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[Nov 28, 2013] Professor Yong, Chul Soon of the YU College of Pharmacy was appointed as the chairperson of the 'AFPS (Asian Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences)’. At the '2013 AFPS Conference' held at the Ramada Plaza Jeju Hotel from November 20 to 23 co-hosted by the Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology and AFPS, Professor Yong, Chul Soon was appointed as the chairperson, and his 2-year term will begin on January 1, 2014. AFPS is an international society on pharmacy made up of approximately 20 Asian countries including Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Professor Yong hosted the 2013 AFPS Conference as the organizing committees chair. Since starting at the YU College of Pharmacy in 1991, Professor Yong published 170 papers in SCI(E) academic journals and 80 theses in Korean academic journals, while also applying for over 20 patents, in his service for research and fostering students. He served as the dean of the YU College of Pharmacy, dean of the Graduate School of Clinical Pharmacy, director of the Institute for Drug Research, and director of the BK21 project. He also served as the vice-chairman and the Yeungnam district head of the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea. He is currently the chairperson of the Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology.
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Kwon, Jin-Ho, Choi, Min-Hyun and Shin, Seung-Hun of the Department of Industrial and Interaction Design Win Red Dot Design Award 'Best of the Best' YU Students Swept 13 awards in 5 international design contests [Nov 27, 2013] YU (President Noh, Seok Kyun) students are sweeping the international design contests. Kwon, Jin-Ho (26), Choi, Min-Hyun (26) and Shin, Seung-Hun (25), all seniors of the YU Department of Industrial and Interaction Design won the 'Red Dot: Best of the Best' in the 2013 Red Dot Design Award. The 'Design Concept' category that they participated in was competed for by 4,394 works from 56 countries. The Red Dot Design Award is one of the world's top 3 design contests and winning pieces are put on display in the Red Dot Design Museum for international exhibitions. Their work was titled 'Observer' and it had innovative design focusing on enhancing usability for the multicopter robot. A multicopter robot is an aerial vehicle with rotating blades and are basically small helicopters with cameras to take aerial photos. Though it is widely used today for creating aerial photography and videos, they focused on the fact that its use is not widespread among the general public, and thus set their design concept on enhancing the usability of multicopters. Taking into account that it is difficult for extreme sports athletes such as snowboards, rock climbing and mountain biking to take photos or videos of themselves, they designed a wristwatch-style controller and multicopter so that sports lovers could use them. Kwon, Jin-Ho said, "Lots of people just think about the outward appearance when thinking about design," adding, "I believe that design is not just changing the shell, but giving new values," as he explained his philosophy on design. Shin, Seung-Hun was awarded not only at the Red Dot Design Award, but also the IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards) and International Forum Design Awards (iF Design Awards), thus hitting a Grand Slam in the world's top 3 international design contests in 2013 alone. Furthermore, he won the bronze medal at the Pin Up Concept Awards hosted by the Korea Association of Industrial Designers, as well as the bronze at the Spark Design Awards that was announced just recently on November 3. Thus, he was awarded at all of the 5 international design contests this year. Shin, who was awarded at 5 international contests, said, "It is important to visually express ideas as much as coming up with creative ideas." He also added, "I want to study the 3D modeling sector that embodies ideas and create my own field of expertise in the design sector." Meanwhile, Kwon, Jin-hyeon and Choi, Min-Hyun, who teamed up for the Red Dot Design Award, were also awarded at the iF Design Awards, Pin Up Concept Awards and Spark Design Awards. Thus, students at the YU Department of Industrial and Interaction Design won 13 awards in 5 international design contests just this year, making the YU Department of Industrial and Interaction Design be recognized worldwide.
