Bourns College of Engineering Dean Reza Abbaschian and Dong Hyuk Shin, dean of the College of Engineering at Hanyang University ERICA in South Korea, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Feb. 9 to collaborate on research, student and faculty exchanges and other initiatives.

Founded in 1939, Hanyang University is one of South Korea’s most prestigious private universities and its engineering program is one of the oldest in the nation. It has more than 30,000 students and two campuses — the main campus in Seoul, and the Education Research Industry Cluster at Ansan (ERICA).

The agreement calls for the development of these and similar types of activities:

• Visits and informal exchanges of faculty, scholars and administrators.
• Exploration of ways to cooperate in postgraduate education and training.
• Organizing joint conferences, symposia and scientific meetings.
• Pursuing avenues for undergraduate and graduate student exchange.
• Developing joint research programs and collaboration.

“We are very pleased to collaborate with Hanyang University in sharing ideas and finding common ground for research and the development of new knowledge,” Abbaschian said. “Their long history of engineering education coupled with our college’s relative youth and adaptability shows great promise.”

Present at the signing of the agreement were: Frank Chung-Hoon Rhee, vice dean of engineering at Hanyang University ERICA; Shin; Abbaschian; Professor Nosang Myung (BCOE Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering); and Tom Strahovich, professor and chair of BCOE’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The MOU formalized a relationship that was already under way through the research of Myung with Yong-Ho Choa, Bongyoung Yoo, and Jungho Lee, who are members of the faculty at Hanyang University’s college of engineering.