POSTECH: Nobel Laureate Dan Shechtman Visits POSTECH
Professor Dan Shechtman (Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology), the winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011, has visited POSTECH. His visit was hosted by POSTECH to promote a closer cooperation in research and education with Israel to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Israel.
The most notable program was Professor Dan Shechtman’s special lecture. Professor Shechtman, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering quasicrystals – structures that are halfway between crystals and amorphous solids, gave a lecture titled, ‘Quasi-Periodic Materials, a Paradigm Shift in Crystallography’ to Postechians on July 19.
The lecture was a valuable opportunity for all POSTECH members to interact with the Nobel prize laureate and to dream for their future. The fact that his discovery faced numerous criticisms from academia before being officially accepted and recognized caught the interest of future scientists and engineers who are also working hard in their own research fields despite difficulties and hardship.
On the same day, POSTECH also held a joint conference with researchers from Israeli universities, including Professor Ady Arie from Tel Aviv University, Professor Guy Bartal from Technion University, and Professor Steffen Jung from Weizmann Institute of Science, together with POSTECH professors and students. The latest research trends in quantum metaphotonics and immunology were discussed. The quantum metaphotonics session was chaired by Professor Junsuk Rho of POSTECH’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Chemical Engineering, and the immunology session was chaired by Professor Sin-Hyeog Im from POSTECH Department of Life Sciences.
Meanwhile, behind Professor Shechtman’s visit to POSTECH was the effort of the Embassy of Israel to Korea. Not only did Ambassador Akiva Tor, the Israeli Ambassador to Korea, spare no effort in facilitating the Nobel laureate’s visit to POSTECH, the Embassy also sponsored the events. Ambassador Tor showed his commitment and friendship to POSTECH by accompanying the Nobel laureate and participating in all events at POSTECH.