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After signing YU-Meiji University exchange agreement in 2010, student exchange held twice a year Constructing global partnership through joint production of learning contents [Nov 26, 2013] YU (President Noh, Seok Kyun) held the '2013 Korea-Japan e-Presentation Contest with Friendship'. In November 2010, YU signed an exchange agreement with Meiji University of Japan. Students from the two countries produced learning and cultural contents, while holding exchange events twice a year in Korea and Japan annually. At the recent 'e-Presentation Contest', students of the two countries teamed up to select topics, collect data, make presentation material, and hold presentations. The presentation process was recorded as a video so that it could be shared via the internet and smart phones. 27 students from YU, Handong Global University, Meiji University and the Bunka Gakuen University participated in this event, which was held at Gyeongju and YU from November 6 to 8. Participants were grouped into the 4 teams of 'Gyeongju National Museum/Donggung & Weolji (Anapji)/Bunhwangsa (Team 1)', 'Gyochon Hanok Village (Old house of Choi Clan)/Gyerim/Hyanggyo/Cheomseongdae (Team 2)', 'Bulguksa/Sukgulam (Team 3)', and 'Tomb of General Kim Yu-shin/Royal Tomb of King Muyeol/Daereungwon (Team 4)'. At the thousand-year old city Gyeongju, they prepared for their presentations on the theme of 'Culture and History of Silla and Japan'. At this three-day exchange event, they held an orientation and planning meeting on the first day. On the second day, they visited the sites and prepared presentation materials. And on the third day, they gave their presentation. Though it was a tight schedule, the young university students completed their mission through passion and strong teamwork geared towards a common goal. At the presentation on the 8th that was attended by YU President Noh, Seok Kyun and Meiji University Vice President Ito Akira, as well as faculty and students of the universities in Korea and Japan, the students showed off their creative presentations and original ideas. Director of YU Center for Teaching & Learning Cho, Cheong-Soo who prepared this event said, "By letting the students take the initiative for learning and cultural exchange, various ideas are being shared and the event is further advanced every year." He added, "We are planning to develop this into an international event that will be joined by excellent universities of Korea, China and Southeast Asia." Meanwhile, YU has been carrying out the 'e-Presentation Festival' for students since October. 20 teams will be selected through two preliminary rounds, and a final 10 students will be selected to participate as representatives of YU at the Korea-Japan e-Presentation event that will be held at Meiji University in January.
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School of Mechanical Engineering Jang, Won-Seok and Department of Family and Housing Studies Yoo, Ah-Young team awarded at the 'Korean Students Creative Idea Business Plan Competition' 'Mobile braille keyboard and braille pad for the visually impaired' [Nov 22, 2013] YU students won the excellence award at the '2013 Korean Students Creative Idea Business Plan Competition'. Jang, Won-Seok (27, junior in the School of Mechanical Engineering) and Yoo, Ah-Young (22, junior in the Department of Family and Housing Studies) won the award. They were awarded after passing a preliminary against over 100 teams and then competing in the final presentation at the competition held at Sungkyunkwan University on the 6th. The winning idea was 'Mobile braille keyboard and braille pad for the visually impaired'. While mobile devices have become an essential part of modern life, the visually impaired had no choice but to use earphones to use such devices. This product is inspired by such idea. Yoo, Ah-Young explained, "At a subway station I saw a blind person using a mobile phone with earphones, and saw a dangerous situation where that person was unable to hear the bell as the subway entered the station." She added, "I thought that if there is a mobile device for the visually impaired, it might be able to help utilize their sense of hearing." The two who met at 'HanOulHoe', which is a youth education volunteer club at YU, said, "I was always interested in welfare for the marginalized classes such as youths, the elderly, and the handicapped," and added with an air of happiness, "I think that manifesting our idea for this competition while thinking about mobile devices for the visually impaired led to such great results." Jang, Won-Seok, who was the team leader, said, "We are still at the basic idea stage so it is difficult to process large volumes of data and there are still some areas to be improved upon such as the long time it takes," and added, "Based on such idea, I hope that experts can commercialize it so that the visually impaired can have a more convenient life."
