SEOUL, KOREA — Hanyang University of Korea and RIKEN of Japan, in alliance with other Asian universities and research institutes, are launching the Asian Research Network (ARN) which aims to strengthen research and educational cooperation across Asian region. Recently ARN members succeeded in creating transparent touch sensors using carbon nanotubes and ink solutions that can print electronic circuits and change color in exposure to heat or UV radiation.
The spirit of cooperation is aiding research productivity across Asia. Choi Eun-suk and colleagues recently announced that they developed a transparent touch sensor using carbon nanotube thin films (Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, vol. 11, 2011). These films are optically transparent and electrically conductive in thin layers. The applications are astronomical; imagine flexible electronic interfaces such as “e-paper”, or television screens that can be rolled up.
Kim Jong-man and his team also have similar findings. This team managed to devise an ink solution that can repeatedly change colour upon exposure to heat or UV radiation. Their results in the Journal of Advanced Materials (Vol. 23, 2011) open the possibility of printing electronic circuits on paper. Being able to integrate such circuitry into lightweight, disposable materials such as paper using simple ‘inkjet’ technology is of high interest to manufacturers.
Professor Lee Hai-won, Director of the Institute of Nanoscience and Technology at Hanyang University in South Korea, has spent decades amplifying research alliances across Asia. What started as an initial alliance between two universities now incorporates dozens of organizations across Asia including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Samsung Electronics, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research and the National University of Singapore. ARN members from across Asia work together at the ‘Fusion Technology Center’ in Seoul, South Korea.
Many would be satisfied with these achievements. For Lee however, it is just the beginning of something far greater. The alliance seeks to go across and beyond Asia. “The idea is to exchange information and relationships at a high level,” he explains. “Our aim is to build a borderless research environment.”
