■Sunoo Hwang, a combined master's and doctoral student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), participated in the global innovation competition '2025 Merck Innovation Cup' organized by German technology company Merck as part of the green chemistry team, winning the runner-up position. He is the only participant and awardee from a domestic institution. Hwang said, "It was a very valuable experience to form a team and collaborate with outstanding researchers from around the world and to think about solving actual industrial problems," adding, "I gained confidence that the academic foundation and research experience learned at KAIST can be applied on the real global technology innovation stage."
■The Gwangju National Science Museum announced that it will operate a special summer education program for infants and elementary school students from July 29 to Aug. 14. The education program includes a total of 7 types and 26 classes, such as the Green Star Exploration Team, the Math Exploration Team, artificial intelligence coding education, and the Exhibition Item Exploration Challenge. The Green Star Exploration Team targets students in the first to third grades of elementary school, while the Math Exploration Team is for first to fourth graders. The artificial intelligence coding education and the Exhibition Item Exploration Challenge are aimed at fourth to sixth graders. For more details, you can check the Gwangju National Science Museum website (www.sciencecenter.or.kr).