PROFESSOR JAE-EUNG OH VISITS CLARK SCHOOL ME DEPARTMENT

For the past year the University of Maryland A.J. Clark School Department of Mechanical Engineering has been developing a collaboration with the College of Engineering and ME Department at Hanyang University, one of the top engineering schools in Korea. Professor Jae-Eung Oh, the Provost at Hanyang University in Korea, initiated this collaboration between the two universities.

While visiting the University of Maryland the week of February 17, Professor Oh worked closely with the Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Avram Bar-Cohen. He was able to meet with the President of the University of Maryland, C.D. Mote, Jr. to discuss details about the collaboration and to extend a formal invitation to the President to visit Hanyang University. Professor Oh also met with Drs. Balachandran and Piomelli, Dean Farvardin, and Saul Sosnowski, the Director of International Programs.

In the early stages, the collaboration will be centered on mechanical engineering and will allow Hanyang University to learn from Maryland's progress as one of the top research universities in the United States. The collaboration will encourage visiting scholar or researcher exchange, joint research programs, graduate student and academic materials exchange.

Professor Oh also serves as the Director of the Mechanical Engineering Division of the "Brain Korea 21" program and would like to see Maryland become part of the Korean effort to raise the quality of their science and technology human resources in this arena. Professor Oh was on sabbatical at the University of Maryland last year with Professor Balachandran before being recalled to Hanyang to serve as Provost.

In April 2003 the College and Department signed a cooperation agreement with Hanyang. At Professor Oh's invitation, Dr. Avram Bar-Cohen visited their two campuses to get to know their faculty and facilities, and to lay the groundwork for further cooperation. While in Hanyang, Dr. Bar-Cohen also met briefly with Professor Chong Yang Kim, the President of Hanyang University, who voiced strong support for this Agreement and future collaboration with Maryland in education and research.

Published February 15, 2004