Ajou News

NEW Ajou University hosts a special lecture by a Nobel laureate in commemoration of its 50th anniversary

  • 2023-06-02
  • 5368

# Related KBS News Coverage

A dream material according to a Nobel laureate



Ajou University invited a Nobel laureate to give a lecture as part of its 50th anniversary commemoration.


Konstantin S. Novoselov (pictured above), a professor at the National University of Singapore who was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, gave a lecture titled "Materials for the Future." 


Some 600 people, including researchers and students of Ajou University and other universities as well as local elementary, middle, and high school students, attended the lecture on the morning of May 12.


Professor Novoselov spoke about graphene and its characteristics and applications, expectations for and realities of future materials, and principles and conditions around the design of new materials, among other subjects. Afterward, he answered questions from the audience.


Professor Novoselov and his mentor, Professor Andre Geim of The University of Manchester, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing graphene, hailed as a "dream material." Only 36 years old at the time, Professor Novoselov was thrust into the limelight.


An artificial nanomaterial, graphene is widely regarded as an advanced material that overcomes the limits of silicon. Lightweight, transparent, flexible, strong, and conductive, graphene is ideal for use in displays, semiconductors, solar cells, cars, aircraft, and more.


Ajou University held a variety of events this year to honor its 50th anniversary. In April, Nobel laureates David MacMillan (2021 winner, Princeton University) and Carolyn Bertozzi (2022 winner, Stanford University) gave special lectures, and academic seminars on AI semiconductors, mobility, energy and materials, and biotechnology were also held.


Ajou University President Choi Kee-choo said he hoped "the Nobel laureates' lectures would inspire students' learning," and that "it would be wonderful for an Ajou University graduate to go on to win a Nobel prize." 


Ajou University students and researchers and local elementary, middle, and high school students attending the lecture


Professor Novoselov and President Choi with students who attended the lecture