The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) and the Institute of Metallurgy (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have established a cooperation framework for joint research in the field of future strategic materials. The two institutions have launched a Joint Lab and agreed to expand researcher exchanges and joint research.

The Korea Institute of Materials Science and Engineering announced that it held a plaque unveiling ceremony for a joint research laboratory and the 'KIMS-IMR Joint Symposium on Materials Sciences and Engineering' at the Institute of Metallurgy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, located in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China, on May 27. The event was attended by KIMS President Choi Chul-jin and Director Liu Gang of the Institute of Metallurgy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, among others.
This joint research laboratory is a cooperation platform established by both institutions to systematically promote joint research. It promotes exchanges between researchers and students, the identification of joint research projects, and the expansion of academic exchanges, thereby establishing a cooperative system utilizing research personnel and infrastructure.

The two institutions began mutual visits in April of last year and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in May of the same year. They have continued their cooperation, including holding a joint symposium at the Korea Institute of Materials Science's headquarters in Changwon in November. The launch of this joint research laboratory is significant in that it expands existing exchanges into a research cooperation system.

Moving forward, both institutions plan to expand exchanges between junior and senior researchers and students, and to identify international joint research projects. In addition, they intend to promote researcher exchanges by utilizing the President's International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI), an international researcher support program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and to jointly participate in international joint research projects supported by the Korean and Chinese governments.

At the joint symposium held following the plaque unveiling ceremony, research achievements in the field of future strategic materials were presented. The Korea Institute of Materials Science introduced technology for constructing digital twins of the microstructure of polycrystalline magnesium-aluminum alloys, thermal barrier coating (TBC) technology for gas turbines, large-area synthesis and device integration technology for 2D semiconductors, and research on metal-organic framework (MOF)-based functional materials.

The Institute of Metallurgy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced AI-based titanium alloy design technology, laser powder layer fusion (LPBF)-based aluminum alloy additive manufacturing technology, development of superalloys for additive manufacturing, heterojunction technology for optoelectronic and neuromorphic devices, atomic dispersion catalyst technology, zeolite catalyst technology, and carbon nanotube (CNT)-copper composite material technology.

Director Choi Cheol-jin said, "Taking the launch of the joint research laboratory and the hosting of the joint symposium as an opportunity, we will expand researcher exchanges and joint research to strengthen cooperation in the field of future strategic materials."