Sungkyunkwan University brings world-leading scholars into research partnerships
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0 From left are Peter J. Park of Harvard Medical School; Gerbrand Ceder of the University of California, Berkeley; Konstantin Novoselov, who shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics; and Philip Kim, a physicist at Harvard University. Courtesy of Sungkyunkwan University
Sungkyunkwan University said it has recruited world-renowned scholars in key fields, including medicine, biotechnology, energy and semiconductors, as distinguished professors to lead international collaborative research with its faculty.
The scholars include Peter J. Park of Harvard Medical School, Gerbrand Ceder of the University of California, Berkeley, and Konstantin Novoselov, who shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Harvard University physicist Philip Kim will also participate in the initiative as an international research collaborator.
The initiative goes beyond nominal affiliations, enabling researchers and students to work directly with leading scholars on joint research projects.
Sungkyunkwan University plans to establish a framework that integrates research collaboration with talent development through joint projects, researcher exchanges, campus visits by the scholars and joint supervision and mentoring of students.
“Close collaboration with world-renowned scholars will help Sungkyunkwan University establish itself as a global research hub in cutting-edge fields of science and technology,” said Yoo Ji-beom, the university’s president.
He added, “We hope our students will experience world-class research firsthand and develop into future leaders in science and technology.”
Peter Park, who will lead research in medicine and biotechnology, is a bioinformatics expert specializing in the computational analysis of large-scale genomic data to investigate the mechanisms underlying cancer.
He received the 2024 Samsung Ho-Am Prize in recognition of his discovery that chromosomes can trigger cancer when they break apart and rejoin.
Park will conduct cancer research using artificial intelligence (AI)-based genomic analysis technology in collaboration with the university’s School of Medicine and bioscience research team.
Ceder, a leading materials scientist, uses AI and computational methods to accelerate the discovery of new battery materials.
In collaboration with the university’s research centers, he will lead research using computational and AI-based methods to design all-solid-state batteries with improved safety and longer-lasting performance, as well as next-generation, environmentally friendly energy materials.
A view of Sungkyunkwan University’s natural sciences campus in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Sungkyunkwan University
Novoselov, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work in isolating graphene, widely regarded as a wonder material, has also joined the university. He will lead research in the semiconductor field.
He will focus on technologies that use atomically thin two-dimensional materials to overcome the physical limits of conventional semiconductor miniaturization.
In addition to conducting joint research, Novoselov plans to spend part of each year in Korea, working closely with the university’s researchers and giving special lectures and seminars for students.
Kim, who is participating in the research on advanced materials, is a world-leading physicist pioneering research into the quantum physics of novel materials.
In collaboration with the university’s Institute for Basic Science, he will investigate superconductivity, a phenomenon in which electricity flows without resistance, and novel material structures that could lay the foundation for next-generation quantum computers.
