Stony Brook University SUNY Korea

  Sije Park, Abhishek Gaire and Seungjun Chae from SUNY Korea, and Labesh Baral from SBU in New York, achieved the highest award, “Undergraduate Best in Show” in the Hack@CEWIT that was held in-person on March 3-5, 2023 at Stony Brook University. The Hack@CEWIT is organized in partnership with industry leaders such as IBM, IEEE, Major League Hacking, NASA, and many others, making it one of the premier hackathons at Stony Brook, United States. Around 300 undergraduate and graduate students participated in this Hackathon; among the 16 prizes, Sije’s team attained the highest award. In this Hackathon, Sije’s team was awarded for their project on “Smart Fridge”. Smart Fridge was inspired by the major issue of food waste and inefficient grocery shopping. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, every year 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted due to discretionary purchases. To exacerbate matters, food waste contributes to climate change as a large amount of methane gas is produced when decomposing food in landfills. Therefore, Sije’s team developed a technology that will help solve this issue for environmental sustainability and economic efficiency. Their team used a combination of technologies, including Amazon Textract OCR tools and AI-powered algorithms, to create a seamless user experience web app. The web app addresses this issue by using OCR technology to scan grocery receipts and track foods before they expire. Using an AI-powered recipe generator, users can discover new recipes based on their ingredients and food items that will expire the quickest. The app also allows users to save their favorite recipes and track their eco points.   For more information about the Hackathon: https://www.cewit.org/hackatcewit/ For more information about “Smart Fridge”: https://devpost.com/software/smart-fridge-7m1qsi   

    Hack@CEWIT 2023, the seventh annual student hackathon run by the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT), returned live to Stony Brook University March 3-5, after being held virtually the previous two years. Hack@CEWIT challenges students to further what they know by creating projects that follow their passions, giving them 48 hours or less to collaborate, innovate and show judges their skills and vision. This year’s theme was “Hacking a Sustainable Future,” and featured projects that focused on the Internet of Things (IoT), healthcare, energy and sustainability, defense technology and cybersecurity. Click here to read the original article.

  Stony Brook University has been named a Tree Campus USA Higher Education Institution for the 10th consecutive year. Tree Campus Higher Education, a national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation, honors colleges and universities, and their leaders, for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. Click here to read the original article.  

    Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) ranked first on the Best Fashion Schools In The World For 2023, released on Monday, March 6th by the CEOWORLD magazine.    The magazine took into account of seven major metrics: perceived global brands influencce, recruiters responses, employers feedback, job placement rate, admissions eligibility, specialization, and academic reputation. Click here to read the full article --> LINK

    While previous studies have focused upon identifying potential school shooters, little is known about the mental health and associated characteristics of students who make threats in schools. A study by a team of Stony Brook child psychiatry experts uncovered the wide range of psychiatric diagnoses, learning disorders, educational and treatment needs of this population. The findings are published early online in a paper in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. The research team investigated child and adolescent psychiatry threat assessment evaluations of 157 school-age youth (mean age: 13.4), referred to the Stony Brook University Child and Adolescent Outpatient Clinic (now called the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic at Stony Brook Medicine) by school staff. The children were evaluated at the clinic between 1998 and 2019 and represented 19 school districts encompassing students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Click here to read the original article.

    On March 3 and 4, FIT hosted two days of programming for the Justice Film Festival, brought to the college by the executive director of the Social Justice Center at FIT, Nicole Finigan Ndzibah. She spoke with us about collaborating with the festival and upcoming SJC events. Click here to read the original article.

