Kaist

Anonymous Donor Makes a Gift of Property Valued at 30 Billio..

< An anonymous donor in his 50s made a gift of real estate valued at 300 billion KRW. This is the first donation from an anonymous benefactor on such a grand scale. > The KAIST Development Foundation announced on May 9 that an anonymous donor in his 50s made a gift of real estate valued at 30 billion KRW. This is the first donation from an anonymous benefactor on such a grand scale. The benefactor expressed his wishes to fund scholarships for students in need and R&D for medical and bio sciences. According to the Development Foundation official, the benefactor is reported to have said that he felt burdened that he earned much more than he needed and was looking for the right way to share his assets. The benefactor refused to hold an official donation ceremony and meeting with high-level university administrators. The donor believes that KAIST is filled with young and dynamic energy, saying, “I would like to help KAIST move forward and create breakthroughs that will benefit the nation as well as all humanity.” Before making up his mind to give his asset to KAIST, he had planned to establish his own social foundation but he changed his mind. “I decided that an investment in education would be the best investment,” he said. He explained that he was inspired by his KAIST graduate friend who is running a company. He was deeply motivated to help KAIST after witnessing the KAIST graduate’s passion for conducting his business. After receiving the gift, KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee was thankful for the full support and trust of the benefactor. “We will spare no effort to foster next-generation talents and advance science and technology in the field of biomedicine.”

President-Elect Suk-Yeol Yoon Meets and Talks with KAIST Stu..

President-Elect Yoon stresses science and technology-powered economic growth during his visit to KAIST < President-elect Yoon poses with KAIST students on April 29 during his visit to KAIST. > Korean President-elect Suk-Yeol Yoon stressed that semiconductors are the key strategical industry that will take the lead during the fourth industrial revolution powered by AI and data during a meeting with KAIST graduate students on April 29. President-elect Yoon promised systemic policy support for making science and technology breakthroughs possible and better rewarding young researchers who are devoted to advances in R&D during his meeting at KAIST. Before he met with the students, he toured the National Nanofab Center, which is affiliated with KAIST, and was briefed on the center’s role and responsibilities. President-elect Yoon, who will take office on May 10, said that the best way to ensure prompt growth in Korea’s aging society hinges on advances in science and technology. “All-out investments in science and technology will help us move forward to improve people’s quality of life and lessen the social divide,” he explained. Eight Master’s and PhD candidates majoring in nuclear engineering, AI robotics, semiconductors, electrical engineering, aerospace, and bioengineering attended the meeting with President-elect Yoon. The students asked for help dealing with the challenges they are experiencing while researching and called for deregulation in the process of forming startups. PhD candidate Jae Wan Cho from the Department Nuclear and Quantum Engineering stressed the importance of energy security. He asked for the prompt development of new types of nuclear reactors such as small modular reactors, adding, “Korea has very excellent technologies in nuclear plant construction and parts manufacturing, but lags behind in the new types of nuclear reactors. This sector will develop new energy markets and create synergy along with the shipbuilding industry, which will emerge as new pillars of our export.” Student entrepreneurs such as PhD candidate Kwang Min Kim from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering and PhD candidate Dong Yoon Shin from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering asked for more deregulation in the process of creating startups. PhD candidate Dong Hon Lee from the School of Electrical Engineering pointed out the insecure future caused by the ‘special research fellow system,’ where the number of fellows who have been designated alternative military service has drastically decreased. < Before he met with the students, he toured the National Nanofab Center, which is affiliated with KAIST >

