The inauguration of the Siheung Ppuri Technical Supporting Center, Siheung (South Korea), was marked by the organization of a high-level symposium on "Innovative Surface Treatment Procedures for Functional Coatings and Materials". This international event was jointly organized by KITECH through the Siheung Ppuri Technical Supporting Center, Siheung and the University of Cologne, Cologne (Germany) and as part of their bilateral MOU that was signed in 2013. Advanced surface technologies have played an enormous role in the technological advancement in 20th century and their integration into new device configurations and concepts will continue to be the major driving force for the future innovations. During this symposium, the Center Leader Dr. Koyung Il Moon presented the vision and mission of the center in the field of innovative surface treatment technologies and stressed the importance of collaborative efforts to tackle the challenges of an efficient technology translation process. Following this, a panel of internationally recognized experts addressed experimental, and manufacturing issues associated with the development of new coating materials and processes. Another thrust area involved the joining and integration of new materials and emerging approaches toward scale-up for pre-commercial applications.

The overall aim of this forward-thinking workshop was to share new ideas and discuss practical experiences in terms of technology transfer. The discussions showed that many of the opportunities become bottlenecks in the absence of adequate partners, which underlined the conception and manifestation of the Siheung Ppuri Technical Supporting Center as a one-stop shop for surface treatment and modification technologies. Although devised as a national facility, it is likely that the center can become an internationally recognized platform for collaborative R&D efforts and for training PhD students and researchers in the field of surface technologies. The symposium also provoked productive discussions with a very positive feedback so that all the attendees perceived the need for continuing this workshop series, which initially started as AMAES (Advanced Materials Challenges for Alternative Energy Solutions) and has converged into materials applications driven by surfaces and interfaces. The symposium concluded with a social program including a Symposium Dinner (see photograph) that provided ample opportunity for discussion and exchange of ideas so that attendees, who are keen to join the next event, left the event with a long-lasting memory.