Professor Youngsook Lee (Division of Integrative Biology and Biotechnology) and her team have found a transporter carrying abscisic acid (ABA), a stress hormone, synthesized in plants undergoing stresses like extreme climate or salinity. Their results integrate ABA dependent signaling and transport processes, and it is expected to open a new venture for the engineering of drought-tolerant plants.They have succeeded to find the existence of transporter ABCG40 that can transport ABA, a hormone known to be produced in responses to environmental stress such as extreme temperatures, high salinity, ..

Professor Hyung Joon Cha (Department of Chemical Engineering) and his team have succeeded in developing a highly condensed liquid bio-adhesive material based on the mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs) by complex coacervation, which shows superior adhesive properties. Recently, MAPs found in byssus of mussel, have come to be recognized as useful biomaterials for direct use as bio-adhesives in medical applications and in the engineering of new marine-inspired adhesive materials. As purified natural MAPs are difficult to obtain, it has not been possible to experimentally validate the complex coacerva..

President Baik’s interviews were featured on the major Vietnamese newspapers on May 20 and 21. The interviews mostly contain news on establishment of POSTECH Hanoi office and stories on POSTECH’s plans for globalization. On May 19, President Baik and the Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology held earnest talks about academic exchanges between the two countries. For more details, please click on the link below to view the interview featured on Laodong Newspaper. English version of the interview is also available at the bottom of the page. To read more articles in Vietnamese,..

POSTECH ranked at the top in the Asia’s Specialized Universities category in the assessment of the Asian University Ranking 2010 conducted by the Chosun Ilbo and QS, the global university evaluation institute of the U.K.POSTECH showed significant improvement this year by jumping from 17th to 14th in the overall ranking. POSTECH ranked the eighth for ‘papers per faculty’, and 14 that the ‘citation per paper’ which helped POSTECH to receive higher grading.“POSTECH’s innovative policies such as implementation of the bilingual campus as part of its 3-year ..

* Link : http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2010/05/133_65287.htmlA lightweight magnesium alloy has been garnering attention for its potential as material for low-emission, fuel-efficient cars of the future.Now, a team of Korean researchers are claiming a breakthrough in expanding the use of the alloy in car parts and frames by creating a technique to improve the life and durability of this promising light metal.Pure magnesium is about one-third lighter than aluminum and two-thirds lighter than steel, and in cars, lighter weight translates into greater fuel efficiency. Automakers are al..

- Prof. Kwang Soo Kim and Prof. Hong Gil Nam are two of five "National Scientists"named by the National Research Foundation of KoreaProf. Kwang Soo Kim (Chemistry, 60) and Prof. Hong Gil Nam (Life Science, 53) of POSTECH have been named "National Scientists", the highest honor that is accorded to scientists of greatest achievement.The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of Korea announced on April 28, that five scientists including the two from POSTECH were nominated as National Scientists for their original, world-class research achievements. The..

* Link : http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5977/414-bInternationalization: Max Planck Tests the Korean WatersDennis Normile and Gretchen VogelIn another sign of the Max Planck Society's desire to extend its reach beyond Germany, it is negotiating with Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) to establish two joint research centers there. The South Korean side would like to see the centers evolve into a full-fledged Max Planck Institute. But because of some hard-learned lessons, Max Planck is being cautious about its commitment, and officials warn that the deal is not ..

Many studies have addressed the effect of sugar in the diet on obesity and diabetes. Professor Seung-Jae Lee (Division of IT Convergence Engineering, Department of Life Science, School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering) and his group report that it might also be taking years off the life span.Professor Lee’s group, in collaboration with Professor Cynthia Kenyon of the University of California, San Francisco, discovered that glucose inhibits the activities of the glycerol channel in C. elegans, shortening the life span of the worm by about 20 percent. The group traces the..

Professor Jin Kon Kim (Department of Chemical Engineering) and his group have succeeded in developing macromolecule materials which use pressure to store terabit-scale ultrahigh-density data at room temperature, as well as the supporting technology to write, read, and erase the ultrahighdensity array of nanoscopic indentations.The existing technology for fabricating nanopatterns, developed by IBM, was based on a thermomechanical recording system, using a heated atomic force microscope (AFM) tip at about 350°C. However, in addition to the difficulties in the fabrication of heated AFM tips, ..

Professor Kijung Yong (Department of Chemical Engineering) and his group have succeeded in developing an original technology utilizing the lotus effect, which may be used toward development of a variety of applications using coated surfaces.Leaves of the lotus flower have very high water repellency due to the complex, nanoscopic structure of their surface. Superhydrophobic nanostructured surfaces, such as the lotus leaf, have shown potential for a variety of applications, including microfluidics in biotechnology, fog-resistant coatings, impermeable textiles, anti-contamination, and self-cleani..