Future Direction
Convergence clusters, where researchers voluntarily gather to find subjects for convergence research, will be expanded in Korea. On Aug. 26, the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) announced that it selected 10 projects for its support project for this year's convergence clusters.
Convergence clusters are consultation bodies between researchers from public and private research centers, companies, and universities to locate and plan convergence research projects that could tackle social issues and meet industrial demand.
According to the NST, more than 1,000 experts have been participating in 10 convergence clusters, which were established in Dec. of last year, working on 164 research projects.
A total of 10 new convergence clusters were selected, including one mission-connected cluster, six industry-based clusters, and three early exploration clusters.
A convergence cluster to produce clean energy was chosen as a mission-connected cluster. It is seeking highly-efficient technologies like pre-processing or energy-generating methods using untapped resources.
The six selected industry-based clusters are as follows: a convergence cluster aimed at integrating drones into the industry and public sector to be used in natural resource exploration, scientific farming, and national defense; a convergence cluster for limestone-based domestic and inorganic waste recycling methods; a convergence cluster for industry-leading next-gen gas turbine technology; a convergence cluster for ultra-efficient electromotive force techniques; a convergence cluster for un-traditional resource technology testbed platforms; and a convergence cluster for overcoming intractable diseases based on traditional fermented foods.
For the Early Exploration type that supports new exploration and trials, three selected ones include a convergence cluster aimed at developing technology for electronic devices operable in extreme environments and harsh conditions such as space, fire, or earthquakes; a convergence cluster for exploring and researching dark materials based on computational science, and a convergence cluster for single photon detection devices and their applied technology.