Korean Scientists Challenge World's Top 3 Grand Challenges: Nuclear Fusion, Space, and Brain Therapy

Ministry of Science and ICT Selects Challenging Convergence Development Research Project
Supports 9 Billion KRW Research Funding and Mentoring Over 5 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Korean scientists are challenging seemingly impossible scientific problems such as implementing virtual nuclear fusion reactors, elucidating cosmic dark energy, and reconstructing brain neural networks. Under strong government support, they aim to achieve world-class (The Best), first-ever (The First), and unique (The Only) results through innovative approaches that leverage autonomy and creativity.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the selection results of the '2021 Challenge of Scientific Problems Convergence Research and Development Project' based on these objectives.

◇ Challenge for Nuclear Fusion Commercialization

Specifically, the ST Nuclear Fusion Metaware Research Group, led by Professor Hwang Yong-seok of Seoul National University, is tackling the challenge of solving nuclear fusion plasma problems to realize the construction of an artificial sun power plant for '2050 Carbon Neutrality.' Currently, nuclear fusion research is centered on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which began design in 1988 and aims for completion in 2025, focusing on improving device performance. Through this research, the team aims to overcome development costs and physical limitations caused by device scaling. That is, by implementing and verifying next-generation digital twins (Phase 1) and building a virtual nuclear fusion reactor based on high-performance computing (Phase 2), they will secure the foundation for constructing a small ST nuclear fusion power plant in a short time and at low cost. This is expected to produce scientific and technological achievements that can lead innovation in the nuclear fusion field, which has been stagnant or bottlenecked.

◇ Unveiling the Principles of Cosmic Creation

The Gravitational Wave and Cosmos Research Group, led by Professor Lee Hyung-mok of Seoul National University, will challenge the precise measurement of the Hubble constant and the elucidation of the nature of dark energy using multi-messenger astronomy and artificial intelligence. The Hubble constant is a proportional constant representing the relationship between the velocity and distance of galaxies and is closely correlated with dark energy. Dark energy is a key concept explaining the accelerated expansion of the universe and remains an unsolved mystery. The research team will develop a 7-dimensional telescope (7DT) to observe gravitational waves from neutron star and black hole collisions and electromagnetic waves of various wavelengths (multi-messenger astronomy) and perform statistical analysis (artificial intelligence). Through this, they plan to improve the precision of the Hubble constant via observational data and take a step closer to elucidating the nature of dark energy by measuring key parameters.

◇ Overcoming Intractable Neurological Diseases

Overcoming intractable neurological diseases caused by neuronal loss has also been selected as a challenge task. The Targeted Neural Circuit Regeneration Research Group, led by Professor Choi Hong-soo of Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), aims to overcome intractable neurological diseases caused by neuronal loss by establishing a dopamine neural network reconstruction platform. Despite various therapeutic developments for neural disorders aimed at replacement or regeneration, complete recovery of damaged nerves and neural networks remains a challenge. To address this, the team will develop magnetized and controllable multibots for stem cells and others involved in brain neural network formation. They plan to reconstruct dopamine neural circuits at the same level as actual neural tissue (Phase 1) and verify safety and efficacy through preclinical trials (Phase 2). Through neural network reconstruction technology, they aim to lead a new paradigm in treating brain diseases such as Parkinson's motor disorders and expect it to become a core foundational technology for growth in life sciences and medical services.

Each selected research group will receive a total of 9 billion KRW over five years. The project will introduce a challenge-driven research execution method not previously attempted, including tailored mentoring through specialized committees for each research group, research content review, and open forums for proposing new ideas.

Lee Chang-yoon, Director of Basic and Fundamental Research Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “Recent innovative research outcomes are being created through bold and challenging research that does not fear failure,” and added, “Through the Scientific Challenge Project, we hope to establish a foundation where convergence and interdisciplinary research to solve difficult problems can be naturally stimulated by discovering and supporting tasks that are worth challenging precisely because they are difficult.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.