Professors from the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the National Nanofabrication Center (NNFC) visited the College of Engineering on February 24-26, the next step in solidifying the new research collaboration between the two institutions. The relationship was officially launched in November, 2015 when President Fry and a delegation of Drexel leaders and faculty travelled to Korea to celebrate the unique international partnership and officially open the FIRST Nano2 Co-op Center.
The University’s participation is spearheaded by College of Engineering faculty: Yury Gogotsi, Ph.D., Distinguished University and Trustee Chair professor, and director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute; and MinJun Kim, Ph.D., professor and director of the Biological Actuation Sensing & Transport Laboratory, who serve as co-directors of the FIRST Nano2 Co-op Center. The project is funded by a $900,000/year grant from the Korean National Research Foundation with support from city of Daejeon and KAIST. This program will support research activity and exchange of up to 19 students and faculty from both institutions during the course of the year.
“The primary purpose of the collaboration is to advance research and graduate education in nanotechnology,” states Gogotsi. “KAIST is of the top technical universities in the world and is #1 in Korea. NNFC is the national facility second to no other nanofab lab in the world. We are honored to be working with these accomplished and well-respected institutions and to be furthering Drexel’s international research and education goals.”
On Friday morning, Provost Brian Blake and Vice-Provost Julie Mostov also addressed KAIST and CoE professors and students, touching upon the science, technology and engineering legacy of Drexel and the current University initiatives that support its emphasis on engineering research and co-op education.