Kaist

11 KAIST Professors, Including Professor Meeyoung ..

<(Top row from left) Professors Meeyoung Cha, Won Do Heo, Byungha Shin, Kyung Min Kim, Sue Moon, and Juyoung Kim (Bottom row from left) Professors Jinwoo Shin, Young Jae Jang, Song Chong, Inkyu Park, and Taek-Soo Kim> To mark Science and ICT Day, 11 faculty members from KAIST received government awards at the "2026 Science and ICT Day Ceremony" hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Professor Meeyoung Cha (School of Computing) was awarded the Order of Science and Technological Merit (Innovation Medal/Hyeoksin-jang), Professor Won Do Heo (Department of Biological Sciences) received the Order of Science and Technological Merit (Ungbi Medal), and Professor Byungha Shin (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) was honored with the Order of Science and Technological Merit (Doyak Medal). Professors Jinwoo Shin (Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI), Young Jae Jang (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering), and Song Chong (Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI) were awarded the Order of Service Merit (Red Stripes/Hongjo Geunjeong Medal) for their contributions to Information and Communications. In addition, Professor Kyung Min Kim (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) and Professor Sue Moon (School of Computing) received the Science and Technology Medal. Professor Juyoung Kim (School of Electrical Engineering), serving as the CEO of HyperAccel, was awarded the Industrial Service Medal for Information and Communications Merit. Professor Inkyu Park (Department of Mechanical Engineering) received the Presidential Citation, and Professor Taek-Soo Kim (Department of Mechanical Engineering) received the Prime Minister's Citation. In the category of Science and Technology Promotion, Professor Meeyoung Cha received the Order of Science and Technological Merit, Innovation Medal (2nd Class). Professor Cha has led research on solving social issues such as poverty detection based on big data. She was recognized for her contributions to creating academic and social value as the first Korean director at the Max Planck Institute. In the National R&D Performance Evaluation category, Professor Won Do Heo, who has led world-class research in biological sciences, received the Ungbi Medal. Professor Heo pioneered the field of molecular optogenetics in Korea and has contributed to the development of treatment technologies for brain diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, and depression. Professor Byungha Shin received the Doyak Medal for his achievements accumulated over 20 years in the field of solar cells and optoelectronic materials/devices, specifically for developing high-efficiency devices. Professor Jinwoo Shin received the Red Stripes Order of Service Merit for his world-class research in AI and computer science, as well as his contributions to revitalizing the domestic physical AI industry through collaboration with robotics companies. Professor Young Jae Jang was also awarded the Red Stripes Order of Service Merit for establishing a manufacturing physical AI verification system based on cooperation between regions, universities, and research institutes, and for developing "KAIROS," the world's first robot operating platform, which contributed to manufacturing innovation and balanced regional development. Professor Song Chong received the Red Stripes Order of Service Merit for his role as the founding dean of Korea’s first Graduate School of AI, contributing to the cultivation of high-level AI talent and the establishment of an academic foundation. Furthermore, Professor Kyung Min Kim received the Science and Technology Medal for developing the world’s first high-dimensional brain-inspired computing technology that utilizes both heat and electricity, securing original technology for next-generation semiconductors. Professor Sue Moon received the Science and Technology Medal for her outstanding research in computer network performance measurement, online social network analysis, and ultra-high-performance network systems, as well as her efforts in promoting gender equality. Professor Juyoung Kim, as the CEO of the startup HyperAccel, received the Industrial Service Medal for developing "LPU," an AI semiconductor specialized for LLM inference, overcoming the limitations of GPU-centric AI infrastructure and contributing to high-efficiency, low-power AI systems. Professor Inkyu Park received the Presidential Citation for developing the world's first original technologies for ultra-low-power gas sensors and multi-sensors for smart healthcare. Professor Taek-Soo Kim was honored with the Prime Minister's Citation for leading global techniques in measuring and improving the mechanical properties of advanced thin-film materials, contributing to the development of the semiconductor and display industries. The ceremony was held on the 21st at the International Conference Hall of the Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies. A total of 164 individuals were recognized for their contributions to Science, Technology, and ICT. Among them, 148 received their awards on-site, with a total scale of 36 Orders of Merit, 22 Medals, 47 Presidential Citations, and 59 Prime Minister's Citations.

Excellence Award at the 4th Wonik Next-Generation ..

