Research Division

The KICT has formed research clusters that reflect its multidisciplinary structure. Each research cluster carries out important, integrative research activities, often involving multiple departments. These clusters are each a matrix of expert activity strategically coordinated to respond to changes affecting the world today and advance R&D with real merit and global applicability through government projects and KICT-branded projects aimed at social issue management and future response. The KICT is creating an open research platform that will enable experts from around the world to join its research clusters via virtual reality technology.
The Urban Disaster Research Cluster
The Urban Disaster Research Cluster Research
keeps society safe from disasters through the integrated use of the KICT’s world-leading, world-first technologies in the field of disaster response and cooperation with other entities.

- Head of cluster: Cho Jeong-rae (Department of Structural Engineering Research)
Purpose
  • Ensure public safety through R&D in response to natural and man-made disasters, such as droughts, floods, earthquakes, and fires
  • Secure global competitiveness through the convergence of the KICT’s world-leading, world-first technologies in the field of disaster response and cooperation with other entities
Contribution to the KICT and Government Policies
  • “Resolution of national and social issues with safe and secure national land and transport technology,” a KICT’s R&R
  • The Third National Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Disaster and Safety Management Technology (2018)
  • Development of disaster-related technology as specified in the Fourth National Basic Plan for Science and Technology (2018–2022)
Major Areas of Research
Development of eco-friendly seawater desalination technology to obtain alternative water resources as a solution to droughts
  • Development of eco-friendly seawater desalination technology to reduce the rate of concentrated seawater obtained from seawater desalination
  • Development of original technology for the use of biochar and waste resources in the production of electrode materials by way of recycling concentrated seawater obtained from seawater desalination
  • Development of eco-friendly membrane crystallization technology for the collection of future strategy resources from seawater and concentrated seawater
Development of technology for the installation of regionally customized underground dams and sand dams
  • Development of technology for the design and installation of bypass-type sand dams capable of stably supplying clean water to regions at risk of droughts, freezing, and water pollution
  • Development of a facility capable of storing valley water in sand to supply drinking water
  • Development of water intake technologies for sand dams, such as an integrated filler-type turbidity reduction technology, a technology which uses a slow-filtration partition wall to remove suspended matter, and a filter pack screen-type water intake improvement technology
Development of urban flooding response technology
  • Development of a technology for the development and design of infrastructure and facilities for the prevention of urban flooding caused by climate change
  • Development of a technology for improved rainwater retention and drainage through the linking of stormwater retention networks
  • Development of a technology for the planning and design of flood-safe urban environments featuring retention spaces
Development of earthquake response technology for ground support
  • Development of AI-enabled ultra-fast liquefaction analysis technology
  • Development of technology for the improvement of earthquake resistance performance through the improvement of designs and forms of pile foundations
Development of earthquake response technology for facilities
  • Development of technology for simulations and designs related to earthquake response in infrastructure and industrial and environmental facilities
  • Development of an integrated risk management system for the analysis of industrial facilities on their earthquake, fire, and explosion hazards
Development of ultra-fast fire prediction/control/response technology for industrial complexes
  • Development of ultra-fast fire response technology using multiple sensors and video detectors
  • Development of technology for ultra-fast fire properties prediction and protective structure response for industrial complexes
  • Development of technology for the analysis of fire hazards by industrial complexes and metropolitan areas
  • Development of technology for the analysis of fire damage to structures in industrial complexes
Major Areas of Expertise
  • Seawater desalination, water processing, water reuse
  • Water balance analysis of groundwater and surface water
  • Design of flood control infrastructure for the prevention of urban flooding
  • Analysis of urban rainwater retention and drainage systems
  • Ground vibration and liquefaction, basic earthquake resistance
  • Fire safety and hazard assessment, thermal fluid analysis, firefighting systems
  • Earthquake resistance for infrastructures and industrial facilities
  • Use of the finite element method for the analysis of structural vulnerabilities to earthquakes
  • Analysis of earthquake hazards in complex systems and networks
QUICK