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KAIST

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KAIST shocks the world with its creativity Researchers at KAIST yielded great results at the world’s leading international Human Computer Interaction Society. Professor Lee Gi Hyuk’s (Department of Computer Sciences) and Professor Bae Seok Hyung’ (Department of Industrial Design) respective teams received awards in two criteria in student innovation contest and was the only domestic university that presented their thesis at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software. The ACM UIST holds a student innovation contest prior to its opening. This year’s topic was the pressure sensing multi touch pad of Synaptics and involved 27 prestigious universities including MIT and CMU. The KAIST team (Ki Son Joon Ph.D. candidate, Son Jeong Min M.A. candidate of Department of Computer Sciences and Woo Soo Jin M.A. candidate of Department of Industrial Design) designed a system that allows modulated control by attaching a simple structure to the pressure sensing multi touch pad. The second KAIST team (Huh Seong Guk Ph.D. candidate, Han Jae Hyun Ph.D. candidate, Koo Ji Sung Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Computer Sciences, and Choi Ha Yan M.A. candidate at Department of Industrial Design) designed a system that utilizes a highly elastic fiber to allow the sensing of lateral forces. They also created a slingshot game application which was the second most popular system. In the thesis session Professor Bae’s team (Lee DaWhee Ph.D. candidate, Son Kyung Hee Ph.D. candidate, Lee Joon Hyup M.A. candidate at Department of Industrial Design) presented a thesis that dealt with the technology that innovated the table pen for displays. The new ‘phantom pen’ solved the issue arising from the hiding effect of the pen’s contact point and the display error due to the thickness of the display. In addition the ‘phantom pen’ has the ability to show the same effects as crayons or markers in a digital environment.
2012.11.29 View 13670
Distinguished Professor Lee Sang Yeop Appointed as Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Professor Lee Sang Yeop (Dean of the Department of Biological Sciences) has become the first Korea Scientist to be appointed as the Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers was founded in 1908 and boasts a 100 year history. It is composed of 43,000 members over 90 countries and is the largest international Academic Institute in the field of Chemical Engineering. The Institute appoints Fellows after a rigorous procedure of recommendation and evaluation and Professor Lee is the first Korean to become a Fellow. Professor Lee’s expertise is the field of Metabolic Engineering and successfully applied the system design method and optimization strategy of chemical engineering to biological systems thereby developing numerous core technologies for the biology based chemical industries. Professor Lee is the founder of the System Metabolic Engineering and enabled the medical application of microorganisms by manipulating the metabolic pathways on a systems level in addition to making great progress in synthesizing various oil originated chemical materials using biology based, environmentally friends methods. Professor Lee received the Marvin J. Johnson Award, Charles Thom Award, and has been appointed by the first Chairman of the Biotech Global Agenda Counsel of the World Economic Forum.
2012.09.22 View 11366
Liver Damage Mechanism of Hepatitis C Proven KAIST researchers found mechanics behind a Hepatitis C virus, thereby taking a step closer to the development of a cure for Hepatitis C. Professor Choi Chul Hui (Department of Biological and Brain Engineering) and Professor Shin Eui Chul (Graduate School of Medical Sciences) proved, for the first time in the world, the mechanism behind liver damage of a patient with Hepatitis C. It is anticipated that this discovery will allow for the development of a Hepatitis C cure that has no side effects and little Liver damage. Hepatitis C is an immune response of the body to the Hepatitis C virus and causes liver irritation. Around 170million people are infected with Hepatitis C worldwide including 1% of the Korean population. Once infected, most cases turn into chronic cases and may lead to liver cancer. However it was impossible to infect Hepatitis C within a test tube cell environment until 2005 and up till then Chimpanzees were used to study the virus which proved to be a huge barrier to research. The research team used cells infected with Hepatitis C virus and found out that the virus works by increasing the destruction of cells by the TNF-a protein responsible for the cell’s immune response. In addition the protein structure of the virus that causes this reaction was successfully found. Conventionally the Hepatitis C medication focused on the suppressing the growth of the virus and therefore had many side effects. The experimental results allow new medication aimed at suppressing the actual mechanism of liver damage to be discovered. The result was selected as the cover dissertation of the September Edition of the Hepatolog magazine.
