KSEA Upstate New York Symposium 2025

On April 12, 2025, the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association held its Upstate New York Symposium at the Rochester Institute of Technology — the first KSEA event in this region in more than twenty years.

The theme, Building Bridges, Strengthening Community, set the agenda: reconnect the Korean-American STEM community that is spread thinly across a large region, and give students and early-career researchers direct access to faculty and industry professionals they would otherwise never meet.

Participants came from the University at Buffalo, Syracuse University, RIT, the University of Rochester, Cornell University, Binghamton University, and other institutions across Upstate New York, spanning disciplines from physics and engineering to the life and social sciences.

Program

Time	Session
1:00 – 1:15 PM	Registration and networking
1:15 – 2:00 PM	Welcome remarks and KSEA overview — Dean Matt Huenerfauth (RIT); Tae (Tom) Oh
2:00 – 3:00 PM	Keynote talks — Sunghwan Jung (Cornell), Sungyoung Kim (RIT / KAIST)
3:00 – 3:15 PM	Coffee and networking break
3:15 – 3:30 PM	SEED: early-career program — Prof. Juhun Lee (University of Pittsburgh, remote)
3:30 – 3:45 PM	KATALYST undergraduate conference — Suzie Kim (University of Rochester)
3:45 – 4:30 PM	Lightning research talks — faculty and student research sharing
4:30 – 5:15 PM	Panel: building a stronger future
5:15 – 5:20 PM	Group photo
5:20 – 6:30 PM	Networking dinner
6:30 – 6:40 PM	Closing remarks

Keynote speakers

Prof. Sunghwan (Sunny) Jung — Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University. Snail-Inspired Surface Robots for Microplastic Collection. A physicist by training, Prof. Jung studies how biological systems interact with their surrounding environments, using mathematical modeling and fluid dynamics to explain animal behavior and plant physiology.

Prof. Sungyoung Kim — Associate Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology and KAIST Graduate School of Culture Technology. Immersive Audio and AI. Formerly a recording engineer at Korean Broadcasting System and a researcher at Yamaha, Prof. Kim works on spatial audio rendering, gamified ear training, and the preservation of aural heritage.

Welcoming remarks — Dean Matt Huenerfauth, Dean of the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, RIT. His research on technology design for Deaf and Hard of Hearing users has attracted $5.25 million in funding since 2007 and produced over 115 peer-reviewed papers and five Best Paper Awards at ACM SIGACCESS.

Panel: building a stronger future

• Prof. Hyunuk Jung — Assistant Professor and Medical Physicist, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center.
• Prof. Sungha Hong — Research Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester Medical Center; 2023 Brain Aneurysm Foundation Research Grant recipient.
• Prof. Bryan Kim — Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University; works on memory and storage systems for data-intensive applications.
• Prof. Ji Hwan Park — Assistant Professor, School of Interactive Games and Media, RIT; previously a computational scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, researching data visualization, visual analytics, and human–AI teaming.

Organizing committee

Tae (Tom) Oh (RIT) · Jung Hun Seo (University at Buffalo) · Kwang Won Park (Cornell) · Nayean (Suzie) Kim (University of Rochester) · Han-You Jeong (Pusan National University / RIT), with support from Katie Park and Jahae Yun at KSEA Headquarters.