On Dec. 31, 2019 China reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) of the cases of pneumonia occurring in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. A month later, on Jan. 30, WHO declared the Novel Coronavirus as a global emergency. There are a total of 40,653 confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus and 910 deaths around the world. The virus has already spread in 28 different countries officially, however as diagnosis tests for the 2019-nCoV requires certain medical infrastructures, it is suspected by experts to have already been exported out to other countries as well.2019-nCoV is a new strain of

The Korean Army said it decided not to allow a noncommissioned officer (NCO) who underwent gender reassignment surgery to continue to serve in the military as a female soldier. The decision was made in a military committee meeting that looked into the case of Byun Hee-soo, who had the surgery late last year and expressed a desire to keep serving in the military.The NCO who served as a staff sergeant in a unit located in northern Gyeonggi received gender reassignment surgery in Thailand during official leave in November last year. The NCO’s unit said it detected that the soldier was struggling

The founder of “Bad Fathers”–a website that publicly identifies parents owing child support– was found not guilty of defamation on Jan. 15 as the local court recognised the public interest the website served. Koo Bon-chang, the founder of “Bad Fathers”, launched the website in July 2018, publicising the portrait, name, age, home address, and workplace of parents whose former partners accused them of refusing to pay child support. The website denotes that the purpose of the website is to pressure bad fathers who have failed to pay child support to pay up, explaining that ‘a child’s right to lif

Mussels are well known for strong underwater adhesion that is not even affected by heavy waves or storms. Mussels secrete adhesive proteins when producing tough fibers called byssus to attach itself to the surface of a rock.Professor Cha Hyung-joon (CE) and his research team analyzed the adhesive proteins secreted by mussels and confirmed two molecules, Dopa and Lysine, which have strong adhesion even underwater. Also, they discovered that these molecules have a synergetic effect on mussel adh0esions in various conditions.Previous researchers emulated the shape of Dopa to make underwater adhes

In the movie Black Panther (2018), there is a hologram image communication scene. Meta-materials enable communication using holograms. Professor Noh Joon-seok (ME, CE) and Prof. Noh’s research team have developed meta-hologram optical elements that can produce different hologram images simultaneously. The research result was published on the cover of the Jan. 2020 issue of Nanoscale Horizon.While television or beam projectors have only delivered information on the intensity of light, holographic technology can store information on the intensity and phase of light, allowing images to be replaye

Ministry of Science and ICT selected five universities in Korea as an AI graduate school to cultivate an advanced workforce and to foster national competitiveness concerning AI. POSTECH was selected as an AI graduate school among KAIST, GIST, sungkyunkwan, and Korea university last year. A total of 24.5 billion KRW will be invested in the AI graduate school, 10 billion from POSTECH and others aided by the government, Pohang-si and many corporations. AI graduate school starts its first course in March 2020 with 3 tracks: MS, Ph.D. and integrated Ph.D. 50 students are selected each year; 30 for

The POSTECH National Institute for Nanomaterials Technology (NINT) was selected as a national facility for semiconductor research by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) last October and was presented with the certificate of designation by MSIT minister Choi Ki-young on Dec. 11. NINT is expected to play a pivotal role as a highway that connects R&D and commercialization in the future.NINT has been recognized for its achievements in integrating state-of-the-art research equipment, and continuously linking and supporting the industry, science, and technology for next-gen semiconductors and dis

The Assembly’s transportation committee passed a revision to the Passenger Transport Service Act that would require the start-up to stop offering rides within a year and a half, or greatly alter its way of operating. The revision is set to be voted on the floor of the full Assembly. It is being called the “anti-Tada law.” Tada’s current business model is based on a clause in the domestic transportation services law that allows 11 passenger vans to be rented with drivers- an exception to a general ban on unlicensed operators offering paid ride services. The revision will eliminate that clause f

“Werther effect”, which is a phenomenon named after the main character of Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, refers to a spike of emulation suicides after a widely publicized suicide. In the novel, Werther shoots himself after he is rejected by Charlotte, the woman he loves. After the novel was published, there were reports of copycat suicide of young men who emulated Werther and it originated the term, Werther effect.Recently, a series of celebrity’s suicide in Korea raises a concern about Werther effect among celebrities. This tragedy started from Sulli, a former member of f(x) and

POSTECH ranked first in both natural sciences and engineering in the 2019 JoongAng Ilbo University Rankings according to the news agency’s announcement on Nov. 16. POSTECH excelled in the areas of student start-up and technology transfer. Since 2017, POSTECH has markedly outperformed other Korean universities in technology transfer revenue, industry-academic research cooperation, and inventions and patents.In particular, JoongAng Ilbo highlighted POSTECH’s support for student start-ups in detail through the medical device company “MiDAS H & T,” founded by Chang Se-yun, an alumnus of POSTECH’s