Quantum Technology： the Next Game Changer？​

The 6th KAIST Global Strategy Institute Forum explores how quantum technology has evolved into a new growth engine for the future < From left: Professor John Preskill from Caltech, Dr. Jerry M. Chow from IBM, and Professor Jungsang Kim from Duke University > The participants of the 6th KAIST Global Strategy Institute (GSI) Forum on April 20 agreed that the emerging technology of quantum computing will be a game changer of the future. As KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee said in his opening remarks, the future is quantum and that future is rapidly approaching. Keynote speakers and panelists presented their insights on the disruptive innovations we are already experiencing. The three keynote speakers included Dr. Jerry M. Chow, IBM fellow and director of quantum infrastructure, Professor John Preskill from Caltech, and Professor Jungsang Kim from Duke University. They discussed the academic impact and industrial applications of quantum technology, and its prospects for the future. Dr. Chow leads IBM Quantum’s hardware system development efforts, focusing on research and system deployment. Professor Preskill is one of the leading quantum information science and quantum computation scholars. He coined the term “quantum supremacy.” Professor Kim is the co-founder and CTO of IonQ Inc., which develops general-purpose trapped ion quantum computers and software to generate, optimize, and execute quantum circuits. Two leading quantum scholars from KAIST, Professor June-Koo Kevin Rhee and Professor Youngik Sohn, and Professor Andreas Heinrich from the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience also participated in the forum as panelists. Professor Rhee is the founder of the nation’s first quantum computing software company and leads the AI Quantum Computing IT Research Center at KAIST. During the panel session, Professor Rhee said that although it is undeniable the quantum computing will be a game changer, there are several challenges. For instance, the first actual quantum computer is NISQ (Noisy intermediate-scale quantum era), which is still incomplete. However, it is expected to outperform a supercomputer. Until then, it is important to advance the accuracy of quantum computation in order to offer super computation speeds. Professor Sohn, who worked at PsiQuantum, detailed how quantum computers will affect our society. He said that PsiQuantum is developing silicon photonics that will control photons. We can’t begin to imagine how silicon photonics will transform our society. Things will change slowly but the scale would be massive. The keynote speakers presented how quantum cryptography communications and its sensing technology will serve as disruptive innovations. Dr. Chow stressed that to realize the potential growth and innovation, additional R&D is needed. More research groups and scholars should be nurtured. Only then will the rich R&D resources be able to create breakthroughs in quantum-related industries. Lastly, the commercialization of quantum computing must be advanced, which will enable the provision of diverse services. In addition, more technological and industrial infrastructure must be built to better accommodate quantum computing. Professor Preskill believes that quantum computing will benefit humanity. He cited two basic reasons for his optimistic prediction: quantum complexity and quantum error corrections. He explained why quantum computing is so powerful: quantum computer can easily solve the problems classically considered difficult, such as factorization. In addition, quantum computer has the potential to efficiently simulate all of the physical processes taking place in nature. Despite such dramatic advantages, why does it seem so difficult? Professor Preskill believes this is because we want qubits (quantum bits or ‘qubits’ are the basic unit of quantum information) to interact very strongly with each other. Because computations can fail, we don’t want qubits to interact with the environment unless we can control and predict them. As for quantum computing in the NISQ era, he said that NISQ will be an exciting tool for exploring physics. Professor Preskill does not believe that NISQ will change the world alone, rather it is a step forward toward more powerful quantum technologies in the future. He added that a potentially transformable, scalable quantum computer could still be decades away. Professor Preskill said that a large number of qubits, higher accuracy, and better quality will require a significant investment. He said if we expand with better ideas, we can make a better system. In the longer term, quantum technology will bring significant benefits to the technological sectors and society in the fields of materials, physics, chemistry, and energy production. Professor Kim from Duke University presented on the practical applications of quantum computing, especially in the startup environment. He said that although there is no right answer for the early applications of quantum computing, developing new approaches to solve difficult problems and raising the accessibility of the technology will be important for ensuring the growth of technology-based startups.

The First Wednesday Multidisciplinary Forum, Mar 10th(Thu)

3월 첫수융합포럼 안내 (전산학부 & 문화기술대학원) The First Wednesday Multidisciplinary Forum, March 2022 일시(Date) : March 10(Thu.) 2022, 12:00~13:00 장소(Zoom) : https://bit.ly/3pe4iqa 사전등록(Preregistration) : https://forms.gle/qTSm7Wc2hfeWvMw96 설문지(Questionnaire) : https://forms.gle/kN1a5D2btexnPf6f9 연사(Speaker) 성민혁 교수 (Prof. Minhyuk Sung) ｜ 전산학부 (School of Computing) ｜ https://mhsung.github.io/ 윤상호 교수 (Prof. Sang Ho Yoon) ｜ 문화기술대학원 (Graduate School of Culture Technology) ｜ https://hcitech.org ※ 본 강연은 영어로 진행되며, 참석하시는 분들께는 추첨을 통하여 소정의 선물을 드립니다. The lecture will be given in English and small gifts will be provided to the participant.

SM CEP Soo-Man Lee to Teach at the KAIST School of Computing..

