2020 Scientists and Engineers Early Career Development (SEED) Workshop

Since 2013, the SEED (Scientists and Engineers Early Career Development) workshop has been offered by the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) and the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST) to provide mentorship to and help develop the careers of junior Korean-American scientists and engineers ranging from doctoral candidate students to early career professionals.

For SEED 2020, due to complications associated with COVID-19 pandemic, the entire content of the workshop was transformed to a virtual platform and executed accordingly. Through an application process, we selected approximately 70 participants (including doctoral candidate students, postdoctoral scholars, junior faculty members, and early-career professionals) who were particularly interested in pursuing academic careers with research activities. 

This year, 12 senior and mid-career colleagues from all over the US contributed as invited speakers and panelists. The program provided opportunities to discuss academic career development strategies and cultivate professional relationships among participants.

We thank the support from KOFST and KSEA that enabled the successful execution of this virtual workshop, and appreciate the assistance and guidance from members of the Executive Committee and staff members of KSEA.

SEED 2020 Organizing Committee

Welcoming Remarks from President of KSEA, Professor Soolyeon Cho

Welcome to the SEED 2020 workshop! I am very pleased to see this event be successfully held in this difficult time, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I greatly appreciate the SEED 2020 Organizing Chair, Dr. Yongho Sohn, and the organizing committee for their efforts and dedication. Also, I thank very much the invited speakers who will share their knowledge and experiences. I know that previous SEED events had been very successful and unequivocally recommended by all participants. I believe that SEED 2020 will continue this trend of excellence and leave all participants prepared for success in their respective career paths. This workshop also offers an excellent opportunity for all participants to get connected and network with one another. As I see the topics of the talks such as “My Dream, My Mentors and My Career” by Prof. Gyeong Hwang at University of Texas – Austin, and “Transformational Leadership in Professional Career” by Prof. Youngsoo Kim at North Carolina State University, I am thrilled to hear about and learn from the details of their stories and wisdom. I know that you are also very excited to listen to their presentations. Let’s jump in and be engaged in the talks and discussions. I hope you enjoy the workshop and make this a memorable event. Thank you for your time and good luck on your career!

SEED Schedule

Pre SEED 2020 Networking Gathering (December 13^th, 2020, 9:00 PM EST)

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SEED 2020 Plenary Session I (December 14^th, 2020, 1:00 PM EST)

Prof. Gyeong Hwang, Matthew Van Winkle Regents Professor at University of Texas – Austin, presented an overview on shaping his career entitled, “My Dream, My Mentor, My Career.” He reflected on his dreams as a young man, his mentors during his professional preparation stages, and his accomplishments as a faculty working with his students. His presentation gave everyone the opportunity to reflect on their dreams, appreciate mentors of the past and current, and envision careers for the future.

Prof. Youngsoo Kim, Jimmy D. Clark Distinguished University Professor and Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor at North Carolina State University, presented a talk entitled “Transformational Leadership in Professional Career,” where he described different types of leadership and practices to develop these leadership skills within academic/professional settings. He emphasized the importance of embodying the “Heart of a Servant” for scientists and engineers and sharing the gift of knowledge and progress, and how it will foster SEED participants to become a purpose driven leader respected by peers.

Prof. Byungkyu Brian Park, Professor at the University of Virginia, presented a talk entitled, “My Professional Journey: How did KSEA Help My Career?” and demonstrated how his networking and volunteering activities for KSEA have helped his career. He acknowledged that he met his life-long mentor through KSEA and his mentor’s endless support for his success and he is ready to pay it forward to anyone who might need his mentoring. Key actionable items he strongly recommended included: (i) A winner never quits and a quitter never wins, (ii) If it is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well, (iii) One day at a time, and (iv) Fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice, shame on me.

SEED 2020 Plenary Session II (December 15^th, 2020, 1:00 PM EST)

Dr. Joon-Ho Choi, Associate Professor of Building Science and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Southern California, went over a wide range of his experience and education during his early career years in his talk entitled, “Smart? Smart! Career Development Tactics.” He discussed how such efforts played a vital role in maturing himself as a faculty with research that involves numerous technical ideas in multi-disciplines. He also presented and discussed some critical strategies in developing a successful career, with a particular emphasis on how to make use of job application rejections and proposal failures as an opportunity to overcome any defects or limitations in academic performance. Dr. Choi shared strategic ideas to develop a successful network with many prestigious scholars and domain experts to create a mentoring/supportive group for a SEED participant by inviting them for further productive outcomes. He also talked about his role as Associate Dean of Research at his institution and the current academic activities as the consequence of his scholarly experience during career development.

Prof. Hojong Kim, Associate Professor at Penn State University, shared “An Experience of Going through Promotion and Tenure” and reflected on his time as a tenure-track, assistant professor and how it has matured into his recent promotion and tenure at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of Penn State University. He went over the details of tenure criteria at his institution that encompass research, teaching, and service. Dr. Kim shared his research background prior to joining Penn State, and provided his year-by-year activities, challenges, achievements, as well as strategies towards the promotion and tenure.

Prof. Yong Seok Park from University of California – Fullerton presented a talk entitled “Bridge to the Faculty” for postdoctoral scholars whose ultimate goal is to secure a tenure-track faculty position. Details of how to apply for a faculty position were included in his presentation with a systematic approach. Prof. Park shared good resources consisting of websites, curriculum vitae, personal teaching, and research statements. Prof. Park also identified valuable elements of the application package based on his own experiences and perspectives, which was particularly useful for the post-doctoral audience. Finally, strategies for balancing teaching, research, and service expectations as a junior faculty were discussed.  

Panelist for SEED 2020 Break-Out Sessions

Panelists for Dossier Preparation for Promotion and Tenure

Panelists for Transition from Academia to Real Academia

Panelists for Excellence in Completion of Doctoral Degree