[YONSEI NEWS] The Physics Department: From Korea’s First to the World’s Finest
연세대학교 홍보팀 / news@yonsei.ac.kr
2007-07-31
Yonsei University’s Physics Department has a long history. Built on grounds of the oldest modern university in Korea, it was established 1915, when the University was still young. Dr. Lee Won Chul and Dr. Choi Kyu-Nam, graduates of the Yonsei Physics Department, went abroad to study and came back as Korea’s first PhDs in Astronomy and Physics and served as cornerstones of Physics research and education in Korea. As a private institution, Yonsei was not able to receive adequate funding from the government and was thus slow to develop, but 1995 was the turning point. That year, Yonsei was designated a graduate-school-centered university, and its Atomic Scale Surface Science Research Center (operated by the Physics Department) was given the status of SRC (Science Research Center) by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation and selected to participate in the Brain Korea 21 Project. Boosted by these events, the Physics Department became extremely competitive. Its current goal is to compete with the world’s best physics institutions.
The most important step on the way to achieving this goal is to advance the department’s research capabilities. The department has made great strides in this respect, increasingly producing research with high SCI (Scientific Citation Index) impact factor (IF). In addition, five areas in the field have been selected as focus areas: particle/nuclear physics, solid state physics, surface dynamics, optical/semiconductor physics, and applied physics. Of these areas, two will be selected annually for joint workshops with the best Physics departments in the world. A workshop has already been held with Stanford, and a second workshop with Stanford is under way for this September; similar workshops with the University of Tokyo, Tohoku University, and Fudan University are also scheduled for the near future.
Human resources are key to improving research capabilities, and the department is making efforts to invite students and scholars from overseas to conduct study and research at Yonsei. In order to attract highly qualified students both domestically and internationally, the department is constructing a new intensive education system and making it possible to earn a degree in cooperation with a foreign university. Programs to help students write theses and give presentations in English will support these efforts.
Professor Park Seung-han, Head of the Physics Department BK21 Project Team, says, “We have to admit that the research infrastructure we have here at Yonsei is quite poor in comparison with the Top 10 universities. Reaching the Global 5-5-10 Project goal in this situation will be difficult. Support for our efforts to construct a better infrastructure is very important.”
The field of physics was closely related to the atomic energy and semiconductor industry booms in the late 20th century. With more support and interest, physics will serve humanity equally well in the future.
Yonsei University’s Physics Department has a long history. Built on grounds of the oldest modern university in Korea, it was established 1915, when the University was still young. Dr. Lee Won Chul and Dr. Choi Kyu-Nam, graduates of the Yonsei Physics Department, went abroad to study and came back as Korea’s first PhDs in Astronomy and Physics and served as cornerstones of Physics research and education in Korea. As a private institution, Yonsei was not able to receive adequate funding from the government and was thus slow to develop, but 1995 was the turning point. That year, Yonsei was designated a graduate-school-centered university, and its Atomic Scale Surface Science Research Center (operated by the Physics Department) was given the status of SRC (Science Research Center) by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation and selected to participate in the Brain Korea 21 Project. Boosted by these events, the Physics Department became extremely competitive. Its current goal is to compete with the world’s best physics institutions.
The most important step on the way to achieving this goal is to advance the department’s research capabilities. The department has made great strides in this respect, increasingly producing research with high SCI (Scientific Citation Index) impact factor (IF). In addition, five areas in the field have been selected as focus areas: particle/nuclear physics, solid state physics, surface dynamics, optical/semiconductor physics, and applied physics. Of these areas, two will be selected annually for joint workshops with the best Physics departments in the world. A workshop has already been held with Stanford, and a second workshop with Stanford is under way for this September; similar workshops with the University of Tokyo, Tohoku University, and Fudan University are also scheduled for the near future.
Human resources are key to improving research capabilities, and the department is making efforts to invite students and scholars from overseas to conduct study and research at Yonsei. In order to attract highly qualified students both domestically and internationally, the department is constructing a new intensive education system and making it possible to earn a degree in cooperation with a foreign university. Programs to help students write theses and give presentations in English will support these efforts.
Professor Park Seung-han, Head of the Physics Department BK21 Project Team, says, “We have to admit that the research infrastructure we have here at Yonsei is quite poor in comparison with the Top 10 universities. Reaching the Global 5-5-10 Project goal in this situation will be difficult. Support for our efforts to construct a better infrastructure is very important.”
The field of physics was closely related to the atomic energy and semiconductor industry booms in the late 20th century. With more support and interest, physics will serve humanity equally well in the future.