On Nov. 11, POSTECH’s Research and Business Development Foundation (PRBDF) held a Guamegi startup competition in the C5 Conference Hall. The competition is a speech contest where the participants explain their startup business models that they developed over a period of two months. Ten teams entered the contest, and each was given 10 minutes to explain their business model and five minutes for a Q&A. Judged by real entrepreneurs and businessmen, the winning team was ‘For Cat Mung’ — composed of Han Hye-hyeon (MSE M.S. Candidate) and Kim Seong-jong (MSE M.S. Candidate) — who explained their amb

Goblet cells are epithelial cells that secrete mucins onto the ocular surface to maintain the wet environment for protection with tear. Goblet cells are closely related to autoimmune diseases including dry eyes and chemical burns. Professor Kim Ki-hean (ME) and his research team successfully developed a non-invasive imaging technology of conjunctival goblet cells with high definition. In an effort of developing a better non-invasive assessment method, the research team has been studying a fluorescence imaging technique using fluoroquinolone antibiotic eye drops as the cell labeling agent. As a

Professor Yu Son-cheol (CiTE) and his team from the POSTECH Gyeongsangbuk-do Sea Grant Center developed a wireless underwater camera that can be used for the ecological analysis of salmon runs. As a part of marine and fisheries local technology specialization project, The POSTECH Gyeongsangbuk-do Sea Grant Center and the Gyeongsangbuk-do Research Center for Freshwater Fish studied the ecological properties of returning salmon in Wangpicheon, Uljin. This newly invented wireless underwater camera is capable of 360-degree imaging and can transmit visual information in real-time and up to 10km off

People who support Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protest, mostly Koreans and Hong Kong expatriates, marched down the streets of Hongdae, in Seoul, on Nov. 9. About 50 people, many wearing yellow helmets and goggles like the ones used in the Hong Kong protests, chanted “Fight for freedom” and “Stand with Hong Kong” as they urged Korean onlookers to pay attention to the political turmoil. The group, Organization of Citizens who support Hong Kong Democracy, urged the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to end their national violence against Hong Kong protesters. They also called on the Korean governmen

On Oct. 20, POSTECH President Moo Hwan Kim signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Far Eastern Federal University. He attended a meeting of presidents of universities in the Asia-Pacific region to mark the 120th anniversary of the founding of Russia’s Far Eastern Federal University and conduct human, academic exchanges and joint research.With the MOU signing, POSTECH announced its goal to further expand the exchange network in Russia’s the Far East, while contributing to boosting exchange and cooperation between Gyeongsangbuk-do, Pohang city, and Vladivostok. In particular, the two

POSTECH has joined hands with a local elementary school and several companies for the regional co-prosperity with “AI Maker Education Content.” On Oct. 20, POSTECH signed a memorandum of understanding with Geekble, Class One-Oh-One, and Pohang Jecheol Jigok Elementary School for cooperation in creative talent and converged education.Under the agreement, Geekble will provide offline talk shows, lectures and video-based curricula, and Class One-Oh-One will provide AI and maker education programs based on computational thinking to Pohang Jecheol Jigok Elementary School.Professor Youn Eun-young (C

Recent microorganism studies have shown that intestine microbiota control the life phenomenon not only in intestines but also in other tissues such as the lungs, liver, brain and bone marrow. However, there have been no ideas of how intestine microbial signals were transmitted to the whole body or how they produced immune cells yet. Professor Lee Seung-woo (LIFE) and his research team have discovered the mechanism of how intestine microbiota transmit signals to the whole body and how they control the haematopoiesis of the bone marrow.The research team noted that intestine microbiota control th

To celebrate the newly constructed Haedong 78 Tower, the POSTECH Student Council hosted the POSTECH Landmark Photo Exhibition from Sept. 25 to Oct. 3, encouraging Postechians to boast their photography skills and manifest the beauty of POSTECH to others. Postechians could participate in the event by submitting a photo featuring either the two new landmarks (the Haedong 78 Tower or the Alumni Road) or other spectacles around the campus. The winners were awarded prizes including Apple AirPods, chicken coupons, and Ponix dolls.A total of 17 entries were submitted; eight for the ‘new landmarks’ ca

Singer and actor Sulli, whose birth name is Choi Jin-ri, was found dead at her residence in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 14 afternoon. She was only 25 years old.She was found unconscious by her manager who contacted police. According to the police, she appeared to have committed suicide. It was known that she suffered from severe depression. Sulli made her acting debut in 2005 through a television drama and later debuted as a part of K-pop group f(x) in 2009. The group has been dormant since 2015, and Sulli has been pursuing a career as an actor and a solo singer. She recently released the albu

POSTECH was finally selected an AI graduate school by the Ministry of Science and ICT.The AI graduate school project’s purpose is to foster talents with global competitiveness in the AI sector, the core of the fourth industrial revolution. Ministry of Science and ICT additionally selected POSTECH as an AI graduate school in consideration of social interest in AI and market demand.The government will provide 2 billion KRW annually for a total of 9 billion KRW for five years starting next year. Universities can receive up to five additional years of support, depending on future evaluations. The