewable energy.
Among them, drawing the largest attention is the creation of an “international scientific-corporate city belt” connecting several technological complexes located in Chungcheong Provinces. The city belt is envisioned to connect the Daedok Innopolis in Daejeon, the proposed Bio-Health Science Technopolis in Osong, Sceintific Industrial Complex in Ochang, and the new administrative town under construction in Yeongi-Gongju. At a lecture hosted by the Science and Technology Forum and the Korean Engineers Club, Lee said that the project has been motivated by the idea of locating research and corporate complexes in close proximity to bring about maximum efficiency of commercializing research results.
Kwon Young-ghil of the Democratic Labor Party
In a written interview with The KAIST TIMES, Kwon summed up his vision for science and technology as shifting from “science-technology for the rich and privileged” to “science and technology to promote public interest and participation.”
As action plans to realize his vision, he suggested increasing investment into public-interest research and development projects and building the necessary infrastructure as well as boosting relevance between science-technology policies and various welfare sectors including environment, health, and medicare. He also wishes to pay greater attention to improving the treatment of young engineers and scientists.
Moon Kook-hyun of the Creative Korea Party
Moon Kook-hyun’s science and technology policy proposals focus on nurturing more experts in the fields of science and technology. As specific action plans to ease the tendency among high-school graduates to shun the fields engineering and science as their majors, he revealed a plan to appoint a Prime Minister with an engineering or scientific background and positively expand social participation of engineering or science graduates.
He also expressed strong commitment to making Korea a technological power house, focusing on convergence of various high-tech industries including BT and IT. He would also build infrastructure to increase cooperation for technological development among large and mid and small-sized companies, and among Korea and many other countries.
Independent Candidate Lee Hoi-chang
Lee Hoi-chang’s vision for science and technology can be highlighted by his strong commitment to greatly increasing R& D investment in this area. He said that the move is aimed at expanding science and technology capital, which will serve as a fundamental infrastructure for corporate activities.
In particular, he said that he would concentrate on fostering eight core technologies based on individual knowledge and creativity: IT, BT, NT, ST, ET (Environment Technology), CT, MT(Marine Technology), and FT (Fusion Technology).
2007.12.17 View 15368
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The US Science Magazine Published KAIST News on Nov. 30
An educational innovation of our university arouses world"s interest.
The world science magazine, the U.S Science reports deeply President Suh Nampyo" KAIST reform, fund, tenure review, tuition, admission and faculty recruit in News Focus, internet version on 30 November. There is full text of the news below.http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5855/1371
News FocusHIGHER EDUCATION:MIT Engineer Shakes Korean Academia to Its CoreDennis Normile
Radical measures from the new president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology are roiling a tradition-bound system
Worldly. To gain stature beyond Korea, KAIST has lured students from Vietnam, China, and Rwanda, among other countries.
CREDIT: D. NORMILE/SCIENCE
DAEJEON, SOUTH KOREA--When the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on 19 November that an entrepreneur had donated $2.5 million to the university with promises of more to follow, it marked the latest in a string of coups for the new president, Suh Nam Pyo. A mechanical engineer on leave from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Suh has raised an unprecedented amount--$12.5 million--in a country where donations to universities are rare. He"s challenging other traditions as well. For example, KAIST"s latest tenure review turned down several candidates, a shocking move by Korean standards.Suh says he is aiming to make KAIST "as good as the best [universities], including MIT." Many faculty members agree that Suh"s "overall philosophy and vision are correct," says KAIST systems biologist Lee Sang Yup. But there are concerns about how Suh will implement that vision at the 36-year-old university.
The KAIST community has reason to be cautious. In 2004, the university hired Nobel physics laureate Robert Laughlin as president--the first foreigner to lead a Korean university--with a mandate to transform KAIST into a world-class institution. Laughlin, on leave from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, proposed privatizing KAIST and charging tuition, focusing on commercialization, and tripling undergraduate enrollment (Science, 25 February 2005, p. 1181; 20 January 2006, p. 321). But when Laughlin"s plans failed to materialize, "the faculty was disappointed," says KAIST molecular biologist Chung Jongkyeong. In 2006, the board of trustees decided to seek a new president.
The board turned to Suh. Born in Gyeongju, South Korea, in 1936, Suh moved to the United States with his family as a teenager and earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As an MIT professor, Suh has won plaudits for his engineering design theories, earned more than 50 patents, and helped start several companies. In the early 1980s, he was assistant director for engineering at the U.S. National Science Foundation, and he headed MIT"s Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1991 until 2001.
Since arriving at KAIST in July 2006, Suh has opened undergraduate education to non-Korean students for the first time by insisting that many courses be taught in English. Suh decided that students who maintain "B" or better grades would continue to pay no tuition, whereas those with a "C" or below must pay about $16,000 per year starting in February. "We want students to take responsibility for their actions," Suh says.
Agent of change. KAIST"s faculty supports Suh Nam Pyo"s reforms, so far.
CREDIT: KAIST
A new admissions process may also have broad impact. Previously, KAIST, like most of Korea"s top universities, selected the top scorers in a written exam. Most high school students spend their free time prepping for these tests in cram schools. But Suh says that scores "are a one-dimensional measure" that fails to identify leaders. So candidates for KAIST"s next incoming class were invited to campus this fall for interviews, to give presentations, and to engage in discussions while being observed by faculty members, who made selections based on scores and personal impressions. "We"re looking for future Einsteins and future Bill Gateses," says Suh.An even more radical step was putting teeth into tenure reviews. Traditionally, faculty members in Korea gain tenure after logging enough years. Suh insisted that KAIST professors up for tenure gather endorsements from experts in their field around the world. In September, 11 of 33 applicants were denied tenure and were given a year to find new jobs.
The tenure review "is the beginning of an educational revolution," says KAIST chemist Ryoo Ryong. But he and others worry about the fate of those denied tenure. Suh understands their predicament but is standing firm. The professors who didn"t make tenure "are very good people, but in terms of the standard we set, they"re not as good as we expect our professors to be." He is asking other universities to consider giving these professors a chance.
At the same time, Suh is looking to inject fresh blood--including foreigners--into the 418-strong faculty with a plan to add 300 professors over the next 4 to 5 years. (To expand the school, Suh is striving to win government approval for a doubling of KAIST"s base governmental support of $108 million.) His first catch is Mary Kathryn Thompson, who completed her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at MIT last year. "It"s an exciting time to be here," says Thompson, who just started studying Korean when she arrived last August.
Although they support Suh"s initiatives, some faculty members chafe at his blunt public comments implying that Korea"s professors take life too easy. "I cannot agree," says Choi Yang-Kyu, an electrical engineer. "Most professors here are working very hard." Biomolecular engineer Kim Hak-Sung adds: "President Suh should have sticks and carrots, not just sticks."
Carrots don"t come cheap. "I"m spending most of my time trying to raise money," Suh says. Part of that effort is wooing private donors. "Giving to universities is not prevalent in Asia, but it is something I"m trying to nurture in Korea," he says. That"s a precedent all of Korea"s universities might want to embrace.
2007.11.30 View 14902