에너지 수급의 불안정과 기후변화 우려에 따른 환경친화적 방안으로 유기성폐자원을 활용해 바이오에너지를 얻는 기술이 국내외적으로 재조명 받고 있다. 유기성폐자원은 가축의 분뇨, 생활하수ㆍ폐수처리 공정에서 발생하는 유기물, 주거ㆍ사무활동에서 발생하는 폐종이류나 음식물 등 다양한 형태의 생활ㆍ산업활동에서 발생하는 높은 농도의 유기물을 포함한 폐기물을 지칭하는데, 과거 단순‘폐기물’이라는 개념에서 재활용 기술의 발전으로 인해 요즘은 재생 가능한‘폐자원’으로 인식되고 있다. 그러나 아무리 재활용 가능한 자원의 개념으로 발전했다고 해도, 여전히 활용되지 못하고 단순 폐기된다면 하천 및 지하수 오염으로 인한 음용수 활용의 문제가 발생하고, 방치돼 썩는 과정에서 대기 중으로 많은 양의 메탄가스가 발생해 지구 온난화 등 환경파괴의 주범이 될 수 있다.이런 유기성폐자원 중 일반인이 조금만 더 신경 쓴다면 우리와 후대의, 보다 나은 환경을 위해 크게 기여할 수 있는 것 중 하나가 음식물 쓰레기의 관리라고 필자는 생각한다. 사실 식탁에 오르는 다양한 음식물류는 상상만으로도 큰 즐거움이 아닐 수 없다. 그러나 음식물 쓰레기(전문적 용어로는 ‘음식물류폐기물’로 칭함)를 상상할 경우 우

A research team led by Professor Park Kyoung-duck of the Department of Physics (PHYS) and Kang Min-gu (PHYS Ph.D. Candidate) conducted a joint study with Prof. Suh Yung Doug of the Department of Chemistry at UNIST, and succeeded in visualizing a single-molecule’s conformational heterogeneity (structural variation) at room temperature (RT) for the first time. It is now possible to investigate the conformation of a single-molecule which is the basic unit of all matter. A single-molecule about 1 nanometer (nm, billionth of a meter) in size is very unstable at RT. The fast diffusion of Coronavirus

Alzheimer’s disease is a representative neurodegenerative disease. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease and their families continue to suffer while the precise cause of dementia remains unknown.Professor Kyong-Tai Kim and Ph.D. candidate Eun Ji Oh of the Department of Life Sciences (LIFE) have developed a substance that activates the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), thereby revealing the possibility of treating Alzheimer’s disease. PPAR is a transcription factor necessary for metabolic regulation and is considered to be an important target protein for the treatment of metabolic

Nowadays, it is no exaggeration that many Koreans consider pets to be an integral part of their family. Therefore, the government has begun to collect opinions on animal welfare policies to improve the existing system.On Aug. 10, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that they would conduct research services, including public opinion polls, on the introduction of a pet tax. The pet tax is a system that collects a certain amount of money every year from those who raise pets. It is used for funds related to animal welfare, such as animal hospitals and medical insurance. T

On Aug. 2, United States politician Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. This was the first high ranking American official’s visit to the island nation since 1997, when the Republican politician Newt Gingrich visited. Pelosi portrayed the reason for her trip as an obligation to stand with democratic countries in opposition to autocratic nations. This was not her first show of support for democracy, as she had also visited Tiananmen Square in 1991.After Pelosi’s visit, the relationship between China and Taiwan deteriorated significantly. This is because China has declared Taiwan as part of its territor

POSTECH’s Summer Experience in Society (SES) is a field training program kicked off in the summer of 2016 to help undergraduates design their future careers. Students see how knowledge learned in school is applied in practice by companies and research institutes; learn communication and management skills and expand their view of society. The Postech Times contacted Yangwoo Kwon, the general manager of Student Affairs and SES, for accurate information concerning 2022 SES.Over 250 undergraduates participate in SES every year. Two hundred and eighty-seven, a number close to the number of freshmen

Professor Chong Soo Lee in the Graduate School of Energy and Materials Technology (GIFT) recently published two ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards for evaluating the hydrogen embrittlement resistance of high strength steels, which are essential for the wide application of hydrogen energy. Such achievement was possible through the collaboration with the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL). In commemoration of the enactment of these standards, The Postech Times requested a contribution article about Prof. Lee’s research and teaching life.Brief information about Prof. Lee a

I think summer break is a time to do things that I have not done before and gain various experiences. I had a good opportunity this summer to meet friends from MIT, Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Seoul National University, and KAIST at the same time during my research experience. Meeting students from various universities around the world, I realized that what I was thinking was wrong, and I was able to broaden my horizons.Academic GrowthDuring this summer break, I studied machine learning. Although I am planning to go to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, my knowledge of machine lea

