Professors to conduct research to develop strategic materials technologies

A view of Kookmin University’s campus in northern Seoul / Courtesy of Kookmin University

A Kookmin University research team has been selected for a government-supported nanomaterials technology development project, the school said Thursday.

The five-member team consists of four professors in the department of applied chemistry — Kim Young-hoon, Do Young-rag, Joonyoung Francis Joung and Chun Ho-je — and professor Cho Ki-sub in the department of materials science and engineering.

Under the project funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea, the team will carry out a program to develop national strategic future materials technologies.

The program is aimed at establishing a data hub for metal-halide color conversion materials for next-generation displays and developing artificial intelligence (AI)-based intelligent design technologies for materials and processes.

The team, led by Kim, is set to conduct joint research and development with Sungkyunkwan University, Chungbuk National University, the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) and the Korea Photonics Technology Institute (KOPTI).

The nanomaterials technology development project is an initiative led by the science ministry to develop world-class foundational technologies that will lead to the creation of new industries and future markets. It also seeks to expand research infrastructures and promote the commercialization of outstanding research outcomes.

The project includes a “materials hub” program under the strategic future materials technology development initiative which aims to establish an end-to-end collaborative research model to develop essential advanced materials.

The program supports faculty members in science and engineering fields at universities, as well as researchers at national, public and private research institutes.

The team at Kookmin University is tasked to develop ultrathin perovskite color conversion materials for next-generation metaverse AR/VR displays through AI-driven inverse design based on an AI closed-loop and high-throughput screening (HTS) platform.

The team also plans to develop optimized synthesis and processing technologies for high-brightness, high-color-purity luminescent materials.

Through this research, the team plans to establish a data-driven integrated material-process exploration system and secure core technologies capable of dramatically shortening the development period for new materials, according to the university.

A school official said the project could help strengthen the nation’s technological competitiveness in the next-generation display market while expanding the commercialization potential of materials for a wide range of high-performance optoelectronic devices.

He noted that the university’s selection for the materials hub project demonstrates its strong research capabilities in applied chemistry, advanced materials and AI.

He said the research is expected to help secure core technologies in AI-based inverse materials design and HTS for the commercialization of next-generation displays and optoelectronic devices.