Future Technology Fostering Program
Samsung Electronics will invest 48.6 billion won beginning from the first half of 2022 to support 27 research projects, including the development of next-generation semiconductors and the identification of aging mechanisms.
By supporting young scientists in their 30s and 40s, it intends to secure core technologies that will contribute to advancing basic science, developing new technologies and solving human problems.
The Samsung Science & Technology Foundation and Samsung Electronics announced on April 5 that they have selected 27 research projects to be supported through the Samsung Future Technology Development Project beginning from the first half of 2022.
The selected tasks involved 27 fields, including 12 fields of basic sciences, eight fields of materials, and 7 fields of ICT. They will receive a research grant of 48.65 billion won. Among the selected researchers, 12 were newly selected researchers under the age of 43 including six in their 30s. They accounted for 44 percent of the total.
In the field of basic science, Professor Kang Chan-hee of Seoul National University’s Department of Life Sciences is planning to study the causes of the accelerated aging of peripheral cells by senescence-associated small metabolites (SASMs).
Yang Yong-su, a professor of physics at the KAIST, will figure out the arrangement of atoms at solid interfaces by three-dimensional units by using atomic electron tomography (AET). Yang’s research is expected to lay the foundation for improving the performance of various applied devices such as semiconductors and thermoelectric devices by accurately measuring changes in the arrangement of atoms caused by external stimuli such as electricity and heat.
In the field of materials, Kim Jun-seong, professor of physics at the POSTECH will make an attempt to develop a new magnetic material whose resistance change made by an external magnetic field is one billion times greater than that of the current one and the development of a next-generation semiconductor device using the new magnetic material. Professor Choi Young-jae of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the GIST will develop a new molecular purification technology that can elevate an RNA purification yield which is currently below 70 percent, to more than 99 percent.
In the ICT field, Professor Kim Dae-hyun of the School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Kyungpook National University will venture into the development of the world’s first ultra-high frequency and ultra-low power next-generation semiconductor device (transistor) with an operating speed of 1 terahertz (THz). Kim is looking to develop core technologies for the commercialization of 6th generation (6G) telecommunications beyond 800 GHz which is known as the current technological limit and quantum computing.
The Samsung Future Technology Development Project is a non-profit research support project. Samsung Electronics has carried out the project for the development of basic science, industrial technology innovation, solving social problems and nurturing world-class scientists and engineers with a donation of 1.5 trillion won since 2013. Since the beginning of the project in August 2013, an annual average of 100 billion won in research funds has been provided to about 50 domestic universities and colleges. About 1,600 professors have received research support and including researchers participating in research tasks, 14,000 researchers.