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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 14562 -
KAIST Confers Honorary Degree to CMU President Cohon
By DongJae Lee
The KAIST Herald Staff Reporter
On February 24, Dr. Jared L. Cohon, President of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), visited KAIST to receive an honorary degree in science and technology and gave a lecture to the university’s students. Dr. Cohon is the eighth president of CMU and has held numerous other public and university positions. During his presidency, CMU has expanded globally and now takes part in joint programs around the world, including those with universities in Korea, Australia, India and Qatar. KAIST and CMU have been collaborating since 2005 in research projects, student and faculty exchange and dual degree programs. Before the 2012 Commencement Ceremony, Dr. Cohon met with The KAIST Herald and other news agencies for an interview.
The interview started with Dr. Cohon giving a brief introduction of CMU. Like KAIST, CMU has a small but special composition and is dedicated to science and technology as well as business and the fine arts. CMU, founded in 1900, is also relatively young by US standards but has nonetheless grown into a world-class university. The power behind this rapid growth can be expressed by four key values: innovation and change, problem-solving, interdisciplinary cooperation, and hard work. The slogan “My heart is in the work” clearly expresses the values of CMU.
One interesting aspect of CMU is its fine arts and business fields. While CMU is dedicated to science and technology, it also has many respected alumni in the aforementioned fields including Andy Warhol, a leading figure in pop art, and Randy Pausch, the author of The Last Lecture. CMU alumni have together won 6 Academy Awards, 22 Emmy Awards, over 100 Tony Awards and 20 Nobel Prizes.
Regarding CMU’s joint projects with KAIST, as well as student and faculty exchanges, Dr. Cohon mentioned joint Ph.D. programs in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering and a joint Master’s program in Software Engineering. Currently, the Civil and Environmental Engineering joint Ph.D. program has one participant and the Software Technology Institute joint Master of Software Engineering program has 6 participants.
Dr. Cohon mentioned that receiving an honorary degree in KAIST is a tremendous honor and that he is grateful to be recognized by such a wonderful university like KAIST.
2012.03.23 View 11030 -
Exhibition of Investment Demonstration on EEWS Research Held
- Five winners of business-planning project exhibition hold exhibition towards thirteen Angel Investors.
Venture capital firm and industry investors are investing for themselves on the Green Growth Project of KAIST, which strives for solutions of global issues, such as; energy depletion, environment pollution and sustainable development.
KAIST awarded the winner of "EEWS business-planning exhibition competition" and held investment demonstration exhibition. The exhibition is opened by the winners of the competition and held towards the firms and inventors encouraging capital on green business project and green technologies.
The venture capital firms that participated in this exhibition were; Coolidge Corner Investment, Dae-Duk Investment Corp, KPM, Locus Capital Partners and Bo-Gwang Investment.
The industry investors that participated were: Samsung C&T Corp, Cheil Industry, Dasan Networks, Hanhwa L&C, thirteen companies in total.
The goal of EEWS Exhibition is to encourage the commercialization of research and development. It was co-hosted by DFJ Athena LLC and Ilshin ventures. The competition was divided into business planning section and business technology section.
Grand prize on green growth went to Professor Joong-Myeon Bae who suggested "Eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cells", runner-up prize went to "Real-time measuring of NOx on Eco-friendly diesels" by Jin-Su Park, the technology director of CIOS.
Grand prize of green technology went to "Highly-refractive, heat resisting hybrimer LED sack’ by Byung-Su Bae, professor of new material engineering, participation award went to ‘ITO-Free touch screen for smart phone’ by Min-yang Yang, professor of the department of Mechanical Engineering.
A representative of KAIST said those of the firms and investors who have gone through commercialization showed interest on the creativity and the high level of the product.
Jae-Kyu Lee, the head of EEWS who supervised the whole exhibition mentioned that, "EEWS Planning Group is consistently going to come up with innovative results” and that “Angel Investors showed enthusiasm. The representatives of Venture capital firm even considered participating as the jury of the competition in the future.”
[Definition]
EEWS stands for Energy depletion, Environment pollution, Water shortages and Sustainability, a project for the solution of such global issues promoted by KAIST.
2012.03.06 View 10607
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A Step Closer to Ultra Slim Mobile Phone
Professor Baek Kyung Wook (department of Material Science and Engineering) succeeded in developing an ultra-thin conjugation technique that can perfectly replace the modular contact in electronic devices.
The research team developed a compound material using ultra-fine solder-adhesive film and developed the vertical ultrasonic conjugation process thereby making a reliable utra-thin conjugation.
