Harit Keawmuang, selected as a POSCO Asia Fellow in the fall of 2022, is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). Originally from Thailand, Harit completed his undergraduate studies in his home country and went on to earn a master’s degree in Hungary, Europe. He came to Korea to begin his doctoral studies as a POSCO Asia Fellow*. In this interview, Harit shares his heartfelt journey—from his decision to study in Korea, to his experience as a fellow, and his aspirations to contribute to sustainable technological development in Thailand.

*The POSCO Asia Fellowship is a scholarship program operated by the POSCO TJ Park Foundation. It invites outstanding talent from various Asian countries to Korea to support their master’s and doctoral degrees, and aims to promote exchange and mutual understanding among Asian countries.

Hello, my name is Harit Keawmuang, and I’m from Thailand. Thai people usually have nicknames, and mine is “Game.” Even in Korea, my professors and friends call me by this nickname.

​I completed my undergraduate degree in Thailand, then earned a master’s degree in Hungary. In the fall of 2022, I was very fortunate to be selected as a POSCO Asia Fellow, which brought me to Korea to pursue my Ph.D. I’m now in my third year of the Ph.D. program in Mechanical Engineering at POSTECH, focusing on the field of nanophotonics.

Nanophotonics is a field that studies how to manipulate light using extremely small structures. The prefix “nano” refers to a unit that is one-billionth of a meter. We study how to guide and shape light through these tiny structures. One example is the “metalens”—an ultra-thin lens composed of nanostructures. These lenses can focus light without the need for traditional thick glass, making them particularly useful for smartphones, compact cameras, and medical devices.

While preparing to study in Korea, I was looking for scholarships and came across the POSCO Asia Fellowship. I learned that it offered not only financial support but also a platform for connecting with other talented students from across Asia studying in Korea. That drew me in, and I decided to apply.

​When I found out I had been selected, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and joy. At the same time, I was a bit sad about being apart from my family. Still, I believed this would be a meaningful step in both my personal and academic journey. I was confident and ready to embrace the new challenges ahead.

The POSCO Asia Fellowship and the POSCO TJ Park Foundation provided not only financial support but also emotional care. Thanks to their thoughtful consideration and encouragement, my life in Korea became much smoother. One of the most memorable moments was attending an alumni gathering in Pohang. It was a delightful experience where I got to enjoy food and conversations with alumni from various countries, including fellow Thai seniors.

​Another memory that stands out is receiving gifts from the Foundation during Korean holidays. After a long day, coming back to my dorm to find a warm gift left at my door was truly comforting. Those moments reminded me that I wasn’t alone, and they meant a lot to me.

There were three main reasons I decided to study in Korea. First, I had a long-standing interest in Korean culture, especially through Korean dramas, which sparked my curiosity about Korean life and language. Over time, I developed a desire to experience life in Korea firsthand.

​Second, I wanted to shift my academic journey from Europe to Asia. In Thailand, graduation ceremonies are very important to families, especially to older generations. My grandmother, who raised me, couldn’t attend my undergraduate ceremony, and due to distance and health issues, she also missed my master’s graduation. I hoped that by studying in Asia, she might be able to attend my Ph.D. graduation, which was a strong motivation for me.

​Third, I wanted to study nanotechnology and nanophotonics—fields that are still developing in Thailand. POSTECH, in particular, has excellent research environments, outstanding faculty, and cutting-edge facilities. I believed it was the ideal place for me to grow in this field.

I am conducting research in nanotechnology, specifically in the field of nanophotonics. As mentioned earlier, this field explores how to manipulate light through extremely small structures. My current research focuses on a technology called Photonic Radiative Cooling.

​This technology uses nanostructures to reflect sunlight and radiate heat, cooling objects to temperatures even lower than the surrounding air, all without using electricity. It’s a highly practical and eco-friendly cooling method, different from traditional air conditioners.

​I chose this field not only because it is fascinating, but also because Thailand still has a long way to go in this area. Nanophotonics is rapidly evolving worldwide and holds great innovation potential. In a hot and humid country like Thailand, this kind of energy-efficient cooling technology could make a significant impact. My goal is to contribute to the development of sustainable cooling systems in Thailand—technology that could benefit everyday life and help solve environmental issues.