< The Founder and Chief Executive Producer of SM Entertainment Soo-Man > The Founder and Chief Executive Producer of SM Entertainment Soo-Man Lee was appointed as a distinguished visiting professor in the KAIST School of Computing. His three-year term starts on March 1. KAIST and the SM Entertainment signed an MOU on joint research on the metaverse last year and Lee’s appointment is the extension of their mutual collaborations in fields where technologies converge and will encourage innovative advancements in engineering technology and the entertainment industry. Lee, who completed a graduate program in computer science at California State University Northridge will give special leadership lectures for both undergraduate and graduate students, and will participate in metaverse-related research as a consultant. In particular, Professor Lee will participate in joint research with the tentatively named Metaverse Institute affiliated with the KAIST Institute for Artificial Intelligence. The institute will help SM Entertainment stay ahead of the global metaverse market by using the avatars of celebrities, and lend itself to raising the already strong brand power of the K-pop leader. Professor Lee said, “I am grateful that KAIST, the very cradle of Korea’s science and technology, has given me the opportunity to meet its students as a visiting professor. We will lead the metaverse world, in which Korea is emerging as a market leader, with the excellent contents and technology unique to our country, and work together to lead the future global entertainment market.” President Kwang-Hyung Lee said, “The ability to expand our limitless creativity in the metaverse is indispensable for us as we adapt to this new era. We hope that the vision and creative insights of Executive Producer Lee, which have allowed him to look ahead into the future of the entertainment contents market, will have a positive and fresh impact on the members of KAIST.” The global influence and reputation of Executive Producer Lee has been well established through his various awards. He was the first Korean to be listed on Variety500 for five consecutive years from 2017 to 2021. He was also the first Korean awardee of the Asia Game Changer Awards in 2016, the first cultural figure to receive the YoungSan Diplomacy Award in 2017, the only Korean to be listed on the 2020 Billboard Impact List, and he has also received the K-pop Contribution Award at the 10th Gaon Chart Music Awards. He recently introduced Play2Create (P2C), a new interactive and creative culture in which re-creation can be enjoyed like a game using IP, and is leading the establishment of the P2C ecosystem.

Commencement Ceremony Honors the Class of 2022​

Third online commencement ceremony since the pandemic outbreak celebrates 2741 graduates < The 2022 commencement ceremony was livestreamed on KAIST’s YouTube channel on February. > The 2022 commencement ceremony convened online on February 18 to celebrate and award degrees to the Class of 2022. The graduating class of 2022 included 663 PhDs, 1,383 Masters, and 695 Bachelors. The limited number of attendees included 86 graduate representatives and approximately 20 faculty members in senior leadership, as well as Korea’s Minister of Science and ICT Hyesook Lim. The ceremony was livestreamed on KAIST’s YouTube channel. Valedictorian Ji-Young Lee from the Department of Physics received the Minister of Science and ICT’s Award. Yu-Jin Bang from the School of Business and Technology Management was the Awardee of the Chairman of the KAIST Board of Trustees and the KAIST Presidential Awardee was Jong-Hwan Lee from the Department of Mathematical Sciences. KAIST conferred honorary doctorates to Honorary Chairman Jae-Chul Kim of Dongwon Group and Chairman Sung-Hwan Chang of Samsung Brush. Chairman Kim, whose donation funded the establishment of the Kim Jae-Chul Graduate School of AI, was awarded an honorary doctorate of science technology. Chairman Chang was awarded an honorary doctorate of business administration in recognition of his funding in the fields of medical science and engineering at KAIST. < This year’s student commencement speaker, Hye-Lin Park from the School of Computing was the first student admitted to KAIST with a severe physical handicap. > This year’s undergraduate commencement speaker was Hye-Lin Park from the School of Computing. She has severe cerebral palsy and was the first student admitted to KAIST with a severe physical handicap. “I loved mathematics and wanted to become a mathematician. When I learned programming in my second year, I was so mesmerized by it that I transferred to the School of Computing,” said Park, who plans to continue studying programming languages in graduate school at KAIST. “I spent my entire life of 24 years in this beautiful wheelchair. Without the support and help of my parents, friends, and my special teachers who helped me move and study at the campus, I would not have made it this far,” said Park. For easier access to classrooms and facilities, KAIST started to remodel its facilities to make the entrance of buildings more wheelchair-friendly. Park made many suggestions to the Office of Student Life and the Facilities Management Office on how to ease mobility for handicapped people on campus. The physical education course that was required for graduation was also revised to stipulate exceptions. Minister Lim stressed the role of young scientists and researchers in these times of digital transformation dominated by AI and the metaverse. She encouraged the graduates to carry out their dreams with warm hearts and challenging spirits. KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee also stressed the power of dreams, calling for graduates to dream big even in times of uncertainty. “Humanity stands at an inflection point in history. The fourth industrial revolution and outbreak of Covid-19 have unfolded the grand global transformation. Although the future gives us new opportunities, it also comes with anxiety regarding the uncertainties ahead.” “Dreams make your heart race and push us to live life to the fullest. Dreams will help you keep moving forward even in the face of adversity,” he said.

