From left to right: Professor Hye Ryung Byon, Professor Sang Yup Lee, President Sung-Chul Shim, Professor Shin-Hyun Kim, Professor Sheng Li

Newsletter (World Economic Forum, Annual Meeting of the New Champions, 2017, Dalian, China)

In June 2017, a group of faculty members including three professors from the KAIST CBE Department attended the 2017 World Economic Forum´s Annual Meeting of the New Champions, in Dalian, China. KAIST was selected to organize a special session known as "Ideaslab" to showcase the university´s efforts on the development of new materials for the future.

The Ideaslab session was opened by the KAIST President, Professor Sung-Chul Shin, who introduced KAIST and its ongoing material research efforts. He was then followed by three stimulating presentations from three KAIST faculty members: Professors Shin-Hyun Kim and Sheng Li from the CBE Department, and Professor Hye Ryung Byon from the Chemistry Department. Professor Kim presented his work on chameleon inspired wearable display technology; Professor Li presented her work on combining artificial and natural polymers to create hybrid functional materials; and Professor Byon presented her work on the development of lithium-air battery technology.

In addition to the Ideaslab, two professors from KAIST also received the Young Scientists award from the World Economic Forum. Professor Sheng Li from our CBE Department was one of the two recipients.

The Young Scientists Award honors individuals under the age of 40 who "have demonstrated their commitment to public service and actively play a transformational role in integrating scientific knowledge into society for the public good". Each year, 50 Young Scientists are chosen from all regions of the globe and across many different scientific disciplines. We are very proud that Professor Li has been selected to join this prestigious community this year!