Solar cells are converters that make electricity out of light energy by the photovoltaic effect. Made with organic semiconductors, organic solar cells are light and flexible, can produce electricity with a small amount of sunlight, and can be manufactured at a low cost. As a result, they are suitable for products that need self-generated electricity such as solar windows or certain military products rather than for solar power plants. In Angewandte Chemie, a renowned journal for the field of chemistry, a POSTECH master’s student published a paper on a new manufacturing technology for org..

Asmart nanomedicine customized for liver diseases has been developed by Professor Sei Kwang Hahn’s research team in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Hyaluronic acid is a bio-polymer of high biocompatibility and stability, and can be target-specifically delivered to liver tissues. Capitalizing on this characteristic of hyaluronic acid, Prof. Hahn built a liver-targeted drug delivery system, which is expected not only to reduce serious side-effects of the conventional uncustomized medications, but also to advance the effectiveness of the drug for hepatitis, liver cirrho..

When we pour a carbonated drink into a cup, we see small droplets popping over the surface. This happens because air bubbles float up in water and burst on the water surface, ejecting water particles into the air. These water particles are called ‘aerosols.’ In general, aerosols are tiny particles whose size ranges from a few nanometers to several micrometers that freely float in the atmosphere. Water droplets, dust, smoke, and water haze are typical examples of aerosols. They may either act as cloud condensation nuclei stimulating cloud formation, or scatter and absorb solar light..

Water probably is the greatest enemy for most electrical devices; water short-circuits electric devices. Therefore the demand is high for developing water-resistant components, and in particular, those to be used for expensive, high-performance electronic devices. Professor Kijung Yong of Department of Chemical Engineering and PhD candidate Seunghyup Lee have utilized the ‘lotus leaf effect’ with nano materials and manufactured an electronic device that shows stable performance even when soaked in water. The result was published online in Advanced Materials, a renowned journal in m..

In 2008, POSTECH Alumnus Dr. Donghun Lee made an unexpected discovery during his study of single dopants in Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) semiconductors, which are used for satellites or military products. A dopant is a substance that produces a desired electrical characteristic for semiconductors, and Dr. Lee had been studying a defect semiconductor where one of the lattice points had a dopant atom missing. He experimented by pushing the atom to the next lattice point, and surprisingly, the atoms automatically rearranged themselves to fill the vacant places as in a puzzle game. Now the defect produ..

Professor Kwang Soo Kim has come forth with a revolutionary and unprecedented method for DNA sequencing that can potentially decode 3 billion pairs of human genes in an hour. The field of DNA sequencing caught the world’s attention when the Human Genome Project was successfully completed in 2003, and many developed nations have since been competing to develop ways to increase the speed of genetic sequencing and analysis. This research is closely related with treating intractable or rare diseases and therefore will have important implications for life science. Professor Kim, well-known fo..

It is interesting that a scientific explanation can be given about the differences between a successful and unsuccessful sports player in major professional games such as the USA Major League Baseball or NBA, or the UK Premier League. POSTECH Professor Woo-Sung Jung and Professor H. Eugene Stanleya at Boston University, USA, formed a joint research team to study the above. Titled ‘Quantitative and Empirical Demonstration of the Matthew Effect in a Study of Career Longevity,’ their paper illustrated how the Matthew effect works on professional sports in Korea, the UK and the USA, an..

As it is better to wear clothes that fit you well rather than to try on many possible sizes, it is also most prudent to take pills that cure your ailments precisely without triggering unwanted side-effects. A POSTECH joint research team has contributed to the forthcoming era of customized medicines by developing a very precise way to detect the genetic variations among individuals. The team has made it possible to prescribe appropriate therapeutic administrations for each individual. This new technology can assign the most appropriate pills for a cold, anticipate the effects of new anti-cancer..

A new drug delivery system, whose nanopores open or close depending on electrical stimulus, has been established by Professor Jin Kon Kim, Director of National Creativity Research Initiative Program for Block Copolymer Self-Assembly. The device can also be manipulated by a remote controller while being planted inside a human body. Published on Nano Letters (11(3), 1284-1288 (2011)), an authoritative journal on nanoscience, the article, ‘Electrically Actuatable Smart Nanoporous Membrane for Pulsatile Drug Release,’ discusses how the new device can freely control the release of drugs..

Professor Kimoon Kim and his team revealed that cucurbiturils, small nano-sized molecules, can enable the analysis of many types of cancer and of stem cells in a very simple manner similar to fishing. Named after the plant family ‘Curcurbitaceae’ and shaped like hollow pumpkins, cucurbiturils can hold various ions or molecules like ferrocene inside, and can have ions attached on top and below through host-guest interactions, which means they have great potential for various applications. The compound was first synthesized in Germany around a century ago and its structure was elucid..