The developed technique allowed for very thin and reliable conjugation and will be able to replace the socket type connector and is expected to revolutionize the electronic device industry.
In mobile electronic devices like the smartphone, the trend is to incorporate various functional modules like camera, display, touchscreens, etc. in addition to striving for miniaturization of the device.
Recently the problem was the fact that the number of modules within the device was increasing due to the incorporation of various functions, and consequently the volume that these modules took up increased as well, which made miniaturization almost impossible.
Professor Baek‘s team succeeded in improving upon this problem by creating a compound material that has ultra-fine solder particles that can melt to form alloy fusion with the electrode and thermosetting adhesive film that can wrap around the electrode and provide mechanical protection.
The use of this material made it possible to reduce the thickness of the connector by hundredth fold which improved electrical, mechanical properties and highly reliable.
From a processing standpoint the conventional conjugation process involved heating the mechanical block and was therefore hard to manage its production and also consumed 1000W and took up to 15 seconds.
By contrast, Professor Baek’s team’s new process uses only ultrasound to locally heat and melt the conjugation point itself thereby reducing power consumption to 100W and conjugation time to 1~5 seconds.
The technique developed by Professor Baek and Lee Ki Won Doctorate student was awarded Excellent Dissertation Award by world famous journals like the Electronic Components and Technology Conference and is being recognized worldwide.
2012.01.31 View 10132
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Quantum Mechanical Calculation Theory Developed
An Electron Density Functional Calculation Theory, based on the widely used quantum mechanical principles and yet accurate and with shortened calculation period, was developed by Korean research team.
*Electron Density Functional Calculation Theory: Theory that proves that it is possible to calculate energy and properties with only simple wave equations and electron densities.
The research was conducted by Professor Jeong Yoo Sung (Graduate School of EEWS) and Professor William Goddard with support from WCU Foster Project initiated by Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and Korea Research Foundation. The result was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal.
The research team corrected the error when performing quantum calculations that arises from the length of calculation time and incorrect assumptions and developed a theory and algorithm that is more accurate and faster. The use of wave equations in quantum mechanical calculations results in high accuracy but there is a rapid increase in calculation time and is therefore difficult to implement in large molecules with hundreds, or thousands of atoms. By implementing a low electron density variable with relatively less calculation work, the size of calculable molecule increases but the accuracy decreases.
The team focused on the interaction between electrons with different spins to improve upon the speed of calculation in the conventional accurate calculation. The team used the fact that the interaction between electrons with different spins increases as it comes closer together in accordance with the Pauli’s Exclusion Principle.
In addition the interaction between electrons are local and therefore can ignore the interactions between far away electrons and still get the total energy value. The team also took advantage of this fact and developed the algorithm that decreased calculation time hundredth fold.
Professor Jeong commented that, “So far most of the domestic achievements were made by focusing on integrative researches by calculation science and material design communities but these involved short time frames. In areas that required lengthy time frames like fundamentals and software development, there was no competitive advantage. However this research is significant in that a superior solution was developed domestically”.
2012.01.31 View 11825
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New LEDs: Large Spectrum of Colors
Professor Yonghun Cho has discovered that LEDs with hexagonal pyramid structures can emit various colors of light.
LEDs, which have been leading the light revolution is a light emitting element that uses the characteristics of semiconductors to emit light upon passing a current, and is being used for lighting, TV, and various signaling devices.
In general, the white LED used for lighting has to be constructed by spraying yellow fluorescent material on a blue LED or by creating a complicated circuit where various LED chips function together.
Prof.Cho’s research team discovered the fact that when a small hexagonal pyramid structure is formed on the semiconductor composing the LED and a current is passed through this, then each side, edge, and point on the pyramid assumes different energies.
Due to the energy differences, lights of bluegreen, yellow, and orange were emitted from the side, edge, and points of the pyramid, respectively. This shows the prospect of displaying white light as well as that of many other colors.
Thus, applying the nanopyramidal structure to LEDs will allow the emission of light with a large spectrum with just the flow of the current, enabling a new type of LED light emitting particles that would display various colors from a single LED chip without the use of a fluorescent material.
Also, originally, LEDs have had limitations to its efficiency because of its structural characteristics where fluorescent materials had to be sprayed on, but the nanopyramidal structures will overcome this structural barrier to create brighter light
2012.01.31 View 7982
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Bio Pharmaceutical Business Center: Now Open
The Signboard Hanging Ceremony for the Bio Pharmaceutical Business Center for the Integrated Research for the field of Bio Pharmaceutics. 150 representatives from various bio pharmaceutics related businesses and institutes were present for this ceremony.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology placed the Molecular Process research team, Personalized Drug Delivery Medium research team, and the newly formed Cancer Cell Detection using Blood research team at the Bio Pharmaceutical Business Center at KAIST.