< 4th Wonik Next-Generation Engineering Award hosted by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK)> At the 4th Wonik Next-Generation Engineering Award hosted by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK), KAIST Ph.D candidate Yehhyun Jo from the Department of Electrical Engineering(Advisor: Professor Hyunjoo J. Lee) and Ph.D candidate Seokjoo Cho from the Department of Mechanical Engineering(Advisor: Prof. Inkyu Park) received Excellence Awards. Yehhyun Jo was selected in recognition of the development of a system that enables the precise modulation and observation of brain functions by integrating ultrasound neuromodulation technology, MEMS, and biosignal measurement technology. As a leading researcher in ultrasound brain stimulation in Korea, Yehhyun has contributed to the advancement of next-generation neuroengineering research by publishing six SCI(E)-indexed first-author papers. In acceptance speech, Yehhyun Jo remakred, “It is a great honor to receive the Excellence Award at the Wonik Next-Generation Engineering Award hosted by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea. I believe this award represents not only my personal achievements, but also the collective efforts of my advisor, fellow researchers, and my parents and brother, who have supported my research behind the scenes. Going forward, I will continue to develop and validate technologies grounded firmly in fundamental principles so that engineering innovation can reach real clinical and industrial settings, and I will strive to become a great researcher who contributes to society through responsible research.” <(From Left) Ph.D candidate Yehhyun Jo, Ph.D candidate Seokjoo Cho> Seokjoo Cho was selected for developing a wireless multi-modal sensing system based on nano- and micro-fabrication processes for the management of chronic wounds and metabolic diseases. Through this related work, Seokjoo has published 25 SCI(E)-indexed papers and is leading technological innovation in next-generation healthcare sensor platforms. He accepted the award, saying, “I am sincerely grateful to receive the great honor of the Wonik Next-Generation Engineering Award. Winning an award that I have long dreamed of as a researcher during my graduate studies brings me both deep fulfillment and a strong sense of responsibility. Taking this award as an opportunity, I will continue striving to grow as a researcher who does not lose sight of my original motivation and who can create meaningful value for society.” The Wonik Next-Generation Engineering Award is presented to undergraduate and graduate students in engineering-related fields in Korea to recognize creative and ambitious future engineers in the materials, components, and equipment sectors and support their growth into engineers who contribute to solving social problems. The award ceremony was held on the afternoon of March 10 at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.

KAIST Team Led by Dong-won Lee Wins Grand Prize at..

< (From Left) M.S candidate Dongwon Lee from School of Electrical Engineering, Ph.D candidate Jaehun Han from Graduate School of Quantum Science and Technology > "Team Yangja-jorim," consisting of Dongwon Lee, Gyungjun Kim and Jaehun Han , has been honored with the Grand Prize at the '2026 2nd Global Quantum AI Competition.' The event was hosted and organized by NORMA, a specialized quantum computing company. This global competition was designed to expand hands-on experience with quantum cloud services and to discover next-generation talent in the field of quantum artificial intelligence. The event spanned approximately 70 days, beginning with the preliminary opening ceremony held at Korea University’s Hana Square on December 17 last year. The final winners were announced during an awards ceremony held at NORMA's headquarters on the 27th of last month. The competition attracted significant interest from quantum technology talent worldwide, including university students, developers, and researchers. A total of 137 teams participated in the preliminaries, with the top 10 teams advancing to the finals—a competitive ratio of approximately 13.7 to 1. < An acquaintance attended the awards ceremony of the 2nd Global Quantum AI Competition to accept the prize on behalf of the team. > In the final round, participants were presented with four generative problems utilizing the Quantum Circuit Born Machine (QCBM) model. To overcome the current limitations of quantum machine learning, the contestants were tasked with designing and validating Quantum-Classical Hybrid Generative AI models that integrate classical techniques. Notably, the final problem provided an opportunity to verify the proposed methods using a real Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) from Rigetti Computing, a leading global quantum computing firm. The judging process employed a double-blind system, where the identities of both evaluators and participants remained undisclosed to ensure maximum fairness and credibility. "Through this competition, we were able to explore the research potential of the quantum AI field more deeply," said KAIST's Team Yangja-jorim in their acceptance speech. "We hope to continue contributing to the advancement of quantum technology through consistent research and new challenges."

Jaewook Myung, First Korean Selected as ＇40 Under ..

