8/28/2026 Phillip Kisubika
Written by Phillip Kisubika
Dr. Angela Di Fulvio is expanding international research connections between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and South Korea through a newly awarded global R&D partnership and a recent visit to Seoul.
Di Fulvio—an associate professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering and director of the Nuclear Measurement Laboratory and ACDIS—is the lead Illinois principal investigator on a project selected for support through Korea’s Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA). The project pairs Di Fulvio and research scientist Dr. Ming Fang with Korean technology company NeosisKorea.
The partnership is part of a broader effort to connect Korean small and medium-sized technology companies with U.S. academic researchers and develop sustained international research collaborations. The initiative emphasizes direct engagement between researchers and industry partners, with participating teams working together during the program’s seed phase.
The new partnership is already taking shape beyond the award itself.
In August, Di Fulvio and Fang traveled to South Korea, where they met with academic and industry collaborators and participated in two international symposia: the Global Symposium on Medical Applications, Radiation Detection, and Imaging, held Aug. 20 at Yonsei University’s Mirae Campus, and the Global Symposium on Non-Destructive Assay and Fuel Management, held Aug. 21 at the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control’s International Nuclear Security Academy (KINAC/INSA). The events brought together researchers and other experts working in nuclear measurement, radiation detection, safeguards and fuel management.
The visit also included connections with Yonsei University and NeosisKorea, the Korean technology company partnered with Di Fulvio and Fang through the newly awarded TIPA project. Together, the activities provided an opportunity to move the international collaboration from a newly funded project toward direct exchanges among researchers and industry partners.
The award is part of a broader effort to connect Korean small and medium-sized technology companies with U.S. academic researchers. The Global R&D Partnership and Networking Program emphasizes one-on-one meetings and small-group sessions designed to identify concrete opportunities for collaborative research rather than simply make introductions.
That program was featured at the 2026 U.S.-Korea Conference in Orlando, Florida, Aug. 6–8, where participating companies had opportunities to showcase their technologies and meet with researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and other technology leaders.
Di Fulvio’s recent travels demonstrate the kind of relationship-building the program is intended to foster: bringing university researchers and technology companies together across national and disciplinary boundaries to identify shared research challenges and create new opportunities for collaboration.
For Illinois NPRE, the project adds another international dimension to the department’s research enterprise while creating new connections between its faculty, global universities and technology companies working to translate research into practical applications.