Selected for the Leading Research Center Support Program; Mathematics Professor Jae Choon Cha also newly selected for the Leader Research Program.
POSTECH's Center for Scalable Quantum Computer Technology Convergence Platforms, directed by Electrical Engineering Professor Jae-Yoon Sim, has been selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT's Engineering Research Center (ERC) program. It will receive KRW 13.5 billion in national funding over seven years, with a total project budget of KRW 14.9 billion including KRW 1.35 billion from Gyeongsangbuk-do. Mathematics Professor Jae Choon Cha has also been selected for the Leader Research Program, a flagship national basic research program, for research on four-dimensional topology and knots.
The quantum computing center will pursue Korea's first quantum computer, component technologies for quantum computing, an industrial hub platform through cloud services, and training of core engineering personnel for quantum computers.
Quantum computers use quantum mechanical principles to deliver computing performance millions of times greater than conventional supercomputers and can be used in virtually every industry, including defense, science, medicine, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and aerospace.
Through the Leader Research Program, Cha will study four-dimensional space, the only dimension whose fundamental structure remains poorly understood despite remarkable advances in modern mathematics on spaces of various dimensions since the twentieth century. He plans to develop theories to address fundamental challenges including the four-dimensional disk embedding problem and invariants of four-dimensional differential structures.
The ministry operates various programs to support outstanding researchers. The Leading Research Center Support Program funds basic research in five areas—science, engineering, basic medical science, convergence, and regional innovation—to cultivate core science/engineering personnel and build an industrial foundation.
The Leader Research Program supports individual researchers to develop creative basic research capabilities and deepen their work. It selects leading researchers each year and provides an annual average of KRW 800 million–1.5 billion over nine years. Eight POSTECH researchers, including Cha, currently receive support through this program.