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First in the world to elucidate the pathological mechanisms of hearing loss Suggests new possibilities for treating hearing loss [Nov 13, 2013] Professor Kim, Hwa-Young (58) of the College of Medicine (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, photo) became the first in the world to explain the pathological mechanisms of hearing loss due to oxidative stress resulting from excessive active oxygen. 'Active oxygen' is oxygen that is excessively generated in various metabolic processes in the body that attacks biological tissues and damage cells. It is also called 'Oxygen free radical' and is known to be a major cause of aging. 'Oxidative stress' refers to the state of oxidation imbalance in the body due to excessive active oxygen. Professor Kim became the first in the world to reveal how oxidative stress works to cause hearing loss. Using experimental mice, he explained the role of 'Methionine sulfoxide reductase B3 (MsrB3, the oxidative stress suppressing enzyme)' in the auditory system and how deficiency of it can cause hearing loss. Professor Kim, who carried out the joint research with a research team from the Kyungpook National University School of Medicine developed the 'MsrB3' deficient rat model using genetic engineering techniques and confirmed the complete loss of hearing 20 days after birth. He proved that when there are no MsrB3 enzymes, the auditory hair cells in the cochlea was damaged quickly and that apoptotic cell death in cochlear hair cells occurred causing hearing loss. 'Methionine' is a proteinogenic amino acid and is easily oxidized by active oxygen, which then turns into methionine sulfoxide. Such oxidation of methionine can cause defects in protein structures and functions, but there is a cell restoration system that can restore oxidation of methionine in proteins back to normal. 'MsrB3' is in charge of this. Professor Kim stated, "An important animal model has been established to study the effects of oxidative stress on hearing and this study proposes new possibilities for treating hearing loss through the adjustment of oxidation-reduction of methionine". He added, "Through additional collaborative research, we are planning to study the actual mechanisms of which MsrB3 deficiency causes stereocilia degeneration and apoptotic cell death in cochlear hair cells, while elucidating the relationship of oxidative stress and hearing loss using MsrB3 deficient animal models and other anti-oxidation enzyme animal models." This research, which was carried out with the support of the advanced center of excellence project pursued by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the National Research Foundation of Korea and the support of the Ministry of Health & Welfare's disease oriented translational research project, was published in the online version of the prominent academic journal in genetics, 'Human Molecular Genetics' and will also be published offline in December.
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Configured 'Navigation-based Program for Information on Electric Vehicle Charging' Area with high future growth potential, received suggestion to apply for patent [Nov 11, 2013] <Department of Electrical Engineering Team was awarded at the '2013 Power Industry Software Contest' (from left to right - Kim, Yong-Hwan, Jung, Yeon-Ju, Kwak, Byeong-Gil, Kim, Chang-Hwan)> YU students won first place at the '2013 Power Industry Software Contest'. The team was made up Kim, Chang-Hwan (29) who is in his second term for his master's degree program at the Graduate School of Electrical Engineering, and undergraduate school juniors Kwak, Byeong-Gil (24), Kim, Yong-Hwan (23) and Jung, Yeon-Ju (22). At the contest held on the 1st at Gyeongsang National University, they won the silver medal and a cash prize of 500,000 won with the 'YU EV CIS (Yeungnam University Electric Info System), Implementation of Program for Charging Information Through Building Smart Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure'. Because nobody won the gold this year at this contest, they were first place. 'YU EV CIS', a navigation-based program, provides not only location information of charging stations, but a wide array of information such as current load and chargeable load of each charging station by linking with the power system, while also managing charging station reservation through a central control center to enhance user convenience as well as making it possible to use electric energy efficiently. Kim, Chang-Hwan, who led the team, said, "It is expected that the domestic automobile industry will begin selling electric vehicles and electric vehicles will be commercialized in the near future. Thus, upon thinking about what suppliers and consumers will need the most when electric vehicle charging stations increase, we gave birth to the 'YU EV CIS'." He added, "it is also related to the 'Smart Grid' that is receiving attention as a national fostering project, and that is why we had good results." 'Smart Grid' refers to next-generation smart power networks that optimize energy efficiency by integrating IT with the existing power network in order to exchange information in real time between the power supplier and consumer. The contest judges assessed their idea saying, "This is an idea that provide convenience to both the supplier and consumer in an area with high future growth potential," and suggested that after making some additions to the program, that they should apply for a patent. Kim, Yong-Hwan, who prepared for the event with his senior in graduate school, said, "While preparing for this, we felt that we were lacking in many things, but I am happy that we won such a great award." He also added, "Though it is still in its idea stage, it has high growth potential and I want to continuously supplement and develop the 'YU EV CIS' so that it can be commercialized."
