□ DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) announced that it held a launch ceremony for the Quantum Sensing Strategic Project Group on the 15th at the main auditorium (Room L29) of Consilience Hall (E7), marking the start of full-scale development of next-generation ultra-high-precision quantum sensor technology.
□ The event was organized to mark the successful launch of the KRW 26 billion “Development Project for an Ultra-High-Precision Next-Generation Sensor Platform Based on Quantum Technology” and promote close collaboration among participating institutions. The launch ceremony was attended by DGIST President Kunwoo Lee, Quantum Sensing Strategic Project Group Director Chun-Yeol You, Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) President Sungkyun Park, and representatives from Daegu Metropolitan City, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), KAIST, UNIST, GIST, POSTECH, and other related institutions, as well as researchers in the field of quantum technology.
□ This five-year project (2026–2030) aims to secure core quantum sensor technologies that significantly surpass the precision and sensitivity limitations of conventional sensors. Led by DGIST as the host institution, the project will bring together KAIST, UNIST, and GIST, combining each institution’s leading expertise in quantum material properties, light sources and detection, and circuit and system design. Particularly, DGIST plans to actively utilize its on-campus 6-inch semiconductor research fabrication facility (R&D FAB) and the 8-inch commercialization fab (D-FAB) currently under construction to provide a robust foundation for demonstration and validation, encompassing sensor design, fabrication, packaging, and performance verification.
□ The research group will focus on three key areas: (1) developing core foundational technologies for next-generation quantum sensors based on photonic, atomic, and superconducting technologies; (2) securing a foundation for commercialization through the development of sensor fabrication processes and platforms; and (3) building a Quantum Transformation (QX) platform to verify the potential for industrial application. Through these efforts, the group plans to secure next-generation sensing technologies including ultra-precise magnetic field measurement, single-photon detection, and quantum imaging, and expand their applications across various advanced industries such as future mobility, semiconductors, healthcare, and defense.
□ The event featured presentations on research plans for each subproject, followed by in-depth discussions on advancing quantum technology in Korea. KAIST Professor Yong-Hoon Cho, UNIST Professor Kibog Park, GIST Professor Yong-Joo Doh, and POSTECH Professor Heedeuk Shin participated in the panel discussion moderated by Quantum Sensing Strategic Project Group Director Chun-Yeol You, where they shared updates on each institution’s research activities and exchanged constructive views on pressing challenges such as the training of specialized personnel.
□ “The launch of this project group marks an important starting point for establishing a ‘national quantum sensor ecosystem’ essential for the coming era of Quantum Transformation (QX), beyond the era of AI Transformation (AX),” said Chun-Yeol You, Director of DGIST’s Quantum Sensing Strategic Project Group. “We will strive to bridge the gap between the outstanding basic and foundational research achievements of Korea’s science and technology institutes and the practical needs of industry, and to secure world-class technological competitiveness in ultra-high-precision quantum sensors.”