2012.09.11 View 15385
Graduate School of Culture and Technology Begins Mobile Science Classroom KAIST Graduate School of Culture and Technology plans visits to elementary schools without the facilities to facilitate hands on science education. The Graduate School of Culture and Technology planned the ‘STEAM Creative Camp’ involving three elementary schools during the summer holidays. The ‘STEAM Creative Camp’ involves increasing interest and artistic sensitivity through experience based science education. The program is composed of two separate programs in consideration to the level of participating students. The beginner level program includes: code making, writing secret letters, sticker decorating program and the moderate level program includes: making wipers using complex pulley system, catapult design using elasticity, and puppet show using joints to animate. The programs will be taught by masters and doctorate program candidates from the KAIST Youth Culture and Technology Experience Center. *STEAM: And integrated education system including Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.
2012.07.26 View 10581
Production of chemicals without petroleum Systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms allows efficient production of natural and non-natural chemicals from renewable non-food biomass In our everyday life, we use gasoline, diesel, plastics, rubbers, and numerous chemicals that are derived from fossil oil through petrochemical refinery processes. However, this is not sustainable due to the limited nature of fossil resources. Furthermore, our world is facing problems associated with climate change and other environmental problems due to the increasing use of fossil resources. One solution to address above problems is the use of renewable non-food biomass for the production of chemicals, fuels and materials through biorefineries. Microorganisms are used as biocatalysts for converting biomass to the products of interest. However, when microorganisms are isolated from nature, their efficiencies of producing our desired chemicals and materials are rather low. Metabolic engineering is thus performed to improve cellular characteristics to desired levels. Over the last decade, much advances have been made in systems biology that allows system-wide characterization of cellular networks, both qualitatively and quantitatively, followed by whole-cell level engineering based on these findings. Furthermore, rapid advances in synthetic biology allow design and synthesis of fine controlled metabolic and gene regulatory circuits. The strategies and methods of systems biology and synthetic biology are rapidly integrated with metabolic engineering, thus resulting in "systems metabolic engineering". In the paper published online in Nature Chemical Biology on May 17, Professor Sang Yup Lee and his colleagues at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea present new general strategies of systems metabolic engineering for developing microorganisms for the production of natural and non-natural chemicals from renewable biomass. They first classified the chemicals to be produced into four categories based on whether they have thus far been identified to exist in nature (natural vs. nonnatural) and whether they can be produced by inherent pathways of microorganisms (inherent, noninherent, or created): natural-inherent, natural-noninherent, non-natural-noninherent, and non-natural-created ones. General strategies for systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms for the production of these chemicals using various tools and methods based on omics, genome-scale metabolic modeling and simulation, evolutionary engineering, synthetic biology are suggested with relevant examples. For the production of non-natural chemicals, strategies for the construction of synthetic metabolic pathways are also suggested. Having collected diverse tools and methods for systems metabolic engineering, authors also suggest how to use them and their possible limitations. Professor Sang Yup Lee said "It is expected that increasing number of chemicals and materials will be produced through biorefineries. We are now equipped with new strategies for developing microbial strains that can produce our desired products at very high efficiencies, thus allowing cost competitiveness to those produced by petrochemical refineries." Editor of Nature Chemical Biology, Dr. Catherine Goodman, said "It is exciting to see how quickly science is progressing in this field – ideas that used to be science fiction are taking shape in research labs and biorefineries. The article by Professor Lee and his colleagues not only highlights the most advanced techniques and strategies available, but offers critical advice to progress the field as a whole." The works of Professor Lee have been supported by the Advanced Biomass Center and Intelligent Synthetic Biology Center of Global Frontier Program from the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology through National Research Foundation. Contact: Dr. Sang Yup Lee, Distinguished Professor and Dean, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea (leesy@kaist.ac.kr, +82-42-350-3930)
2012.05.23 View 16545
