Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Professor Kim Yong-min's research team (College of Engineering, Division of Chemical Engineering), in collaboration with Professor Moon Hong-cheol's team at KAIST (President Bae Choong-sik), has developed an ionic soft robot called the 'Ionograsper' that detects approaching objects and moves to grasp them when exposed to light.
 
The key feature of this robot is that a single soft material serves both as a sensor and as an artificial muscle. A brief exposure to weak ultraviolet (UV) light can induce movement, and after the light is turned off the deformed state is maintained for more than 10 minutes without additional energy input.
 
Conventional soft robots often mount sensors that detect the environment separately from the actuators that produce motion. As a result, parts and wiring increase, the structure becomes complex, and continuous energy supply may be required to move or maintain a specific posture. To reduce these limitations, the

Lee Seung-ju, a first-year student in Engineering Departments 2, was selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 'Everyone's Startup Project' Phase 2 General & Technology Track with a startup idea based on RF hardware technology.
 
'Everyone's Startup Project' is a national startup support program that provides step-by-step assistance—from planning through mentoring, prototype production, to commercialization validation—so that citizens with innovative ideas can pursue entrepreneurship.
 
For this 2nd cohort, the selection size was doubled compared to the first round, expanding to select a total of 10,000 participants: 8,000 for the General & Technology Track and 2,000 for the Local Track. A total of 92,838 people applied, recording an average competition rate of 9.3 to 1. The General & Technology Track, to which Lee applied, received 80,764 applicants, showing approximately a 10 to 1 competition rate.
 
As a result of the selection, Lee will receive

Graduate students Lee Baek and Im Jeongseop from the Communications Circuits and Systems Laboratory, Division of Electronic Engineering (Advisor: Professor 임동구), received the IEEE CAS Tague Chapter Award at the 2026 International System-on-Chip Semiconductor Design Conference (ISOCC) for their semiconductor receiver design research for drone signal detection.
 
ISOCC is an international conference where semiconductor circuit design researchers from around the world share research findings and technologies. Experts from domestic and international universities, companies, and research institutions participate, and more than 40 companies and research organizations, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, ETRI, KETI, Cadence, and Synopsys, sponsor the event.
 
Leading the research, graduate student Lee Baek presented the paper "A Blocker-Tolerant Wideband Receiver Employing a Frequency-Selective Positive- and Negative-Capacitive-Feedback TIA for Drone Detection," which add

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Ijae Research center (Director Han Mun-jong) will hold an academic conference to highlight the cultural heritage value of 'Ijae Nango' and to gather scholarly evidence to support its designation as a Treasure.
 
Ijae Research center will host an academic conference on October 23 in the Education Room of the Gochang Confucian Cultural Experience Center under the theme 'The Cultural Heritage Value of "Ijae Nango" and the Scholarly Standing of Hwang Yun-seok.' Hosted by Gochang County and organized by the JBNU Ijae Research center, the conference is intended to examine the scholarly world of 'Ijae Nango' and its author Hwang Yun-seok from multiple perspectives and to publicize its value to the local community and the public.
 
'Ijae Nango' is the diary of Ijae Hwang Yun-seok, recorded from 1738 to 1791. It contains detailed entries across various fields, including history, linguistics, mathematics, astronomy, geography, and science and technolo

Professor Young-Jae Moon's team (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine; Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Jeonbuk National University Hospital) identified an imaging marker that can detect early signs of a rare, refractory muscle disease and proposed a new potential therapy to suppress muscle degeneration. Noting that changes begin in the muscles that support the spine before damage in the leg muscles becomes evident, they found leads for both early diagnosis and therapeutic target discovery.
 
The Moon team, through a multi-institutional collaboration with domestic and international researchers, confirmed early fatty infiltration of spinal muscles associated with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B/R2 and elucidated the cells and signaling pathways that drive this process. The findings were published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, a journal in molecular medicine and translational research published by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMB

Professor Jae-Hyuk Cho (Department of Software Engineering; field of artificial intelligence) was named among the 'World's Top 2% Researchers' in 2026, following his inclusion in 2025, according to an academic impact analysis by a research team at Stanford University and Elsevier.
 
According to the annual impact (Single Year) data from the researcher information platform TOPSCINET, Professor Cho's overall ranking excluding self-citations rose by 108,373 places, from 329,810 in 2025 to 221,437 in 2026. His ranking in the subfield of Networking and Communications also improved from 4,236 to 2,735, demonstrating an increased scholarly impact of his recent research outcomes.
 
The 2026 edition of the annual impact assessment covers citation performance for papers published in 2025. Based on the Scopus database, it calculates a composite impact metric (c-score) that reflects citation counts, h-index, co-authorship and author roles, and selects researchers according to criteria su

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences held the 1st JBNU Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences Colloquium on October 20 in Conference Room 824 of the Humanities and Social Sciences Building at JBNU.
 
This colloquium was organized to examine changes in local communities resulting from population change and to promote scholarly exchange and collaboration among researchers around key social science agendas. Principal investigators (PIs), research professors, co-investigators, related researchers, and undergraduate students participated to jointly explore the conditions for sustaining life in the region and the role of communities.
 