< Professor Jaewook Myung of KAIST Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering > KAIST announced on December 12th that Professor Jaewook Myung of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering was selected as the first Korean recipient of the '40 Under 40 Recognition Program' for Next Generation Environmental Engineering Leaders, organized by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES). < The '40 Under 40 Recognition Program' is an international award program selecting next-generation leaders in the field of Environmental Engineering and Science > This award is presented annually by AAEES to select next-generation environmental engineering researchers who demonstrate innovative research achievements, social contribution, and educational leadership. Professor Myung's selection is particularly significant as he is the first Korean to be chosen since the program's inception. The award ceremony is scheduled to be held in Washington D.C. in April 2026. AAEES is the world's highest-authority professional organization leading the global environmental engineering sector through operating the Professional Environmental Engineer (PEE) certification system, policy consultation, and international academic exchange. This award is highly regarded for greatly enhancing the international standing of domestic environmental engineering and sustainability research. Amid the deepening problems of plastic waste increase and greenhouse gas emissions, where existing technologies are showing limitations in providing solutions, Professor Jaewook Myung has garnered significant attention from academia and industry by developing technology to convert greenhouse gases such as methane (＄CH_4＄) and carbon dioxide (＄CO_2＄) into biodegradable plastics. His research is highly praised for presenting a new industrial paradigm that fuses environmental microbiology and materials science to convert greenhouse gases into high-value bio-materials. Professor Myung's research team secured microbial metabolic control technology to transform greenhouse gases into materials, an accelerated process that simultaneously enhances the synthesis and decomposition efficiency of plastics, and pilot process design and engineering technology applicable in industrial settings. This established a sustainable circular technology model capable of simultaneously addressing greenhouse gas reduction and plastic pollution issues. Furthermore, the research team expanded these foundational technologies to develop various application products, such as biodegradable coating materials that naturally decompose in the ocean, biocompatible bio-based electronic materials, and industrial 3D printing filaments, realizing full-cycle innovation from basic research to application and industrialization. These achievements are recognized as world-class sustainable technology alternatives that can simultaneously overcome the problems of plastic downcycling and the economic limitations of greenhouse gas utilization technology. Professor Myung also shows excellent performance in nurturing talent. His advised students are growing into next-generation environmental and sustainability researchers, having won major awards both domestically and internationally, including the American Chemical Society (ACS) Environmental Chemistry Graduate Student Award, the Presidential Science Scholarship, the Merck Innovation Cup Prize, and the Republic of Korea Talent Award. He is also establishing himself as a leading researcher in the commercialization of sustainable technology by expanding his research achievements into the social and industrial ecosystem through technology collaboration with industries, patents, and consultation with public institutions. The AAEES Selection Committee evaluated Professor Jaewook Myung as "a researcher possessing technical excellence, social responsibility, and educational leadership, and an innovator who has pioneered new areas of environmental engineering." Professor Myung expressed his thoughts, saying, "This award is a result made possible by the students who researched and challenged alongside me and the collaborative research culture of KAIST," and added, "I will contribute to brightening the future of humanity and the planet through sustainable resource circulation technology."

KAIST Professor and Alumni Who Won AIxCC Donate 15..

<(From Left) Professor Insu Yun from KAIST School of Electrical Engineering, Researcher HyungSeok Han from Samsung Research America> KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 23rd of November that HyungSeok Han (Ph.D. alumnus from the School of Computing) and Insu Yun (B.S. alumnus, currently Associate Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering) donated 150 million KRW from the prize money won by Team Atlanta, which took first place in the world’s largest AI security competition, the “AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC),” organized by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The AIxCC final round was held this August in Las Vegas, where Team Atlanta—a joint team consisting of researchers from Samsung Research, KAIST, POSTECH, and Georgia Tech—secured the top prize. AIxCC is the world’s largest AI security competition, with a total prize pool of 29.5 million USD (approx. 41 billion KRW). Over the past two years, security companies and research teams worldwide have competed with AI-based security technologies, showcasing state-of-the-art capabilities. A total of 91 teams registered for the competition, 31 teams participated in the qualifiers, and 7 teams advanced to the finals. Team Atlanta won the first-place prize of 4 million USD (approx. 5.8 billion KRW), securing victory with an overwhelming margin comparable to the combined scores of the second- and third-place teams. The team also swept major titles such as “Most Vulnerabilities Identified” and “Highest Scoring Team,” demonstrating exceptional technical superiority. HyungSeok Han earned his B.S. (2017) and Ph.D. (2023) from the KAIST School of Computing, then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech before joining Samsung Research America where he currently works. In the competition, he served as the team leader for the development of the automatic vulnerability detection system and oversaw system integration and infrastructure, making major contributions. Insu Yun received his B.S. (2015) from the KAIST School of Computing and his Ph.D. (2020) from Georgia Tech. Since 2021, he has been a faculty member in the KAIST School of Electrical Engineering. In this competition, he led the patch development team and played a central role in enhancing overall system completeness. The two researchers decided to donate 150 million KRW of their prize money to the School of Computing and the School of Electrical Engineering. The School of Computing will use the donation as a scholarship fund, while the School of Electrical Engineering will apply it toward student education and research support, in line with the spirit of the donation. Alumnus HyungSeok Han remarked, “Building a system in which AI autonomously discovers vulnerabilities and even generates patches has long been a dream of mine and an important milestone in the security field. I’m grateful to have achieved meaningful results together with KAIST alumni, and I hope KAIST will continue to exert a positive influence on global technological advancement.” <Final Scoreboard> Professor Insu Yun stated, “I’m truly grateful to every member of Team Atlanta. In particular, I want to thank Professor Taesoo Kim, our overall team leader and advisor, the students in our lab who worked tirelessly, and Dr. HyungSeok Han, who joined me in making this meaningful contribution.” KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee commented, “I deeply thank our alumni for achieving outstanding results on the world stage of technological competition and for generously giving back to their alma mater. This achievement demonstrates KAIST’s educational and research excellence and stands as meaningful evidence of the global competitiveness of Korea’s AI and security technologies. KAIST will continue to lead advanced AI and security innovation and do its utmost to nurture creative talent who will contribute to humanity and society.” To encourage further alumni contributions, the KAIST Development Foundation is operating the Team KAIST (https://giving.kaist.ac.kr/ko/sub01/sub0103_1.php) campaign to promote alumni participation.