International workshop on healthcare technology to be held on campus, April 24, 2012 KAIST and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden, host a joint workshop on healthcare technologies on Tuesday, April 24, at the LG Semicon Hall (N24). Open to the public, the workshop will proceed with presentations and discussions by participants from both institutions. Presentation topics and speakers are as follows: “Applied medical engineering, innovation from clinical problems” by Professor Lars-Åke Brodin, Dean of School of Technology and Health, KTH “ICT in healthcare” by Professor Björn-Erik Erlandsson, School of Technology and Health, KTH “Department of environmental physiology, human research in extreme environments” by Researcher Mikael Grönkvist, School of Technology and Health, KTH “Brain function imaging using high-resolution MRI technology” by Professor Hyun Wook Park, Department of Electrical Engineering, KAIST “Bioinstrumentation for healthcare and physical human robot interactions” by Professor Jung Kim, Division of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST “A portable high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy system” by Professor Hyeon-Min Bae, Department of Electrical Engineering, KAIST “Lab-on-a-chip technologies for integrative bioengineering” by Professor Je-Kyun Park, Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST “The cytoskeleton in cancer and regulation by oncogenic signaling” by Professor David M. Helfman, Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST Professor Chang Dong Yoo, Associate Vice President of Office of Special Projects and Institutional Relations at KAIST, who organized the workshop, says “Aging population and health issues are driving the demand for more sophisticated medical devices, procedures, and most importantly, qualified scientists and engineers specialized in health-related fields. This joint workshop will be a great chance to share new ideas and develop joint research between two leading research-oriented universities in two countries.” Partially supported by LG Ericsson in Korea, the workshop is funded largely by the generous donation, made last June by a Swedish couple, to KAIST scholar exchange program. The couple (Rune Jonasson and Kerstin Jonasson) donated 70 million krona (about 11.8 billion Korean won) to KTH last year and requested that some portion of the sum be used for a scholar exchange program with KAIST. The wife of the couple, Kerstin Jonasson, participated in the Korean War as a nurse, and upon her wish for further development in Korea’s science and technology, KAIST and KTH decided to use the donation for research in the field of healthcare and for a post-doc researcher exchange program. KTH is a world-class university of Sweden and has produced numerous researchers for private enterprises, like Ericsson, and venture businesses. Since 1988, KTH offers a top notch program for information technology; the School of Information and Communication Technology is located in the Kista district, a vibrant cluster of information and communications technology industries in Sweden, and has taken on the crucial role of supplying personnel to the Kista Science Park as well as to academic-industrial cooperation. For any inquiries, please contact the International Relations Team at +82-42-350-2441 (email: jungillee@kaist.ac.kr).
2012.04.21 View 12970
10 Technolgies to Change the World in 2012: The Future Technology Global Agenda Council The Future Technology Global Agenda Council which is under the World Economy Forum and which KAIST’s biochemical engineering department’s Prof. Sang Yeob Lee is the head of, chose the 10 new technologies that will change the world in year 2012. The ten technologies include: IT, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, Green Revolution 2.0, material construction nanotechnology, systematic biology and the simulation technology of biological systems, the technology to use CO2 as a natural resource, wireless power transmission technology, high density energy power system, personalized medical/nutritional/disease preventing system, and new education technology. The technologies were chosen on the basis of the opinions various science, industry, and government specialists and is deemed to have high potential to change the world in the near future. The Future Technology Global Agenda Council will choose ten new technologies yearly starting this year in order to solve the problems the world now faces. The informatics systems that was ranked 1st place, sifts only the data necessary for decision making out of the overflowing amount of data. Much interest has been spurred at the Davos forum. The synthetic biology and metabolic engineering chosen is expected to play an important role in creating new medicines and producing chemical substances and materials from reusable resources. Biomass has also been chosen as one of the top ten most important technologies as it was seen to be necessary to lead the second Green Revolution in order to stably provide food for the increasing population and to create bio refineries. Nanomaterials structured at the molecular level are expected to help us solve problems regarding energy, food, and resources. Systematic biology and computer modeling is gaining importance in availing humans to construct efficient remedies, materials, and processes while causing minimum effects on the environment, resource reserves, and other people. The technology to convert CO2, which is considered a problem all over the world, into a useful resource is also gaining the spotlight Together with such technologies, wireless power transmission technology, high density energy power system, personalized medical/nutritional/disease preventing system, and new education technology are also considered the top ten technologies to change the world. Prof. Lee said, “Many new discoveries are being made due to the accelerating rate of technological advancements. Many of the technologies that the council has found are sustainable and important for the construction of our future.”
