Inauguration Interview with the 27th Dean of CALS, Professor Pahn-Shick Chang

The inauguration ceremony of the 27th Dean of CALS, Professor Pahn-Shick Chang, was held at the Grand Conference Room 3016 in Building No. 200 on July 27th (Tue) with Byeong-Ryun Seo, the President of CALS Alumni Association, and other 20 distinguished guests in attendance, while conforming to the governmental disease-prevention precautions. At the inauguration ceremony, the newly appointed Dean, Professor Chang, said, “We will boldly take steps forward with the goal of becoming a top-notch college of the world. I will do my best to make CALS one of the world class schools so that we can present the visions, challenges, and knowledge platforms in the fields of agriculture and life sciences to take the lead in the future of humankind.”

Dean’s Ambitions

The SNU CALS itself is as large as a university. Since CALS incorporates the departments devoted to humanities, natural sciences, and engineering, it handles a wide range of disciplines. In this fast-changing world, life-related industries are expected to grow steadily. CALS will be the center of green biotechnology. CALS has gone through significant changes, including its moving to Gwanak Campus in 2003, the construction of the Pyeongchang Campus, and the reconstruction of Building No. 75. In harmony with these changes, I’m looking forward to seeing convergent research between different academic fields. Agriculture has ample capabilities as an industry that can create high added value. Therefore, I will do my best to play a leading role in converting agriculture and life industry into a modern high value-added industry.

Trends and Prospects of Future Food Industry

Food in the past was mainly for nutrient intake. Now, people want to get the nutrients from various types of food, including functional food. I expect that one food item can have several functions, and customized food products may emerge soon for individual needs. We see the possibilities of preventing potential diseases based on the genetic information of individuals. Therefore, we will be developing food materials that can play a supplementary role based on the health conditions of individuals. Agriculture will be the center of such industries regarding the production and processing of raw materials.