Lloyd's Register Educational Trust awards £2m to fund maritime research at Korea's top universities

The Lloyd's Register Educational Trust (LRET), an independent charity wholly funded by the Lloyd's Register Group, has agreed to award a total of £2 million to two of Korea's top universities to fund research into areas of technical shipbuilding and design.

This week the Trust signed agreements with Seoul National University (SNU) and Pusan National University (PNU) to equally fund five-year research programs at each institution in areas identified by Korean shipbuilders and designers.

"Korea is one of the world's leading shipbuilding nations both in terms of the volume and technical quality of ships its yards deliver each year. So it is fitting for the Lloyd's Register Educational Trust to support the type of research programs that will move the industry forward and ultimately benefit the public through the provision of safe, efficient ships," David Moorhouse, Chair of Trustees for LRET, said at the award presentation in Busan yesterday.

Moorhouse, who is also the Chairman of the Lloyd's Register Group, said: "We need to do more than simply provide quality classification services to support the shipbuilding communities we serve."

The PNU award, £1 million over five years, is to be augmented by a combined £810,000 contribution from the university and the city's municipal government. The funds will be used to create a Centre of Excellence for Ship and Offshore Structural Design.

"We are delighted to receive this award from the Lloyd's Register Educational Trust which we will use to create one of the industry's most innovative and comprehensive research centres," said Dr Inn-Se Kim, President of PNU. "This award will not only consolidate our position as one of Asia's top centres for maritime research, it paves the way for the kind of intensive study into the core technologies of ship structural mechanics and design that will help keep Korea's yards at the top of the industry for many years."

PNU's program will include research into non-linear structural mechanics and risk-based design initiatives.

During the original award process, SNU's proposal received the highest evaluation from the assessors. However, after further consideration from the LRET's Board of Trustees, both entries were found to be so compelling that it was decided to award funding to both universities.

SNU's Centre of Excellence will focus on research into aspects of hydrodynamics and hydroelasticity.

"From an extensive survey of the Korean shipbuilding industry, we found that one of the crucial bottle-necks in structural design was in the prediction of nonlinear hydrodynamic loads coupled with structural responses," says Professor Yonghwan Kim, the leader of the SNU group.

"To aid long-term contributions and technology transfers to the industry, we will establish a Lloyd's Register Educational Trust Research Centre to carry out fundamental research on fluid-structure interaction problems related to ship design," Prof Kim said. "The development of innovative technology will be pursued in the fields of hydroelasticity and related ship hydrodynamics, including sloshing in LNGC cargo. This award is ideal for such fundamental research in academia."

Both programs are part of the LRET's extensive mandate to support global advances in scientific research that benefit the public. The awards bring to more than US$6.2 million the amount the Trust has awarded to universities and maritime institutions in Asia in the past two years.

Further awards are expected to be made to other universities in Asia in the near future.

As the sole provider of funds to the LRET, the Lloyd's Register Group last year contributed £6 million for the Trust to support advances in transportation, science, engineering and technology research, education and training worldwide.

Ends

For more information, contact

Michael Franklin
Lloyd's Register Educational Trust
T +44 (0)20 7423 2713
F +44 (0)20 7423 2045
E michael.franklin@lr.org

Lloyd's Register Educational Trust
71 Fenchurch Street
London EC3M 4BS, UK
T +44 (0)20 7709 9166
F +44 (0)20 7488 4796
E lret@lr.org

Russell Barling
Corporate Communications Manager
Lloyd's Register Asia
T +852 2287 9375
F +852 2526 2921
E russell.barling@lr.org

Note for editors

The Lloyd's Register Educational Trust, an independent charity wholly funded by the Lloyd's Register Group, was established in October 2004. Its principal purpose is to support advances in transportation, science, engineering and technology education, training and research worldwide for the benefit of all. It also funds work that enhances the safety of life and property at sea, on land and in the air. The Trust focuses on four categories:

• pre-university education: through appropriate organisations, promotes careers in science, engineering and technology to young people, their parents and teachers
• university education: through universities and colleges, provides undergraduate and post-graduate scholarships and awards at first degree/masters levels to students of proven ability
• vocational training and professional development: supports professional institutions, educational and training establishments working with people of all ages.
• research: funds existing or new centres of excellence at institutes and universities.

Lloyd's Register Educational Trust is an exempt charity under the UK Charities Act 1993.