2012.04.04 View 14400
Inexpensive Separation Method of Graphene Developed The problem with commercializing graphene that is synthesized onto metals over a wide area is that it can not be separated from the metal. However, a groundbreaking separation technology which is both cheap and environment friendly has been developed. Prof. Taek soo Kim and Prof. Byung Jin Cho"s research teams have conducted this research under the support of the Global Frontier program and Researcher Support Program initiated by The Ministry of Education and Science and Korea Research Foundation. The research results have been posted on the online news flash of Nano Letters on februrary 29th. (Thesis title: Direct Measurement of Adhesion Energy of Monolayer Graphene As-Grown on Copper and Its Application to Renewable Transfer Process) The research has generated exact results on the interfacial adhesive energy of graphene and its surface material for the first time. Through this, the catalyst metal are no longer to be used just once, but will be used for an infinite number of times, thereby being ecofriendly and efficient. Wide area graphine synthesized onto the catalyst meatal are used in various ways such as for display and for solar cells. There has been much research going on in this field. However, in order to use this wide area graphene, the graphene must be removed from the catalyst metal without damage. Until now, the metal had been melted away through the use of chemical substances in order to separate the graphene. However, this method has been very problematic. The metal can not be reused, the costs are very high, much harmful wastes were created in the process of melting the metals, and the process was very complicated. The research teams of Professors Taek Su Kim and Byung Jin Cho measured the interfacial adhesive energy of the synthesized graphene and learned that it could be easily removed. Also, the mechanically removed graphene was successfully used in creating molecular electronic devices directly. This has thus innovatively shortened the graphene manufacturing process. Also, it has been confirmed that the metalic board can be reused multiple times after the graphene is removed. A new, ecofriendly and cost friendly method of graphene manufacturing has been paved. Through this discovery, it is expected that graphene will become easier to manufacture and that the period til the commercialization date of graphene will therefore be greatly reduced Prof. Cho stated " This reserach has much academical meaning significance in that it has successfully defined the surfacial adhesive energy between the graphene and its catalyst material and it should receive much attention in that it solved the largest technical problem involved in the production of graphene.
2012.04.04 View 17486
Future of Petrochemical Industry: The Age of Bio-Refineries The concept of bio-refinery is based on using biomass from seaweeds and non-edible plant sources to produce various materials. Bio-refineries has been looked into with increasing interest in modern times due to the advent of global warming (and the subsequent changes in the atmosphere) and the exhaustion of natural resources. However past 20 years of research in metabolic engineering had a crucial limitation; the need to improve the efficiency of the microorganisms that actually go about converting biomass into biochemical materials. In order to compensate for the inefficiency, Professor Lee Sang Yeop combined systems biology, composite biology, evolutionary engineering to form ‘systems metabolic engineering’. This allows combining various data to explain the organism’s state in a multi-dimensional scope and respond accordingly by controlling the metabolism. The result of the experiment is set as the cover dissertation of ‘Trends in Biotechnology’ magazine’s August edition.
2011.07.28 View 13875
New Scientist: Wind power harnesses the energy of galloping, June 2, 2011 Researchers from the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, KAIST, released their research results in Smart Materials and Structures on ways to “harness strange properties of turbulent airs.” They built a prototype that produces energy using a specific type of unstable airflow called “wake galloping.” New Scientist wrote an article about the paper, which appeared on June 2, 2011. For the article, please follow the link below. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028145.700-wind-power-harnesses-the-energy-of-galloping.html?full=true&print=true
2011.06.04 View 11126
2011 International Web Science Symposium Held The 2011 International Web Science Symposium was held in Seoul on the 24th of March hosted by Web Science Engineering College. The symposium dealt with the technological development and the social impact of web science and the future of the Web. A special guest was invited to the symposium this year; the founder of web science, Wendy Hall’s lecture on ‘Web Science: New Frontier’. The numerous experts from abroad was unanimous in stating their outlook of web science affecting the competitiveness of IT companies and ultimately become the driving force in new businesses. The main research in web science are web platforms and contents production, human based web research, and web SW engineering and web science has to do with pulling together various webs all around the world to create new industries.
2011.04.01 View 8540
KAIST Design Week 2011 Held KAIST designated a week (from March 27th to April 2nd) as KAIST Design Week 2011 and will be hosting a series of international conferences on engineering designs. The 21st CIRP Design Conference, the 6th International Conference on Axiomatic Design, and the 1st Design in Civil and Environmental Engineering Workshop will be held in Fusion hall in the KI Building from the 27th of March. The CIRP Design Conference was held on the 27th and the 28th and annually provides an opportunity for researchers and industry developers to exchange information and knowledge. The International Conference on Axiomatic Design was held on the 30th to the 31st and dealt with various presentations and discussions on the axiomatic design theory. The Axiomatic Design Theory was thought up by KAIST President Seo Nam Pyo and deals with analyzing the wants of the consumers and solves the problems associated with the product through making altercations on the product design. Last The Design in Civil and environmental Engineering Workshop will be held on the 1st and 2nd of April and will deal with sustainable city design and development. The Design Week will also be featuring humanoid robot HUBO, the Online Electric Vehicle that can charge its battery wirelessly, and the Mobile Harbor, and therefore show off KAIST’s achievements.
2011.04.01 View 12169