Congratulatory Remarks

Distinguished Recipients:

It is my great pleasure to share these congratulatory remarks with you on the occasion of KUSCO’s first e-Newsletter. I would like to offer my congratulations to all recipients who will enjoy valuable information about KUSCO’s activities in the U.S and Korea.

As you may well know, KUSCO is a non-profit organization, established in Vienna, Virginia in 1997 to promote cooperative efforts in science and technology (S&T) between Korea and the U.S. and to support Korean-American scientists, engineers and young students in the U.S. Another mission of KUSCO is to act as the U.S. liaison for the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), the largest research funding agency in Korea. KUSCO has now become one of the most important organizations in support of mutual cooperation and joint programs between the US and Korean academic communities.

To support S&T activities, KUSCO creates venues for various US-Korea Joint Meetings and Regional Chapter Meetings in order to assist Korean-American scientists, engineers and students in developing and maintaining professional networks addressing matters of scientific and technical interest in the U.S. KUSCO also provides scholarships to graduate students and awards the young students for the National Math and Science Competition (NMSC) every year.

Another element of KUSCO is its sponsorship of the WEST Program (Work, English, Study, Travel), a Korean-U.S. government-endorsed exchange program in which selected young Korean university students come to the United States (for up to 18 months) to participate in professional level internships. KUSCO is the J-1 Exchange Visitor visa sponsor designated by the U.S. State department for these young Korean future leaders. We are proud of KUSCO’s leadership in this area.

I have no doubt that KUSCO will work hard to contribute to promotion of academic exchange by developing various mechanisms to support R&D activities between the two nations. Initiating the first e-Newsletter is an effort to communicate information about the many good efforts of KUSCO, to the greater community.

Once again, I sincerely congratulate KUSCO for delivering its first e-Newsletter and my best wishes for a bright future for KUSCO and for this effort.
Prof. Yongmo Lee
Director
Directorate for International Affairs of NRF