Korea university College of Science

college of science today

The College of Science consists of the Departments of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Earth & Environmental Science. The school has 70 full-time professors leading each discipline and teaching over 800 undergraduate students and 400 graduate students. Selected for inclusion into BK21 PLUS programs sponsored by the Korean government in 2013, the College has been able to provide more support for graduate student research.

Prof. Heo Ya-yong of the Department of Mathematics received the Best Paper Award from the Korean Mathematical Society (KMS) in 2012. Concurrently, the Department produced, for two consecutive years from 2011, core leaders for the government-sponsored Fostering Core Leaders of the Future Basic Science Program for Graduate Students.

The video research of Prof. Choe Won-sik of the Department of Physics was selected as one of the 10 Most Amazing Scientific Discoveries of New Scientists, and Prof. Park Hong-gyu has developed an optical tweezer capable of handling minute nanoparticles. The Department of Physics’ particles and nuclear particles team participated in the CMS international joint research, thus contributing to the discovery of the Higgs particle in 2013. The Department of Physics has also produced a number of Global Ph.D. fellows, sponsored by the Korean government.

Prof. Jo Min-haeng of the Department of Chemistry received the 57th National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Award and the 10th Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) Award in 2012 and was selected by the Donga Daily as one of the “Top 100 people to lead Korea in the next decade.” In 2013, Prof. Kim Jong-seung received the ‘Scientist of the Month’, the Song-gok Science and Technology Award, and the Sim Sang-cheol Award of the Korean Chemical Society. In addition, Ha Jae-seung, a graduate student of the Department, received the Best Paper Prize in the First Dow Electronic Material Award.

The Department of Earth & Environment Science provides diverse scholarship benefits to undergraduate students through the Future Scientist Training Program in National Geological Survey and Resources Exploration. The College of Science also hosts highly productive specialized research institutes: Institute of Basic Science (established 1971), Institute for Mineral Resource Research (1991), Advanced Materials Chemistry Research Center (1995), Korea Detector Lab (1997), Electronic-Photo Sensor Molecular Research Center and Research Initiative Center for Neurodynamics (1998), Center for Multidimensional Spectroscopy (2000), and Institute of Nano Science and Telecommunication Mathematics Research Center (2001).

Thanks to the generous donation of late Hyundai Group Chairman Jeong Ju-yeong in 1996, the College of Science’s Asan Hall (total floor space exceeding 20,000 square meters) was constructed on the Science Campus. Equipped with experimental facilities for both undergraduate and graduates, multimedia lecture rooms and seminar rooms, Asan Hall has significantly contributed to scientific education and research.

History

Sept. 1952	College of Liberal Arts renamed the College of Liberal Arts and Science (Departments of Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, and Biology established)
1954	School of Literature and the School of Science and Engineering established within the College of Liberal Arts and Science restructured to form Department of Mathematics and Physics divided into the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Physics
1957	School graduates its first diploma recipient
1962	Department of Chemical Engineering established within the School of Science and Engineering, College of Liberal Arts and Science
1963	College of Liberal Arts and Science reorganized into the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science and Engineering
1968	Department of Geology established within the School of Science and Engineering
1969	Department of Physical Education established within the School of Science and Engineering
1971	Department of Domestic Science established within the School of Science and Engineering
1972	Departments of Physical Education and Domestic Science transferred to the newly established College of Education
1977	College of Science and Engineering reorganized and divided into the College of Science and College of Engineering
1983	Department of Computation established
1994	Construction of the College of Science’s Asan Hall commenced Department of Geology renamed the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences
1996	Construction of the College of Science’s Asan Hall completed
2000	Department of Biology transferred to and integrated within the School of Life Sciences
2001	Department of Computer Science spun off as the College of Information & Communication
2012	Construction of the outer wall of College of Science’s Asan Hall completed