As a Ph.D. student, my immediate goal is to produce meaningful research and publish high-quality results. After completing my degree, I hope to return to Thailand and work as a professor or researcher, contributing to the advancement of nanotechnology and nanophotonics in my country. Most of all, I want to spend time with my family, who have supported me throughout this journey, and repay their love and encouragement by living closely with them.

To students who are currently chasing their dreams or going through tough times, I want to say: even if you feel like giving up, you can overcome it. I wasn’t very focused in school and often gave up easily. But once I started thinking about what matters—myself and the people who care about me—I began to focus and change.

​If you feel like you don’t have the strength to fight for yourself, think about those you love. For me, my mother and my family were my greatest sources of strength.

​To be honest, I wasn’t someone with grand ambitions or dreams. I simply wanted to be a better person, make my mom proud, and protect my family by doing something I love. What I’ve learned is that you don’t need a big dream or a flashy goal to move forward. Sometimes, the small motivations tied to those you care about can become a powerful force that changes your life. Rather than big plans, it might be the precious people right beside you who push you forward.

To me, POSCO and the POSCO TJ Park Foundation are not just a company or a foundation. As a POSCO Asia Fellow, I feel a deep sense of pride and belonging, not just as a scholarship recipient, but as a member of a community that truly believes in and supports me. I know that everything I’ve accomplished in Korea was not achieved alone. It was made possible because of POSCO’s support. I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank POSCO and the POSCO TJ Park Foundation once again.

*This content was created based on an interview article by the POSCO TJ Park Foundation.

20 venture companies discovered and nurtured by POSCO Group to participate, including ITONE and A2US, receiving CES 2025 Innovation Awards

20 venture companies to attend on-site support programs at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ K-Startup Pavilion, fostering support collaboration

CES-participating venture companies secure follow-on investments… POSCO Group continues to support the growth ecosystem for venture companies

POSCO Group highlighted the achievements of its unique venture nurturing ecosystem, the ‘POSCO Venture Platform,’ at CES 2025.

*CES (Consumer Electronics Show): The world’s largest IT and consumer electronics fair, organized annually by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in the United States.

At CES 2025, held in Las Vegas from January 7–10, 2025, POSCO Group, in collaboration with POSTECH, set up a joint exhibition hall to showcase the technologies and products of 20 venture companies that were invested in and nurtured through the POSCO Venture Platform. ‘ITONE’ and ‘A2US’ have received the CES 2025 Innovation Awards among the participating companies.

ITONE, a smart construction specialist, jointly developed with POSCO E&C a “robot for creating undulations in concrete construction joints.” The two companies jointly received the innovation award in the robotics field for this robot, which can shorten the time required for creating undulations to enhance adhesion between concrete layers by up to 85% compared to manual labor while preventing worker injuries from exposed rebar.

A2US, a company specializing in precision purification technology using water droplets for humidification, sterilization, and air purification, received a CES Innovation Award in the sustainability and energy category.

Furthermore, Furthermore, POSCO Group assisted venture companies attending CES 2025 in participating in on-site support programs provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups—programs aimed at attracting investments and promoting companies—while collaborating to support the Venture Innovation Awards. This approach will align with national strategies for nurturing venture companies.

In fact, venture companies participating in CES through the POSCO Venture Platform have successfully secured additional investments and connected to overseas demonstrations. For example, ‘ANPoly,’ an eco-friendly new materials specialist that received an Innovation Award at CES 2024, secured approximately 4 billion won in additional investments and commenced constructing a 20 billion-won nano-cellulose new materials factory in Pohang in October 2024. Similarly, ‘NaviFra,’ a precision autonomous driving software specialist for logistics robots participating in CES 2024, has conducted proof-of-concept (PoC) trials with large domestic corporations. It has increased its corporate value sevenfold through subsequent investment rounds.

POSCO Group supports the continuous growth of venture companies linked to its new growth strategies by utilizing a 2.8 trillion won venture fund formed in collaboration with leading domestic and international venture capital firms.

▲At the CES 2025 POSCO GROUP-POSTECH joint exhibition hall, visitors are viewing the booths of participating companies.

