History

In 1973, Over 100 Science and Engineering field scientists from the Midwest area had their first organization meeting at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Over 45 years Chicagoland led many activities in the Midwest area, especially, Chicago, Chicago suburb areas.

The activities include a public Open Seminar, NMSC, Summer Science Camp, Career Development Day, Summer Picnic and Membership Drive, Mentoring Program for High school students, Collaboration meeting with the Korean American Society on Biotech and Pharmaceuticals (KASBP) Illinois chapter, Mentoring with YG, Year-End Party, and Scholarship program for High School Seniors and Undergraduate Students, Midwest conference, UKC, etc.

• Scholarship for High School Students and Undergraduate Students: Since 1984, the scholarship program has supported local Chicago area students who were interested in studying in the science and engineering field for their careers. The 12th chapter president박만희initiated the program, and it has been supported by many members of the chapter. There are scholarship committee members to review and select the awardees. Currently, over 250 students have received this scholarship and they have come back to the KSEA Chicagoland chapter to support.

• US Korean Conference (UKC): Chicagoland is one of the few chapters that held UKC multiple times. The origin of UKC, which Technology and Science symposium was held in 1998 under 26th chapter president김동희. Two years after supporting the 27-28th chapter president Hoydoo You, UKC 2000 was held with the theme of “Leading the New Millennium to Global Prosperity” in downtown Chicago. It gave us tremendous opportunities to meet all areas of Korean scientists from the U.S., Korea, Europe, Japan, China, Australia, etc. Recently, Chicagoland had another opportunity to support UKC 2019. The 48th chapter president Dong-Hyun Kim supported the KSEA president Jun Seok Oh. The theme of UKC 2019 was “Smart Science, Engineering, and Health for Livable Communities”, held in Rosemont, IL (a Suburb of Chicago). In addition, the 47th chapter president Gloria Kim served in KSEA HQ after her term. She took the charge of KOFST YG - Science, Technology, and Entrepreneurship program to bring Korean high school students and undergraduate students to visit the local U.S. schools, meet with the Nobel Prize awardee, and visit local national labs and Universities. After these supporting works, Chicagoland received the “Volunteer Service Award”.

• Origin of SEED program: 34-35th chapter president Yeonshik Choi initiated the Professional Development Workshop (ProDeW), which became the SEED program in KSEA HQ. It was not only the Midwest area but also the US national-wide workshop. It was a big success and a lot of good feedback led us to get the “Outstanding Chapter President Award” in 2015.

• Midwest Conference: In 2009, 37-38th chapter president Dongwook Jang hosted the Midwest Conference, with the participation of Chicagoland, Central Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin. More than 200 scientists got together to discuss the theme of “Broaden the Horizon of Scientists and Engineers in the USA”. At the closing remark, Esther Yang who served as the vice president of KSEA HQ, as well as a Chicagoland member, emphasized that Scientists should have not only technology and science knowledge but also soft skills such as Communication, Leadership, and Management skills.

• Open Seminar: 39th chapter president Duckyoung Chung organized an open seminar for the public. It brought more people’s attention to the science field and a broad understanding of what scientists did. From 2001 to 2014, Chicagoland organized more than 20 open seminars. It is still part of the annual plan in Chicagoland, it gives a lot of attention to the local community who are interested in learning the science and engineering field.  

• Career Day: To support local under/graduate students in their career development, Chicagoland organizes an annual career day. From academia to industry experts join the meeting. Over 50 students share their difficulties as foreign students and get an idea of how to get over the difficulties. It has collaborated work among industry professional members (KASBP) as well as local Korean organizations such as the General Consulate of Korea and KOTRA.

• Science Camp: in 2012 40th chapter president Taeok Bae worked closely with the General Consulate of Korea, and the Hanul Family Alliance to initiate the Summer Camp with the theme of “Building Korean Networking for Next Generation”. Participants were from local middle school up to high school. They have learned more practical experiments that are not easy to experience in school. They were able to visit Argonne National Lab with the support of the 36th chapter president Youngsoo Park as a field trip. It is still continuously ongoing in the annual plan in the chapter. 

• Mentoring Program for High School Students: 46-47th chapter president Gloria Kim and Dongwook Jang worked together to initiate the mentoring program for high school students. Each student brings their curiosity in the science field and works together with a mentor who has more experience to share. This program is driven by students who are willing to commit to long-term research work. At the end of the program, Chicagoland publishes the work, so more closely experience real research work as well as each student sees others’ studies. This program provides more research environments to high school students so that they can maintain their interest in the field. We provide areas of computer science, data science, physics, chemistry, and pharmaceutical areas. 

• Membership, and public support: The YG group was initiated in 2019 with Dongsub Kim and Suna Choi. They are working more closely with other undergraduate/graduate students around Chicagoland schools such as Northwestern, UIC, Loyola, UChicago, Rush University, IIT, etc. They are helping new students to settle in new areas and membership drives. Annually, Chicagoland offered a summer picnic and a Year-end party to meet more people. We also organized a benefit dinner to raise a scholarship fund of $10,000 in 2014. With these efforts, Chicagoland received “Outstanding Membership Drive” in 2014.  

• A new era in 2020: Due to the global pandemic, the 49-50th Seungwon Chung Chapter president faced a difficult situation, where no more person-to-person meetings were available. Instead of a face-to-face meeting, a planned online meeting for Open Seminars, Mentoring Program, and Scholarships to mitigate contact with people. In addition, raising chapter funds to support many other activities and programs continuously.