Science

- Development Foundation Chair Choong Kon Lee throws the ceremonial first pitch, while Student Council President Chowoo Seo delivers the ceremonial first hit, underscoring the spirit of shared growth between the university and its foundation

- DGIST secured one Science Research Center (SRC) project and three Basic Research Laboratory (BRL) projects, taking the lead in addressing national challenges in science and technology - DGIST reaffirms its world-class convergence research capabilities spanning AI, robotics, and advanced biotechnology

Atenean chemist and Wiley editor David Peralta champions science communication to help research reach people and make a real-world impact.

Catalysts are everywhere—from fertilizer production to clean energy—but making them more active without sacrificing stability has remained a major challenge. Researchers have now engineered a gold-platinum nanocluster catalyst that can be activated at lower temperatures while maintaining its precise atomic structure, boosting low-temperature carbon monoxide oxidation performance. Yet a clever ligand design could pave the way for more efficient and durable catalysts.

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed an improved technique called “tapping-mode scanning probe electrospray ionization” (t-SPESI), allowing the analysis of regions within individual cells with greater sensitivity and stability. Through device miniaturization and molecular modification of the probe surface, the team achieved higher sensitivity and long-term stability, successfully visualizing lipid distributions in mouse brain tissue at a pixel size of 5 µm.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) at Kanazawa University, Institute for Molecular Science and SOKENDAI have uncovered the hidden mechanism behind a molecular switch—a molecule that can change between different structural states in response to a chemical signal. Their study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, reveals how molecules can gradually switch between alternative states, a process that could help scientists design future molecular machines, smart materials, and molecular information technologies. To make the discovery, Shigehisa Akine and colleagues created a specially designed molecular cage that changes shape unusually slowly. This allowed them to observe, for the first time, the sequence of molecular events that occurs after the molecule receives a chemical input. The study provides one of the clearest views yet of how molecular recognition triggers structural change and demonstrates that the response speed of a molecular system can itself be engineered through molecular design.

Researchers break a fundamental rule to create a new concept: heat that can be directed and “programmed”. In most materials, heat absorption and heat emission are linked, meaning a surface that absorbs thermal radiation well from a particular direction will also emit it in the same way. A team from OMU in Japan has designed a reconfigurable device that breaks this symmetry, enabling heat to be absorbed and emitted differently depending on the direction of absorption. This technology could eventually lead to smarter thermal-management systems and infrared sensors.

Researchers at the University of Osaka developed a light-driven method for synthesizing Davis reagents that generates the hazardous oxidant mCPBA only on demand and consumes it immediately. Kinetic analysis showed no detectable accumulation of the oxidant, improving process safety. The reaction proceeds at room temperature in non-halogenated solvents and can use sunlight or LEDs, offering a safer, greener, and scalable alternative for pharmaceutical-related synthesis.

Researchers at the University of Osaka have used machine learning to develop a systematic framework for structural descriptors in supercooled water. A neural network model was used to quantitatively assess the performance of 16 structural descriptors in differentiating between two states of water, a high-density liquid and a low-density liquid. The framework could be used to further our understanding of the anomalous behavior of water.

Researchers at Tohoku University have discovered a promising strategy that converts harmful carbon dioxide into valuable fuels and chemicals by precisely altering nanoclusters made of copper.

The abundance of sulfur not only makes lithium-sulfur batteries cheaper to manufacture, but they also boast superior energy-storage capacity to current lithium-ion technologies. But one problem preventing practical deployment is polysulfide shuttling—when polysulfides formed during battery cycling escape the cathode and drift into unwanted areas and cause the battery to erode. Now, a group of researchers from Tohoku University has solved this problem with a molecularly designed covalent organic framework (COF)–graphene interlayer. Like a security checkpoint that both identifies threats and efficiently streams people where they need to go, the interlayer combines chemical trapping, rapid charge transport, and sulfur-conversion promotion.

Magnets can store data – but there is a limit. To improve the data density of memory devices, researchers at Tohoku University delved into ways to exert precise control over a unique material called metallic helimagnets.

An international team including Professor Meng GU of the Hong Kong Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (HKIAA) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has directly measured the mass of an inactive supermassive black hole in the early Universe for the first time.

Located 1,000 meters underground in Japan, the Super-Kamiokande observatory strains to detect the faintest of signals amongst all sorts of noise: ghost-like neutrino particles. A recent analysis of 5,000 days of data provides an exciting, world-first indication of a flux of neutrinos called Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background (DSNB) – emitted by supernovae over cosmic history.

