The 2026 MIT Korea Conference brings together global industry leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs to explore breakthrough technologies shaping tomorrow’s industries. MIT Professors Mark Bathe, Juejun Hu, Steven Spear, and Kevin Chen will share insights in programmable biology, robotics, organizational innovation, and silicon photonics. Ten MIT-connected startups will showcase innovations in AI, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and sustainable chemistry. Designed for executives, senior managers, and thought leaders, the conference offers a rare opportunity to engage directly with MIT’s innovation ecosystem and uncover the ideas and collaborations driving the next decade of global innovation.
Sergey Paltsev will explore the future of sustainable energy in a “power-hungry” world, focusing on the interplay between global energy systems, economic forces, and climate policy. Drawing on integrated global economic modeling, his talk will examine pathways for decarbonization, technology deployment, and policy interventions that can balance energy demand, environmental constraints, and economic growth. Attendees will gain insights into how strategic decisions at the intersection of technology, policy, and economics can shape a sustainable energy future.
Engineering principles and biological insights can open up new capabilities for biotechnology. This talk will highlight two solutions to challenges faced in improving patient care. First, applying basic principles in chemical engineering to the limitations in blood-based cancer diagnostics today led to new approaches to enhance the amounts of cell-free DNA recovered using a novel 'enhancing agent' similar to contrast agents used in other diagnostics. Second, leveraging biological insights to recast the engineering operations required to enable small biomanufacturing systems for distributed and lower capital-intensive production.
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