President Lee Presents Plans to Nurture Next-Generation Tale..

President Lee stressed that nurturing physician-scientists, semiconductor R&D personnel, startup entrepreneurs, and global innovators are key missions he will continue to pursue during a news conference < President Lee holds a news conference marking the 1st anniversary of him becoming the president on February 15. > KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee said that nurturing physician-scientists, semiconductor R&D personnel, startup entrepreneurs, and global innovators are key missions he will continue to pursue during an online news conference marking the 1st anniversary of him becoming the president on February 15. He said that nurturing physician-scientists is the most critical mission for KAIST to help the nation create a new growth engine. He said KAIST will help the nation drive the bio-industry and provide medical science resources for the nation’s health sector. To this end, he said that KAIST will open its Medical Science and Technology School by 2026. “We plan to expand the current Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering into a new Medical Science and Technology School that will focus entirely on a condensed MD-PhD course converging the fields of AI, bio, and physics,” he said. The school aims to foster MD-PhDs whose research results will eventually be commercialized. He said that the university is now discussing revisions to related laws and regulations with the government and other universities. To supply human resources to the semiconductor industry, President Lee said the university will add a campus in Pyongtaek City that will serve as an advanced convergence research hub in the field of next generation semiconductors in collaboration with Samsung Electronics and the city of Pyongtaek. The three-stage opening plan projected the final opening of the campus by 2036. During the first stage, which will be completed by 2026, it will construct the campus infrastructure in Pyongtaek city where Samsung Semiconductors runs two massive semiconductor complexes. By 2031, it plans to launch the open research platform including a future cities research center and future vehicles research center. The campus will open the global industrial collaboration cluster hub by 2036. In the global arena, President Lee said he is working to open the New York campus with stakeholders in the United States. He announced the plan last December that was endorsed by New York-based entrepreneur Hee-Nam Bae, the chairman of Big Continent Inc. President Lee and Chairman Lee signed an MOU for the funding to open the campus in New York. “We are discussing how to facilitate the plan and best accommodate the interests and potential of our students. Many ideas and plans are on the table and we think it will take longer than expected to finalize the plan,” explained President Lee. However, he added that the basic idea is to offer art tech and health technology programs as well as an AI-based finance MBA at the New York campus, in addition to it serving as the startup accelerator of KAIST. President Lee stressed the importance of technology commercialization when successfully launching KAIST Holdings last month to help spinoffs of KAIST labs accelerate their end results. He said that KAIST Holdings will build a virtuous supporting system to commercialize the technology startups coming from KAIST. “We plan to list at least 10 KAIST startups on the KOSDAQ and two on the NASDAQ by 2031. KAIST Holdings also aims to nurture companies valued at a total of one billion KRW and earn 100 billion KRW in technology fees by 2031.

Thermal Superconductor Lab Becomes the 7th Cross-Generation ..

