Professor Suk Bong Hong(CE and School of Environmental Science and Engineering) and Hyung Ki Min(CE, Ph.D. candidate) succeeded in converting meta-xylene to para-xylene using zeolite catalyst based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-computer(GC-MS-CPU) and isotope exchange method. Para-xylene which is used to make polyester fibers, plastic bottles, and films is a basic petrochemical material made through isomerization of meta-xylene, whose mechanism has been merely a hypothesis. Unlike other technologies, this technology can now be realized ex hypothesi.The research team is receiving atte..

Professor HyungJoon Cha of the Department of Chemical Engineering has devised a new technique which combines Mussel Adhesive Protein (MAP) and antibody-binding protein to pin down an antibody on diverse surfaces coated with a new linker protein (BC-MAP).BC-MAP is a linker material to immobilize y-shaped antibodies onto immunosensors such as a pregnancy test which examines for infection by antigen-antibody reaction. In order to work properly, antibodies are supposed to be exactly immobilized onto surfaces.Previously, antibody-binding protein did not immobilize an antibody depending on the surfa..

POSTECH researchers have found a way to tightly fix bio materials by using mussel adhesive proteins (MAPS).Professor HyungJoon Cha of the Department of Chemical Engineering had developed sticky nanofibrous scaffold based on MAPS, which can be functionalized with diverse types of biomolecules. The paper supported by “Marine Bioengineering Technology Project” under the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs appeared in the Angewandte Chemie International Edition published online on Oct. 19.Nanofibers are a promising tool for tissue engineering applications, and various stu..

Baekhee Lee (IME Ph.D. candidate) and Jihyoung Lee (IME M.S. candidate) of the Ergonomic Design Technology Lab (advisor Professor Heecheon You) invented the “PC based glaucoma detector,” which can be easily installed on a PC to test one’s sight and development of glaucoma.The detachable, newly developed equipment effectively induces eye movements and allows for a self-vision test. The result is further used to analyze the progress of optic nerve damage, therefore the diagnosis of glaucoma.Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve is damaged, permanently impairing v..

Professor Kijung Yong (CE) and his research team succeeded in developing a nonvolatile memory cell which is waterproof and maintains information without power supply. Nonvolatile memory cells could be used in production of waterproof computers and smart phones by using nanotechnology.Memory cells currently used are vulnerable to water. To solve this problem, the research team synthesized the tungsten oxide semiconductor using natural effects called the Lotus Effect, an imitation of lotus leaves, which could wash the dust off the surface without wetting it. In addition, they developed resistive..

Professor Hyun M. Jang of the Department of Material Science and Engineering and a research team led by Jung-Hoon Lee, advised by Prof. Jang, recently discovered that Samarium ferrite (SmFeO3) is a multiferroics exhibiting connection between the order parameters. The result from Prof. Jang’s experiment was posted on Physical Review Letters, an authoritative paper in the physics area.Since SmFeO3 consists of orthorhombic structure, it has been known as material without magnetization; however, Prof. Jang and his research team found it actually has electrical polarization without any electr..

A new leaf-mustard kimchi season is here, stimulating appetites with the unique flavor and aroma of leaf mustard and ground red chili, plus the promise of enriched calcium.The joint research by Professor Youngsook Lee of the Department of Life Science. and Dr. Won-Yong Song and Prof. Martinoia of University of Zurich have created a way for producing the calcium-rich product.The research team found that the protein, BjPCR1, facilitates transportation to calcium absorbed from root hair of plants to inner cells. Prof. Lee’s research team demon-strated the fact that BjPCR controls the transp..

Professor Kwan Hyoung Kang of the Department of Mechanical Engineering developed anelectrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumping method for dielectric (or non-polar) liquids utilized for micro fingers of microsurgical robots. He presented a new way which relies on the EHD flow generated by the filed dependent electrical conductivity.The EHD pump is a device that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy indirectly, and it is required for the cooling system of microelectronic devices for chemical and biological analysis and micropumping of organic solvents.The results of this research are significant..

The HangulBot, developed by the research team of Professor Sonya S. Kwak (HSS), won the Delegate’s Choice prize on Dec. 8 at the International Conference on Social Robotics 2011 held in the Netherlands.The robot, developed by Prof. Kwak, Song Young-bin (CSE 08), Park Joon-sin (ME 09), Eun Ho Kim (KAIST), and Ji Myung Kim (KAIST), was designed for children and non-Koreans. By rotating and rearranging a consonant block and a vowel block, learners can understand the concept of the phonetic aspect of the Korean language in a short time.The robot was designed to perceive the arrangement of th..

A research te-am that consists of Professor Tae-Woo Lee (MSE), Tae-Hee Han (MSE Ph.D. ca-ndidate), Prof. Jong-Hyun Ahn (SKKU), and Prof. Byung Hee Hong (SNU) has developed graphene into organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and flexible, white light with it for the first time.This team noticed that the inefficiency of graphene in OLED can be resolved by replacing conventional indium tin oxide anodes with high-work-function, low-sheet-resistance graphene anodes. The team improved the luminous efficiencies to 37.2 Im/W for fluorescent and 102.7 Im/W for phosphorescent devices, which are higher tha..