2026 Fall Semester Mathematics Kick-Off Day

The Department of Mathematics held its Kick-Off Day for the 2026 fall semester on Friday, September 11, at the Grand Ballroom on the second floor of the POSCO International Center. Kick-Off Day opens each semester by introducing the members who have newly joined the Department and looking back on its activities and achievements over the past semester. It is the Department's largest gathering of the year.

This year's event drew the largest turnout of any Kick-Off Day to date. The exchange students who joined the Department this semester attended in particularly large numbers, and researchers from the IBS Center for Geometry and Physics (IBS-CGP), located on the POSTECH campus, joined as well, making it an occasion where the Department and the Center came together in one room.

The Department Chair opened the event with welcoming remarks. Introductions of the faculty and administrative staff followed, and Professor Yong-Geun Oh — a member of the Department and Director of IBS-CGP — introduced the Center in person. Launched in 2012 as one of the first research centers of the Institute for Basic Science and based on the POSTECH campus, IBS-CGP pursues new mathematics where pure mathematics meets theoretical physics, and the introduction gave members a closer look at the work of a neighbouring research community on their own campus.

The newly appointed post-doctoral fellows were introduced next, followed by greetings from the undergraduate and graduate student representatives. The new undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and exchange students then each came forward in turn to introduce themselves. As new members from a range of backgrounds and countries offered their greetings in their own words, applause filled the room and the evening warmed up.

The introductions gave way to a review of the Department's activities and achievements over the past semester. Highlights included participation in ICM 2026 in Philadelphia, the Arithmetic Geometry Lab's selection for the BRL Program, a number theory collaboration launched with Duke University, and a memorandum of understanding signed with Howard University. The work of the Department's research institutes and centers — PMI, MINDS, CM2LA, CRT and BK21 — was presented as well.

The awards ceremony followed, with every recipient called forward by name to receive a certificate and trophy. Alongside internal honours — the Outstanding Teaching Assistant selection, the Graduate Research Fellowship, the Outstanding Service Award, and the BK21 POSTECHIAN Fellowship and Outstanding Graduate Student awards — the achievements of students recognised in external competitions were also celebrated.

The formal programme closed with a prize draw, in which four participants received Bluetooth headsets, to cheers around the room, followed by a group photograph of everyone present.

After the programme, a barbecue and buffet dinner brought faculty and students, Korean members and exchange students together at the same tables. With the opening rush of the semester set aside for an evening, it gave members of the Department a chance to meet one another properly.