Professor Youngjin Kwon＇s Team Wins Google Award ＇..

< Professor Youngjin Kwon > Modern CPUs have complex structures, and in the process of handling multiple tasks simultaneously, an order-scrambling error known as a 'concurrency bug' can occur. Although this can lead to security issues, these bugs were extremely difficult to detect using conventional methods. Our university's research team has developed a world-first-level technology to automatically detect these bugs by precisely reproducing the internal operation of the CPU in a virtual environment without needing a physical chip. Through this, they successfully found and fixed 11 new bugs in the latest Linux kernel. Our university announced on the 21st that the research team led by Professor Youngjin Kwon of the School of Computing has won the 'Research Scholar Award' (Systems category) presented by Google. The Google Research Scholar Award is a global research support program, implemented since 2020, to support Early-Career Professors conducting innovative research in various fields such as AI, Systems, Security, and Data Management. It is known as a highly competitive program, with the selection process conducted directly by Google Research scientists, and only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of applicants worldwide are chosen. In particular, this award is recognized as one of the most prestigious industry research support programs globally in the field of AI and Computer Systems, and domestic recipients are rare. ■ Technology Developed to Detect Concurrency Bugs in the Latest Apple M3 and ARM Servers Professor Kwon's team developed a technology that automatically detects concurrency bugs in the latest ARM (a CPU design method that uses less power and is highly efficient) based servers, such as the Apple M3 (Apple's latest-generation computer processor chip). A concurrency bug is an error that occurs when the order of operations gets mixed up while the CPU handles multiple tasks simultaneously. This is a severe security vulnerability that can cause the computer to suddenly freeze or become a pathway for hackers to attack the system. However, these errors were extremely difficult to find with existing testing methods alone. ■ Automatically Detects Bugs by Reproducing CPU Internal Operations Without a Real CPU The core achievement of Professor Kwon's team is the 'technology to reproduce the internal operation of the CPU exactly in a virtual environment without a physical chip.' Using this technology, it is possible to precisely analyze the order in which instructions are executed and where problems occur using only software, without having to disassemble the CPU or use the actual chip. By running the Linux operating system based on this system to automatically detect bugs, the research team discovered 11 new bugs in the latest Linux kernel＊ and reported them to the developer community, where they were all fixed. ＊Linux kernel: The core operating system engine that forms the basis of servers, supercomputers, and smartphones (Android) worldwide. It acts as the 'heart' of the system, managing the CPU, memory, and storage devices. Google recognized this technology as 'very important for its own infrastructure' and conferred the Award. < Google Scholar Award Recipient Page > This technology is evaluated to have general applicability, not only to Linux but also to various operating systems such as Android and Windows. The research team has released the software as open-source (GitHub) so that anyone in academia or industry can utilize it. Professor Youngjin Kwon stated, "This award validates the international competitiveness of KAIST's systems research," and "We will continue our research to establish a safe and highly reliable computing environment." ※ Google Scholar Award Recipient Page: https://research.google/programs-and-events/research-scholar-program/recipients/ GitHub (Technology Open-Source): https://github.com/casys-kaist/ozz

Automatic C to Rust Translation Technology Gains G..

