Kaist

KALIS-KAIST MOU for Digital Tr..

Agreement to jointly utilize data and technology information ... expected to generate synergy The Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (KALIS) and KAIST College of Engineering announced that they signed an MOU for cooperation in the digital transformation (DX) of the construction and infrastructure safety sector as well as education and research in the STAR program on the 29th. The MOU signing ceremony held in the meeting room of the KALIS Jinju Headquarters was attended by Director In-baek Hwang of the KALIS Management Headquarters and Dean Dongman Lee of KAIST College of Engineering, together with other staff from the two organizations. <In-baek Hwang, Director of the KALIS Management Headquarters (left) and Dongman Lee, Dean of the KAIST College of Engineering (right) are taking commemorative photos after the MOU signing ceremony./ Photo credit= KALIS> KALIS has been fully expanding its efforts to construct a big data platform for land safety which will be used to analyze accumulated construction and infrastructure safety data and implementing associated data analysis projects, with a Digital Innovation Implementation Team newly established in 2H 2021 to increase public big data openness and utilization, as well as plan and develop related services. KAIST College of Engineering has been working on the STAR(Symbiotic Transformation for AI-infused Reality) platform to design an education model integrating virtual and real world environments as well as construct a sustainable ecosystem for industry-university cooperation for the era of digital transformation. With this MOU, the two organization agreed to cooperate on the designing of education programs and industry training programs, data cloud sharing, and the establishment of industry-university consortiums in relation to the data-based digital transformation of construction and infrastructure safety at KALIS and KAIST’s STAR platform. Chairman Young-soo Park of KALIS commented, “With the establishment of this cooperative network with KAIST College of Engineering, Korea’s leading organization in big data and AI, we look forward to new development in areas where the two organizations can jointly utilize their data.” Dean Dongman Lee of the KAIST College of Engineering shared his enthusiasm, remarking, “the MOU with KALIS, an organization currently implementing a digital innovation strategy, will drive the generation of new added value and technologies related to land and infrastructure safety based on shared data between the two organizations.”

Lotte Chilsung Joins Hands Wit..

KAIST and Lotte Chilsung signed an MOU for the construction of a smart beer factory cluster on November 2nd at the Lotte Chilsung headquarters in Jamsil, with Lotte Chilsung CEO Yun-Gie Park (left), and Professor Dongman Lee, Dean of KAIST College of Engineering (right) in attendance. Photo credit= Lotte Chilsung [Reported by Sungsoo Choi, Daily Hankook] Lotte Chilsung announced on the 3rd that the company signed an MOU with KAIST on Novermber 2nd for the construction of a smart beer factory cluster using KAIST’s STAR platform. According to a statement by Lotte Chilsung, the company decided to partner with KAIST to maximize the efficiency of its beer cluster project, which aims to mutually benefit the company and small/medium sized breweries while developing the craft beer market. KAIST’s STAR platform aims to generate new value in data collection, analysis and outcome sharing, and Lotte Chilsung hopes to maximize efficiency for the contract manufacturing of a wide range of craft beer through this MOU. Solutions for improvements to the manufacturing environment will be proposed through KAIST’s project-based learning to optimize scheduling for the manufacturing of various products in a single factory. Open innovation based on cooperation will be implemented to bring about mutual growth for the university, large corporation, and small/medium sized breweries. A Lotte Chilsung employee explained, “this MOU was signed to facilitate the craft beer cluster project which constitutes Lotte Chilsung’s policy of mutual growth with small and medium sized breweries... Lotte Chilsung will lead the way in management for mutual growth through various support programs for small and medium sized breweries in not just manufacturing but distribution, marketing and R&D as well.” Dean Dongman Lee of KAIST College of Engineering also expressed his hopes for the project, saying, “we plan to build a virtual-reality convergent testbed platform based on data sharing though industry-university partnership, driving the next phase of digital transformation in industries and creating a good model for mutual growth between enterprises and universities.”

Partnership Agreement for STAR..

