KSEA Letters October 2020

Dear KSEA members:

I hope all of you are well and in good health. It has already become our new normal to live with physical restrictions such as social distancing and wearing masks due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As we await the introduction of vaccines and medical treatments for the disease, it is imperative that we also positively adapt to the new lifestyle. As scientists and engineers, we not only develop new ways of living better lives but also come up with alternative solutions to problems we face. I know that it is not easy; however, if it is something that must be done, let us do it with a positive spirit. 

As president of KSEA, I have spent much time thinking about many of the challenges that have arisen as a result of Covid-19. Thankfully, I have had the great support from numerous leaders. For example, in September, we had successfully hosted the first Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Partners’ Upscale Program (STEP-UP) event. I thank Dr. Kyeong Ho Yang (chair of the STEP-UP event) and the STEP-UP leadership team who have spent a lot of time preparing for the online conference. 

In the near future, we will hold both the National Math and Science Competition (NMSC) in November and UKC 2020 in December as online events. We have decided to offer an in-person gathering at a hotel in Seoul for the sponsors of UKC. Currently, about thirty sponsors have confirmed their support and participation. They are presidents of universities, national research labs, companies, and non-profit organizations. We look forward to hosting them in Seoul during the UKC event. Yes, the UKC conference will be very different this year. Nevertheless, the UKC preparation team has been diligently working on it, and an excellent online (virtual) conference platform has been selected. We will continue to try our best in making this experience unique, exciting, and engaging for participants.    

I congratulate the publication team on the opening of this online newsletter. I believe this new and creative effort will allow KSEA members to more easily engage in KSEA’s communication networks and stay updated on any upcoming events or changes.

Again, I hope you all are well and healthy.

Sincerely,
Soolyeon Cho

The Young Generation Technical and Leadership Conference (Ygnite) application is currently live! It will be a virtual conference this year and it’s a great opportunity to meet so many awesome people from all different fields! Join us January 29-30, 2021 virtually for our 17th annual Ygnite: Connecting Within, Connecting Across. You can find the application and more information here: https://yg.ksea.org/application. We highly recommend you to check out the website and apply! (App due Nov 8th)

The Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) is pleased to announce an opportunity for the 2021 KSEA Young Investigator Grants (YIGs), which intend to recognize those who have demonstrated outstanding early career development in science, engineering and/or technology. Two grants will be awarded this year as follows:

Grant: US $10,000 for each awardee with an additional travel support up to $1,000 to attend the award ceremony at UKC 2021.

Application Period: From October 15, 2020 to December 1, 2020

More information can be found on the KSEA website.

Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) National Association for Korean Schools (NAKS). The purpose of this MOU is to establish a close cooperation between KSEA and NAKS and promote development of each party and its constituents through business collaboration and exchange of business experiences and networks.

Read the full news article on the KSEA website.

The CJ BIO Awards is a program to discover and support talented global researchers for research base expansion of the “Health nutrition & Non-medical BIO & White BIO” area. They are expecting to contribute better research environments to young researchers who are putting their heart into leading novel research fields.

Applicants: Korean scientists researching in the USA (Ph.D. students / Post Doc.)

More information can be found on the KSEA website.