Why are world-renowned Caltech professors stepping foot at GIST?
GIST and Caltech professors wishing to collaborative research projects under a new performance evaluations system will attend a workshop at GIST
Since 2012, professors from Korea"s Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and the United States" California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have collaborated with 1-to-1 joint research projects between the two schools. GIST is the only university in Korea that is participating with Caltech in 1-to-1 joint research projects. From November 12 to 13, 2015, a GIST-Caltech workshop will be held at Oryong Hall to promote further collaborations.
This will be the fourth year that the GIST-Caltech workshop has been held, and the Vice President of Caltech Professor Mory Gharib along with Professor William A. Goddard, Professor Richard C. Flagan, and Professor Andre Hoelz will attend to announce specific research topics. There are currently nine ongoing joint research projects between professors at GIST and Caltech, and every year has seen an increase in the number of joint research projects as interest in the collaborations have grown.
As a good example of the collaboration that can result between the two schools, Caltech"s 2005 Nobel Laureate Professor Robert H. Grubbs was partnered in 2012 with GIST Professor Jae-Suk Lee (School of Material Science and Engineering) to research the creation of new polymers for use in organic solar cells for more efficient renewable energy.
Newly selected research projects for the joint 1-to-1 collaboration will go through three phases: planning, research, and execution. In order to move beyond each phase to the next, the researchers must substantiate the qualitative and quantitative excellence of their research through performance evaluations. Each research project will be eligible to receive a total of 730 million won in funding; however, each phase of the joint research project will be reviewed by a special GIST committee to make necessary funding adjustments or to end unviable projects.
GIST President Seung Hyeon Moon stated that he will fully support the collaboration between GIST and Caltech: "GIST"s unique joint 1-to-1 research collaboration with Caltech is representative of our desire to strengthen our research foundation while undertaking greater scientific challenges to help solve the numerous problems facing humanity through creative and innovative research"