◇ MOU signed with K-water for STAR Platform cooperation on Aug. 30th ◇ Establishing basis for mutual development for the KAIST College of Engineering’s STAR Platform and K-water’s Digital Water Platform KAIST College of Engineering (Dean, Dongman Lee) and K-water (Green Infrastructure Division Director, Jungeun Lee) signed an MOU for the mutual development of the Digital Water Platform and STAR Platform on August 30. The MOU ceremony was conducted in strict compliance with COVID-19 measures with a minimum of participants under the current situation of the pandemic. In response to the rapid advances in digital transformation, KAIST is currently working on the STAR (Symbiotic Transformation for AI-infused Reality) project to design online-offline convergent education models, data infrastructure platforms, and post-digital transformation research infrastructure to build a sustainable university-industry cooperation ecosystem. Meanwhile, K-water announced its vision to become the world’s best comprehensive water platform company last year, and is building the Digital Water Platform, an open business platform for the active development and servicing of water-specific digital solutions through open data sharing, R&D and technological support, and development of domestic and international markets. The two institutions will generate synergy through the convergence of K-water’s water-related data and water management capacities, and KAIST’s globally leading AI infrastructure and expertise under the STAR partnership. The sharing and linking of platform data, development/analysis environments, solutions, and technical information will provide groundwork for the mutual development of the Digital Water Platform and STAR Platform. Jungeun Lee, Director of K-water’s Green Infrastructure Division, commented, “K-water is grateful to have the KAIST College of Engineering with the nation’s most advanced digital capacities and AI research as its partner... we believe the STAR partnership will be a great way for K-water to upgrade its digital capacities.” Dean Dongman Lee of the KAIST College of Engineering believes “the project will be a great opportunity for both post-AI university research and public institutions to upgrade by constructing a virtual-real world convergent testbed platform through data sharing, and accelerating cooperation between institutions generating new technology.” After the MOU signing ceremony, Dean Dongman Lee conducted an expert lecture on the topic “Urban Space Robot: Autonomic IoT Service Platform for the Realization of Space Intelligence” as a core technology for the K-water digital water platform and smart cities.

KAIST -Hankook ＆ Company Sign ..

■ Enhanced cooperation of construction and use of data-based open platform ■ Concentrating digital capabilities to establish model for systemic symbiosis between enterprises and universities ■ Implementing demo projects in subsidiaries based on data sharing platform KAIST College of Engineering and Hankook & Company signed an agreement on August 25th at Technoplex, Hankook & Company’s headquarters in Pangyo, for cooperation in education and research as part of the STAR (Symbiotic Transformation for AI-infused Reality) Project, with the aim to develop infrastructure for post-AI research and industry-university cooperation. The STAR Project was born from a consensus on the need for data collection and analysis technologies and new applications for research output in the transition towards a data-centric society and from the shared objective to develop an innovative data-based open platform. Hankook & Company will cooperate with KAIST College of Engineering in the development of a convergent data cloud sharing platform and in providing a virtual test bed and real-virtual symbiotic test bed support. They will concentrate the full extent of their digital capacities under the vision to establish the project as a model for systematic symbiosis between enterprises and universities. The data sharing platform in development will be applied to demo projects such as smart factory, smart mobility, and smart life projects conducted by Hankook & Company’s major subsidiaries including Hankook Tire. Specifically, they plan to cooperate in a range of fields utilizing data collection such as environmental applications through traffic data analysis, as well as utilization of driving records and accident types in tire research and development. According to Professor Dongman Lee, Dean of the KAIST College of Engineering, “The project will be a great opportunity to upgrade both university research and enterprise capabilities by building a metaverse (convergence of virtual and real world) testbed platform through data sharing, accelerating university-industry cooperation in new technology development, and providing post-AI skills training and education programs based on on-site testing.” Seyeol Ryu, Executive Director of Digital Strategy at Hankook & Company commented, “From the establishment of the Digital Future Innovation Center to post-AI cooperation, Hankook & Company and KAIST are creating an excellent model for industry-university symbiosis... we will continue to strengthen our digital research capacities that will shape the future.” In addition, Hankook & Company and KAIST have been producing results from cooperation in a variety of fields. They have been building capacities in digital technologies and R&D for the digital transformation at the KAIST Digital Future Innovation Center established in 2019. They signed the 2nd Phase Contract for the Digital Future Innovation Center this May with an enhanced level of cooperation for developing future growth engines and innovation capacities.