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International seminar on the 'Enhancement of Development Effectiveness through Korean Agricultural Policy Experiences' Experts from countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Uganda join [Nov 8, 2013] YU (President Noh, Seok Kyun) held an international seminar on the theme 'Enhancement of Development Effectiveness through Korean Agricultural Policy Experiences'. At the international seminar held at The-K Seoul Hotel from 9:00 to 18:00 on the 6th hosted by YU, Hankyong National University and Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), and sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), presentations and discussions on the Outcomes of Joint Research/Survey and Trainings under KAPEX(Korean Agricultural Policy Experience for Food Security) Program, the cases of international cooperation for enhancing agricultural development, and the new visions for international cooperation in agricultural sector were held. At the first agenda, 'Outcomes of Joint Research/Survey and Trainings under KAPEX Program' that was presided by Director of YU Center for Consulting & Project Management Han, Dong Geun (School of Economics and Finance), Director of KREI Department of Global Cooperation and Research Heo Jang explained the 'Background for Pursuing KAPEX Program'. Laos Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Deputy Director General of Department of Agriculture Extension and Cooperatives Tiene VANNASOUK made a presentation on 'Agricultural Cooperative Policies Laos', Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Deputy Director of Department of International Cooperation Prum Somany talked about 'Agricultural Technology and Extension System', and Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research Associate Researcher of Agricultural Economic and Research Extension Farmer Linkage Department Fisseha Zegeye Birhanu held a presentation on 'R&D of Agricultural Technology and Extension System'. In the second agenda, 'Cases of International Cooperation for Enhancing Agricultural Development', Myanmar Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Director General Kyaw Win and Uganda Office of the Vice President Research and Documentation Officer Sunday Emmanuel Bushema held presentations on 'Situations and Issues of the Agriculture focusing on Critical Areas of Cooperation'. Also, Professors Suh, Chong Hyuk and Hong, Seong Gu held presentations on the cases of the international development for the rural development of Myanmar and Cameroon. In the third agenda, 'New Visions for International Cooperation in Agricultural Sector', MAFRA Director of International Development & Cooperation Division Choi, Byung Kook gave a presentation on 'Application of Saemaul Movement for Rural Development in Developing Countries', while YU Dean of the Park Chung Hee School of Policy and Saemaul Park, Seung Woo made a presentation on 'Directions for Applying the Saemaul Undong for the Development of the Rural Villages in Emerging Countries'. In the following general discussion, International Fund for Agricultural Development Special Programme Officer Jeong, Il Jeong, Hankyong National University Dean of Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation Lee, Nam Ho, KOICA Economic Development Team Agriculture and forestry fisheries Expert Lee, Hyo Jung, and YU Director of the Center for Project Development & Administrative Support Lee, Byeong Wan (School of Economics and Finance) participated as speakers. YU Executive Vice President Choi, Oe Chool (Director of the Institute for International Development Cooperation) who hosted this international seminar said, "Development of agriculture and rural villages is a critical task to eradicate poverty, which is the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) of emerging countries, and Korea is increasing the weight of international aid in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector." He further explained, "By sharing the cases of international agriculture cooperative project at this seminar and discussing the directions of development for international cooperation in the agricultural sector, it will have contributed to establishing a cornerstone for the information sharing between organizations for international agriculture cooperation, the connection of related projects, as well as joint pursuance of projects."
