Chancellor Nordenberg Visits Korea, Lays Groundwork for Education Ties

Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg traveled this summer to South Korea where he signed a memorandum of understanding with Chung-Ang University. Under the agreement, the two universities will develop student- and faculty-exchange programs  and collaborate on special academic projects. Nordenberg also hosted a July 8 reception in Seoul for Korean alumni of Pitt, including seven of whom he presented limited-edition University 225 Anniversary Medallions.

Joining the chancellor on his Korea trip were Sanjeev Shroff, professor and Gerald E. McGinnis Chair in Pitt’s Department of Bioengineering and professor of Medicine; Jason Kane, director of constituent relations in Pitt’s University Center for International Studies; and Keunsoo Jeong, a doctoral candidate in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

Also while in Seoul, Chancellor Nordenberg met with Yongmin Kim, the president of Pohang University of Science and Technology. The two leaders discussed details of the high-level Pohang delegation of academic and industry leaders that Kim would lead to Pittsburgh later in July. The Korean delegation visited Pitt on July 19 to learn about the University’s role in the region’s economic revival.

Mark Redfern, vice provost for research and William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering within Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, hosted the Korean delegation’s visit to the Pitt campus. A one-hour panel discussion about Pittsburgh’s “eds and meds” economy featured several key players in Pittsburgh’s economic transformation, among them Redfern; David Ruppersberger, director of Joint Economic Development Initiatives for the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University; Christina Gabriel, president of the University Energy Partnership; and Audrey Russo, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

Leading the Korean delegation on a tour of the Swanson School of Engineering were David Vorp, associate dean for research and William Kepler Whiteford Professor Professor of Bioengineering, Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Surgery; and Don Shields, executive director, Pitt’s Center for Energy, and director of Corporate Relations and codirector, Swanson Institute for Technical Excellence. The group visited labs of Steven Little, professor and chair in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, and Yadong Wang, a professor of bioengineering. Also viewed were the Human Movement and Balance Laboratory and the just completed Center for Energy.