[M. K. Thompson] All the way from MIT to KAIST

The following is a new column by Mary Kathryn Thompson, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Her column will be published every other week. - Ed.





Monday July 3, 2006, began as an ordinary day for me. I went to see professor Nam P. Suh, who was on my doctoral committee at MIT, to ask a question related to my dissertation. Talking to great men is usually a valuable experience, but you don`t always get what you came for. This meeting was no exception. I didn`t get any feedback related to my research that day. Instead, professor Suh said that he had accepted a position as the president of KAIST and would be leaving for Korea in a few days.

After receiving assurances from professor Suh that he would remain on my committee (albeit long distance), we spent the rest of the meeting discussing KAIST - its history, its mission and the revolution that was planned to help it become one of the top 10 universities in the world. Before that day I had not heard of KAIST, nor had I considered moving to Korea. But everything that I learned during that meeting suggested that KAIST was an amazing place with incredible opportunities for innovation in research and education. I was impressed that the school, the Korean government and the Korean people had such great vision and commitment for advancing the state of the art in science and technology. So when professor Suh suggested that I consider joining KAIST after graduation, the decision to go (if I were given the opportunity) was made immediately.

That day my family was in Boston for the July 4 holiday, American Independence Day. So shortly after that meeting, I told them about KAIST and the possibility of joining the faculty. Their reaction was the same as mine. My parents recognized instantly that the opportunities to continue to work with professor Suh, to be part of such profound educational and institutional change, and to live and work abroad were extraordinary. They said that they would worry about me being so far from home and that they would miss me, but they agreed that I had to go.

The rest of my time at MIT was a whirlwind. I took one last class on micro- and nano-scale heat transfer to fulfill my course work requirement. I taught one last class - a graduate-level, not-for-credit seminar on ANSYS and finite element applications. I wrote three papers, went to three international conferences, and gave two talks while finishing my dissertation. I even managed to squeeze in a trip to Korea for my official interview at KAIST, all while applying and interviewing for jobs in case the position at KAIST did not materialize.

In June 2007 graduation was imminent so I moved out of my apartment and into temporary housing. Nothing could be sold in case I was staying in the United States and nothing could be shipped to Korea without an offer letter and an address. So most of my belongings were packed and put into storage. During my last three months at MIT I lived out of suitcases with very little but the computers, textbooks and samples that I needed to finish my research. I had four computers (some borrowed) crunching numbers around the clock to get the data for my dissertation. During my last three months at MIT, I did nothing but process data and write my dissertation, but it was interesting work and I enjoyed it.

Just over a year after that initial conversation with professor Suh, I received my offer letter from KAIST. I defended my dissertation on Aug. 9, 2007, and turned in my thesis on the same day. My nine years at MIT came to a close quietly surrounded by mentors, family, and friends.

After my defense, my family and I packed the remainder of my belongings and headed home to Pittsburgh to complete the final preparations for my move to Korea. My wardrobe, which had consisted of jeans and black shirts for nearly a decade, was replaced by more professional looking attire. Boxes were unpacked, sorted, and repacked so everything that I needed could be taken on the airplane to Korea. I wrote two more conference papers based on my thesis and sent thank-you e-mails to all of the people who had helped me along the way. And then it was time to leave.

On Tuesday Aug. 28, I left home for Korea so I could arrive at KAIST for the beginning of fall classes. It has been 23 months since that first conversation with professor Suh and it is still sometimes difficult to believe how well everything has worked out. I am exceptionally happy at KAIST. I have talented students, wonderful colleagues, and amazing opportunities to do world class research, develop new classes, and to be part of the change at KAIST and in Korea. Great things can come from conversations with great people. Sometimes those conversations occur when you least expect them.