Purdue selected for South Korean cooperation initiative
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The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced this month that Purdue University is one of five U.S. higher education institutions to be designated an overseas partnership institution for global technology cooperation.
Purdue said it will serve as a formal academic partner to “foster and promote joint research and development opportunities in critical technology sectors.
The government of Korea is expected to provide $2.3 million to establish the Purdue-Korea Center of Operation and Research for Industry Advancement, or CORIA.
“Purdue and Korea have a long history of collaborative research in these seminal technology fields, and by developing Purdue-CORIA, we will further advance R&D efforts on emerging and advanced technology capabilities to the mutual benefit of both the U.S. and Korea,” Martin Byung-Guk Jun, a professor in Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering, said in a news release.
Purdue said the initiative is part of South Korea’s efforts to advance technological research in semiconductors, biotechnology, batteries, future mobility, robotics, artificial intelligence and quantum technology with allied global partners.
Jun, who will serve as director of Purdue-CORIA, said the center will focus on three specific areas: semiconductors, smart batteries, and future mobility. The center will partner with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology to create resource and expertise connections in South Korea.
“This interdisciplinary exchange will allow for unique perspectives and cross-pollination of thought among collaborators,” Jun said.
The news comes in the same month that South Korea-based semiconductor chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. announced plans for a $4 billion advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility for microelectronics at the Purdue Research Park.
Purdue said it has nearly 700 Korean students and about 80 Korean faculty members.
The other U.S. universities that were selected to establish cooperation centers are Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University and Georgia Institute of Technology.
The state of Indiana has made a concerted effort to build relationships with industry and academia in South Korea. Last month, Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg led an Indiana delegation on an economic development trip to the country, the state’s fourth trip to South Korea in five years.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. also opened an office in South Korea last July.