Appreciation Plaque Ceremony f..

On March 17(Wednesday), the dean of KAIST College of Engineering, Dongman Lee, took part in the appreciation plaque ceremony for the former dean and department heads held in the main conference room of the School of Electrical Engineering in appreciation of their work. Dean Dongman Lee expressed his appreciation to the professors who worked hard for the advancement of the college and departments. Dean Lee also delivered his thanks to the recipient professors who could not participate in person due to the pandemic. Dean Lee emphasized that “The wisdom and extensive experiences of our former dean, vice dean, and department heads will continue on to achieve greater advancements of the College of Engineering,” and asked for their advice, as they have done so until now, for the development of the college. All the department heads were present at this event, organized to commend and appreciate the hard work of former College of Engineering, Dean Choongsik Bae, vice Dean Sung-Yool Choi, department heads, and committee chairmen, for the advancement of the college.

Dean Choongsik Bae of KAIST Co..

Professor Choongsik Bae, Dean of KAIST College of Engineering participated in the De-plastic Go Go Challenge. The Go Go Challenge is a social media campaign launched by the Ministry of Environment, where participants promise to take two actions to reduce plastic and single-use products in their daily lives and nominate others to take part in the challenge. Dean Bae began by introducing biodegradable masks being developed by professors Il-doo Kim (Materials Science and Engineering) and Jaewook Myung (Civil and Environmental Engineering) under the KAIST New Deal Project for responding to COVID-19, and reiterated the KAIST promise to lead the transition to eco-friendly materials. Biodegradable masks are made of materials that completely decompose in 45-180 days when composted. With disposable masks becoming an environmental issue in the pandemic, there arises the need to develop eco-friendly alternatives. Dean Bae promised that KAIST will continue research to provide global markets with a product that delivers both safety and comfort. Dean Bae was invited to participate in the campaign by Director Wonjun Choi of Konyang University Hospital, and in turn selected Dean Kookheon Cha of SNU College of Engineering, President Byoungwook Choi of Hanbat University, and President Sangjin Park of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials to continue the challenge.

2021 College of Engineering In..

The 2021 College of Engineering Innovation Workshop was held at the KAIST College of Engineering on February 17th 1 p.m. to discuss pending issues and future strategies for the College. The College of Engineering Innovation Workshop began in 2019 and consists of progress and agenda reports from the four committees (External Cooperation, Planning, Public Relations, Space and Facility Allocation) of the college, accompanied by in-depth discussions. Dean Choongsik Bae of the College of Engineering called on the committee members to continue their good work in setting the direction for the College, saying “the Innovation Workshops have been an opportunity to unite the respective departments of the College of Engineering and make our voice heard within the KAIST community.”

3rd Readers’ Choice Award Cere..

< (From right) Dean Choongsik Bae, Professor Kyoungchul Kong (Mechanical Engineering), Hyun Myung (Electrical Engineering), Professor Jinah Park (Chair, Public Relations Committee), and Vice Dean Sungyool Choi> The 3rd Readers’ Choice Award Ceremony was held at the College of Engineering, with honors going to Associate Professor Kyoungchul Kong of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for Spring 2020 and Professor Hyun Myung of the Department of Electrical Engineering for Fall 2020. The award ceremony was held on February 17th at Conference Room 1 of the main building, as an introduction to the 2021 College of Engineering Innovation Workshop, raising awareness of the Readers’ Choice Award among members of key committees. The award ceremony was attended by Dean Choongsik Bae of the College of Engineering, Vice Dean Sungyool Choi, the heads of the respective departments, and the chair of the Steering Committee. They were joined virtually by around 30 professors. The Readers’ Choice Award is presented to researchers presenting noteworthy work on the College of Engineering’s KAIST Breakthroughs, a research webzine launched in 2014. The awards go to the research that readers found most interesting in each issue, and each recipient is presented with a plaque to honor their achievement.

College of Engineering Hosts A..