- Promoting technology transfer and commercialization of DGIST’s outstanding intellectual property - Advancing practical collaboration through intellectual property information sharing, identification of prospective companies, and professional training

Oxidative addition is often carried out using transition metals and is challenging to perform at centers of more abundant main-group elements, particularly group 13 elements. Researchers at The University of Osaka, led by Takuya Kodama, achieved oxidative addition of an aryl iodide to a group 13 (gallium) center. The reaction is initiated by visible light. The reaction proceeds via a novel mechanism, photoinduced disproportionation, whereby photoexcited gallium exchanges electrons with ground-state gallium.

The end of colored plastic downgrading could be near with new approach

Black-box optimization, particularly Bayesian optimization, is a practical approach for weather-intervention design, achieving meaningful rainfall reduction even under a very limited budget of expensive weather simulations, finding effective actions with only a small number of trials.

Researchers at the University of Osaka have synergistically combined three strategies for energy dissipation to enhance the toughness of elastomers. Rotaxane molecules with sacrificial bonds are incorporated into an elastomer. Under increasing external force, three mechanisms become sequentially activated: sliding of the rotaxane molecules, force-induced bond scission in the rings to form linear chains, and entanglement of the resulting chains. A polyurethane elastomer synthesized using this strategy was five times tougher than a conventional polyurethane.

A field experiment with the Japan Marrow Donor Program showed that adding one factual sentence to HLA match letters—telling potential donors that compatible registered donors are limited—raised progression to confirmatory typing by 7.3%. The intervention was low-cost and simple, while combined messages weakened the effect. The result could help reduce donor dropout and improve stem cell transplant coordination.

A research group has developed “TP-An,” a molecule that enables even low-energy, long-wavelength light to be used more effectively by solar cells and photocatalysts. The molecule can be used even at high concentrations that are difficult for traditional materials, suggesting their usefulness in technology.

- Prof. Junghyup Lee’s research team implements a multi-channel semiconductor chip that enables accurate measurements even under challenging wearable conditions - Presents key ultra-compact, ultra-low-power design technologies that prevent signal distortion even in the absence of sweat or during vigorous movement - Presented at the IEEE Symposium on VLSI Technology & Circuits 2026, one of the world’s most prestigious conferences in the semiconductor field

- Together with Harvard, MIT, and Caltech, DGIST Achieves the Highest Score for Two Consecutive Years Among Just 11 Universities Worldwide. - Korea’s Only Specialized Tech University to Match This Achievement Reaffirms Its Global Research Impact.

Cricket mothers transmit environmental information that determines embryonic developmental timing. Researchers have demonstrated that entry into developmental arrest is controlled by an integrated program of transcriptional, epigenetic, and metabolic reprogramming. Their study uncovers a system-level mechanism linking environmental cues to embryonic fate.

Lingnan University has secured funding for 49 research projects in the 2026/27 competitive funding rounds of the Research Grants Council (RGC), including the General Research Fund (GRF), the Early Career Scheme (ECS), and the Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS), with total awarded funding approaching HK$27 million. Of these, 48 projects were supported under the GRF and ECS schemes, marking a record high for the University. Funding secured under the ECS scheme alone increased by nearly 30 per cent year-on-year, underscoring the strong research capability and academic excellence of Lingnan’s early-career scholars.

Researchers from the University of Osaka have demonstrated that mitochondrial hyperfusion, when induced by low levels of DRP1 or cellular stress, activates an immune response through the RIG-I–MAVS pathway. Dependent on the involvement of the BAX protein, the release of mitochondrial RNA into the cytosol enhanced natural killer cell cytotoxicity and reduced tumor growth in a xenograft model. The findings provide new possibilities for cancer research and treatment.

- Proposes a “ZeroSwap” technology that overcomes the memory limitations of embedded AI, significantly enhancing the safety of autonomous driving and robotic control systems - Eliminates latency by utilizing SSDs as GPU memory, reducing response time by up to 3.2 times

- Selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Promising Convergent Technology Pioneer program, DGIST will develop “collective intelligence” that enables robots to autonomously share roles and collaborate - By integrating large language models (LLMs) and vision-language-action (VLA) models, the project aims to secure foundational technologies for next-generation robots deployable in disaster response and industrial settings.

- Named a Distinguished Engineer by the University of Connecticut School of Engineering - Recognized for research achievements in digital holography, intelligent imaging, and AI-based bioimaging - Expected to strengthen DGIST–UConn international collaboration and expand international collaborative research

Researchers find that neurons routinely sustain DNA breaks during cortex formation, but a rapid repair system corrects the damage before harm occurs.