The keynote presentation was delivered by Professor Park Hong-jae of the Department of Social Work at Western Sydney University, Australia. Professor Park examined the relationship between population change and local communities through Australian cases, presenting 'How Is Life Sustained Locall

Professor Kwangwoon Jeong's research team (Department of Polymer -Nano Science &Technology, College of Engineering; Department of Nano Convergence Engineering, Graduate School) has proposed a method to control light-emitting properties by regulating the self-assembly process and ordering of molecules. This achievement is expected to be applied to the development of optical encryption materials that selectively display and read information.
 
The study was published in the international journal Small, which covers research in nanoscience, materials science and advanced functional materials, and was selected as the cover paper for the September 2026 issue in recognition of its academic merits.
 
The research team designed and synthesized a pyrene-based liquid crystal molecule (Py-LCM) and analyzed the effect of the nanostructures and molecular ordering on its emission properties. They found that the way molecules aggregate and order depends on the polarity and concentration of

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (JBNU-HISS; Director Yun Myeong-suk) has partnered with the Institute for Korean Studies at the University of Tübingen to expand collaborative research and exchanges among the next generation of scholars. Rather than holding large-scale events, they agreed to focus on in-depth discussions among researchers with shared interests to establish a substantive foundation for international academic cooperation.
 
The JBNU Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences recently visited the Institute for Korean Studies at the University of Tübingen, signed a memorandum of understanding for academic exchange and cooperation, and announced on the 20th that they had discussed concrete cooperation measures focused on collaborative research and personnel exchanges.
 
At the signing ceremony, JBNU Vice President and Director of JBNU-HISS Yun Myeong-suk and Deputy Director Lee Hyung-woo attended. From the

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Technology Holding Company (CEO Baek Ki‑tae, Vice‑President of Industry‑University Cooperation) achieved a virtuous‑cycle outcome in university technology commercialization by supporting faculty startup and its subsidiary, Bioid Co., Ltd., in securing investment and selling part of its equity stake. The company, founded on the university's research outcomes, was supported in its growth, and the attraction of private investment and recovery of investment proceeds established a foundation to back new technology startups.
 
JBNU Technology Holding Company recently held a memorandum of understanding (MOU) ceremony to commemorate Bioid Co., Ltd.'s (CEOs Hyung‑Kwan Jang and Min Kang) successful fundraising and a 120‑fold equity exit (EXIT), and to support its subsequent growth.
 
Attendees at the event included Lee Dong‑heon, Executive Vice‑President of JBNU; Baek Ki‑tae, Vice‑President of Industry‑University Cooperation and

A tranquil hanok lecture hall will open as a lifelong learning space to learn traditional Korean melodies and to nurture body and mind.
 
Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Continuing Education Center (Director Jeong Yong-jun) will operate the '2026 Second Semester Outreach Lifelong Education Courses,' centered on Simcheon Hakdang, JBNU's hanok landmark, to provide experiences of traditional culture and wellness. The program is designed to open the university's educational spaces to the university community and local residents and to provide learning opportunities close to everyday life.
 
This program is characterized by a concentrated lineup of courses that can be enjoyed in the tranquil ambiance of Simcheon Hakdang. It offers classes including learning Pansori "Uri Garak" and folk songs, the traditional martial art su-byeok chigi, yoga, and musical instrument courses, providing opportunities to learn traditional culture and regain physical and mental vitality.
 
The c

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Division of Electronic Engineering AI Robotics Lab (supervisor Professor Cho Hyung-gi) is broadening the horizons of Physical AI research by presenting robot intelligence technologies that understand humans and space and move autonomously in real environments.
 
The research team presented three research outcomes covering everything from three-dimensional perception inside the human body to space understanding that accounts for robot-specific mobility, and autonomous navigation and manipulation in real environments, at the "Nature Conference: Autonomous Robotics" held at KAIST Daejeon Main Campus from October 13–15.
 
This event was the first Nature Conference dedicated solely to robotics, organized by the global publisher Nature. Leading robotics scholars and Nature editors gathered to discuss the latest achievements and future research directions in autonomous robotics and Physical AI, embodied intelligence (Embodied Intelligence), robot

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Alumni Association (Chairman 최병선) successfully held the '2026 Students' 1,000-Won Breakfast Support JBNU Alumni Association Golf Tournament' at Jeonju Shangri-La Country Club on October 17, 2026.
 
A total of 37 teams participated in the tournament, strengthening camaraderie among alumni and sharing their affection for their alma mater and junior students. Under a clear autumn sky and pleasant weather, participants enjoyed their rounds in a comfortable setting and exchanged warm relations between seniors and juniors.
 
This year's golf tournament was organized not only to promote alumni unity and fellowship but also to raise support for the '1,000-Won Breakfast' program that helps current students start their day with a healthy meal. The Alumni Association consistently supports the 1,000-Won Breakfast program so that students can reduce their financial burden and focus on their studies.
 
After the rounds, an official ceremony, do

JBNU (President Yang O-bong) sent approximately 1,500 international students to participate in a Sunchang local festival, where they experienced Jeonbuk's traditional culture and cuisine and interacted with the local community. Their participation is expected to increase understanding of and a sense of belonging to the region, and to greatly help establish a foundation for settling in the region and planning their future there after graduation. JBNU international students enjoyed various cultural experiences and performances at the festival held October 15 to 18 at the Sunchang Traditional Gochujang Folk Village and Fermentation Theme Park. International and exchange students from six universities in the province, including JBNU, Jeonju University, Jeonju Vision University, Wonkwang University, Woosuk University, and Kunsan National University, participated in the cultural activities. The students took part in programs showcasing Sunchang's jang (fermented paste) culture, inc