    Wondering what you want to do after graduating SUNY Korea? Sunghwan Kim, a senior at Stony Brook, got accepted to Stanford’s Master’s Degree Program and is waiting for opportunities from other universities. Here is his story of his experience in SUNY Korea and how it made an impact on his decision to go to graduate school to pursue his dream in his field.    Briefly introduce yourself Hello, my name is Sunghwan Kim. I am a Senior at Stony Brook University’s Engineering & Applied Science Program majoring in Technological Systems Management, minoring in Applied Mathematics & Statistics, and expected to graduate this spring semester. If you have any questions about energy-related research or graduate school application, please feel free to email me: sunghwan.kim@stonybrook.edu  Why did you decide to study at SUNY Korea? Ever since I was young, I have been interested in technology and how it affects society. I set out to become a scientist who gives hope to mankind and the nation. So, in the Department of Technology and Society, I wanted to look at how engineering can directly help people through efficiency and optimization in areas such as sustainability. What is your most memorable experience at SUNY Korea? While studying Technology Systems Management at Stony Brook University, I have been able to look at technology and its broader impacts such as developing institutional regulations and policies for various energy technologies with the theme of sustainability. I have been able to apply the lessons from my coursework to several research projects with Professors Mark D. Whitaker, Sira Maliphol, and Neal Dreamson. One of the most memorable experiences while studying at SUNY Korea is my internship experience at Stanford center. I worked as a research support and project consultant intern at the Stanford Center at Incheon Global Campus (SCIGC) Sustainability Department. As the only undergraduate member, I worked hard with many Stanford professors and researchers on projects studying the trends of EV charging technology and business, demand response (DR), reverse DR, renewable energy, and Smart Mobility. As part of the study, I was able to analyze cases of overseas energy companies and schematization of enterprise types and write a research report. Also, I analyzed GS Caltex Electrical P2P Transactions and V2G Services in Jeju Island, which is a new experimental smart city island in South Korea. What is your greatest accomplishment as a student at SUNY Korea? At the World Federation of United Nations Associations, I participated as a team leader in climate action (SDG13) and as a South Korean representative. Since sustainability is a global issue, I also wanted to learn about the multilateral international organizations that address it. I carried out a project focused on the technology transfer of ESS and EV tractors to prevent carbon emissions from Agri-Business farming in Kalimantan, Indonesia. The findings and proposed policies were presented to officials at the UN headquarters in New York. In addition, in my last project, I investigated public interest in energy by region. From this study, we realized what is most important is that we need policies and regulations to support continuous attention and scientific development. Our study won the Best Paper Award at the 14th International Conference on Intelligent Human-Computer Interaction, which will be published in the Springer-Human Computer Interaction booklet. Also, I participated in various programs and competitions on behalf of the university, such as IGC Central Library Learning Spaces Naming Contest and IFEZ Happy Study Room Mentoring Volunteer work. What are your research interests and career goals? In my current research project, I focus on applying energy storage system (ESS) technology to address the production and demand volatility of wind, water, and solar-derived (WWS) energy. Since renewable energy supply highly depends on weather conditions, ESS can stabilize the energy grid by storing WWS energy. And for my future career, I want to be a professor or project consultant who can suggest technological assessments and proper policies for various government organizations and businesses.

