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News Article on the Development of Synthesis Process for Graphene Quantum Dots
Before It's News, an international online news agency, highlighted the recent research conducted by KAIST professors (Seokwoo Jeon of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yong-Hoon Cho of the Department of Physics, and Seunghyup Yoo of the Department of Electrical Engineering) on the development of synthesis process for graphene quantum dots, nanometer-sized round semiconductor nanoparticles that are very efficient at emitting photons. If commercialized, this synthetic technology will lead the way to the development of paper-thin displays in the future.
For the article, please go to the link below:
Before It’s News, September 3, 2014“Graphene quantum dots prove highly efficient in emitting light”
http://beforeitsnews.com/science-and-technology/2014/09/graphene-quantum-dots-prove-highly-efficient-in-emitting-light-2718190.html
2014.09.07 View 13726 -
Extracting Light from Graphite: Core Technology of Graphene Quantum Dots Display Developed
Professor Seokwoo Jeon of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Yong-Hoon Cho of the Department of Physics, and Professor Seunghyup Yoo of the Department of Electrical Engineering announced that they were able to develop topnotch graphene quantum dots from graphite.
Using the method of synthesizing graphite intercalation compound from graphite with salt and water, the research team developed graphene quantum dots in an ecofriendly way.
The quantum dots have a diameter of 5 nanometers with their sizes equal and yield high quantum efficiency. Unlike conventional quantum dots, they are not comprised of toxic materials such as lead or cadmium. As the quantum dots can be developed from materials which can be easily found in the nature, researchers look forward to putting these into mass production at low cost.
The research team also discovered a luminescence mechanism of graphene quantum dots and confirmed the possibility of commercial use by developing quantum dot light-emitting diodes with brightness of 1,000 cd/m2, which is greater than that of cellphone displays.
Professor Seokwoo Jeon said, “Although quantum dot LEDs have a lower luminous efficiency than existing ones, their luminescent property can be further improved” and emphasized that “using quantum dot displays will allow us to develop not only paper-thin displays but also flexible ones.”
Sponsored by Graphene Research Center in KAIST Institute for NanoCentury, the research finding was published online in the April 20th issue of Advanced Optical Materials.
Picture 1: Graphene quantum dots and their synthesis
Picture 2: Luminescence mechanism of graphene quantum dots
Picture 3: Structure of graphene quantum dots LED and its emission
2014.09.06 View 18083 -
IAMCOMPANY, an educational technology startup created by a KAIST student
In-Mo Chung, a senior student of the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST, developed a mobile homework book application, IAMSCHOOL, in order to help parents engage, more interactively, in their children’s school activities.
Chung said in an interview with KAIST:
“I came up with creating my company, IAMCOMPANY, when I worked as a volunteer for a student club in 2009 that provides an educational service to high school students living in a less-favored environment. I found out their educational environment very poor, which ultimately led me to build a public interest business model for education.”
Chung created a few mobile applications including IAMSCHOOL and IAMCLASS. The application, IAMSCHOOL, receives school’s notices, homework assignments, or any information related to classes and sends them directly and immediately to parents, allowing real-time communications between parents and teachers. In Korea, parents usually check as many as 50 school notices per month.
Once registered, private educational institutes and public organizations can also receive school information through this application.
In July 2011, the Department of Science Management at KAIST hosted a student competition for startup ideas, and Chung’s idea to build an educational application won the best award. In 2012, he received the grand prize at the KAIST E-5 Startup Competition.
An undergraduate student who is the chief executive officer of a tech startup
Chung established IAMCOMPANY with the seed fund of 13 million Korean won that he had received from the city government of Daejeon. His business idea was selected as one of the 300 College Student Startup Projects, a startup support program operated by Daejeon City to encourage entrepreneurship among college and university students.
Chung talked about the background of his business:
“I think that my idea to offer a “free educational application” helped me win the first prize at the student startup competition. At that time, I was still young, so I considered the winning of the competition as an “exercise” to build my own business in the future. But when I actually started my company, I found out that KAIST’s startup programs helped me a lot throughout the entire process and realized that these programs are good enough for young entrepreneurs to build up their company from a single idea.”
