Asian Research Network Launched In Seoul To Strengthen R&D Across Asia

Scientists at Hanyang University of Korea and RIKEN of Japan are launching the Asian Research Network in Seoul to strengthen R&D cooperation across Asia.

AsianScientist (Feb. 28, 2012) – Hanyang University of Korea and RIKEN of Japan, in cooperation with other Asian universities and research institutes, are launching the Asian Research Network (ARN) which aims to strengthen R&D cooperation across Asia.

This Asian alliance – a culmination of two decades of effort – is helmed by Prof. Haiwon Lee, Director of the Institute of Nanoscience and Technology at Hanyang University in South Korea.

In 1989, Lee started yearly trips to Japan to forge ties between the two countries. Step-by-step Lee built a performance-based relationship with RIKEN, which bore fruit in 2003 when an alliance between RIKEN and Hanyang was formally established.

Next Lee sought to obtain funding for a cooperative research laboratory to give tangible structure to the Asian Research Network.

In 2008, following grants from the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Seoul’s mayor, and Samsung electronics, the Hanyang-RIKEN Collaboration Center was established.

“In the beginning, I was talking to government people who would always say, show me the MOU,” said Lee. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a traditional document indicating a multilateral agreement between parties.

Calling an MOU “just politics,” Lee said that it took five years and exceeding difficulty to get all stakeholders onboard.

But Lee’s work may have paid off. What started as an initial alliance between two universities now incorporates dozens of organizations across Asia including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Samsung Electronics, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, and the National University of Singapore.

At the Fusion Technology Center in Seoul, South Korea, ARN members come from across Asia to work on diverse projects, such as producing transparent touch sensors using carbon nanotubes, and finding ways to print electronic circuits that change color when exposed to heat or UV radiation.

“The idea is to exchange information and relationships at a high level,” said Lee. “Our aim is to build a borderless research environment.”

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Source: Asian Research Network; Photo: Asian Research Network.
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