Stony Brook University Technology and Society

Prof. Cabuay recently delivered the 2nd keynote speech at the 2026 International Conference of the Korean Society of Fashion Business held at DDP in Seoul. Under the conference theme "Weaving the Future", Prof. Cabuay addressed the current challenges facing modern creative industries: AI governance, intellectual property, and technological ethics. In his address, he emphasized that organizations must maintain strict institutional discipline and human oversight over automated outputs, rather than viewing AI as a mere production tool. "AI can imitate the output. It cannot hold the judgment. That still belongs to people." - Prof. Cabuay. Prof. Cabuay left the industry with five pivotal questions regarding source accountability, creative DNA protection, and the risks of prioritizing speed over human judgment. His commentary reflects the ongoing engagement of DTS faculty and students in addressing the impact of technology on society and industry leadership. Read Prof. Cabuay's full analysis on LinkedIn: View the Original Post Here

Dear DTS Students and Faculty,   We are pleased to announce that Prof. Cabuay will be a keynote speaker at the 2026 International Conference: WEAVING THE FUTURE, Celebrating 30 years of Transformation in Fashion, Technology, and Ethical AI.   Following his recent talk on AI careers, Prof. Cabuay will deliver a keynote lecture on the critical intersection of ethics, copyrights, and generative AI within the creative fashion industry.   Please see the event details and the attached file for more information   Event Details Conference Theme: WEAVING THE FUTURE: Celebrating 30 Years of Transformation in Fashion, Technology, and Ethical AI Date: June 20, 2026 (Sat) Location: Design Hall, Design Lab (3F), DDP, Seoul, Korea Hosted by: The Korean Society of Fashion Business   Prof. Cabuay's Keynote Session Topic: Keynote Lecture 2 - Ethics, Copyrights, & Generative AI in the Fashion Industry Time: 14:10 - 15:00 (50 mins)   This conference is a fantastic opportunity to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming global business models and creative industries. In addition to Prof. Cabuay's lecture, the event features key sessions in cooperation with industry leaders and FIT.   For registration fees and more details, please scan the QR code on the attached flyer.      

We are pleased to announce the official release and distribution of ICT4D & Future Global Sustainability. This textbook is a collaborative achievement under the guidance of Prof. Pennings and TSM students, with valuable contributions and technical editing from our dedicated students. The full open-access PDF is now available for download. We encourage students to utilize this resource for their academic portfolios and relevant coursework. Title: ICT4D & Future Global Sustainability Authors & Contributors: Prof. Anthony J. Pennings, Onhyuck (Andy) Choi, Ashley Won, Sean Kim, Minseo Kim, Seohee Maeng, Seyoon Jung, Ryunyoung Ko, Chaeryeong Kim Authorized Version: June 2026

We are absolutely thrilled to share some wonderful news and a deeply proud moment for our department! Team OptimiPrime—composed entirely of our very own Department of Technology and Society (DTS) students, Sunwoo Han, Sean Kim, and Sunghun Park—has won 1st Place and the Grand Prize at Hackathon The X 2026, held at the Incheon Global Campus. Competing against 14 highly talented groups, our exceptional students truly stood out as the only team proudly representing DTS. Their winning project, UnitTrace, is a secure macOS-based application perfectly tailored to the hackathon's theme of “Offline to Online” digital transformation. Rather than building a typical consumer app, the team took on a highly specialized and practical challenge: how to safely digitize sensitive paper documents in ultra-high-security environments where the internet, cloud storage, smartphones, and USB drives are strictly banned. UnitTrace brilliantly bridges this gap by turning scanned documents into encrypted, searchable, and auditable digital records—all running locally on a closed workstation without any public internet access or external APIs. What makes this victory even more special is how our students seamlessly connected classroom learning with real-world application. One of the students shared that the team directly applied the economic and project management frameworks they learned in EST 392 with Prof. Pennings. Instead of presenting just a technical demo, Team OptimiPrime analyzed UnitTrace as a real-world product, integrating market structure analysis, advanced product differentiation (such as local AES-256 encryption and user watermarks), and a viable defense procurement business model. While UnitTrace is currently a powerful prototype, this hackathon has beautifully proven that meaningful digital transformation is possible even in the most restricted environments. Please join us in warmly celebrating Sunwoo, Sean, and Sunghun for their creativity, hard work, and brilliant representation of our department! We could not be prouder of your incredible achievement.