KAIST professors and staff support student startups.
Chung took in-depth mentoring from KAIST professors. Professor Min-Hwa Lee of the Department of Management Science and Professor Lak-Kyoung Song of the Department of Technology Management, who is also the president of the Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center, have supported Chung’s endeavors. President Taek-Su Kang of the KAIST Innovation Center gave Chung a lot of advice as he was developing IAMCOMPANY’s initial business model. Chung said that even now, they look for solutions together when his business ran into a brick wall.
Professor Lee said, “IAMCOMPANY does not aim for profit. Instead, by supplying free applications, they improve the environment of education and eventually create public interest. Also, they find out consumers’ hidden demands and satisfied it creatively.”
With 8,000 schools registered to IAMSCHOOL, 750,000 parents are using the application in just two years of its release. Parents and teachers responded enthusiastically.
The application “IAMSCHOOL” provides services for 8,000 schools in Korea. Currently, 750,000 parents are using this application.
The company offers the nation’s largest online education service. The reason behind their rapid growth is that their service solves communications problems between schools and parents in a simple and efficient manner.
Jung-Mi Hwang, a teacher at Galma Elementary School in Dajeon, said:
“After using this application, there are fewer occasions of students forgetting their school materials. We think this is because the parents can check the school notices and newsletters at any time through the application.”
She added, “I hope more and more schools will use this application because it is convenient and also available for free.”
Another teacher from Daedeok Elementary School in Daejeon, Dong-Min Nam, said that “many parents like this application since they are immediately notified with school events.”
KAIST’s Technology Business Incubation Center
“After moving around many places due to expensive rent,” Chung said that “we finally moved into the Technology Business Incubation Center (TBIC) at KAIST. The center helped us not only providing the space, but also mentoring and connecting us with venture investment companies. This was a great help in attracting initial investments.”
Chung added:
“At first, a staff member from TBIC was concerned about the viability of my company. I was then an undergraduate student with zero business experience, and from his standpoint, I was taking a huge risk.”
But in several months after its establishment, IAMCOMPANY has grown to have 16 employees.
An investment of 1.5 billion Korean won from a venture capital company led to a sustainable growth.
In early stage, IAMCOMPANY received 300 million Korean won from a venture capital company, and it recently attracted additional 1.2 billion won from a leading venture capital. With these investments, the company grew further. Moreover, investments from large educational corporations have proved the value and competitiveness of the company in the education market.
Chung plans to expand his service globally, particularly in China and Singapore.
He said that he would not forget how he had started his business, and with such a focused mind, he would strive to provide students and parents with quality educational services while proactively incorporating the advanced information technology (IT) into his products.
A bold movement to Pangyo Techno Valley, a Korean version of Silicon Valley
Although the company started with only two members, as of August 2014, it boasts of having twenty employees, a remarkable leap of growth within just two years.
In April this year, Chung relocated his office from TBIC to Pangyo Techno Valley, the Silicon Valley of Korea, in order to provide a better work environment to his staff.
It was not an easy decision for him to leave the comfortable, well-known place, the KAIST campus, and the colleagues, including TBIC staff and KAIST professors, who had helped his startup efforts in early days. However, in order to recruit better employees and to access additional IT resources and education-related companies, Chung decided to make a bold movement, relocating his business to Pangyo Techno Valley in Seoul.
A reputable American venture capital investor, Timothy C. Draper, invested in IAMCOMPANY
Chung was able to secure solid support from an eminent global investor, Timothy C. Draper, the founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a venture capital based in Menlo Park in California.
Recently, Draper, a legendary investor of the Silicon Valley, invested USD 20,000 in IAMCOMPANY. Draper discovered worldwide venture companies such as Hotmail, Skype, and Baidu. IAMCOMPANY received high marks from him as a company with a competitive edge in the global education market.
Chung met Draper in April 2014 when he participated in a television network’s (Korean Broadcasting System) audition program for startups. Draper was one of the judges for the program, and he was impressed by the robust growth of IAMCOMPANY. He eventually made a decision to chip in USD 20,000 in Chung’s company.