<(From Left) Professor Sukyoung Ryu, Researcher Jaemin Hong> As the C language, which forms the basis of critical global software like operating systems, faces security limitations, KAIST's research team is pioneering core original technology research for the accurate automatic conversion to Rust to replace it. By proving the mathematical correctness of the conversion, a limitation of existing Artificial Intelligence (LLM) methods, and solving C language security issues through automatic conversion to Rust, they presented a new direction and vision for future software security research. This work has been selected as the cover story for CACM, the world's highest-authority academic journal, thereby demonstrating KAIST's global research leadership in the field of computer science. KAIST announced on the 9th of November that the paper by Professor Sukyoung Ryu's research team (Programming Language Research Group) from the School of Computing was selected as the cover story for the November issue of CACM (Communications of the ACM), the highest authority academic journal published by ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), the world's largest computer society. <Photo of the Paper Selected for the Cover of Communications of the ACM> This paper comprehensively addresses the technology developed by Professor Sukyoung Ryu's research team for the automatic conversion of C language to Rust, and it received high acclaim from the international research community for presenting the technical vision and academic direction this research should pursue in the future. The C language has been widely used in the industry since the 1970s, but its structural limitations have continuously caused severe bugs and security vulnerabilities. Rust, on the other hand, is a secure programming language developed since 2015, used in the development of operating systems and web browsers, and has the characteristic of being able to detect and prevent bugs before program execution. The US White House recommended discontinuing the use of C language in a technology report released in February 2024, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) also explicitly stated that Rust is the core alternative for resolving C language security issues by promoting a project to develop technology for the automatic conversion of C code to Rust. Professor Sukyoung Ryu's research team proactively raised the issues of C language safety and the importance of automatic conversion even before these movements began in earnest, and they have continuously developed core related technologies. In May 2023, the research team presented the Mutex conversion technology (necessary for program synchronization) at ICSE (International Conference on Software Eng), the top authority conference in software engineering. In June 2024, they presented the Output Parameter conversion technology (used for result delivery) at PLDI (Programming Language Design and Implementation), the top conference in programming languages, and in October of the same year, they presented the Union conversion technology (for storing diverse data together) at ASE (Automated Software Eng), the representative conference in software automation. These three studies are all "world-first" achievements presented at top-tier international academic conferences, successfully implementing automatic conversion technology for each feature with high completeness. Since 2023, the research team has consistently published papers in CACM every year, establishing themselves as global leading researchers who consistently solve important and challenging problems worldwide. This paper was published in CACM (Communications of the ACM) on October 24, with Dr. Jaemin Hong (Postdoctoral Research Fellow at KAIST Information and Electronics Research Institute) as the first author. ※Paper Title: Automatically Translating C to Rust, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3737696 Dr. Jaemin Hong stated, "The conversion technology we developed is an original technology based on programming language theory, and its biggest strength is that we can logically prove the 'correctness' of the conversion." He added, "While most research relies on Large Language Models (LLMs), our technology can mathematically guarantee the correctness of the conversion." Dr. Hong is scheduled to be appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at UNIST starting in March 2025. Furthermore, Professor Ryu's research team has four papers accepted for presentation at ASE 2025, the highest-authority conference in software engineering, including C→Rust conversion technology. These papers, in addition to automatic conversion technology, cover various cutting-edge software engineering fields and are receiving high international acclaim. They include: technology to verify whether quantum computer programs operate correctly, 'WEST' technology that automatically checks the correctness of WebAssembly programs (technology for fast and efficient program execution on the web) and creates tests for them, and technology that automatically simplifies complex WebAssembly code to quickly find errors. Among these, the WEST paper received the Distinguished Paper Award. This research was supported by the Leading Research Center/Mid-career Researcher Support Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), and Samsung Electronics.

KAIST＇s ＇FluidGPT＇ Wins Grand Prize at the 2025 AI..

