Sohn Hoon, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at KAIST and recipient of the June Korea Science and Technology Award, stressed that "the talent that artificial intelligence (AI) companies need is ultimately people who are properly equipped with the fundamentals of mathematics and physics." He also said, "The more we enter the AI era, the more we must strengthen education and research environments so that students in science and engineering can build broad and solid foundational capabilities."
Sohn made the remarks while emphasizing the importance of foundational education in science and engineering at the "On-Site Plaque Award Ceremony" held at KAIST in Daejeon on the 24th.
The Korea Science and Technology Award is hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and co-organized by the National Research Foundation of Korea and Seoul Economic Daily. Each month, it selects one researcher who has made significant contributions to the advancement of science and technology through original research achievements over the past three years. The recipient receives an award from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, along with 10 million won in prize money.
The On-Site Plaque Award Ceremony is jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Seoul Economic Daily, and the National Research Foundation of Korea, aiming to publicize the achievements of outstanding researchers at their research sites and to commemorate the recipients' research accomplishments together with their affiliated institutions. The intent is to deliver a plaque to the university or research institute where the recipient works, sharing the researcher's achievement and encouraging follow-up research.
At a discussion held after the event that day, Sohn noted that to ease the concentration of top talent toward medical schools, the treatment and economic compensation of researchers in science and engineering must also be improved. "It is difficult to change students' career choices simply by emphasizing the importance of science and engineering to them," he said. "We must be able to give them confidence that they can receive sufficient rewards even if they enter engineering schools to conduct research and develop technology."
Sohn was selected as the June recipient for his work in developing an affordable, high-precision displacement sensor that can detect disaster risks in small and medium-sized social infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels, and buildings in real time. "Existing sensors can be installed on large and expensive bridges such as the Yeongjong Bridge or the Incheon Bridge, but they were difficult to apply to ordinary bridges due to the cost burden," Sohn explained. "By simply attaching the sensor, it can supply its own power and transmit data wirelessly, reducing installation and maintenance costs."
The sensor can be used not only for ordinary bridges and aging buildings but also to detect collapse risks at demolition sites. It works by measuring minute changes such as sagging and vibrations that appear before a structure collapses in real time, then sending an alert to workers. The research team plans to develop it into an integrated sensor capable of detecting river water levels, earthquakes, underground parking lot flooding, and even fires.
Sohn's research team plans to pursue exports and commercialization of the sensor after verifying its local performance in India, Thailand, Japan, and other countries. To date, the scale of related technology transfers is approximately 400 million won.