POSTECH announced the news on the university website last week that Materials Science and Engineering-graduate Do-hee Keum, Kwan-Ho Yoon, and Da-Sol Lee from the Mechanical Engineering Department were selected for the category of Healthcare & Science.

▲ Three ‘30 Under 30’ honorees from POSTECH: (from left) Do-Hee Keum, Gwan-Ho Yoon and Da-Sol Lee

Forbes ‘30 Under 30 Asia’ features a diverse set of 30 honorees, with 23 countries and territories represented across the Asia-Pacific region. Applicants are vetted in 10 different categories which include arts, healthcare & science, finance & venture capital, enterprise technology, just to name a few. 30 winners are selected in each category.

Previously, Do-Hee Keum, together with POSTECH professor Sei-Kwang Hahn, developed smart contact lens technology that can diagnose diabetes. In the blink of an eye, the eyewear monitors sugar levels through blood vessels behind the eyelids, alerting the user if and when health emergencies occur. It also uses voice command to dispense medicine directly into the patient’s membrane.

Keum who received her Ph.D. at POSTECH last year is now a CEO at Bubbler, a company that works on commercializing innovative healthcare devices.

Gwan-Ho Yoon and Da-Sol Lee, together with Professor Jun-Suk Rho, successfully developed a metasurface device, an antenna that controls lightwaves.

Their devices are turning fiction into reality by providing high-resolution optical control that can’t be achieved through conventional technology. The metasurface device can help the current technologies accelerate towards improving 3D hologram displays, virtual reality and augmented reality devices.

Keum, Yoon, and Lee are certainly not the first POSTECH researchers to be listed on the Forbes ‘30 Under 30 Asia’. Altogether five people from POSTECH were selected for the last year’s list.

Computer Science & Engineering major Chan-Hoo Park and Electrical Engineering major Hyun-Sung Kim, who are co-founders of Geekble, a startup that produces new media content on science and technology were selected for the Media & Marketing & Advertising category. Computer Science & Engineering major Myung-Hoon Cha, the founder of Coinone, a fintech startup that runs one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges was chosen in the Finance & Venture Capital category. Mechanical Engineering Research Professor Hyung-Guk Jun, together with Seong-Hoon Woo, a senior research scientist at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology who studies the intrinsic spin of the electron and its magnetic moments, successfully earned a spot in the Healthcare & Science category.

▲Karen Chupka, the Executive Vice President for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), gives a keynote speech at CES 2019 (Source:CES)

On January 10th, the world’s largest trade show, Consumer Electronics Show (CES) wrapped up its four-day events in Las Vegas. CES was attended by over 4,500 companies leading the IT, electronics and mobility industries. Altogether over 180,000 individuals from more than 150 countries were present at this global stage for innovation.

Steve Koenig, Vice President of the CTA, started off the CES 2019 Trends to Watch session by discussing key industry trends marked by the term, ‘data age’ where new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), 5G mobile communications, autonomous navigation, and 8K*, as well as Virtual Reality, will become crucial.
* 8K resolution refers to any screen with around 8000 pixels width. 8K UHD is the current highest ultra high definition television (UHDTV) resolution in digital with the 7680×4320 pixels resolution.

In recent years, so many automakers are attending CES that the convention earned the nickname, “Las Vegas Motor Show.” This year was no exception. Many leading automobile companies showcased their latest technology like autonomous mobility and intelligent connectivity.

At CES, POSTECH students’ autonomous navigating robots created a buzz. The solution was devised by Polaris3D, a company established by the graduate students of POSTECH’s Creative IT Engineering Department and led by CEO In-Bum Kwak.

┃Polaris3D’s Solution Creates 3D Maps with No Extra Infrastructure

In 2016, a group of POSTECH graduate students gathered to form Polaris3D, a venture company with one clear goal in mind: to create an affordable yet sophisticated autonomous navigating solution. Since its foundation, Polaris3D has been winning contests after contests, and since 2018, the company established an office space at Pohang Center for Creative Economy & Innovation.

At the CES conference this year, Polaris3D showcased technology that allows autonomous navigation from indoors through the simple installation of a program on the robot, just like installing an application on a computer. With this simple robot autonomous navigating solution, there is no need to build a separate infrastructure deemed crucial for autonomous navigation.