<Commemorative Photo After Winning at the 2025 AI Champions Award Ceremony> The era has begun where an AI assistant goes beyond simple conversation to directly view the screen, make decisions, and complete tasks such as hailing a taxi or booking an SRT ticket. KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 6th that the AutoPhone Team (Fluidez, KAIST, Korea University, Sungkyunkwan University), led by Professor Insik Shin (CEO of Fluidez Co., Ltd.) of the School of Computing, was selected as the inaugural AI Champion (1st place) in the '2025 Artificial Intelligence Champion (AI Champion) Competition,' hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT. This competition is the nation's largest AI technology contest, comprehensively evaluating the innovativeness, social impact, and commercial potential of AI technology. With 630 teams participating nationwide, the AutoPhone Team claimed the top honor and will receive 3 billion Korean won in research and development funding. The technology developed by the AutoPhone Team, 'FluidGPT,' is a fully autonomous AI agent that understands a user's voice command and enables the smartphone to independently run apps, click, input, and even complete payments. For example, when a user says, "Book an SRT ticket from Seoul Station to Busan," or "Call a taxi," FluidGPT opens the actual app and sequentially performs the necessary steps to complete the request. The core of this technology is its 'Non-Invasive (API-Free)' structure. Previously, calling a taxi using an app required directly connecting to the app's internal system (API communication) through the taxi app's API. In contrast, this technology does not modify the existing app's code or link an API. Instead, the AI directly recognizes and operates the screen (UI), acquiring the ability to use the smartphone just like a human. As a result, FluidGPT presents a new paradigm—"AI that sees, judges, and moves a hand on behalf of a person"—and is evaluated as a core technology that will usher in the 'AI Phone Era.' FluidGPT moves beyond simple voice assistance to implement the concept of 'Agentic AI' (Action-Oriented Artificial Intelligence), where the AI directly views the screen, makes decisions, and takes action. As a fully action-oriented system, the AI clicks app buttons, fills in input fields, and references data to autonomously achieve the user's objective, foreshadowing an innovation in how smartphones are used. Professor In-sik Shin of the School of Computing shared his thoughts, stating, "AI is now evolving from conversation to action. FluidGPT is a technology that understands the user's words and autonomously executes actual apps, and it will be the starting point of the 'AI Phone Era.' The AutoPhone Team possesses world-class research capabilities, and we will contribute to the widespread adoption of AI services that everyone can easily use." KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee remarked, "This achievement is a representative example that demonstrates KAIST's vision for AI convergence," adding, "AI technology is entering the daily lives of citizens and leading a new wave of innovation." He further added, "KAIST will continue to lead research in future core technologies such as AI and semiconductors to bolster national competitiveness."

AI Nüshu Wins International Award​

< (From left) Dr. Yuqian Sun, Professor Chang-Hee Lee of the Department of Industrial Design, and Ali Asadipour, Director of CSRC at the Royal College of Art > 'Nüshu (女書)' is the world's only women's script, a unique writing system created autonomously by women in Hunan Province, China, starting around the 19th century. These women, excluded from Hanzi education, used it to record their lives and communicate with each other. A research team from KAIST participated in the 'AI Nüshu (女书)' project, which combines the script's significance (creation amidst oppression, female solidarity, linguistic experimentation) with modern technology, winning a prestigious international award often called the 'Academy Award of the media art world.' KAIST announced on the 10th that the 'AI Nüshu' project, jointly conducted by Professor Chang-Hee Lee's research team from the Department of Industrial Design and Ali Asadipour, Director of the Computer Science Research Center at the Royal College of Art (RCA), was selected for the Honorary Mention in the Digital Humanity category at the 'Prix Ars Electronica 2025,' the world's highest-level media art festival. < Installation image of 'AI Nüshu' > The 'Prix Ars Electronica,' known as the 'Academy Award of the media art world,' is the premier international media art competition held annually in Linz, Austria. This competition, which discovers innovative works spanning the boundaries of art and science, saw 3,987 submissions from 98 countries this year, with only two works receiving the honor in the Digital Humanity category. The award-winning work, 'AI Nüshu (女书),' is based on 'Nüshu,' the world's only women's script created by Chinese women who were excluded from literacy education to record and communicate their lives. The KAIST research team and collaborators combined this script with Computational Linguistics to create an installation that visitors can directly experience. The artificial intelligence within the artwork learns the communication methods of pre-modern Chinese women and generates its own new language. This is regarded as a symbol of resistance against the patriarchal order and a feminist endeavor that moves beyond Western-centric views on language. < Example of the same sentence expressed in English, Chinese, Nüshu, and AI Nüshu > It also received high praise for artistically presenting the possibility of machines creating new languages, going beyond the preconception that 'only humans create language.' Dr. Yuqian Sun of the Royal College of Art expressed her feelings, saying, "Although there were many difficulties in my life and research process, I feel great reward and emotion through this award." Professor Chang-Hee Lee of the KAIST Department of Industrial Design stated, "It is very meaningful that this contemplative art, born from the intersection of history, humanities, art, and technology, has led to such a globally prestigious award." Detailed information about the project can be found on the official Prix Ars Electronica website (https://ars.electronica.art/prix/en/digitalhumanity/).

Professor Jae-woong Jeong Wins September＇s Scienti..