< Senior Professor Sung Jin Kim (left) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering will team up with Junior Professor Youngsuk Nam for the 7th Cross-Generation Collaborative Lab, the Thermal Superconductor Lab > The Thermal Superconductor Lab led by Senior Professor Sung Jin Kim from the Department of Mechanical Engineering will team up with Junior Professor Youngsuk Nam to develop next-generation superconductors. The two professor team was selected as the 7th Cross-Generation Collaborative Lab last week and will sustain the academic legacy of Professor Kim’s three decades of research on superconductors. The team will continue to develop thin, next-generation superconductors that carry super thermal conductivity using phase transition control technology and thin film packaging. Thin-filmed, next-generation superconductors can be used in various high-temperature flexible electronic devices. The superconductors built inside of the semiconductor device packages will also be used for managing the low-powered but high-performance temperatures of semiconductor and electronic equipment. Professor Kim said, “I am very pleased that my research, know-how, and knowledge from over 30 years of work will continue through the Cross-Generation Collaborative Lab system with Professor Nam. We will spare no effort to advance superconductor technology and play a part in KAIST leading global technology fields.” Junior Professor Nam also stressed that the team is excited to continue its research on crucial technology for managing the temperatures of semiconductors and other electronic equipment. KAIST started this innovative research system in 2018, and in 2021 it established the steering committee to select new labs based on: originality, differentiation, and excellence; academic, social, economic impact; the urgency of cross-generation research; the senior professor’s academic excellence and international reputation; and the senior professor’s research vision. Selected labs receive 500 million KRW in research funding over five years.

KAIST and KNUA to Collaborate on Culture Technology​

Distinguished Visiting Scholar Soprano Sumi Jo Accompanied by AI pianist ‘VirtuosoNet’ during the Special Concert at KAIST KAIST will expand the convergence of arts education and culture technology research in collaboration with the Korea National University of Arts (KNUA), the nation’s top arts university. KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee signed an MOU with President Daejin Kim of the Korea National University of Art on January 6 at KAIST’s Daejeon campus for collaborations in arts education and research. KAIST and KNUA will expand educational programs such as student exchanges and co-credit programs. The two universities will team up for cooperation focusing on research centers and academic conferences for the creation of culture technology and convergence arts. Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Hee Hwang also attended the ceremony. Minister Hwang said that the Ministry will invest 132 billion KRW in R&D for developing metaverse and content technologies. He added that this collaboration will be a very meaningful turning point for creating a new culture combining high-level technologies. President Kim also expressed his expectations saying, “The collaboration of our two universities will generate a huge synergistic impact for nurturing talents and the creation of convergence arts. President Lee said that the collaboration with KNUA will take KAIST another step forward as it aims to foster well-rounded talents. “We look forward to proactive collaborative research that will expand the new chapter of convergence arts and future stage performances.” Right after the signing ceremony, world renowned soprano Sumi Jo, who was named a Distinguished Visiting Scholar, took the KAIST auditorium stage for a special concert. AI pianist ‘VirtuosoNet’, developed by Professor Juhan Nam at the Graduate School of Culture Technology, made its debut at the concert by playing Mozart’s Turkish March arranged by Arcardi Volrodos. VirtuosoNet also accompanied Soprano Jo on one of her songs. The concert by Sumi Jo and AI pianist VirtuosoNet heralds what KAIST is pursuing for education and research in culture technology. The Graduate School of Culture Technology plans to conduct research on future culture industries combined with technologies for the metaverse. The Sumi Jo Performing Arts Research Center will conduct research on performing technologies together with virtual artists. Head of the Graduate School of Culture Technology Woontack Woo said that KAIST will expand the sphere of the culture industry including tourism in collaboration with KNUA by incorporating technology into arts.

The Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI at KAIST founds an AI ..

The Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI and the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences (NIMS) under the National Meteorological Administration founded an AI weather forecasting research center (head: Prof. Seyoung Yoon). The KAIST AI weather forecasting research center was established under the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI at KAIST as it was selected as the final contractor of the AlphaWeather development research project funded by the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences. The AlphaWeather is an AI system that utilizes and analyzes about 150 thousand pieces of weather information per hour to support weather forecasters to produce accurate weather forecasts. The research center is composed of three research teams with the following goals: (a) Development of AI technology for precipitation nowcasting, (b) Development of AI technology for accelerating the physical process-based numerical models, and (c) Development of AI technology for supporting weather forecasters. The teams consist of 15 staffs from NIMS and 61 researchers from the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI at KAIST. The research center is developing an AI algorithm for precipitation nowcasting (with up to six hours of lead time), which uses satellite images, radar reflectivity, and data collected from weather stations. It is also developing an AI algorithm for correcting biases in the prediction results from multiple numerical models. In addition, it is developing AI technology that supports weather forecasters by standardizing and automating repetitive manual processes. After verification, results obtained will be used for the Korean National weather service as a next-generation forecasting/special-reporting system intelligence engine from 2026.

