KSEA e-letters March 2024

Dear Esteemed KSEA Members,

It gives me a great pleasure to deliver to you the 2^nd issue of the KSEA e-newsletter for the 52nd administration, the rapid, on-line connection between you and the KSEA community.

In this edition, we proudly highlight the inaugural event, Industry Meetup Program for Advancing Career and Technical Skills – IMPACTs 2024 to empower Korean-American professionals with blossoming careers in industry, typically of less than 10 years. Selected 80 future leaders from a wide spectrum of industries, from computer science to finance, engineering to law broadened their career horizons and discovered new pathways for success. Interactive workshops, panel discussions, roundtable discussions, and keynote lectures forged meaningful connections for future support and collaboration.

Spring time for KSEA is busy with nominations of KSEA Honors and Awards, scholarships and upcoming election. You will find announcements for the nominations to recognize KSEA members with outstanding accomplishments in science, engineering, entrepreneurship and service. Of utmost importance for KSEA is the upcoming election for future leadership.  You will find biographical details and credentials of candidates for President Elect, Vice Presidents and various councilors in this issue of the e-Newsletter, so that you will make informed decision in the upcoming election.

In November of 2023, Prof. Taekjip Ha from Harvard Medical School and Howard Hughes Medical Institute gave a Distinguished Lecture for the KSEA Webinar entitled, “From Single Molecules to Cellular Decision Making: Connecting the Scales Using Mechanical Force.” In February of 2024, Dr. Young S. Oh from National Institutes of Health and Dr. Dah-eun Chloe Chung from Baylor College of Medicine gave grant-writing workshop presentations for NIH as a program manager and a post-doc as an international scholar, respectively. Dr. Oh gave an NIH overview and insight into the “successful” proposal, while Dr. Chung detailed available NIH opportunities for those on student (F) or exchange scholar (J) visa. Attended by more than 90 people, 2 breakout Q&A sessions each lasted more than an hour with informative and detailed “how-to” discussions.

In this edition, we also bring you the summary of 2^nd KSEA Senior Forum with a presentation entitled “Nuclear Energy for Carbon Neutrality and Energy Security: International Trends and Korean Outlook,” given by Jonghyun Kim of KAIST. The 3^rd KSEA Senior Forum given by Dr. Kang-Wook Lee from IBM, examined the fascinating history of women’s education in Korea by following the history of missionary, Lulu E. Frey, and the birth of Ewha Womans University.

Last but not least, we spotlight the vibrant core of KSEA – our chapters and affiliated societies. We’ve selected articles that capture the essence of KSEA’s resilience and promising future, with highlights from programs such as the 2023 KSABP Boston – KSEA-NE Fall gathering, NJ Fall Networking Event, Young Scientists’ Night in NY, North Carolina Sports Day, the 34^th Technical Seminar in Austin, TX, North Carolina Gala Night, Chicagoland Year-End Gathering, Seattle Annual Conference, Eastern Carolina Workshop, Georgia Membership Drive, West Gulf Coast Regional Conference, NY Metro Chapter Math and Science Olympiad, Washington DC Year-End Gathering, and Angelo State University Coffee Chat for more than 30 undergraduate students. These programs, from small gatherings to large conferences, illustrate the ingredients of success for KSEA for the past 52 years.

Thank you for your interests, support and commitment to KSEA. Together, we are driving innovation, pushing boundaries, and ushering in a bright future for science and engineering for both the US and Korea.

Yongho Sohn

52^nd President of KSEA