Samsung today announced that it would spend 39.63 billion won (roughly $34.1 million) on research projects through its Samsung Future Technology Development Project (SFTDP) foundation in South Korea. The company has selected 31 projects in the areas of basic science, material science, and information and communications technology.
A total of 15 basic science projects will receive grants from Samsung. Those include five projects from mathematical science fields, four from life science, four from chemistry, and two physics projects. Many of these projects work to clarify the existing theories around several physiological and natural phenomena. Those include projects on taste receptors in the human tongue and different modes of sexual reproduction.
Seven projects from material science fields will also be receiving funds from Samsung’s SFTDP foundation. There’s a team of researchers working to develop next-generation cell therapy technology, a treatment method that involves the transplantation of human cells to replace or repair damaged tissue or cells.
Lastly, Samsung has also selected nine projects from information and communications technology (ICT) fields. Professor Jemin Hwang of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST is working on a four-legged walking robot. It can be programmed to carry out operations in areas where humans may find it difficult to reach easily.
Samsung has also selected projects that work on studying the properties of solid-state batteries, DRAM-based in-memory operations, and more. All these projects are selected for the second half of 2020.
Samsung to spend $34.1 million on 31 research projects
Since the establishment of the SFTDP foundation in 2013, Samsung has provided financial support to 634 projects spread across various fields. In each half of the year, the company selects credible projects in the fields of basic science, material science, and information and communications technology.
Samsung had selected 28 projects with total spending of 38.85 billion won in the first half of 2020. That batch included 14 basic science projects, eight material science projects, and six projects in ICT.
The South Korean behemoth has endowed total funding of 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) to this foundation for ten years. It has so far spent a sum of 822.5 billion won ($708 million) in funding those projects over the years. Samsung aims of fostering and supporting science and technology research fields that will be responsible for the future of Korea through this foundation.
“Samsung Future Technology Promotion Project discovers challenging ideas and talents that can change the world regardless of the field. We will continue these efforts,” said Sung-Geun Kim, chairman of the foundation, earlier this year.