SUNY Korea Spring 2023 Convocation Ceremony 177 students from six majors of Stony Brook University entered the 2023 Spring Semester of SUNY Korea * SUNY Korea Spring 2023 Convocation Ceremony   On February 24th, at the Incheon Global Campus Auditorium, SUNY Korea held the Spring 2023 Convocation Ceremony. A total of 177 students enrolled in Stony Brook University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Business Management, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Technology and Society. In his congratulatory speech, President Arthur H. Lee said, "One of the most enjoyable things to do at the university is welcoming new members to the family. We have 177 new students of the most accomplished and the brightest ever. The incoming class this semester is represented by students from 10 different countries, America, Australia, Nepal, Myanmar, Tanzania, Korea, etc. Overall the student body at SUNY Korea now is represented by over 40 countries worldwide. I ask each one of you to be a responsible member to the SUNY Korea family. Think about your long-term goals. Don’t be afraid of failing as you accomplish these goals, especially while you are at school. Setting up short term goals and intermediate goals would help accomplish your long-term goals eventually. “History makers, we change the world” Where do you start? Perhaps you can start with something that you can do right now, tomorrow and next week. Think about what that might be. We have excellent faculty, dedicated staff to support your educational endeavor and help you achieve your educational and life goals” Dr. Carl Lejuez, Executive Vice President and Provost of Stony Brook University (New York Campus), also joined the Convocation Ceremony this year. He stated, " We’re extremely proud of our partnership from Stony Brook with SUNY Korea. We consider it a significant distinction that we helped to establish the first American University in Korea. We’re honored this year to take the place of the number one public university in the State of New York. This combined with our recent designation of the flagship of the SUNY system recognizes what the Stony Brook University is known for a long time. Stonybrook University and FIT across the SUNY system are committed to student success. We take serious role in preparing our students to be leaders of the next generation. Our graduates bring talents to a broad array of employers and our faculty are active in extensive partnership that support innovation, sustainability, community help and creative activity. SUNY Korea shows the power of collaboration between academia, government and industry. And I want to thank all of our faculty and newest students placed to define our new era of excellence for SUNY Korea. Welcome to this new semester of discovery and best of luck.” SUNY Korea, founded in 2012 in Songdo International City and which celebrated its 10th-anniversary last year, is the first American university in Korea to host and operate excellent departments from Stony Brook University (SBU) and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). All classes follow the New York campus curriculum in English, and graduates will receive the United States Stony Brook University and Fashion Institute of Technology degrees. SUNY Korea is a STEAM convergence education university that offers courses in Natural Science and Business Management fields (Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Business Management, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Technology and Society) at Stony Brook University, and Fashion fields (Fashion Business Management, Fashion Design) at Fashion Institute of Technology.

SUNY Korea Signed an MOU with HDC I'PARK Mall - HDC I'PARK Mall offers various opportunities including internship experiences to students at SUNY Korea SUNY Korea (President Arthur H. Lee) and HDC I'PARK Mall (CEO Daesoo Kim) announced that they signed a MOU agreement on February 22. The main contents of this MOU agreement are △Offering HDC I'PARK Mall internship experiences towards outstanding FIT students △Planning of education and trainee program events jointly participated in professors at FIT, SUNY Korea, and executives and employees of HDC I'PARK Mall △Visiting both institutions and developing of various programs are in the works. President of SUNY Korea Arthur H. Lee said, “By forming a new partnership with HDC I'PARK Mall, the trend-setter of Korean Fashion, our FIT college students will have a window of opportunity of experiencing practical work in various fields". HDC I'PARK Mall CEO Daesoo Kim said, “I’m very glad to allow having a practical work experience to students of FIT, one of the world’s top four fashion schools. For the students to grow into experts, we will continue to develop and provide opportunities to improve various work capabilities.”  

  The PETE Prize for Entrepreneurs, a student award that recognizes excellence in the development of fresh and creative ideas that are translated into business plans leveraging innovative design-oriented thinking, is now accepting applications for its 2023 prize through March 27. The PETE Prize includes a $30,000 cash prize and recognizes excellence in the development of fresh, creative ideas that are translated into business plans leveraging innovative, design-oriented thinking. The winning team will also receive office space and marketing, legal, financial, creative, and operational guidance on how to build and launch an innovative company. Click here to read the original article.

    FIT was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Top Producing Institution for the 2022–23 academic year, underscoring the college’s global reach. The honor was given to 174 colleges and universities this year. Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Since its inception in 1946, there have been more than 400,000 participants from all backgrounds and fields, from the United States and over 160 other countries. A central goal of the program is to form bonds and mutual understanding between countries. Click here to read the original article.

  Coming home … wherever in the world home may be. Feeling included and accepted … for whoever you are or wish to become. Diverse voices coming together in song and forming a community of support. These are the values Stony Brook University Chorale Director Shoshana Hershkowitz lives, breathes, creates and shares with her students every way she can and every chance she gets, whether it’s a student conveying his personal reflections on Transgender Day of Remembrance, an Iranian student raising awareness of the violence happening in her home country, or first-generation students sharing their unique circumstances, challenges and joys. Click here to read the original article. Click here to read the original article.  