This summer, Korea experienced setbacks due to heavy rain. On Aug. 8, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, a daily precipitation of 381.5mm was recorded . This is the highest record in 115 years since Seoul began its first modern weather observation system in 1907. This record-breaking rainfall caused many casualties, including a death in isolation under a semi-basement apartment and a disappearance in a manhole. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, as of Aug. 15, 14 people died, 6 went missing, and 2,280 became homeless. Yet, this was not the only damage caused by extreme

Professor June Huh at Princeton University is the first Korean American Mathematicians to receive the Fields Medal during the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) awards ceremony which was held in Finland in July. He grew up and graduated from Seoul National University, so an interest in the Fields Medal also increased in Korea. The Fields Medal is called the Nobel Prize of Mathematics, and Korean academia is paying much attention to it along with the Nobel Prize to be announced this fall.The Fields Medal was established according to the will of J.C. Fields at the University of Toron

Ever since COVID-19 became a worldwide pandemic, travel rates have steadily decreased and caused severe damage to the tourism industry. The prolonged pandemic affected all economic sectors, but due to the nature of tourism, it has arguably been one of the most negatively impacted sectors. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism industry’s contribution to GDP decreased by US $4.9 trillion in 2020, which is a 50.4% decline when compared with the previous year. However, as the COVID-19 situation was prolonged, in 2021, the contribution to GDP increased by US $1 trillio

2020년 초부터 거세게 몰아친 코로나19의 기운이 다소 주춤하고 있다. 2022학년도 2학기부터는 마침내 전면적으로 대면 수업을 한다. 그러나 코로나19가 가져온 디지털 전환의 가속화는 계속될 것으로 보인다. 비단 대학뿐만 아니라 이미 우리 사회에서 광범위하게 나타나는 현상이다. 지난 2년 동안 우리는 비대면 문화와 초연결·초지능을 강조하는 스마트 환경에 확연히 익숙해졌다.편의점과 패스트푸드점의 무인 단말기, Zoom을 포함한 LMS 고도화, VR로 진행되는 실험 수업 등 시공간을 가로지르는 대학 생활이 가능해졌다. 지난 2년 우리가 경험한 디지털 혁신은 정말 놀랍다. 어떻게 보면 대학을 포함한 사회 전체가 미디어화되고 있다. 이러한 환경의 가장 큰 장점은 단연코 편리함, 효율성, 안전성 등일 것이다. 가상, 증강, 혼합 현실을 구현할 수 있는 디지털 네트워크 기술이 가져다주는 동시성, 가역성, 초지역성, 초시간성 등은 분명 매력적이며, 특히 가상적 근접성이나 물리적 거리감의 약화는 우리 대학에 큰 기회를 제공할 수 있다. 그러나 새로운, 그리고 낙관적인 ‘솔루션’ 기술에만 초점을 둬서는 안 된다. 이러한 기술은 마치 물고기가 자신이 헤엄치는 물을 의식하지

Recently, electric vehicles (EVs) are everywhere, from passenger cars, and buses, to taxis. EVs have the advantage of being eco-friendly and having low maintenance costs, but their owners must remain wary of fatal accidents in case the battery runs out or reaches the end of its life. Therefore, precise capacity and lifespan predictions for lithium-ion batteries – commonly used in EVs – are vital.A joint research team led by Professor Seungchul Lee (ME), Ph.D. candidate Sung Wook Kim (ME Ph.D. Candidate, advisor Prof. Seungchul Lee), and Prof. Ki-Yong Oh (Hanyang University) conducted research

Tactile sensors have been used as the basic platform of an artificial sensory system for fabricating robotic skins, prosthetics, haptic devices, and wearable or implantable devices. Several technological issues to produce practical tactile sensors have been intensively investigated and have seen remarkable advances. However, low power consumption and simple device structure are still big technological challenges. Among the potential power sources for tactile sensors, self-powered high potential signal generation with a weak external stimulus could be obtained through a triboelectric nanogenera

A prediction was raised that Apple’s own charging port which was first released in 2012 would finally be discontinued. In the last decade, Apple has stuck to their charging type, ‘Lightning’, but it is predicted that Apple will change it into ‘USB-C’ which is an international standard due to the recently emerging environmental issues, increase in consumer complaints, and EU sanctions. Accordingly, consumers and the mobile market show a hospitable position.Almost every company adopted USB-C since the mid to late 2010s and port standardization seems to be achieved, but Apple continued to use lig

People in the cryptocurrency industry believed that stable coins, like the Terra coin, are a brilliant idea and predicted that stable coin methodology is the direction that coin methodology would develop in the future. As the name suggests, the purpose of a stable coin is to remain stable, as they are pegged to fiat currency, such as the dollar. Furthermore, the Luna system promised investors an interest rate of 20% per year and made it into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. In the case of the Terra system, one Terra was pegged on one USD by additionally creating a new coin, Luna, tha