KSEA holds its 29th Northeast Regional Conference entirely online

The New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York chapters of the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) announced on the 10th that they held the 29th KSEA Northeast Regional Conference (NRC) on Saturday, March 28.

In the conference’s 29-year history, this was the first NRC held entirely online, due to the global spread of COVID-19. The program included a plenary session for all attendees and concurrent sessions on four topics: information and communications, life sciences, women in science and engineering, and engineering.

By making the most of the online format, the conference gave Korean American scientists and engineers across the United States—not just those on the East Coast—the opportunity to present and take part in discussions. Despite stay-at-home orders prompted by the pandemic, about 150 scientists and engineers joined the online video conference for lively discussions on science and technology across a range of fields.

Dr. Kook-Sang Moon, chair of this year’s conference, said, “We considered canceling this year’s conference, but the organizing committee agreed to move an event with 29 years of history from in person to online. Many people worked together, and although it was our first time, we held the conference successfully with no major problems.” He added, “The confidence we gained this time makes us hopeful that other in-person events hosted by KSEA headquarters will also move online rather than be canceled because of the pandemic, and that many new online events will be developed.”

As in previous years, this NRC was organized with several professional groups in the northeastern United States: the Korean-American Association of Innovative Technology Entrepreneurs, the Korean-American Women in Science and Engineering Association, the Korean-American Pharmaceutical Scientists Association, the Korean-American Life Scientists Association of New York, and the Korean Scholars Association of Philadelphia. The Korea-U.S. Science Cooperation Center provided the conference equipment and licenses used for this online NRC.

The Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association is a nonprofit organization founded in 1971 by Korean American scientists and engineers in the United States. As of 2020, it has about 10,000 registered members and around 70 chapters. KSEA holds a variety of academic conferences each year and has made significant contributions to the development of science and technology in Korea through collaboration with scientists and engineers in related fields in the Korean government, academia, and industry. In particular, each April, as part of its community outreach, it holds a nationwide math and science competition for students in grades 4 through 11, helping to foster their interest in these subjects.