AUA President Visits Seoul National University

2 min read

SEOUL, South Korea – On May 26-31, 2019, President of the American University of Armenia (AUA) Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian visited Seoul National University (SNU) where he was an honored guest of the 13th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering (ICASP13). The conference was organized by the Civil Engineering Risk and Reliability Association (CERRA).

A former President of CERRA and the Chair of ICASP9 himself, Dr. Der Kiureghian was invited by the current Chair of ICASP13, Professor Junho Song, who was his doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley. A private dinner in honor of Dr. Der Kiureghian was organized, where 20 of his former students and postdoctoral researchers were invited to reconnect with one another and with their mentor. Dr. Der Kiureghian along with two of his former students also presented on Risk Assessment and Decision Making for Infrastructure Systems Under Earthquake Hazard at a symposium held later that week.

On May 31, Dr. Der Kiureghian met with SNU President Dr. Se-Jung Oh, a doctoral graduate of Stanford University in physics. Also present at the meeting were Dr. Suk Won Cha, associate dean of International Affairs, Dr. Jae Young Kim, head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Professor Junho Song. The conversation centered on possible ways of collaboration between the SNU and AUA. Dr. Oh expressed interest in having selected SNU faculty spend sabbatical leaves at AUA. The possibility of having student exchanges was also discussed. It is noteworthy that Dr. Oh is well familiar with the work of AUA Trustee Dr. William Frazer, who is also a physicist. He was most impressed upon learning about the affiliation between AUA and the University of California. Informational materials about programs of AUA and SNU were exchanged for possible future collaboration.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.