Professor Kimoon Kim and his team revealed that cucurbiturils, small nano-sized molecules, can enable the analysis of many types of cancer and of stem cells in a very simple manner similar to fishing. Named after the plant family ‘Curcurbitaceae’ and shaped like hollow pumpkins, cucurbiturils can hold various ions or molecules like ferrocene inside, and can have ions attached on top and below through host-guest interactions, which means they have great potential for various applications. The compound was first synthesized in Germany around a century ago and its structure was elucid..

* Link : http://www.koreaherald.com/opinion/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110713000882With Korea part of an ever more globalized world...Balancing globalization and reality in the lecture hallLectures conducted in English have become commonplace at Korean universities in the last few years. It has been reported that universities in Seoul conduct between 20 and 40 percent of their lectures in English. A desire to keep in step with globalization and bump up Korean universities’ place in world rankings have been cited as the rationale behind the push for more English lectures. But the move toward t..

On July 2, POSTECH was featured on Toyokeizai, an leading Japanese weekly magazine.Featured Article on POSTECH in Toyoukeizai

* Link : http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110628000753The most valuable economic resources are human resources, and Korea needs to improve its use of its most precious assets.A survey released last week reported that the average worker in Korea retires in his or her mid-50s. This is much earlier than their Western European OECD counterparts, who usually retire at 65 or older, and for whom even early retirement is usually 60 or older.The survey results raised an issue that has puzzled me for a long time: Why do so many Korean workers retire in their mid-50s? This is tru..

* Link : http://world.gmw.cn/2011-04/26/content_1889001.htmAn article featuring President Baik's interview titled "POSTECH to Collaborate with Tsinghua University for the Advancement of Humanity" appeared in the April 28th issue of the Guangming Daily, a newspaper in China.

* Link : http://www.koreaherald.com/opinion/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110426000627In the wake of the tragic suicides of four KAIST students in recent months, some suggested that study in English at KAIST puts undue stress on students, contributes to academic underperformance, creates communication barriers between students and professors, and encouraged the suicides.In the past several weeks, I reflected on my English-only teaching experience at POSTECH. I asked what would happen if Caltech or MIT set up a Korean branch and offered courses in English only, except for language-specific courses? I p..

A new cooperative partnership has been established with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).President Sunggi Baik visited HKUST on April 7, 2011, to sign agreements for university-wide cooperation and a joint Ph.D. degree program with the HKUST School of Engineering.In accordance to the student exchange clauses of the cooperation agreement, POSTECH undergraduate students have HKUST added to their choice of study abroad institutions starting Spring Semester 2012.Candidates of the POSTECH-HKUST joint Ph.D. program will have co-advisors at both POSTECH and HKUST, and spend ..

Electronic displays that can be rolled up like newspapers, televisions that can be hung on walls like calendars, or computers that can be put on like clothes are fascinating ideas still to be realized. But technology certainly has evolved in this direction. A research team led by Professor Chan Eon Park of POSTECH’s Chemical Engineering Department has come forth with a breakthrough with organic electronics. The team’s work focuses on a specific type of Organic Thin- Film Transistor (OTFT) called n-type organic semiconductors. The ‘n’ stands for negative, indicating the ..

Professor Hyung Joon Cha, Chemical Engineering Department, has been known for his work on cell adhesives that induce the bioactivity of cells. His adhesives were devised after special characteristics of cells by combining mussel adhesion proteins and bioactive peptides that send certain signals to cells. His work was introduced in the publication of Biomaterials, an authoritative journal in biomaterial science, in December, 2010. Professor Cha’s research team is consisted of Research Professor Yoo-sung Choi and PhD candidate Bong-hyuk Choi. Mussels use their adhesion proteins not to be s..

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that entails hallucinations and delusions, for those who suffer it become incapable of controlling their minds. According to existing studies, the cause can be defined through genetic and environmental factors where the role of the gene called ‘Disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1’ has become central in the research. DISC1 in short, implies that this specific gene is found disrupted only in those who suffer from schizophrenia. Management of the disorder depends largely on medications and psychological interventions, but unfortunately, there is no d..