One of the main characteristics of developed societies is the achievement of reliability. This is because reliability is essential in various areas particularly those emerging and considered vital in the 21st century, including informationalization, globalization, specialization, and variation. Hanyang University in acknowledgement of these important areas invested a lot of time and effort in order to achieve global standards in the field of reliability analysis research. To do so, the University launched the Hanyang University Reliability Analysis Research Center in cooperation with Andong University to develop various types of accumulated technology.

On April 3rd, the Hanyang University Reliability Analysis Research Center and the Andong University Industry-Academy Cooperation Center signed an MOU at the Hanyang Institute of Technology. Those in attendance at the signing ceremony included Reliability Analysis Research Center Director KyeDal KWAK (professor, Department of Engineering), Vice Director SeokWon CHANG, Andong University Industry-Academy Cooperation Center Director ChongKil LEE, and Planning and Research Division Leader YoungChan KIM. Before the actually ceremony, which was presided over by Vice Director SeokWon CHANG, there was an informative session on the history, research, and educational achievements of the Reliability Analysis Research Center which was held on the 4th floor of the HIT building. The Center was founded in August, 2002 following a government initiative to develop ways to “nurture industries specializing in components and materials.” On February 21st of this year, the Center signed an agreement with the University of Maryland’s CALCE EPSC which set up a branch in Korea.

The Hanyang Reliability Analysis Research Center Director KyeDal KWAK said, “Reliability analysis research will be of great help in our localization as well as globalization efforts.” He added that he was confident that the cooperation between Hanyang and Andong University would be a win-win situation for the two parties involved. Director KWAK said there were great expectations on the future developments resulting from cooperation with Andong University. In response, Andong Industry-Academy Cooperation Center’s Prof. JeongKil LEE said, “We plan to share the results of work we do at the Reliability Analysis Research Center to rural industries which we think will benefit greatly.” He also said that he was hopeful that the two universities would develop various fruitful outcomes based on mutual cooperation in various areas. Meanwhile, representatives from the Andong Industry-Academic Cooperation Center have taken a tour of the Hanyang Reliability Analysis Research Center.

According to the MOU, Hanyang is to be responsible for overseeing activities in Seoul and some designated areas in Korea, while Andong University will focus on research, experiments, and education related to reliability analysis in Daegu and North GyeongSang Province. Mutual cooperation will take place in various fields including the training of specialists, the hosting of seminars, the undertaking of joint research projects, the exchanging of specialized researchers, research results, and specialized technical data, and the utilization of other research facilities.

Hanyang’s Reliability Analysis Research Center is creating a firm foundation that will help make it one of world’s top five reliability centers in the world. With the MOU with Andong University, the Center is now expected to become a hub for reliability research in Northeast Asia that will be able to provide opportunities to help various industries grow nationwide.