Chung said that he was glad to meet the tycoon of Silicon Valley who recognized the potential of his company.
In last October, IAMSCHOOL was selected for the K-APP Global Hub Program—a global market pioneering program to support the development of mobile applications—which was sponsored by the Small and Medium Business Administration in Korea.
IAMCOMPANY will bring ‘the Korean Wave’ in the area of educational applications.
Chung said, “We plan to sustainably manage the applications and add more functions, so that more educational institutions can adopt our application.”
The company aims to provide its service to over 11,000 schools and 100,000 academies nationally so that more parents are able to receive educational news and information easily.
Chung concluded his interview in an upbeat tone as he predicted the future of his company:
“I am proud that IAMSCHOOL is being recognized by the world’s best investor, and I have gained confidence to advance to the global market. Through global service, I want to make "the Korean Wave" in the field of educational applications and to receive appreciation from students, teachers, and parents worldwide.”
2014.09.04 View 10258 -
KAIST's Advanced Biomass R&D Center and ToolGen will cooperate
The Advanced Biomass R&D Center (ABC) at KAIST and ToolGen, Inc., a Korean biotechnology company focused on the development of engineered nucleases that can be used as essential tools for editing genetic information in microbial, plant, animal, and human cells, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on August 18, 2014 for technology exchange and research collaboration.
ABC is headed by Executive Director Ji-Won Yang, a professor emeritus at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Chief Executive Officer Jong-Moon Kim for ToolGen.
The newly signed MOU encourages collaborations in the following areas:
- Development of genome editing technology for microalgae modification
- Development of microalgae that increases biofuel production through the
application of genome editing technology
- Creation of education and training programs for researchers
- Collaboration in other areas
In addition, the two organizations decided to cooperate in the improvement of biofuel yields using ToolGen’s genome editing technology, the commercialization of research outcomes, and the development of eco-friendly biofuels from biomass.
Executive Director Yang commented that “improving biofuel production is crucial to accelerate the commercialization of biofuels, and collaborating with ToolGen will help us realize that goal.” He further said that “The importance of this MOU lies in the fact that the global chemical industry including Korea has been making substantial efforts to shift its attention from a fossil fuel-based development to a more bio-based technology.”
Jin-Soo Kim, the director of the Genome Editing Research Center at the Institute of Basic Sciences in Korea and the cofounder of ToolGen, added that “ToolGen has successfully commercialized its third generation genetic scissors, which shows a lot of promise for commercialization. Our collaboration with KAIST will serve as the driving force to create new industries and accordingly, new jobs.”
2014.09.03 View 10920 -
IAMCOMPANY, an educational technology startup created by a KAIST student, featured online in EdSurge
EdSurge is a U.S.-based online news site focused on education and technology innovation, which published an article, dated August 12, 2014, on IAMCOMPANY (http://iamcompany.net), a startup created by a KAIST student, Inmo (Ryan) Chung.
The article introduced one of the company’s most popular and free smartphone applications called “IAMSCHOOL” that “funnels school announcements and class notices to parents’ smartphones using a format similar to Twitter and Google+.”
For more about IAMCOMPANY, please visit the link below:
EdSurge, August 12, 2014
“South Korea’s Biggest Educational Information App Plans Pan-Asian Expansion”
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-08-12-south-korea-s-biggest-educational-information-app-plans-pan-asian-expansion
2014.08.19 View 8415 -
ASPIRE League 2014: E-Olympics among Five Asian Universities
About 150 undergraduate students from five leading science and technology (S&T) universities in Asia met at the KAIST campus to attend the E-Olympics on August 7-9, 2014.
The E-Olympics began as a student exchange conference held under the Asian Science and Technology Pioneering Institutes of Research and Education (ASPIRE) League, which offers a variety of events, such as workshops, sports matches, lab visits, special lectures, and art performances, to promote academic and research collaborations and cultural sharing between the students of the league member universities.
