Our iGEM 2010 team is composed of 12 students majoring in Bio and Brain Engineering and 3 advisors from KAIST. It all started when one of our advisors, Prof. Choi, gave us a news article regarding iGEM competition. It immediately grabbed our attention and flamed our passion for research. The opportunity could not have been timelier: we, juniors, were focusing on system biology, synthetic biology, and bioinformatics at the time. This is the first participation in iGEM from our institute. We are receiving generous support from the university and getting lots of attention. We will definitely go all the way and put our best effort. We will become the leader in this competition and carry the legacy. GO! GO! KAIST!

  Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) was established in 1971 as the nation’s first graduate school specializing in science and engineering education and research. The school’s founding was a catalyst for Korea’s rapid rise from a producer of light industry goods to a world leader in high-technology industries. The political leadership in the 1960s and 1970s singled out education, work ethics and technological advancement as the means of transforming Korea from an underdeveloped agrarian society into an emerging economy equipped with technological and industrial competitiveness. KAIST was founded under a special law with government funding and initially staffed with a number of Korean engineering and science faculty educated in the United States. Research emphasis from the outset has been put on both theoretical and applied studies. KAIST continues to be Korea’s foremost center for mid- to long-term strategic R&D projects with national and international significance. The University has pioneered the establishment of competitive graduate school programs in Korea. Over the past four decades, KAIST has evolved into a global research university. The University’s strong faculty conducts internationally recognized research in cooperation with academic institutions and industries all over the world. KAIST offers generous grants and fellowships to international students, promoting Korea as a global educational power.

  It is our mission at the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering to cultivate specialized talent equipped to create new knowledge and added value in the fields of Bioengineering and Brain Engineering, which will lead the way for future societies by standing at the nexus of life sciences, the medical sciences, and engineering. The Department of Bio and Brain Engineering opened its doors in 2002 embracing the mission of donor Moon-Soul Chung who said, “Foster talent and develop technology that will feed and support future.” Analogous departments at prestigious universities around the world began at similar times indicating the cutting-edge nature of this department.

  The Chunghi & Byiung Jun (BJ) Park KAIST Institute Building (KI Building) was established for researchers to secure physical proximity to be able to exchange ideas and opinions and cooperate in research activities by a generous contribution from Dr. Byiung Jun (BJ) Park and Mrs. Chunghi Park, and Korean government. The KI Building has 21,120 square meters of total floor space with five floors above ground and one underground. The exterior will symbolize KAIST's vision and challenging spirit, and, at the same time, a flexibility and openness will be emphasized in the design of the interior. The building is located in a place that is easily accessible for researchers of all disciplines including biotechnology, IT, nanotechnology, and eco-technology. It is also ideally situated not only for our students and faculty, but also visitors from outside, because the KAIST Institutes will have a lot of external contacts for the exhibition of research results, information sharing, and intercultural activities. The KI building embodies KAIST's commitment to presenting a new model of creative and interdisciplinary research and to becoming a globally-competitive research-oriented university.