Soongsil University selected for Ministry of Education's 2026 basic science research capacity program

Soongsil University has been selected as a new recipient under the core research support center establishment and operation track of the 2026 Basic Science Research Capacity Enhancement Project, overseen by the National Research Facilities and Equipment Center (NFEC) under the Ministry of Education.

The Basic Science Research Capacity Enhancement Project is a national academic research support initiative aimed at advancing the foundational research infrastructure of universities.

Through the selection, Soongsil University will secure 3.19 billion won ($2.15 million) in government research funding over six years beginning this year.

The university will establish and operate what it calls the nation's first Smart Safety, Health and Environment Convergence Core Research Support Center, or SAFE-CORE. The center aims to build an open research ecosystem in underserved and protected areas of basic science, based on a "Total Safety" framework that integrates five major safety domains: ecology, industry, environment, technology and information, and society.

Soongsil University plans to secure a dedicated space of 697.6 square meters, including the shared equipment center in the Hyeongnam Engineering Building on campus, and equip it with advanced research instruments such as electron microscopes and fluorescence analyzers. The university also plans to build a full-cycle integrated management system — combining IT and AI technology with environment, health and safety fields — covering data collection, assessment, control and immersive education.

Professor Jeong Jae-hyeon of the Department of Chemical Engineering will serve as the project's principal investigator. The center will establish a multidisciplinary research framework involving industry, academia, research institutes and government, and will carry out a range of convergence research projects: developing a Physical AI framework for robot safety, building a digital twin-based industrial safety standard platform, and developing eco-friendly non-toxic new materials.

President Lee Yun-jae said the center would "contribute to building an IT- and AI-based full-cycle research ecosystem and strengthening national research competitiveness through the establishment of the nation's first smart safety, health and environment convergence core research support center."