Founded in 2009, the ASPIRE League is a university consortium consisted of five top S&T universities in Asia: KAIST in Korea, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Tsinghua University in China, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) in Japan. The ASPIRE League aims to provide a knowledge and technology hub for innovation in Asia through the advancement of science and technology and the development of human resources.
Since its start, the ASPIRE League has been holding an annual conference with programs for research collaboration, student exchange, educational cooperation, and satellite laboratories among professors, senior managers, and students of the member universities. This year, however, the consortium decided to dedicate the conference to students by holding the E-Olympics.
Each university sent 30 students to KAIST for the participation of the E-Olympics. For three days, participating students engaged in discussions and presentations at academic workshops; held athletic games including a relay race, basketball, and a rowing race; and toured a few KAIST laboratories, among them: the E-mobility Research Center, the Bio-imaging and Cell Signaling Research Center, the Mechatronics Systems and Control Center, and the Center of Field Robotics for Innovation, Exploration and Defense.
The students also attended a music concert performed by a KAIST student club and a lecture entitled “Entrepreneurship through Global Networking” that emphasized the importance of personnel networking in transferring technological innovation into business opportunities.
Chang-Dong Yoo, the Dean of the International Office at KAIST, said, “The E-Olympics will offer students from top science and technology universities in Asia opportunities to interact with each other on a more personal level. I hope that through many of the E-Olympics programs, the students will learn about each other’s culture and academic strength and develop a sense of community to create a “New Asia” by working together.”
2014.08.11 View 13178 -
2014 NEREC Conference on Nuclear Nonproliferation: July 31-August 1, 2014, Seoul
The Nonproliferation Education and Research Center (NEREC) at KAIST hosted an international conference on nuclear nonproliferation on July 31-August 1, 2014 in Seoul. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Korean Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and the Korea Nuclear Policy Society (KNPS) sponsored the event.
Over one hundred experts and "thought leaders" in nuclear security and nonproliferation attended the conference and discussed issues related to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, the role of scientific community in mitigating nuclear threat and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power, and nuclear disarmament policy.
Keynote speakers were: Steven E. Miller, Director of International Security Program at Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University; Scott D. Sagan, Senior Fellow of the Center for International Security and Cooperation, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University; Mark Fitzpatrick, Director of the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Programme, International Institute for Strategic Studies; Sang-Hyun Lee, Director of Security Strategy, Sejong Institute; and Man-Sung Yim, Professor of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST.
At the conference, Professor Yim, Director of KAIST NEREC said, “Korea has grown to become a key player in the development of commercial nuclear energy over the past decades. We hope that our conference encourages Korea to be more involved in the efforts of the international community to enhance the global nonproliferation regime.”
2014.08.05 View 14365 -
The Journal of Clinical Investigation: Researchers Uncover the Secret Lymphatic Identity of the Schlemm's Canal
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI), a peer-reviewed, top-tier medical journal published by the American Society for Clinical Investigation, carried a commentary entitled “Schlemm’s Canal: More Than Meets the Eye, Lymphatics in Disguise” in the July 25, 2014 issue.
In the commentary, the authors compared a research paper (“Lymphatic regular PROX1 determines Schlemm’s canal integrity and identity”) by Professor Gou-Young Koh of the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering at KAIST with research work from the University of Helsinki (article entitled “The Schlemm’s canal is a VEGF-C/VEGFR-3 responsive lymphatic-like vessel”).
The JCI released a press statement dated July 25, 2014 on its commentary. It mentioned that glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, elevates eye pressure owing to poor drainage of aqueous humor. A specialized structure called “Schlemm’s canal” funnels aqueous humor from the eye back into circulation, which is critical to prevent pressure buildup in the eye. The article discussed the role of Schlemm’s canal in the context of lymphatic vascular characteristics by reviewing two research group’s papers back-to-back.
For the full text of the press release, please visit the link below:
Press Release from the Journal of Clinical Investigation, July 25, 2014
“Researchers uncover the secret lymphatic identity of the Schlemm’s canal”
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/joci-rut072414.php
2014.07.28 View 8616 -
Professor Kyu-Young Whang Receives Contributions Award from ACM SIGMOD
Kyu-Young Whang, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at KAIST, was the recipient of the 2014 ACM SIGMOND Contributions Award.