Until now, utilizing indoor autonomous-navigating robot required extra devices to be installed, to allow UWB (Ultra Wideband) wireless connection or Wi-Fi. With Polaris3D’s solution, however, no additional equipment is necessary.

Polaris3D’s program allows the robot to self-drive to create maps. Based on the map it has created, the robot estimates its own position and travels to the target point, a destination.

While the current SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology requires a massive amount of computation, Polaris3D utilizes localization technology which can be used for small robots and drones. It can move within a relatively confined space.

This year, Polaris3D will market its solutions to robotics companies and laboratories who need indoor autonomous navigation. Furthermore, the company plans to cooperate with various robotics companies to utilize their solutions onto logistics robots or robot forklifts applying their autonomous-navigating robot solution that doesn’t necessitate additional infrastructure.

┃Industries Vie for Next-Generation Innovations

▲CES 2019 (Source: CES)

Besides Polaris3D’s technology for autonomous mobility, several Korean companies showcased a variety of new technologies at this year’s CES. On the first day of the convention, the products that gathered most attention were Samsung and LG Electronics new TV displays, which far exceeded the limits of current TV displays.

On the first day of CES 2019, Samsung Electronics unveiled the world’s smallest 75-inch micro-LED screen. As the screen size of micro LED becomes smaller, the size and spacing of the device become smaller too, which makes creating a 75-inch display all the more challenging, but Samsung pulled it off. LG Electronics, on the other hand, revealed the world’s first 65-inch rollable OLED TV. Depending on whether you want to watch the TV or not, the TV can be rolled up and down from a cabinet with built-in speakers and all the connectivity ports.

Samsung Electronics also introduced ‘New Bixby’ a smarter artificial intelligence platform as well as a series of robots like Samsung Bot Care, Samsung Bot Air, and Samsung Bot Retail. LG Electronics debuted LG HomeBrew, a capsule-based craft beer-making machine that allows in-home production of five distinctive, richly-flavored beers. LG also showcased intelligent service robot, LG Cloi SuitBot, that supports the lower body to reduce stress when lifting and bending.

Professor Kim Byung-In: Industrial & Management Engineering, POSTECH

According to a prediction by POSCO Research Institute, the number of shipbuilding contracts is likely to increase by 7.7% this year. The boost in ship contracts corresponds with the recent revival of the industry, and field experts are now turning their attention to steel plate, a primary material for shipbuilding. To meet the increasing orders in a timely manner, optimization of steel plate production is necessary.

POSCO Newsroom sat with Professor Kim Byung-In, an engineering faculty member at POSTECH, to discuss ‘the optimization of steel manufacturing process through the material design of steel plates and the development of ship routing algorithm’, a topic for which he recently received the ‘POSCO Smart Innovation Award’.

┃Plate Design 101

First, a few basic questions need to be addressed: how to assemble the base material for steel plates, and what is the best way to optimize the production process?

When a client places an order, the first thing that needs to be done is plate design. Production of the plates comes after. What exactly is involved in the plate design process?

It involves figuring out how to compile intermediary materials including: a mother plate, which is an assembly of the steel plates of identical grade and thickness; a slab, which is the pre-rolled mother plate; unconditioned slab, which is a combination of two or three slabs; a charge, a combination of 300 tons of unconditioned slab of the same steel grade; and continuous casting, an assortment of several charges.

According to Professor Kim, one way to optimize the production process is to find a way to map out the above intermediary materials effectively.

“The intermediary materials design for plate production can have a huge effect on the productivity index (e.g., slab unit weight, continuous casting ratio, etc.) as well as the cost index (e.g., trim loss rates). The industry experts say that the plate intermediary materials design process is the most complicated and difficult among all the steel product design processes.”

Of all the intermediary materials above, the mother plate is one of the core materials for producing steel plates. There are three ways to design a mother plate: a single-row design, a multi-row design, and a mosaic-shaped design. In the era of mass production, a single-row design was enough to meet industry demands — but those days are gone. Clients are now asking for more diversified designs in much smaller quantities, necessitating more intricate mother plates.