2012.01.31 View 9295
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Professor Son Hoon received "Structural Health Monitoring Person of the Year Award."
Professor Son Hoon (42) of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering received the “Structural Health Monitoring Person of the Year Award” at an international workshop on structural health monitoring held in Stanford University.
The award is given by the editor and advisors of prestigious international magazine, “Journal of Structural Health Monitoring,” to a researcher with the best research record in a year. Professor Son has published 42 SCI level dissertations, registered 17 patents both domestically and internationally, and presented over 100 papers in international journals, for which he was recognized with the award. Professor Son is the first Korean who receives this award.
One of the most significant achievements by Professor Son was “reference-free damage diagnosis” that he had developed in 2007. The diagnosis allows for the detection of wear and tear of a structure without having to use the foundation signal from the initial stages of the structure. The diagnosis contributed greatly in increasing the reliability of the signal information received from smart sensors attached to the structure by eliminating the environmental impact like temperature.
Professor Son is currently working on green energy structural health monitoring system development related projects. His current work deals with airplanes, bridges, nuclear facilities, high speed railways, wind turbines, and etc. in cooperation with Boeing, United States Air Force Research Institute, Korea Research Foundation, Ministry of Defense Research Institute, Korea Expressway Corporation, POSCO, and etc.
In addition, Professor Son successfully adopted a local monitoring method using smart piezoelectric sensors on a bridge in New Jersey as part of the Long Term Bridge Performance Program initiated by the National Highway Bureau. The success was even introduced in New Jersey’s public TV and newspaper agencies.
Professor Son was given tenure at a record age of 39 in 2008 and received numerous awards given out by the Ministry of Education and Science and international organizations like the ‘Edward M Curtis’ Professor Award from Purdue University.
2011.10.10 View 11217 -
Professor Kim Seung Woo and Professor Ko Kyu Young Receive the 7th Gyeong Am Scholar Awards.
Professors Kim Seung Woo and Ko Kyu Young of KAIST were named the winners for the 7th Gyeong Am Scholar Awards.
The award winners are: Professor Ko Kyu Young of KAIST in the Biological Sciences category, Professor Kim Seung Woo of KAIST in the Engineering category, Professor Kim Young Shik of Seoul National University and Professor Kil Hui Seoung of Sogang University in the Humanities category, and Professor Hong Byoung Hee of Seoul National University in the Natural Sciences category.
In the Liberal Arts category leader of Universal Ballet Company Moon Hoon Sook was chosen, and the Special Achievement Award was given to Historian Dr. Park Myoung Sun. Professor Ko discovered that it is Angionpoietin-1 that induces the growth of new blood vessels and thus made a significant contribution to the field of blood vessel formation, immune mechanism, and causes of cancer spread.
Professor Kim developed a mini extreme ultra violet laser light source using the resonance principles of plasmon and made a great contribution in the acquiring of core technologies and its industrial commercialization in the field of super precise optical instruments.
Gyeong Am Education and Culture Foundation was founded by the Chairman of Tae Yang Group, Song Geum Jo who had donated his entire fortune amounting to 100billion Korean Won to society by creating a public foundation aimed at encouraging advancements in learning, training of experts, and cultural developments for the betterment of Korea.
The Gyeong Am Scholar Awards was established in 2005 and recognizes those scholars and artists who are making significant contributions in the frontlines of society.
The awards ceremony is to be held at Busan on the 4th of November, three thirty in the afternoon and the winner of each category is to receive 100mil Korean Won in prize money with a commemorative plaque.
2011.09.26 View 11206 -
KAIST Online Electirc Vehicle Introduced by CNN
CNN aired KAIST’s Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) on August 29, 2011 in its program called “Eco Solutions” that reports on meeting people with innovative solutions to preserve the planet. The reporter went to Seoul Grand Park, an amusement park and introduced an online electric tram developed by KAIST and operated on a daily basis for park visitors since July 29, 2011. KAIST has designed different types of OLEVs including bus, SUV, and tram. The reporter said that “the online electric tram” at the park provides visitors with a “cleaner, greener, and convenience since it charges as you go.” Currently, three OLEVs are running inside the park, and KAIST plans to replace the rest of existing diesel trams with OLEVs in the near future.