<Professor Jae-Woong Jeong from Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering> The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea have announced that Professor Jae-Woong Jeong from KAIST Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has been selected as the September recipient of the "Scientist of the Month" award. The "Scientist of the Month" award recognizes researchers who have made a significant contribution to the development of science and technology by creating unique R&D achievements over the past three years. The award is given to one person each month and includes a commendation from the Minister of Science and ICT and a 10 million KRW prize, funded by the Science and Technology Promotion Fund/Lottery Fund of the Ministry of Science and ICT. In the lead-up to "World Patient Safety Day (September 17)," the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation selected Professor Jeong Jae-Woong as the award recipient for his contribution to healthcare innovation through convergence research on wearable and implantable electronic devices and medical instruments, including the development of an intravenous (IV) needle that softens in response to body temperature to enhance patient safety. Intravenous injection is a treatment method that involves directly injecting medication into a blood vessel. It is widely used in the medical field due to its ability to provide rapid and continuous drug effects. However, conventional IV needles, made of rigid metal or plastic, can damage blood vessel walls or cause complications like phlebitis. Furthermore, there is a risk of needle-stick injuries and subsequent disease transmission for medical professionals during the disposal process. Professor Jae-Woong Jeong developed a variable-stiffness＊ needle that is rigid at room temperature but softens like biological tissue when inserted into the body. This innovation utilizes the unique property of the liquid metal gallium, which changes from a solid to a liquid phase in response to body temperature. ＊ Variable-stiffness: The characteristic of being able to adjust the level of rigidity (stiffness) according to a situation or condition. The variable-stiffness needle not only ensures a patient's free movement but also maintains a soft state at room temperature after use, preventing needle-stick accidents for medical professionals and fundamentally eliminating the issue of unethical needle reuse. < An intravenous needle that softens with body temperature. Intravenous injection is a treatment method that involves directly injecting medication into a blood vessel, which allows for a rapid and continuous supply of drugs, making it a globally accepted form of patient care. This research utilized the property of liquid metal gallium, which changes from a solid to a liquid state in response to body temperature, to develop a variable-stiffness intravenous needle that is rigid but softens like tissue upon insertion into the body. This needle allows for stable drug delivery without damaging blood vessels, even when the patient moves. Furthermore, the irreversible softening due to the supercooling phenomenon of gallium can fundamentally prevent post-use needle-stick injuries or unethical reuse, contributing to the safety of both patients and medical staff. This variable-stiffness technology is expected to be widely utilized in the implementation of various wearable and implantable devices that can change their properties according to different situations and purposes. > Furthermore, Professor Jae-woong Jung focused on the phenomenon in which the temperature of surrounding tissue decreases when a drug leaks during intravenous (IV) injection. He developed a function that enables real-time monitoring of local body temperature by integrating a nanofilm temperature sensor into an IV needle, thereby allowing real-time detection of IV drug leakage. This research achievement, which presents a new vision for promoting patient health and ensuring medical staff safety as required by the World Health Organization (WHO), was published as the cover article of the international journal Nature Biomedical Engineering in August 2024. Professor Jae-Woong Jeong stated, “This research is highly significant as it proposes a way to overcome the problems caused by conventional rigid medical needles and solves the infection risks from needle-stick injuries or reuse.” He added, “I will continue to dedicate my efforts to R&D so that variable-stiffness needle technology can evolve into a core technology in the medical field, enhancing the safety of both patients and medical professionals. To provide more robust support to researchers who lead such outstanding achievements, the Ministry of Science and ICT has prepared a record-high R&D budget of 11.8 trillion KRW (government proposal), including the Life Sciences (Bio) Medical Technology Development Project (361.1 billion KRW in '25 → 434.3 billion KRW in '26, proposed). The Ministry plans to strengthen investment in future industries, such as advanced life sciences, and will further reinforce rewards and recognition for researchers who produce excellent results to foster a researcher-centric R&D ecosystem.

KAIST Takes the Lead in Developing Core Technologi..