Despite the pressing needs of the industry, progress of the research on efficient production path was extremely slow. “We knew how important mother plate designs were. We also realized that it is very important to determine which castor, which factory, and what slab width to use to produce the order plates.”

┃Saving Time with Newly-Developed Engine

Professor Kim and his team’s most significant achievement in their process optimization effort was that they successfully localized the engine for plate design. The current engine made by the IBM in 2005 has not been keeping up with new industry demands. Among several functions, only the single-row design module is in use, which calls for additional manual labor that requires more workers and time for material design. The current engine is unable to produce other design modules like multi-row or mosaics, without the help of human labor.

Professor Kim’s research can help close this gap. The new engine developed according to Professor Kim’s design is meant to upgrade the functionality of the current IBM engine as well as to increase the automatic design rates. Whereas the current engine provides a black box insight with no visibility into the engine’s structure or logic, the new engine offers a white box insight. As Kim’s research team, POSCO ICT, and POSCO developed the entire algorithm, they have a bird’s eye view of the engine, all the way in. Arbitrary modification and regular upgrades are all viable options going forward.

“The new engine saves time. A fast calculation is a must to test a wider range of scenarios.”

┃(Not So) Slow but Steady Wins the Race

Every single step involved in steel plate design is highly interconnected. If one goes wrong, the whole process can be dismantled. Because of this interconnectedness, figuring out the root cause is extremely difficult whenever something goes wrong in the production process.

As an academic at one of the most rigorous research programs in Korea, Kim is no stranger to being persistent, but the collaboration with POSCO required a different type of muscle.

The graduate students took charge of developing the core algorithm and translating it into a software application. On their part, 100% commitment wasn’t always possible, especially during the school year. The added pressure came from the fact that the project had to meet the industry deadline no matter what. The end product had to be perfect so that they can be applied in the field right away. We had to meet the standards. All of it. POSCO had different required standards for their software which also had to be tested and verified. As Kim’s research team, POSCO ICT, and POSCO developed the entire algorithm, they have a bird’s eye view of the engine, all the way in.

On top of that, we had to come up with our own interface which we weren’t able to predict at the beginning.”

In the end, the project had a good outcome, thanks to the enthusiastic backing of POSCO, POSCO ICT, and POSTECH researchers. “We couldn’t have done it alone — I would like to thank the students, professors and the industry experts. My utmost thanks go to the collaborators at POSCO who went the extra mile to accommodate our research needs. Thanks to all of them, we’ve gained more insight into steel plate designing. I am confident that the current team — POSCO, POSCO ICT, and POSTECH researchers — is the best team of system designers out there,” Kim adds.

┃Slated to Launch in 2019

Each process involved in building a steel plate is extremely intricate — and what happens at each step can affect the whole process. It is well-known in academia that even the mother plate design issue alone is very difficult to solve optimally.

“For the moment, we’re focusing our effort on the functions that are crucial for the current field needs. If we take the entire production process into perspective, we still have a long way to go. It’s only the beginning.”

After a series of pilot experiments in 2017, the new engine went through further upgrades. POSCO wants to use the engine before the end of this year — and they’re now in the process of calibrating their system. After further tests and optimization in the field, the engine will be launched for overall field use next year.

Professor Kim at the POSCO Smart Innovation Award Ceremony

POSCO’s smart safety features

As a steelmaking company, POSCO has been working towards becoming a “Smart POSCO”, or incorporating the implementation of AI into their production practices. In 2016, POSCO established a Smart Solution Council to research AI, big data and IoT applications. To date, the company has achieved a cost reduction of USD 14 million with the new technology. Even as one of the first steel producers in the world to implement a smart factory for production, the road ahead is a long one. Members of the discussion panel at the 2017 Smart POSCO Forum offered their expert opinions on how companies should move forward with AI research and applications.

Problem Mining

“One of the biggest difficulties in applying AI to manufacturing companies is problem mining. The only way to solve a problem is to find it and define it.” Kim Byung-In, a professor at the POSTECH Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, started off discussions and added, “Along with problem mining, people can learn from the past with reinforcement learning. Reinforcement learning means learning through similar tasks from the past to apply to new assignments. Defining problems and solutions more precisely and systematically managing related keywords can be useful for future tasks.”

