Kang-Wook Lee, Ph.D.	Ki-Jun Lee, Ph.D.

The objective of UKC is to provide a forum for leading researchers from the US and Korea to present their research findings within their respective area of expertise and discuss the most recent trends in technology-based products. UKC2008 will also promote networking among participants to allow scientific collaboration between the two countries. In addition, UKC2008 will provide young scientists and engineers with an opportunity to learn about and explore their career opportunities.

The following initiatives have been implemented in order to enhance the quality of the technical programs to a world-class level:

• All technical programs will include focused, hot R&D topics that have recently interested scientists and engineers in the US and Korea. The symposiums are related but unique so that a participant can be interested in more than one symposium.
  
  
• In order to discuss hot and focused topics, eight new symposiums and one new workshop are organized: Automotive Science and Technology, Fusion (FSN), Fossil Energy in Next Decades (FEN), Alternative Energy and Environmental Sustainability (AEES), Energy R&D Workshop (ENGY), Polymer Chemistry and Physics (PCP), Polymer Engineering and Technology (PET), Electronic Packaging Science and Technology (EPS), and Statistics, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics (STA). The three symposiums and the workshop (FSN, FEN, AEES and ENGY) are interrelated and all four areas are important to the future technologies of the US and Korea. STA is complementary to Bio Science Technology while PCP to PET and Nano Science.
  
  
• There will be an independent symposium on Applied and Pure Mathematics to stress the importance of mathematics to all sciences.
  
  
• There will be a forum on Education and R&D Policy in which two separate panel discussions are planned.
  
  
• Prof. Clive Granger of UCSD and Dr. Roger Guillemin of SALK, both Nobel Laureates, and Prof. Suh, Nam Pyo, President of KAIST, will each be delivering a plenary speech. Many other prominent speakers will also be invited to plenary sessions and technical symposiums.
  
  
• A two-hour plenary poster session will increase participation of young scientists and engineers and allow KSEA chapters and affiliated professional societies to present their activities.
  
  
• Most symposiums and forums will have a panel discussion at the end to prepare a brief report on the trends in the related field of sciences and technologies.
  

We invite you to participate in the Conference, to meet your colleagues and friends, and to visit the beautiful city of San Diego. We are confident that the Conference will be a valuable professional and personal experience for all participants.

Best Regards,

Kang-Wook Lee, Ph.D.
The UKC2008 Chair and the KSEA President-elect
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

Ki-Jun Lee, Ph.D.
The UKC2008 Co-Chair and the President-elect of KOFST
Honorary President of National Academy of Engineering of Korea
President Emeritus of Seoul National University