CNN Link: http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/eco.solutions/index.html
Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLzmFFqPJfo
2011.09.09 View 11085 -
Op-Ed by MIT President, Manufacturing a Recovery, New York Times, August 29, 2011
New York Times carried an opinion piece of MIT President, Susan Hockfield. Dr. Hockfield put emphasis on the importance of recovering manufacturing to revive the US economy and suggested investments in the development of high technology and “tight integration of design production” through “networks of innovation, lab research to new production processes, and business models.” For the op-ed piece, please go to
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/manufacturing-a-recovery.html?_r=2.
2011.08.31 View 10687
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Wireless electric trams at Seoul Amusement Park begin full operations.
Photo by Hyung-Joon Jun
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wireless electric trams at Seoul Amusement Park begin full operations.
KAIST’s On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) becomes an icon of green technology, particularly for young students who aspire to transform their nation into the “vanguard of sustainability.”
Seoul, South Korea, July 19, 2011—As young students wrap up their school work before summer vacation in late July, Seoul Grand Park, an amusement park located south of Seoul, is busily preparing to accommodate throngs of summer visitors. Among the park’s routine preparations, however, there is something new to introduce to guests this summer: three wireless electric trams have replaced the old diesel-powered carts used by passengers for transportation within the park.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the city of Seoul held a ceremony this morning, July 19, 2011, to celebrate their joint efforts to adopt a green public transportation system and presented park visitors with the three On-Line Electric Vehicles (OLEVs), which will be operated immediately thereafter. Approximately one hundred people, including science high school students across the nation, attended the ceremony and had a chance to ride the trams.
KAIST unveiled the prototype of an electric tram to the public in March 2010, and since then it has developed three commercial trams. The Korean government and the institute have worked on legal issues to embark on the full-scale commercialization of OLEV, and the long awaited approval from the government on such issues as standardization of the OLEV technology and road infrastructure, regulation of electromagnetic fields and electricity safety, and license and permits for vehicle eligibility, finally came through.
The On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) is no ordinary electric car in that it is remotely charged via electromagnetic fields created by electric cables buried beneath the road. Unlike other currently available electric cars, OLEV can travel unlimited distances without having to stop to recharge. OLEV also has a small battery onboard, which enables the vehicle to travel on roads that are not equipped with underground power cables. This battery, however, is only one-fifth of the size of a conventional electric vehicle battery, resulting in considerable savings in the cost, size, and weight of the vehicle.
The OLEV project was initiated in 2009 as a method of resolving the battery problems of electric cars in a creative and disruptive way. KAIST came up with the idea of supplying electricity directly to the cars instead of depending solely on the onboard battery for power. Since then, the university has developed core technologies related to OLEV such as the “Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR),” which enables an electric car to collect the magnetic fields and convert them into electricity, and the “Segment Technology,” which controls the flow of electromagnetic waves through an automatic power-on/shut-down system, thereby eliminating accidental exposure of the electromagnetic waves to pedestrians or non-OLEV cars.
According to KAIST, three types of OLEV have been developed thus far: electric buses, trams, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The technical specifications of the most recently developed OLEV (an electric bus), the OLEV research team at the university said, are as follows:
· Power cables are buried 15cm beneath the road surface.
· On average, over 80% power transmission efficiency is achieved.
· The distance gap between the road surface and the underbody of the vehicle is 20cm.
· The OLEV bus has a maximum electricity pickup capacity of 100kW.
· The OLEV bus complies with international standards for electromagnetic fields (below 24.1 mG).
The eco-friendly electric trams at Seoul Grand Park consume no fossil fuels and do not require any overhead wires or cables. Out of the total circular driving route (2.2km), only 16% of the road, 372.5m, has the embedded power lines, indicating that OLEV does not require extensive reconstruction of the road infrastructure. The city government of Seoul signed a memorandum of understanding with KAIST in 2009 as part of its initiatives to curtail emissions from public transportation and provide cleaner air to its citizens. Both parties plan to expand such collaboration to other transportation systems including buses in the future.
KAIST expects the OLEV technology to be applied in industries ranging from transportation to electronics, aviation, maritime transportation, robotics, and leisure. There are several ongoing international collaborative projects to utilize the OLEV technology for a variety of transportation needs, such as inner city commute systems (bus and trolley) and airport shuttle buses, in nations including Malaysia, US, Germany, and Denmark.
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More information about KAIST’s On-Line Electric Vehicle can be found at http://olev.co.kr/en/index.php. For any inquiries, please contact Lan Yoon at 82-42-350-2295 (cell: 82-10-2539-4303) or by email at hlyoon@kaist.ac.kr.
2011.07.22 View 15854