Founded in 1947, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, delivering resources that advance computing as a science and profession.
SIGMOD is the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Management of Data, which specializes in large-scale data management problems and databases.
Since 1992, ACM SIGMOND has presented the contributions award to one scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of database systems through research funding, education, and professional services. So far, 23 people including Professor Whang have received the award.
Professor Whang was recognized for his key role in the growth of international conferences and journals in the field of databases such as The VLDB Journal (The International Journal on Very Large Data Bases), VLDB Endowment Inc., IEEE Technical Committee on Data Engineering, and Database Systems for Advanced Applications (DASFAA). IEEE stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
For the full list of ACM SIGMOND Contributions Award recipients, please go to
http://www.sigmod.org/sigmod-awards/sigmod-awards#contributions.
2014.07.15 View 9356 -
Workshop on Wearable Healthcare Takes Place on July 15, 2014
A workshop on wearable healthcare was held at KAIST campus on July 15, 2014.
In recent years, wearable healthcare has received much attention as an emerging technology that will have a great impact on our society.
At the workshop, participants from academia and industry reviewed the Korean healthcare industry and discussed issues related to the development of a wearable healthcare industry in Korea, while capitalizing on the nation’s strength in information and communications.
Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo of Electrical Engineering at KAIST, the chairman of the organizing committee of the workshop, presented a keynote speech entitled “The Current State and Future of Wearable Healthcare,” arguing that the wearable healthcare industry developed through the Internet of things and big data would become the next-generation growth engine for Korea.
Other key presentations were “Smart Glasses and Micro Display Semiconductor Technology” by Bo-Eun Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Raon-Tech, Inc., “Wearable Device: A Comprehensive Approach” by Min-Kyu Je, a professor of Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, and “Microwave Imaging System for Breast Cancer Detection” by Seung-Joon Lee, a professor of Ewha Woman’s University.
Professor Yoo said, “We hope that the workshop will provide good momentum for participants to evaluate the Korean healthcare industry in the context of the Internet of things, information and communications technology, and medical technology as well as offering practical solutions to nurture the indigenous wearable healthcare industry in Korea.”
2014.07.15 View 8940 -
KAIST Midam Scholarship Fund Receives the "Proud Yuseong Award"
The Midam Scholarship Fund, one of KAIST's student clubs, received an award from the Yuseong District Office in Daejeon on July 8, 2014.
Selected as the recipient of the second “Proud Yuseong Award,” members of the Midam Scholarship Fund have offered, with seven other Korean universities, their talents and knowledge to teach math and science to underprivileged young middle and high school students.
Established since 2013, the "Proud Yuseong Award" is given to citizens or organizations that have made contributions to the development of the Yuseong community in the past year.
2014.07.14 View 7006 -
Opening of "Education Donation Center" for Knowledge Sharing
KAIST is a leader in knowledge-sharing services for the educationally underprivileged. KAIST held the opening ceremony of the Education Donation Center at its Munji Campus on July 4, 2014 and was appointed as a “2014 Chungcheong-Gangwon province model local education donation center” sponsored by the Education Ministry of Korea and Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity.
The Education Donation Center (EDC) will integrate programs run by the Chungcheong-Gangwon province education donation organizations and introduce them to local chapter organizations. The EDC will recommend new donation organizations to the organizations in need. To ensure efficient donation, the EDC will consult programs of donation organizations. The EDC will also suggest regionally suitable education donation programs. KAIST will provide three staff members, six graduate students, and one to manage the career counselor to the center.
Joo-Sung Lee of the Business & Technology Management Department is the professor in charge of the EDC. He explained, “The center is the medium between the newly participating education donation organizations and the demand organizations. I will invest every effort to provide high-quality educational benefits to educationally underprivileged people."
KAIST has also been running an education service group called ‘Midam Scholarship’, an online education donation group called ‘Chalk’, and science camp programs for youth to establish the sharing and collaboration culture of KAIST.
2014.07.10 View 9436