< Professor Sanghoo Park from Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering > KAIST announced on the 15th of August that Professor Sanghoo Park of the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering has won two consecutive awards for early-career researchers at two of the world's most prestigious plasma academic conferences. Professor Park was selected as a recipient of the Early Career Award (ECA) at the Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC), hosted by the American Physical Society, on August 4. He was also honored with the Young Investigator Award, presented by the International Plasma Chemistry Society (IPCS), on June 19. The American Physical Society's GEC Early Career Award is given to only one person worldwide every two years, based on a comprehensive evaluation of research excellence, academic influence, and contributions to the field of plasma. The award will be presented at GEC 2025, which will be held at COEX in Seoul from October 13 to 17. Established in 1948, the GEC is a leading academic conference in the plasma field with a 77-year history of showcasing key research achievements in all areas of plasma, including physics, chemistry, diagnostics, and application technologies. Recently, advanced application research such as eco-friendly chemical processes, next-generation semiconductors, and atomic layer and ultra-low-temperature etching technology for HBM processes have been gaining attention. To commemorate the award, Professor Park will give an invited lecture at GEC 2025 on the topic of "Deep-Learning-Based Spectroscopic Data Analysis for Advancing Plasma Spectroscopy." In his lecture, he will use case studies to demonstrate a method that allows even non-specialists to easily and quickly perform spectroscopic data analysis—which is essential for spectroscopy, a key analytical method in modern science including plasma diagnostics—by using deep learning technology. < Award ceremony at IPCS (professor sang hoo Park on the far left) > Professor Park also won the Young Investigator Award from the IPCS at the 26th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry (ISPC 26), which was held in Minneapolis, USA, from June 15 to 20. First held in 1973, the ISPC (International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry) is a representative international conference in the field of plasma chemistry, held biennially. It covers a wide range of topics, from basic plasma chemical reaction principles to applications in semiconductor processes, green energy, environmental science, and biotechnology. Researchers from industry, academia, and research institutions worldwide share their latest findings at each event. The Young Investigator Award is given to a scientist who has obtained their doctorate within the last 10 years and has demonstrated outstanding achievements in the field. Professor Park was recognized for his leading research achievements in using plasma-liquid interactions and real-time optical diagnostic technology to environmentally fix nitrogen from the air and precisely control the quantity and types of reactive chemical species that are beneficial to the human body and the environment. < Photo of a certificate > Professor Sanghoo Park stated, "It is very meaningful to receive the Young Investigator Award representing Korea at the GEC event, which is being held in Korea for the first time in its history." He added, "I am happy that my consistent interest in and achievements in fundamental plasma science have been recognized, and it is even more significant that the efforts of the KAIST research team have been acknowledged by the world's top conferences."

＇Team Atlanta＇, in which KAIST Professor Insu Yun ..

<Photo1. Group Photo of Team Atlanta> Team Atlanta, led by Professor Insu Yun of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at KAIST and Tae-soo Kim, an executive from Samsung Research, along with researchers from POSTECH and Georgia Tech, won the final championship at the AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The final was held at the world's largest hacking conference, DEF CON 33, in Las Vegas on August 8 (local time). With this achievement, the team won a prize of ＄4 million (approximately 5.5 billion KRW), demonstrating the excellence of their AI-based autonomous cyber defense technology on the global stage. <Photo2.Championship Commemorative:On the left and right are tournament officials. From the second person, Professor Tae-soo Kim(Samsung Research / Georgia Tech), Researcher Hyeong-seok Han (Samsung Research America), and Professor Insu Yun (KAIST)> The AI Cyber Challenge is a two-year global competition co-hosted by DARPA and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). It challenges contestants to automatically analyze, detect, and fix software vulnerabilities using AI-based Cyber Reasoning Systems (CRS). The total prize money for the competition is ＄29.5 million, with the winning team receiving ＄4 million. In the final, Team Atlanta scored a total of 392.76 points, a difference of over 170 points from the second-place team, Trail of Bits, securing a dominant victory. The CRS developed by Team Atlanta successfully and automatically detected various types of vulnerabilities and patched a significant number of them in real time. Among the 7 finalist teams, an average of 77％ of the 70 intentionally injected vulnerabilities were found, and 61％ of them were patched. The teams also found 18 additional unknown vulnerabilities in real software, proving the potential of AI security technology. All CRS technologies, including those of the winning team, will be provided as open-source and are expected to be used to strengthen the security of core infrastructure such as hospitals, water, and power systems. <Photo3. Final Scoreboard: An overwhelming victory with over 170 points> Professor Insu Yun of KAIST, a member of Team Atlanta, stated, "I am very happy to have achieved such a great result. This is a remarkable achievement that shows Korea's cyber security research has reached the highest level in the world, and it was meaningful to show the capabilities of Korean researchers on the world stage. I will continue to conduct research to protect the digital safety of the nation and global society through the fusion of AI and security technology." KAIST President Kwang-hyung Lee stated, "This victory is another example that proves KAIST is a world-leading institution in the field of future cyber security and AI convergence. We will continue to provide full support to our researchers so they can compete and produce results on the world stage." <Photo4. Results Announcement>