Republic of Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology Opens ‘KIOST-NOAA Lab External Office’ and
Holds 2^nd Republic of Korea-US Oceanic Meteorological Technology Workshop

 
The Republic of Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST), which has strived toward establishing a research starting point, inside the ocean research center of an overseas developed country, in order to obtain a world-class R&D capability and promote the exchange of skilled research personnel, has gained an overseas office as part of the process of becoming a global oceanic research center.

KIOST (Director: Jung-Keuk Kang) announced that it had held the opening ceremony for the KIOST-NOAA Lab External Office, on the afternoon of May 10, at the Republic of Korea-US Science Cooperation Center (Director: Jong-Duk Kim) located in Vienna, Virginia.

* KIOST (Republic of Korea Institute Ocean Science & Technology)
KUSCO (Republic of Korea-US Science Cooperation Center)
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
KIOST-NOAA Lab

Opening ceremony of the KIOST-NOAA Lab External Office (middle: Director Jung-Keuk Kang, KIOST)

The KIOST-NOAA Lab External Office was established by KIOST to increase the amount of cooperative research conducted with reputable American oceanography research centers, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Opening of the KIOST-NOAA Lab External Office

The KIOST-NOAA Lab External Office plans to solidify its reputation as a research starting point for the shared growth of KIOST and its cooperating organizations through increasing the awareness of information on oceanic science technology, exchanging skilled research personnel, establishing an R&D network, and holding joint workshops and sessions.

2nd Republic of Korea-US Oceanic Meteorological Science Technology Workshop

In particular, KIOST plans to carry out the Blue Ocean Project, a large-scale cutting-edge oceanic science project that will connect research projects across the various fields currently being conducted by existing organizations, international cooperative programs, international joint research projects and domestic and Korean American scientists. It also plans to carry out an exploratory project for global environmental change and oceanic resources to maximize the utility of the large-scale research ships being constructed and the icebreaker Araon at the Republic of Korea Polar Research Institute, a subsidiary organization of KIOST.

KIOST Director Jung-Keuk Kang stated, “The establishment of the KIOST-NOAA Lab External Office has created a jumping board for KIOST to strengthen its cooperation with the most influential organizations in the area of oceanic science technology.” He went on to say about KIOST, “KIOST will continue to focus on the cultivation of talented personnel to lead in the efforts to improve the reputation and competitiveness of Korean oceanic science technology by developing educational training programs.

On May 11, the 2nd Republic of Korea-US Oceanic Meteorological Science Technology Workshop was held in the main conference room of KUSCO to commemorate the founding of the KIOST-NOAA Lab External Office.

The workshop, hosted by KIOST and attended by over 70 individuals, including Korean American scientists, oceanic climate-related policymakers and experts in the field, conducted discussions on a wide variety of topics, including joint research and technology exchanges between Republic of Korea and the US and the brainstorming of a global agenda to solve those problems affecting the entire world.

Participants shared information on the direction of international ocean science technology and discussed solutions to various current issues and problems through topic presentations, including ‘The Role of Oceanography in International Cooperation (Young-Tae Kim, Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United States of America)’ and the ‘Blue Ocean Project and KIOST-NOAA Lab Extension (Dr. Sik Heo, KIOST)’ and joint research proposal presentations, including ‘The Role of Oceanography in Global Climate Change (Dr. Young-Kwon Lim, NASA)’ and ‘Cooperation with the US on Climate Data Assimilation and Climate Forecast (Dr. Young-Ho Kim, KIOST).’