KAIST Plans to Open a New York Campus​

President Lee signs an MOU with New York-based Big Continent Inc. Chairman Hee-Nam Bae on funding the New York campus < President Lee (left) and Chairman Bae pose after signing an MOU to open a New York campus last week. > President Kwang Hyung Lee announced a plan to open a KAIST campus in New York with funding from New York-based entrepreneur Hee-Nam Bae. President Lee and Big Continent Inc. Chairman Hee-Nam Bae signed the MOU last week for the funding to open the campus in New York. President Lee said it will take years to open up a campus in New York in order to conform with both Korean and US legal procedures. However, during a news conference in New York following the signing of the MOU with Chairman Bae, President Lee said this is the first step toward realizing KAIST’s new vision of a ‘Global Twin Strategy’ by making New York KAIST’s newest stronghold to target both domestic and global markets. “New York is the center of the world’s commerce, culture, and new technologies. If we want to grow big, we should go to one of the biggest cities in the world and New York is the place. I highly encourage our students and faculty go into the world and never be satisfied enjoying the top position in Korea. The next place to investigate will be Silicon Valley,” said President Lee. “We still have many issues to resolve domestically. We need to discuss more details first with the Board of Trustees and the Korean government,” he added. The New York campus will aim to become an enterprise-type university to help KAIST create global value. Our goal is to make sure that Korean businesses gain competitiveness in the global market and can become listed on the NASDAQ. “We plan to open majors related to AI, financial engineering, and cultural technologies. We will recruit students from both the US and KAIST to study at our New York campus.” President Lee said. Chairman Bae, a self-made entrepreneur who immigrated to the US in 1981, also leads the Global Leadership Foundation in the US. “President Lee and I have already toured several candidate sites for the campus in the New York region and we will make a final decision on the best site to purchase,” said Chairman Bae. Chairman Bae added that he has always dreamed of fostering young global talents who will take on global challenges with pioneering minds. He believes KAIST shares this global vision. The New York campus will be the first KAIST campus for global students funded by someone from the private sector. This is also a major step forward for KAIST, which was founded by a six million dollar USAID loan in 1971. KAIST announced its plans to establish Kenya KAIST in 2018 with funding from the Korea Eximbank’s 95 million USD development cooperation fund loan to the Kenyan government. KAIST will provide turn-key-based education consultancy featuring curriculum design and the construction of facilities for Kenya’s first advanced science and technology institute. The campus will be located in the Konza Techno City near Nairobi and plans to open in 2023.

A Judicial Scrivener in His 90s Donates to AI Research​

Dong-Myoung Kim donated 2 billion KRW to fund the Kim Jae-Chul AI Graduate School < President Lee (left) poses with Dong-Myoung Kim who donated 2 billion KRW to KAIST during a ceremony on December 6. > Dong-Myong Kim, a 90-year-old resident living in Seongnam City in Kyonggido made a gift of 300 million KRW in cash and property valued at 1.7 billion KRW to fund the Kim Jae-Chul AI Graduate School. KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee and a senior leadership team warmly received Kim during the donation ceremony on December 6 and delivered a plaque of appreciation. Kim, a certified judicial scrivener, sent a letter regarding his intention to donate to the KAIST Development Foundation Office in October. Development foundation officers contacted him for a meeting and presented the major achievements of KAIST and new vision for the future during the meeting. After meeting with KAIST officials, Kim completed all the legal procedures for donating such as handing over the title of his property. A Development Foundation official said that Kim was well aware of what KAIST has achieved and is doing now. “He had already searched KAIST’s website and scrutinized what we are doing now. He was clear about his intentions,” said the official. Kim said that media news reports on the recent series of huge donations to KAIST inspired him. “I thought there was something special behind the donors’ intention to make such a decision.” Kim said the studies on futurism he started in the 1980s led him to become interested in new technologies. “I firmly believe that KAIST will make huge contributions to the nation and our society through advances in science and technology. It is said that the joy of giving is much larger than that of receiving. I am now experiencing such immense joy. I will be even happier if KAIST can lead the nation through its AI research.” President Kwang Hyung Lee said Kim’s letter of intention touched him deeply. He thanked Kim, saying that the entire KAIST community will make every effort to respond to Kim’s donation wishes.