2024 KSEA Southeastern Regional Conference (SERC)

by Ellen Kang, 2024 SERC Chair

The 2024 KSEA Southeastern Regional Conference (SERC) was held on a sunny Saturday, March 30, 2024 at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. The goal of the SERC 2024 was to promote networking and collaboration opportunities among many scientists, engineers, postdoctoral researchers, and students in the Southeastern region. The conference went well with over 50 attendees from Alabama, Gainesville, Georgia, Orlando, and Tampa Chapters.

The Plenary session started with welcoming remarks by Dr. Yongho Sohn, 52nd President of KSEA. Dr. Sohn emphasized the importance of active collaborations with fellow professionals and inspiring future generations through platforms like this conference. During the Plenary session, we had Dr. Yong-Kyu Yoon and Dr. Jae Hyeon Ryu, 53rd President-Elect candidates of KSEA, and Ms. Eunjung Kim, the Chief Representative of Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT). Dr. Yoon gave a presentation on UF’s recent activities on semiconductor advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration and manufacturing initiatives. Dr. Ryu presented STEM workforce development in drone education and climate change. Ms. Kim presented opportunities in Korea-US industrial technology cooperation.

After a networking lunch break, we had an oral poster session consisting of graduate students’ and postdoc’s presentations, chaired by Dr. Yoonseok Lee (2024 SERC Co-Chair). This poster session had a unique setting in that each presenter delivered brief soundbites of their research project in one-slide poster. Two parallel technical sessions were held following the poster session. Technical Session Part I (chaired by Dr. Gloria Kim) covered research topics in Physics, Chemical, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Session Part II (chaired by Dr. Sung-Hee Kim) consisted of topics in Biomedical and Health Sciences, Bioengineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Each session had nine talks from experts in the fields. At the closing session, oral poster awards were announced and presented.

We are very grateful to the conference organizing committee members and volunteers for making this regional conference possible through their commitment and dedication. We would also like to give special thanks to Dr. Yongho Sohn, the President of KSEA, and our sponsors (KSEA HQ, KIAT, Alabama, Gainesville, Georgia, Orlando, and Tampa Chapters) for their generous support.