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Professor Bernard Amadei of the University of Colorado Boulder Visits YU at the Invitation of the US Embassy in Korea Emphasizing the 'Role of Engineers that Create Dignified Human Life' [Nov 10, 2013] <Professor Bernard Amadei, founder of EWB (Engineers Without Borders)> 'EWB-USA and EWB- International Network' founder Bernard Amadei, Professor of the University of Colorado Boulder, gave a special lecture at YU. Professor Amadei was the first chairman of EWB-USA and emphasized the social roles of engineers. He is currently engaging in various activities to provide sustainable development and technologies to underdeveloped regions and countries. From the same context, he gave this lecture to send this message to YU engineering students that lasted for about 70 minutes from 2 P.M. on the 8th at the YU Mechanical Engineering Building. At this special lecture, which was held under the theme, 'Role of Engineers to Eradicate Poverty of Emerging Countries', Professor Amadei began his lecture saying that he would like to talk about the roles of engineers who create dignified human life, rather than the engineering in its traditional sense of simply giving technologies. Professor Amadei emphasized, "There is a need to take a different approach with a new mindset to solve the problems that the world faces," and added, "Engineers should show interest and participate in constructing a sustainable and stable community." This lecture was co-hosted by Professor Chung, Mo of the YU School of Mechanical Engineering who is currently serving as the director of EWB Korea together with the US embassy in Korea. Professor Chung said, "I wanted to show a new perspective to see the world to students majoring in engineering," while adding, "The special lecture by Professor Amadei, who is the founder of EWB, will have been a meaningful event for engineering students." After ending his lecture, Professor Amadei said, "Students listened to the lecture intently and had many good questions making it an enjoyable time." He also added, "As EWB Korea is located in YU, I would like to give lectures at YU sometime if I have the opportunity." There are currently 14,000 members who are engineers worldwide in EWB. It is carrying out projects such as improving water resource, hygienic facilities, and energy and residential cultures in 45 countries around the world.
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YU College of Business and Economics held a 'Winter Bazaar for international students' 6th-8th, at the College of Business and Economics Global Lounge [Nov 7, 2013] YU (President Noh, Seok Kyun) gave the gift of a warm winter to international students at YU. At 10 A.M. on the 6th, the YU College of Business and Economics Global Lounge was packed with international students choosing winter clothes. The College of Business and Economics (Dean Byun, Jong Cook) held the 'Winter Bazaar' for international students who came to study at YU from tropical areas such as such Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This bazaar that will continue for 3 days until the 8th at 16:00 will sell winter clothes and gloves, which are necessary to spend the winter in Korea. The YU College of Business and Economics promoted this event to faculty and students for the past month and received donations of over 1,000 winter clothing. The donated clothes will be sold at 10,000 won per padding jacket, 5,000 won per jacket, and 1,000 to 3,000 won for other clothes and accessories. The profits from this bazaar will be given in its entirety as donations to the needy. Alemi Payam (32, Department of Electrical Engineering 4th term in PhD program), who stopped by the bazaar to purchase winter clothes, said, "I still remember the cold winter when I first came to Korea." He added, "I think international students like me will have a warm winter this year." Byun, Jong Cook, dean of the YU College of Business and Economics, who prepared for this event said, "It's a financial burden for students who came from hotter countries to purchase expensive winter clothes to spend the winter in Korea. They also don't need the clothes when they go back to their home country, so many hesitate to purchase winter clothes." He added, "It would feel even colder for international students in an unfamiliar country with harsh winters, so I hope this bazaar will help them feel our warm hearts towards them." There are currently 961 international students from 43 countries studying at YU, and 188 of them are from Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Africa.
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[Nov 7, 2013] Professor Kang, Suk Bok (55, Department of Statistics) was listed in the Marquis Who's Who in the World 2014, which is the one of the top three biographical dictionaries of the world. Marquis Who's Who in the World, which is published in the US, is selected through rigid screening among people who made remarkable achievements in various sectors around the world. Professor Kang is currently serving as a professor at the YU Department of Statistics and also served as the director of Dormitory, director of the Center for Continuing Education, and the dean of the College of Basic Studies. Outside of the YU, he served as a director for the Korean Statistical Society, editor-in-chief for the Korean Statistical Society Dissertation Collection, and the editor-in-chief, vice-chairperson and chairperson for the Journal of the Korean Data & Information Science Society. He is also working as an editing committee member for the foreign journals ‘Far East Journal of Theoretical Statistic’ and ‘Universal Journal of Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences’. On another note, Professor Kang received the academic thesis award at the '2013 Korean Data & Information Science Society general assembly and fall academic seminar' that was held at Sookmyung Women's University on the 18th and 19th of last month.