The Department of Technology and Society’s BS student, Dongchan Kim, has achieved a remarkable victory at the "MIT Reality Hack," one of the world's premier XR (Extended Reality) and spatial computing competitions hosted by the MIT Media Lab. Representing the TS Department on a global stage, Dongchan’s team was honored with the Overall Final Grand Prize, as well as 1st Place in the Meta Track. Following this success, Dongchan was invited by Meta to discuss his project’s future and has been invited to present at a Spatial Computing conference in California this June—a leading event for XR professionals and researchers worldwide. The Department is incredibly proud of Dongchan’s success and his commitment to driving innovation. (Relevant Links): MIT Reality Hack: https://www.realityhackatmit.com/ AWE USA 2026: https://www.awexr.com/usa-2026/

DTS Prof. Neal Dreamson’s strong publication record, the impact of his work, and the notable quality of his scholarly contributions have placed him in the top 0.5% of all scholars worldwide. He has been awarded Top Scholar status based on his accomplishments over the totality of his career (lifetime) and/or over the prior five years: Top Scholar - Prior 5 Years #32 Digital electronics (Educational Technology) #73 Pedagogy ScholarGPS (https://scholargps.com) provides rankings of individuals and institutions Overall (in all Fields), in 14 broad Fields (such as Medicine, Engineering, or Humanities), in 177 Disciplines (such as Surgery, Computer Science, or History), and in over 350,000 Specialties (such as Cancer, Artificial Intelligence, or Ethics). Thanks to Prof. Dreamson’s achievement, SUNY Korea has been listed to the ScholarGPS website first time.

  Prof. Anthony Pennings gave a talk on how science and technology can address important issues of landslides and urban flooding at the 2024 United Nations Public Service Forum, ‘Fostering Innovation Amid Global Challenges: A Public Sector Perspective,’ held at Songdo Convensia from June 24-26, 2024. He discussed how integrating AI with remote sensing technologies and ground-based observations enhances the monitoring and management of landslide and flooding disasters. For more information, check out his blog at https://apennings.com/space-systems/ai-and-remote-sensing-for-monitoring-landslides-and-flooding/.  

  Dr. Sangchan Park received the 'Service The Prime Award' at the Korea Service Grand Prix 2024 on July 3rd, 2024. The award was given in recognition of Dr. Park's significant contributions to the development of the service industry through his unwavering commitment to improving service quality and customer satisfaction.

Dr. Sangchan Park has written an insightful article discussing the importance of both customer-employee and customer-customer interactions in creating loyal customers. He highlights Matthew Dixon's perspective on how reducing customer effort through these interactions can enhance service quality and reduce costs. The article also explores the transformative role of AI tools like chatbots, which are expected to manage over 95% of customer interactions by 2025, thereby revolutionizing customer service with automated responses and increased efficiency. Link: https://www.mk.co.kr/news/contributors/11052908

DTS Professor Suzana Brown played a key role in organizing the 18th IFIP Working Group 9.4 Conference on the Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development, held in Cape Town from May 20-22, 2024. At the conference, she chaired a session on “ICT in Displacement and Conflict Zones” and presented her paper, “Climate Change and Displacement: Emerging ICT Innovations from the World's Largest Refugee Camp.” Additionally, Professor Brown led a panel discussion on “Artificial Intelligence and Ethics in the Global South.”

Prof. Sangchan Park and Prof. Sira Maliphol served as guest editors for Special Issue on Digital Twins in Industry 4.0. Their editorial manuscript (ID: electronics-3061223) has recently been accepted and will be published shortly by MDPI. The aim of this Special Issue is to identify the potential for digital twins in industry 4.0, not only in the manufacturing industry but also in smart communities, in smart education, and in smart development. (Link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/electronics/special_issues/I1049S831T#editors)

Dr. Anthony J. Pennings has been invited by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) to participate in a panel on Science & Technology Innovation for Responding to Landslides and Urban Floods. This event is part of the 2024 United Nations Public Service Forum, which will take place from June 24 to 26, 2024, under the theme ‘Fostering Innovation amid Global Challenges: A Public Sector Perspective’.

"Be'real" Team (Nayoung Kim from GUGC, Seunghyun Shin from SUNYK, Hasung Bae from GUGC from left to right) L'Oréal Korea has announced that the team "Be'real" emerged as the winner in the 2024 L'Oréal Brandstorm Competition. Seunghyun Shin, a TSM major student from SUNY Korea participated in the competition and received the final winner awards. The L'Oréal Brandstorm Competition aimed at young people worldwide, fosters creative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit. The domestic competition witnessed the highest number of participants ever, with the "Be'real" team securing victory with innovative ideas on predicting hair loss and virtual wig services. They will now represent South Korea in the international competition held in London, with full support from L'Oréal Korea, including internship opportunities in preparing for the global event. For more information, you may refer to the below news article. https://www.enewstoday.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=2119645

Prof. Gayoung Park published guidelines in the metaverse related standard and security issues. Congratulations on her achievements! ITU is International Telecommunication Union which is the UN specialized agency for information and communication technology, which is one of the main pillars of DTS. Link: - FGMV-03: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/mv/Documents/List%20of%20FG-MV%20deliverables/FGMV-03.pdf - FGMV-06: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/mv/Documents/List%20of%20FG-MV%20deliverables/FGMV-06.pdf

  The Department of Technology and Society's Accelerated BS/MS student, Hyein Lee, is featured on CBS News as researchers work towards improving recycling rates across New York state. During her visit to Stony Brook campus, the student actively participates in Dr. David Tonjes' (SBU-DTS Faculty) waste management research lab, contributing to the enhancement of New York's recycling practices. This research initiative aims to educate the public, influence policy, and ultimately foster a more sustainable world by reducing landfill waste, conserving energy, and promoting the reuse of raw materials. (Link to the News Article: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/news/stony-brook-university-recycling-study/)