Pukyong National University

PKNU team selected for 'National R&D real challenge 2024'

- graduate student team led by Kim Tae-Yong to research AI-based vulnerability of saltwater intrusion in the lower Nakdong river basin

△ The team of Kim Tae-Yong, doctoral candidate.

A team led by Kim Tae-Yong, a doctoral candidate in the division of environmental and marine sciences and technology at Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-Soo), has been selected for the National R&D real challenge 2024 by the Korea institute of human resources development in science and technology (KIRD).

The National R&D real challenge provides graduate students with the opportunity to form research teams and draft mock research proposals for actual national R&D projects. It supports creative and innovative interdisciplinary research and development that proposes solutions to social issues through science and technology.

Among the 12 teams selected nationwide this year, the team led by doctoral candidate Kim Tae-Yong along with doctoral candidates Park Hye-Min, Heo Jun-Yong, and Ha Tae-Jeong from Pukyong National University will receive KRW 21 million in research funding over five months to conduct research on 'developing a customized AI-based model to evaluate the vulnerability of saltwater intrusion in the lower Nakdong river basin following the opening of the Nakdong river estuary barrage'.

Affiliated with the environmental hydrology laboratory at Pukyong National University (supervised by prof. Yang Min-Jun), the team plans to develop and present technologies to address social issues by leveraging their specialized knowledge and the practical expertise of the faculty startup company, Wible (water innovation accessible).

Specifically, the team will investigate the hydrological and environmental factors affecting saltwater intrusion to systematize the database construction methods for developing an AI model, while also developing a new saltwater intrusion vulnerability assessment model and conducting research on its practical applicability in the lower Nakdong river basin. <Pukyong Today>