13 | May | 2014 | The Asia Institute

December 29, 2011 – Director Pastreich interviewed Haun Saussy on the influence that Asia has had on his life and the path he took to become a leading scholar of Chinese and comparative literature. Both men spoke about the early influence of Asian culture on their lives and what they have drawn from Asian and Western culture. The full text of the interview can be found on Director Pastreich’s blog, Circles and Squares.

Pastreich, Simon, Malazgirt Publish Study on Biomedical Research Collaboration

December 12, 2011 – Emanuel Pastreich, Ian Simon, and Alp Malazgirt published a research study on the growth of international biomedical research collaboration in Korea. The study is published in the International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development and can be purchased for US$18.00 plus tax from the ingentaconnect.com web site.

Director Pastreich Publishes Article in Korea Herald calling for Next President of KAIST to be a Woman

December 05, 2011 – Director Pastreich published an article in the Korea Herald arguing that the next president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology should be a woman. He advocated for this change by saying that Korea is a trendsetter for the nation in the sciences. This was illustrated when Professor Robert Laughlin of Stanford was appointed president of KAIST from 2004-2006 and set a trend of appointing foreign faculty members to prominent posts in universities throughout the nation. Director Pastreich hoped for an increased role of women in the sciences with such an appointment.

Asia Institute Hosts Seminar with Noam Chomsky

December 02, 2011 – The Asia Institute hosted a seminar with Professor Noam Chomsky of MIT on December 2 that allowed Korean students and international students studying in Korea to ask Professor Chomsky directly questions about how young people can have an impact. Students from the Global Peace Youth Corps attended in force.

Director Pastreich Heads Panel on Energy, Environment and Transportation at Global Peace Convention in Seoul

November 29, 2011 – The recent Global Peace Convention in Seoul (November 28-29, 2011) brought together a remarkably diverse group of individuals from NGOs, business and academics to discuss the future of North-South relations. The concept of addressing the North-South division by inviting the input of youth from around the world was particularly striking.

Director Pastreich Gives Talk at KIST for Students of the University of Science and Technology

November 15, 2011 – Director Pastreich delivered a talk at KIST for students enrolled in UST (University of Science and Technology) an innovative technology program run jointly by a group of research institutes in Korea. The talk concerned the impact of technology on society and presented an assessment of the challenges faced currently by the young generation.

Asia Institute Seminar: Role of Youth in the Unification of the Korean Peninsula

November 13, 2011 – The Asia Institute seminar brought together a broad range of experts and students, including students from Japan and even an individual originally from North Korea, to discuss what youth in Korea can do to prepare the way for the future reunification of the Korean Peninsula. The participants broke into two groups: one discussing in Korean and one in English. The results of the seminar will be forthcoming as a short paper.

Year-long Research Project on Technology Convergence Completed with KRISS

November 02, 2011 – The Asia Institute completed a one year research project on technology convergence in cooperation with KRISS (Korea Research Institute for Science and Standards). The research was closely aligned with the work of the Global Convergence Forum.

Asia Institute Seminar on Technology Convergence: Defining Convergence

October 20, 2011 – The third part of the 5-part series on the Asia Institute round-table discussion on technology convergence has been published in the Korea IT Times. From the article introduction: “In this third part of a five-part series, the experts discuss the true definition of the term convergence that is so easily thrown around these days.”

Asia Institute Seminar on Technology Convergence: Convergence in Space

September 30, 2011 – The second part of the 5-part series on the Asia Institute round-table discussion on technology convergencehas been published in the Korea IT Times. From the article introduction: “ In this second part of a five-part series, the experts explore the grand-daddy of all interdisciplinary fields, the space technology field.”

Panel on Transportation and Resources at Mongolia and Northeast Asia Peace Conference in Ulaanbaatar

September 04, 2011 – Director Pastreich attended the Northeast Asia Peace Conference in Ulaanbaatar and headed a panel of experts discussing the opportunities sand challenges in the energy, transportation, and natural resources sectors. Director Pastreichsummarized the proceedings in a blog post at his blog, Circles and Squares.

Report on Strategies for International Collaboration in Technology Convergence Completed

September 01, 2011 – The Asia Institute completed a report on strategies for international collaboration in technology convergence in cooperation with Seoul National University’s Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology.The research report is entitled “Strategies for Promoting Successful International Collaboration in Convergence Technologies: A Consideration of the Korean Bio-Medical Field” on September 1, 2011 and can be downloaded here. This report was the culmination of Emanuel’s work over the summer including his discussions with University of Illinois, Yale University, MIT, RIKEN (Japan) and other institutes concerning effective strategies for international collaboration in convergence technology research. The study was guided by Emanuel Pastreich, Eugene Pak, Ph.D., of SNU, AICT, and Vince Rubino of SEE GENE Incorporated. Michael Gehret, Associate Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies and Richard Herman, Chancellor Emeritus of University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, participated in the study.

