 |
|
"I plan to expand international exchange with leading universities of the world and to accommodate innovative ideas for change. Most of all, by creating market demand, I will propel KAIST forward so that it does not settle down simply as a place to produce technological human power, but becomes a top-level university dedicated to creating 'knowledge leaders' for a dynamic knowledge society."
Nobel prize winner and former professor of Stanford University Robert Laughlin attracted public attention for his appointment to the position as the president of KAIST. Set to assume the position at KAIST on the 14th of this month, Professor Laughlin talked about his future plans for KAIST and the overall direction of development of Korean science in an exclusive phone interview with us.
In the busy days before assuming the position in KAIST, Professor Laughlin compared himself to "the captain of oil tanker". He talked about his blueprint for KAIST. "My goal is to develop KAIST not simply as a science and engineering university, but as the world class institution for dealing with complex issues such as cancer treatment, space engineering and marine restoration."
"At the moment, Korean scientists are suffering from low morale. An urgent task for me is to uplift their sense of pride and to maintain it at a high level," Professor Laughlin explained.
When told that many people were curious of his detailed ways to run KAIST, he emphasized that "the science and technology in Korea are not falling behind as Korean people think they are." He then expressed his opinion that "for fundamental development of science and technology, a more innovative and daring approach will be required." In other words, Professor Laughlin's goal is to focus on improving the overall standard rather than on producing achievements simply in numerics.
Professor Laughlin continued on saying that, for such improvement, we must first concentrate on expanding the budget, changing the legal system of KAIST, and increasing exchanges with other advanced universities worldwide, such as MIT and Stanford of US and ETH of Switzerland." He predicted a significant change in financial support from the government, notably for policies of international exchange.
"The 20th century was the era of industrialism. This new century will be of dynamic knowledge society." Laughlin added that "rather than being only a place to train technological human power, KAIST will also be a place to create 'knowledge leaders' for this dynamic knowledge society."
Lastly, he pointed out the weakness of Korean scientience in its dependency on public funding. He expressed of his hopeful plans in taking up the position in KAIST by saying that "creation of market demand appropriate for the researched products is the the quickest route to better achievement. I think one simply needs more bold ideas of bold people that are brought to fruition fast."
Laughlin is due for arrival in Incheon International Airport on the 13th with his wife and two sons. After inaugural ceremony to be held in the main hall of KAIST, Laughlin will begin his term as the president of KAIST.