The AOTULE (Asia-Oceania Top University League on Engineering) 2020 Conference (hereinafter AOTULE) chaired by Dean Choongsik Bae of the College of Engineering was held in Conference Room 1 of the College of Engineering Main Building on November 10th (Tue). AOTULE is a consultative body among 13 leading engineering schools and faculties in the Asia and Oceania regions established in 2007 to enhance the quality of engineering education and promote international cooperation. Annual Deans’ Meetings and Student Conferences are organized under AOTULE. This year’s conference, the 15th in AOTULE’s history, was originally to be held at KAIST with the deans from the respective engineering schools and faculties attending the Deans’ Meeting and a Student Conference. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was changed to a virtual Deans’ Meeting. Thus, to reflect the special circumstances, this year’s Deans’ Meeting was held under the topic of Engineering Education & Global Collaboration in the Era of COVID-19 and the physical meeting was postponed to 2021.

Global Opinion of Semi-Centenn..

A Global Opinion of the Semi-Centennial of KAIST Presentation (hereinafter GO KAIST Presentations) event was held on October 27th (Tue) and 28th (Wed) at the Jeong Keun Mo Conference Hall. In a video opening speech and introduction to KAIST, KAIST President Sung-chul Shin thanked the 37 international scholars making up the panel of evaluators, saying “the opinions of the panel members will be invaluable to KAIST’s efforts to achieve its ‘Global Value-Creative Leading University’ vision, driving growth and development in the nation and for humanity, with its semi-centennial becoming an inflection point.“ This was followed by GO KAIST Presentations, organized into seven key academic fields and seven key research topics such as AI and bio-health. The respective colleges and research institutes aired videos produced prior to the event, while the respective departments gave in-person presentations followed by Q&A sessions. In the original plan for the event, the panel members would have been invited to KAIST to attend presentations by the respective departments and observe the education and research taking place on site. However, this was changed to a virtual evaluation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his closing statement on the second day of the GO KAIST Presentations event, President Sung-chul Shin one again thanked the members of the panel, asking for “not just their positive messages on the achievements of KAIST, but candid and critical insights as well.” He went on to thank key personnel such as Dean Choongsik Bae of the College of Engineering for overseeing the organization of the event, as well as professors who participated in the presentations, calling the event “a good opportunity to affirm the developments and innovations achieved by KAIST since the first department evaluations held four years ago.” On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, KAIST organized the GO KAIST (Global Opinion on Semi-Centennial of KAIST) evaluation panel to receive feedback on its education and key research projects and establish its strategy for future development based on the evaluation. The panel was chaired by former president of ETH Zurich professor Ralph Eichler, with 36 other leading scholars from around the world serving as panel members.

2020-1 College of Engineering ..

The 2020-1 College of Engineering Innovation Workshop was held on August 12th at 1 pm in Conference Room 1 of the main building to discuss standing issues at the College and its development strategy. The College of Engineering Innovation Workshops began in 2019 and consist of activity progress reports from the four key committees (External Cooperation, Planning, Public Relations, Spatial Expansion), presentation of key items on the agenda, and in-depth discussions. Dean Choongsik Bae of the College of Engineering stressed the permanence of the College and expressed his hopes for the workshops, saying, "the Innovation Workshops will bring together the respective departments of the College of Engineering to generate momentum for further development.”

Inaugural Ceremony of the Coll..

< (From left) Award recipient Ph.D. student Jin Kim, Dean of the College of Engineering Choongsik Bae, Advisor Seokwoo Jeon> The inaugural ceremony of the College of Engineering Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award on August 12th in Conference Room 1 of the main building of KAIST College of Engineering (Dean Choongsik Bae). The College of Engineering Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award was created this year to boost the capacities of Ph.D. graduates. International experts in the respective fields were appointed to the dissertation review panel through the project to invite international expert Ph.D. dissertation panel members. To boost the international profile of KAIST graduates, these international experts worked with KAIST professors to review the dissertations. This year’s award went to Ph.D. student Jin Kim of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Advisor: Seokwoo Jeon). The dissertation was selected based on the review by invited international experts and deliberation by the College of Engineering Operating Committee.