KAIST hosted the Brain Cognitive Engineering Symposium on September 24, at the Dream Hall of the Chung Moon Soul Building (E16). As many as 100 experts in the field of neuroscience participated in the symposium.

The symposium invited six prominent experts in the field of neuroscience to deliver presentations and hold discussions about the recent research trends. Professor Paul M. Thomson of the University of Southern California (USC) was the keynote speaker of the event. Professor Paul M. Thomson, as a renowned scientist in neurology imaging genetics, delivered a speech under the title “The ENIGMA Project: Mapping Disease and Genetic Effects on the Human Brain in 30,000 People Worldwide.” The list of invited speakers includes Professor Jae-seung Jeong of KAIST, Director Sung-Gi Kim of the Neuroscience Imaging Research Center at the Institute for Basic Science, Professor Sung-Hwan Lee of Korea University, Professor Cheil-Moon of Daegu Gyeongbuk Institue of Scienc and Technology (DGIST), and Professor Jun-Tani of KAIST.

The discussions held at the symposium mainly focused on education and the future perspectives of brain-integrated science, as well as the research trends of brain cognitive engineering such as activity production in the brain cortex model, development of functional hierarchy for the motor visual perception, and Neuro-robotics research.

The former president of MIRAE Corporation, Moon Soul Chung made financial contributions in 2014 for the cultivation of talented scholars to conduct research in the integrated field of Brain Engineering and Cognitive Science. Thanks to the support from President Chung, the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering at KAIST successfully established the Brain Cognitive Engineering Program this fall semester. The program was designed to create new technologies that will improve the quality of life for humanity, and to train the future leaders of Brain and Cognitive Engineering and Science. The symposium was organized by the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering at KAIST in order to celebrate the establishment of the Brain Cognitive Engineering Program at KAIST, and examine the recent research trends in the field of neuroscience.

Professor Jae-seung Jeong of KAIST’s Department of Bio and Brain Engineering commented, “This symposium would be an important opportunity for learning research on brain’s basic mechanisms as well as its applications.”