World's top rare-nucleus scientists to gather in Korea

Leading scientists from around the world who study the structure and reactions of rare atomic nuclei not found in nature will convene in Korea this week.

The Institute for Basic Science's Rare Nucleus Research Unit and the Institute for Rare Isotope Science will hold the IBS Rare Nucleus Conference from Wednesday to Friday at the IBS Science Culture Center and the Institute for Rare Isotope Science in Daejeon.

The IBS Conference is a flagship international academic event in basic science, bringing together world-renowned scholars and leading researchers to share the latest findings and trends in their fields. IBS has organized field-specific basic science conferences since 2013 to expand exchanges between domestic and international researchers and strengthen global research collaboration networks.

Twenty-three leading domestic and international scholars in the rare nucleus field will speak at the conference, including Faiçal Azaiez, director of Italy's Legnaro National Laboratory, and Dean Lee, a professor at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University and a world authority in theoretical nuclear physics.

The speakers will present the latest research in nuclear physics, covering topics such as rare nucleus structure and reactions and the production of rare isotope beams. They will also introduce nuclear physics research using deep learning and AI-based models.

A highlight of the event is a tour session offering participants a firsthand look at RAON, Korea's heavy-ion accelerator. The large-scale accelerator aims to advance scientific research by identifying the properties of rare elements and discovering new ones. Sessions will cover RAON's operational status and beam commissioning results, and discussions will focus on identifying new research topics to pursue using the facility.

Han In-sik, head of the IBS Rare Nucleus Research Unit, said the conference would serve as "an international forum for sharing major research achievements and new ideas in the rare nucleus field." He added that he hoped it would "invigorate research using RAON and provide an opportunity to expand collaboration with rare nucleus researchers around the world."