Professor Zhang Byoung Tak, an AI professor at Seoul National University and a distinguished professor for POSCO added, “Traditionally, people solve problems, but in the generation of AI, AI will be able to solve problems for us… People now have to focus on defining problems, implementing systems and getting the right kind of data.”

Cooperative Research and Investment

Along with defining the exact problems that AI can provide solutions for, the implementation of AI will also call for a new working culture for companies and industries.

Tech company VUNO CTO Jung Gyuhwan stated, “Each company has its own production or operation method, and different data formats and protocols, but product inspection and screen UI (User Interface) are common areas. If we can find such common areas that can be commercialized and continue to research ways to expand AI applications to different sectors, we can achieve meaningful results together.”

Researchers developing programming and coding technologies

Jung went on to highlight that most AI personnel are unfamiliar with manufacturing. In particular, steel production terms are so difficult that it takes a considerable amount of time to share and understand information. There are also numerous obstacles and obligations for startups entering an unfamiliar development environment full of regulations and restrictions on things like the use of codes.

“In other words, task efficiency is a trade off with information security. I believe that if there is such a process in POSCO where the risk of technology leakage is not high, it will speed up results through collaboration with start-ups. POSCO ICT in Pangyo is a good place for startup employees to work. If we can take advantage of the POSCO ICT databases, collaboration with start-up companies will be easier. As of now, there are not many AI companies in Korea that specialize in manufacturing. Most people don’t even know that there is a lot of data available in the manufacturing industry. That’s why fostering start-up companies specializing in manufacturing now, is a good idea.”

Google’s Fei-Fei Li announces Google’s acquisition of Kaggle. (Source: Venture Beat)

According to CB Insights, M&A (mergers and acquisitions) of AI startups have increased 700 percent since 2011, because they are more efficient and often more insightful when it comes to AI research. Besides investing in existing startups, members of the panel agreed that collaborative competitions such as Kaggle, a contest platform where data scientists from around the world participate in solving problems in industry and society, are a great place to find talent and foster them as start-up companies.

Tackling New Challenges

The flurry of activity around AI research shows just how new the sector really is. People are still finding ways to apply AI across different sectors and industries. In such a volatile environment, how do companies and researchers navigate their way forward?

According to Choi Heeyoul, a professor of computer science at Handong Global University, companies need to “start where the people, problem definition and data are ready. Whether it is in production, sales, distribution, etc., if there is the will to solve problems, then results will follow. Especially when collecting data, you need the help of data analysts. For example, classification data for different types of steel can only be analyzed if the history of the classification criteria is recorded. Speech recognition is not any better for AI application than other fields, yet the most active and productive research has been completed in this sector. This is attributable to the will to apply AI, the abundance of accurate data and close cooperation with data analysts.”

Obtaining accurate data is vital for AI research

Professor Zhang Byung-Tak had another approach to offer. “I hope people will boldly take on challenges. The dramatic increase in computing power can now enable attempts that were previously considered reckless…No matter how much data we gather, it will never be enough. We need to approach problems as experiments and just start. One way to go about it is to work in reverse instead of waiting for data to be accumulated. You can start the task to define the data that is needed and determine the coherence of the data to the task.”

Lee Jong-Seok, a Professor at Sungkyunkwan University added, “When we are defining problems, we need to separate them into ones that can be solved in the short term and ones that require long term solutions. Some problems can be solved with minor improvements, while other problems will persist. For the latter, it is important to have patience and invest in a solution over a long term.”

That’s exactly what manufacturing companies are doing. They are collecting data every stage of production all the way to sales and administration. Big data is now available to study and apply to boost companies’ efficiency, sustainability and performance. Those who come up with the optimal software and modeling systems for data analytics will win the competitive edge early on.

UNIST professor Choi Jaesik echoed the panel’s sentiment, in closing, saying, “It’s very uncommon for a manufacturing company to hold AI courses for all their employees. I think POSCO can take pride that…POSCO is a great place to apply AI and achieve results. There is already plenty of data on site and employees are continuously working to obtain more accurate data. I look forward to seeing what POSCO will bring to the advancement of AI.”

