Lee Deuk-hee (이득희), a principal researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Bionics Research Center, has been appointed head of the information and convergence technology division at the National Research Foundation of Korea's National Strategic Research Headquarters.

The National Research Foundation of Korea said on Aug. 4 that Lee will oversee tasks related to support programmes in the information and convergence technology division's remit for 2 years from Aug. 5.

The new division head earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Seoul National University and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Tokyo in Japan. He currently serves as a principal researcher at KIST's Bionics Research Center and as a professor in the AI and robotics major at the University of Science and Technology (UST).

Over the next 2 years at the National Research Foundation of Korea's National Strategic Research Headquarters, the new division head will handle evaluation and management of support programmes under the division's remit, project planning, proposals for mid- to long-term development plans and policy formulation and advice, drafting budget allocation plans, progress checks and promotion of use of results, analysis of surveys on research demand, technology forecasting and research trends, and external cooperation.