  Academic Freedom in American Universitas In the United States, academic freedom is a recognized principle in the higher education. It is generally defined by the "1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure," jointly authored by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. These principles broadly state that "Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject." Academic freedom is based on the idea that to have a dynamic and safe environment for research, inquiry and education, faculty must have the right to engage in discipline-related teaching, learning, and research without outside interference. More specifically faculty must have the right to determine the universities’ curricula, teaching, students’ admission and evaluation criteria, research topics, publications, etc. The goal is to ensure that universities students and scholars can freely challenge the popular or conventional wisdom. The concept is closely related to principles of shared governance and tenure. Many other countries including South Korea have adopted similar principles in their higher education system, albeit with different degrees of strength. In 2021 Freedom House placed Japan and Taiwan in its top 10% ranking, scoring 4 out of 4 for academic freedom. South Korea’s ranking tied with that of the US at 3 out of 4. China and North Korea, were in the bottom 10%, with academic freedom for both assessed at 0 out of 4. Academic freedom however is not without limitations. The laws of society, including those concerning obscenity, pornography, and libel, apply to academic discourse and publication. Faculty also may not claim the privilege of discussing in their classroom controversial matter which has no relation to their subject. The above-mentioned 1940 statement also permits institutions to impose "limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims" In the US, discussions of race, gender and sexual orientation are among the most controversial related issues. Can a professor use racial epithets in teaching a course? Should a white supremacist professor argue for his belief? Should academic freedom protect those who make false and morally repugnant claims? In response to these questions , many universities have adopted policies aimed at limiting speech and writing that is deemed discriminatory , or offensive on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or physical disability. Whereas supporters of the measures, known as “speech codes,” defended them as necessary to protect vulnerable groups against discrimination and harassment, opponents contend that they amounted to the legal enforcement of “politically correct” ideas and expressions. In Korea, the atrocities committed by Japan during its occupation of Korea, and North Korea related topics are among the most controversial academic freedom issues. For example, academics  have to tread carefully in accessing officially blocked North Korea state and media websites for their research in order to not violate the National Security  Law passed in 1948. As another example, In 2018 a Sunchon University professor was dismissed, prosecuted, and imprisoned for six months for insulting former Korean comfort women during a lecture . Sejong University scholar Park Yu-ha was fined in 2017 for false defamation of comfort women in her book Comfort Women of the Empire. Retired Yonsei University scholar Lew Seok-choon was tried after complaints from civic groups that he had insulted comfort women during a class. Academic freedom is an active subject of controversy   and debate. the universities are well advised to have an open dialog with their faculty and students on this topic with consideration of their university’s culture. While in the exercise of this freedom faculty members may, without limitation, discuss their own subject in the classroom, the principle of academic freedom shall be accompanied by a corresponding principle of social responsibility Click here to read the article

  On Tuesday, February 7, The Museum at FIT (MFIT) held the opening reception for Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style. Co-curated by Elizabeth Way, associate curator of costume at MFIT, and Elena Romero, journalist and assistant chair of Marketing Communications, the exhibition celebrates the birth of hip hop and its influence on fashion over the past five decades. This is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition to explore this revolutionary and influential style, and features over 100 garments and accessories that capture the pivotal moments in hip hop fashion’s evolution. Click here to read the original article.

  In a milestone for the School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ), student Viola Flowers won a 2023 Scholar Award by the Overseas Press Club Foundation. Flowers is the first SoCJ student to win the award, which consists of a foreign reporting fellowship with a leading media company or a $3,000 scholarship. “I was shocked by how competitive it was and that I was chosen out of a national applicant pool, but also immensely proud of myself,” said Flowers, a sophomore journalism major from Waterbury, CT. “I pour so much time and energy into my passion because it’s what I love to do and what I feel so strongly about. To have that recognized, and to know that it stands out among such a wide range of applicants, is beyond rewarding.” Click here to read the original article.