POSCO CEO Kwon Ohjoon plans on doing exactly that, by increasing investment in research and implementing AI technology where applicable. Read more on POSCO’s smartization efforts here.

Don’t miss any of the exciting stories from The Steel Wire – subscribe via email today.

In order to bridge this gap, POSCO Group University and POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) will set out to build an AI ecosystem by nurturing AI specialists and conducting joint research. On February 28, POSCO Group University and POSTECH Information Research Laboratories (PIRL) signed an agreement to work on building a training program for in-house AI specialists in POSCO Group and to promote overall collaboration. Young-joo Seo, the head of PIRL, said, “We will invite the best in AI to train researchers at corporations and produce AI specialists within a short period of time. This will hopefully strengthen the competitiveness of companies and of this country.”

Sun-hee Yoo, director of POSCO Group University Global Leadership Center (left), and Young-joo Seo, head of PIRL, signed an agreement on February 28 to create training programs for AI specialists in POSCO Group.

PIRL was founded in 1991 to conduct research on cutting-edge information and communications technology (ICT). It opened an office in Pangyo last October to conduct research and begin the commercialization of AI and big data; it has also successfully supported startups in related fields.

POSTECH has been a leader in research by showcasing its strengths in AI and big data. It is expected to lead innovation in Korea’s industrial circles by developing AI-based technologies, conducting research, nurturing AI specialists, and making full use of and applying other related technologies in the field. Aside from POSCO Group, POSTECH has also worked with other companies to train specialists and conduct joint research. It plans to create and provide customized training programs for each corporation.

With this agreement, POSCO Group University will be in charge of launching related training programs and beginner courses for POSCO Group and its affiliates, while PIRL will be in charge of developing content for basic and advanced courses to increase people’s understanding of AI, big data, programming, pattern recognition, machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision. It is the first time that a university in Korea is providing a program to train AI specialists, especially for corporations, and will serve as a significant milestone in expanding cooperation between companies and academic institutions, a fitting move in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Currently, 59 people have completed the beginner course with the POSCO AI program. For the basic and advanced course, 15 employees from POSCO and 10 employees from POSCO affiliates will be selected to participate. If participants successfully pass the four-month group training, task performance course, and six-month advanced course, they will be selected as AI specialists and experience a chance to work in the field.

In order to better equip POSCO Group employees to respond to changes at the group level and increase their awareness on AI, POSCO Group University will add a three-session beginner course. In addition, an AI training course will be available for POSCO executives during the first half of this year.

Don’t miss any of the exciting stories from The Steel Wire – subscribe via email today. 

On December 2, POSTECH held a ceremony to celebrate its 30th anniversary, and rededicated the school to becoming even better.

POSCO established POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) in 1986 as Korea’s first research-oriented university, resolving to create a world-renowned science and engineering university that could lead Korea into the 21st century.

Since then, POSTECH has received much global attention, even topping a list of Asia’s leading science and technology universities, as selected by Asiaweek magazine in 1998. It was also ranked No. 28 in the World University Rankings by The Times of England in 2010, which was a first for a Korean university. In addition, POSTECH impressively secured the top place in the World University Rankings among universities under 50 years old for three years in a row, beginning 2012.

Given the dominance of Seoul for many aspects of life in Korea — most of the country’s top universities are there — POSTECH’s ability to achieve such excellence from its provincial location in the south has been all the more notable. But thanks to great support from POSCO, the university has been able to develop advanced training and research facilities, along with an excellent roster of researchers and students.

POSTECH was established by POSCO founder Taejoon Park, based on his philosophy of fostering patriotism through education, along with active support from POSCO. Since the first graduating class in 1991, POSTECH has produced 17,627 graduates. Moreover, POSTECH’s research influence was ranked at No. 6 in the world in 2015 (based on citations per faculty at the QS World University Rankings), and the school is widely acknowledged to be Korea’s leading research-oriented university.

On December 2, POSTECH held a celebration of its 30th anniversary in the POSTECH Auditorium. Among the many VIPs and leaders on hand to enjoy the occasion were POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon, POSTECH President Dohyeon Kim, Pohang Mayor Kangduk Lee, the wife of POSCO’s late founder Okja Jang, and former CEO Myungsik Chung.

