Opening Ceremony for Air Liquide-Yonsei Joint Research Center (ALYC) and Air Liquide Korea Branch Research Institute On April 16th, the opening ceremony for Air Liquide-Yonsei Joint Research Center (ALYC) and Air Liquide Korea Branch Research Institute was held at seminar room 170E in the Yonsei Engineering Research Park. Founded in 1902, with its headquarters in France, Air Liquide is a multinational chemical company with branches in over 80 countries and 43,000 employees, and with 8 research institutes in major sites, including the United States, Europe, China, and Japan. As a company which puts much emphasis on Research and Development (R&D), Air Liquide newly registers around 300 patents every year, achieving annual sales of 20 trillion U.S. dollars . While the company’s major products are industrial gases for electronic chips, steel production, and biosources, Air Liquide also operates a research institute in Tsukuba (Japan) for investigation on thin film material for semiconductors. The ALYC will be annually supported for the next five years with $60,000 for operating expenses and over $10,000 for research grants. The director of ALYC, Professor Kim Hyung-joon (Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Yonsei University) said, “The joint research between Yonsei University and Air Liquide will achieve globally recognized studies with extensive technology and know-how. The research institute will be the pivotal force for the expansion of industry-academia collaboration.”