Asia how to cycle hgh Institute Seminar on Technology Convergence Article Published

August 19, 2011 – The first part of a 5-part series titled “Wrestling with Convergence” has been published by the Korea IT Times. The series details a round-table discussion held by the Asia Institute on the topic of technology convergence.

Director Pastreich visits RIKEN headquarters in Wako, Japan

July 29, 2011 – Director Pastreich visited the headquarters of RIKEN in Wako, Japan on July 29th to discuss with Professor Hara Masahiko concerning RIKEN’s Asia Research Network and to learn about Professor Hara’s current research. The most advanced link in the Asia Research Network is the RIKEN-Hanyang Collaboration Research Center located at Hanyang University in Seoul. This program is on a par with the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics and the RIKEN-Brookhaven National Laboratory effort, RIKEN-Hanyang is intended as the core for the Asian Research Network (ARN) in the technology convergence (fusion) research fields. Focus so far has been on the combination of nano-technology with bioengineering and information technology.

“Take Naver Global Today!”

July 18, 2011 – Director Pastreich had an article published in the Korea IT Times arguing for a more international focus for Korea’s top search engine and portal Naver.com. He advocated that a translation of the search page would be a good first step towards integrating the Korean Internet habits with the rest of the world.

“Social Impacts of the Taean Oil Spill: An International Perspective”

July 10, 2011 – Senior Asia Institute associate Charlie Wolf produced a thoughtful report on the Taean Oil Spill and its larger implications.

“The Fukushima Disaster Opens New Prospects for Cooperation in Northeast Asia”

June 28, 2011 – Asia Institute Program Director Markku Heiskanen had an article published on NAPSNET which sums up many of the current topics we have been discussing recently at the Asia Institute. The article focused on the interdependency of Northeast Asia as revealed by the recent Fukushima disaster.

“Will the Next Renaissance Start in Korea?” – Korea IT Times

June 23, 2011 – Director Pastreich had his article published in the Korea IT Times about the possibility of an artistic, cultural, and technological renaissance starting in Korea. He compared the current state of Seoul to 15th century Florence and drew parallels in its inflow of scholars and money, and advances in technology.

“Evolution of East Asian Enterprise” published by Hangyoreh Economic Research Institute

June 13, 2011 – The Hangyoreh Economic Research Institute (HERI) released their “Evolution of East Asian Enterprise” based on the talks given at the ASIA Future Forum held in December of 2010. The conference brought together a wide range of individuals from China, Japan and Korea concerned with corporate social responsibility and the role of NGOs in building civil society. Director Pastreich was a member of the panel on NGOs in Asia and their emerging role.

Global Convergence Forum in the news

March 22, 2011 – The Korea IT Times covered the proceedings of the Global Convergence Forum with an article on March 22. They focused on Dr. Liu speaking about the optimal use of water in vertical farming.

Follow-up Report on Nuclear Power in Southeast Asia

March 18, 2011 – The Asia Institute has started a follow-up report on Nuclear Power in Southeast Asia to supplement the previous report submitted to the Korea Institute for Nuclear Safety. This report will cover developments over the last year.

Director Liu makes presentation on vertical farming, CEO Yoo describes Win-Win in business between Korea and Malaysia

March 16, 2011 – Director Liu Chang-ryol of the Korea Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) made a presentation to the Global Convergence Forum on his vision of vertical farming as a potential massive project for Korean industry. He was joined by Catherine Yoo, CEO of BIZ Holdings. Ms. Yoo presented on the potential for cooperation between Korea and Malaysia in business and technology.

Pastreich assumes the position of associate professor at Kyung Hee University

March 01, 2011 – Director Pastreich assumed the position of professor at Kyunghee University’s new Humanitas College. He will also serve as the program director for Kyunghee University’s new convergence program.

Pastreich visits the United States to discuss potential for US-Korea cooperation in technology convergence

February 22, 2011 – Pastreich visited the Brookings Institution, Yale University and MIT to discuss possible cooperation with Korea concerning technology convergence.

Pastreich meets with Dr. Sung-Woo Kim (김성우) the CEO of the KAIST technology company MPWIZ

February 21, 2011 – Pastreich discussed the next generation of Hubo Robots with the CEO of the KAIST technology company MPWIZ, Dr. Sung-Woo Kim. Dr. Kim described the new strategy of integrating the robot within a cultural continuum so as to make it something closer to an integral resource.

Global Convergence Forum

February 15, 2011 – A group of researchers from diverse fields with a deep commitment to realizing the full potential of the Daedeok Innopolis cluster gathered for a talk by Dr. Kwankyu Choi of KINAC (Korea Institute for Nonproliferation and Control). Dr. Choi spoke about the history of technology in Daedeok and its rapid evolution as a global player.

Pastreich delivers talk on climate change to youth

January 10, 2011 – I spoke about how all of us can contribute to protecting the environment and responding to the challenges of climate change. The most effective analogy was to a space ship: earth is like a spaceship with limited resources and we must conserve them. The event was held at the Global Climate Change Situation Room. I was invited to serve as an advisor to NASA’s OMEGA project, an effort to create a new generation of algae farming for the generation of energy.