Despite its many accomplishments, POSTECH remains dedicated to becoming even better over the next 30 years. POSTECH’s leadership says they want the university to become a school that creates value and contributes to the development of the regional and national economy, as well as to society, based on offering a solid undergraduate education, outstanding research achievements, and the active creation of businesses and jobs. With its focus on the future, the next 30 years look even brighter.
Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

The new research facility is a huge and sophisticated project that enables researchers to probe the structure of matter at the smallest level, to observe minute substances by accelerating electrons to very high energies.

The fourth-generation Pohang Light Source is capable of generating light 10 billion times brighter than the third-generation Pohang Light Source and a quintillion times brighter than the sun. This in turn allows researchers to precisely capture movement as brief as a femtosecond (or ¹/_{1,000,000,000,000,000} of a second), which allows for examining chemical reactions and molecules in biological phenomena.

POSTECH and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning began construction on the fourth-generation Pohang Light Source in April 2011 and completed it at the end of last year. Comprehensive device testing began last October, and usage of the radiation generating facility was approved on April 12. On April 14, it succeeded in generating 6 MeV, the amount it had been designed for, equivalent to the energy generated by 4 million 1.5V batteries.

Notably, the fourth-generation light source has been able to localize approximately 70 percent of its core devices, including the electron gun (the device which generates and supplies electricity). Three-hundred Korean companies participated in constructing the Light Source—it was designed and produced by POSTECH, while small and medium-sized companies created the components.

Once the performance capabilities of the facility are confirmed by the phased testing operations by the end of this year, it will go into operations beginning in 2017. The fourth-generation light source is not only for basic research in such areas as atomic/molecular physics, surface studies, material science/chemistry and life sciences, but also applied research such as IT, new medicine development, semiconductors and medical energy.

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

Professor Kim Dong-sung and his team pose for a photo to celebrate their success in developing technology for commercialization of nano generators using frictional electricity. From left: Professor Kim Dong-sun, Researcher Choi Dong-hui, and team member

Professor Kim and his team conducted the research on the mass production and commercialization of transparent and flexible nano generators through the Mid-Career Researcher Project and Advanced Research Center Program supported by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and National Research Foundation of Korea. The research results were posted on October 15 in the online issue of Advanced Materials, a renowned scientific journal covering materials science. It will also be published in the print journal December 2.

Active research into energy harvesting technology that can constantly supply electricity to small mobile electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, is currently being conducted. Energy harvesting is the process of capturing and storing wasted energy from external sources such as shock, kinetic energy, lights, heat and electromagnetic waves, then converting it to usable electric power to be stored for later use.

Jeobchok daejeon (접촉대전) nano generating technology induces an electrical charge, which is generated by friction when two different materials are brought into contact and then separated. This technology has high utility and efficiency compared to other energy-intensive technology, but it was difficult to mass produce for commercialization due to high-cost and multiple processes, such as using a semiconductor vacuum.

Professor Kim and his team discovered that, by applying a nano imprinting process to the Jeobchok daejeon nano generator production, the nano surface production and conducting layer attachment process can be done simultaneously. This is contrary to the previous production process, which was composed of multiple stages. With this process, they could successfully produce Jeobchok daejeon nano generators which are thin, transparent, flexible and has a fine structure of 1/10 mm on the surface, and has high energy generation efficiency up to ten times greater than that of a plate structure without the nano structure.

The research of Professor Kim’s team introduced the possibility of commercialization of Jeobchok daejeon nano generators by producing 1 cm² Jeobchok daejeon nano generators within a few minutes, at the cost of only about USD 1. It can also be used as an auxiliary power device when attached to the surface of wearable power supply devices or ‘flexible displays. It can also be utilized for multi-source energy harvesting, which converts sunlight and rain into electrical energy. Professor Kim said, “By developing the technology for the commercialization of Jeobchok daejeon nano generators, which is thin, transparent and flexible, at a low cost and high speed for the first time in the world, we expect it will create ripple effects through industries. It can be broadly applied to new industries through the convergence of wearable electronics.”